Show that eta some love... or hate

[Eta power]

Love the eta? Hate it? Have great story involving it? Post it here, post it now. Oh, and don't forget to take the poll.

-Eta power

[SD45T-2]

My 88 eta was my first of many e28's. Got me threw My associates degree. So im down for a Like.

[mitch]

I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate the eta.







But I LOOOOVE my Super Eta...


J/K. I love them both...seriously who doesn't?

[Jeremy]

My first car. "1982 BMW 528e. Not running" was the ad in the classifieds. Made it run, picked it up for $750, and drove the piss out of it for 60k+ miles. Awesome, awesome car. The more I beat on it, the happier I was and the better it ran. I did some really stupid shit in/with that car.

For instance, did you know an e28 can go offroading/mudding? Well, that's cause it can't. I sure tried like hell though, thank heaven for an XJ with tow chains ... It looked kinda sexy buried up to the unibody though.

Jeremy

[davintosh]

I would like it a lot better if those elves would get busy and fix that *&^%ing clutch.

[bwenham]

I got my 85 528e for free off craigslist...in 2005!
Its still my DD. I trust it to make 7hrs drive w/ no problem. At least 280k I think

[option00002]

I am glad to have owned the eta I did. It is the slowest car I have ever piloted which led to a nominal amount of resentment. Mine was an AT so that pretty much killed it. I imagine a 5spd would be an entirely different experience though. Anyway I will likely own another version of it at some point. It's a neat car no matter how you dice it up.

[shagrath]

1983 528eA 3HP
1986 528e G265 5 speed
1988 528eA 4HP H
1982 528eA 3 HP

I hate these cars.

Also:

1995 318iC auto
1982 320i

Fuck a BMW. Big Mexican Woman.

[Bimmerguy2002]

Eta power? isnt that redundant?

See sig!

[option00002]

...See sig!

I quit smoking with Christopher Kholer!

[Mike W.]

When it came out I might have qualified as an eta hater, it replaced the E12 528i which was a very good performer for it's day. And in comparison it was slow. Very slow. It seemed like a definite step down. It was very un-BMW like in an era in which V8s had trouble keeping up with BMW 6's. It wasn't really slow for the era, just for a BMW. Viewed as a companion to 533/535s, it makes perfect sense, as a replacement for the then hot E12 it didn't.

[cfalco]

I had mine for 9 years and 112,000 miles.It was a great car - I still miss it, except when I'm driving the m5.

[donstevens]

Some of you whipper snappers are prbably too young to remember that the eta was THE only 6 cyl avilable in 1982 and the only 6 available in the 3 series until 1987. Of course I am referring to US cars.

With the extra torque the eta had, the 5 speed cars were very drivable and very much fun. In fact the 325e was just as quick and just as much fun around town as a euro 323i. In fact, it could be argued that torque it had was even more useful around town than an E30 M3. Get it out on the track though and the story is completely different.

I had an 85 528e 5sp for about 100K miles (from 125K to 225K ) and I loved it.

Don

[David Hunt]

They're great cars! I like the lighter feel the car has. I could coax 24 mpg out of that thing in town, and easily 28 on the highway at 80.
I can see the point of slow compared to the 528i, but still a good car, just not a fast car.

[shagrath]

Some of you whipper snappers are prbably too young to remember that the eta was THE only 6 cyl avilable in 1982 and the only 6 available in the 3 series until 1987. Of course I am referring to US cars.

I thought the only US spec 6 cyl was available in the 3 series e30 in 1984? The US 320i's (77-83) only came with the M10 4 pot. The 323 was avail only in Europe and elsewhere, but not the US, right?

[a]

Etas are great. Just not fast. Easy to maintain though. Other than the T belt, which is just an afternoon's easy wrenching, they give you plenty of warning of imminent failures. Granted, I carry some spares and fluids in the trunk, it is a 22 yr old car.. But I rarely need them.

[ElGuappo]

They are great FOR WHAT THEY ARE.

Economy sedans. You don't buy an eta to go VROOM VROOM, you buy them for nice DD to get good mpg.

As long as you don't expect it to be a stopsign warrior, they can do 80mph as well as anything else can!

Once it gets there anyway...

[Jeremy]

I made the mistake of applying the "economy" label to an enthusiast's car once. Non-BMW, but here's the deal. He took awful offense to my classification. He was right once I thought about it. A 528e may be a gas sipper, but it's no "economy sedan". An economy car of any kind is one that's inexpensive to acquire new and inexpensive to run. New BMWs have never fallen into that category. Economy sedans don't come with leather and doors that are tuned to close on a certain note.

I know what you meant, Jay. I just wanted to point out that your classification wasn't correct. Simply because a car gets good fuel economy doesn't make it an economy model.

Jeremy

[Sydgar]

Wow - the voting is very tight with indifference holding a slight edge over the eta enthusiasts. After last weekends episode with a shredded guibo I was tempted to give my beloved 88 eta the thumbs down but in reality, I do love it.

From beneath the eta's rust free undercoating I peered over at the project 635CSi giving the sign for it to step in as relief DD until parts could be aquired. Thank goodness she fired up after a momentary hiccup (had not been started since Oct.) Ah well we all must endure However, I cannot wait till the Super Eta rules the road once more

[Ieatpeople]

i love my super eta, it is a boatload quicker than my 84 325e. doesn't get the mpg that everyone elses seems to, but i still love driving it. it is my dd, gets me through my 120 mile roundtrip with no complaints, and in comfortable seats.

it is not a "stopsign warrior", but unfortunately the cops think it is. something to do with a loud exhaust, and the civic that was 2 1/2 cars back at 60mph after pulling away from a light. i just needed to get over to make my turn, and the honda was in the way.

[ElGuappo]

Jeremy, I should have clarified my point.

The eta is NOW what I consider to be an economy DD. Compared to a 533/535, they are a cheap/economical car to acquire and operate. Mind you this is West Coast thinking, rust free $500 cars are still easy to find and make into a solid DD for well under $1000.

Certainly when they were new, NO BMW was ever an economy car here in America. We cannot option down unfortunately.

[racer X]

ETAs forever!!! i know they aren't fast but i love 'em anyhow. I grew up around dad's mercedes 240d(123 body), now that's a slow ride(nice though). it's just something about them. if i ever get a 535i it wouldn't be in addition to the eta and i probably would do much to it. i just love the look of a stock,clean, tight.....e28.

NOW THIS IS FUNNY!lol

For instance, did you know an e28 can go offroading/mudding? Well, that's cause it can't. I sure tried like hell though, thank heaven for an XJ with tow chains ... It looked kinda sexy buried up to the unibody though.

[1st 5er]

We love ours, even as an automatic, with the 5 speed donor car sitting in the wings.
Slow, but passes many a pump.
Very comfy, even on long hauls (tools, spare parts, 5 speed tranny and driveshaft for the E12, crack free dash, and oh yeah, a weeks worth of clothes).

I've parted with a big six on a couple of occasions w/o regret,
but I have a feeling it'll be hard to part with the eta when the day comes.

[TheE28Ranch]

I hope I like etas. I will be picking up an automatic alpineweiss 1985 eta with under 90k original miles very soon for a DD! More later!!

[Danielsan]

just picked up a well taken care of 325e sedan for $750 and handles like a dream. this my 2nd eta and 3rd 3 series. feels faster then my previous 525i (see sig). i have never driven a 5 series eta but i can assume its just as fun.

eta's feel fast until you look at the speedo and your barely clearing 30mph lol.

[CSBolger]

They're good commuters that handle well and do well when boosted. The end.

[Mr. E28]

Great cars they are. Just to clarify a bit, they are not fast...in a straight line. They were still performance sedans.