New 535is owner!

Why, hello. First post here about my first BMW (go me). I've always had a big interest in these cars(E23, E24, E28), and always wanted one of my own despite everyone's horror stories about maintenance and reliability. I finally found a red on black 535is for sale near me, and decided to pick it up for $1500.

The bad:
There are so many problems (mostly minor) but I wanted a car I could have fun working on while learning a lot about it. Chief among the problems, is a blown head gasket (head not cracked (yet)), and a small crack in the radiator. Of course I plan to fix these immediately (have enough cash left over from the sale of my other car). The front air dam is missing, as are the fog lights (brackets and wiring are still there). The tires are cracked, and the odometer and trip counter stopped working at least two years ago (at 172k). There is also some ghetto-rigged fuel cutoff switch (I'm told?) that must be switched on to start the car, and off when you turn the car off to prevent the battery from draining (No idea what this is about, I plan to have it removed).

The good =D

All the electrics work, all lights, ALL power seat functions, even the headrests, and the leather is in very good shape, as are the original floor mats (all 4). The interior is very clean and in good shape, as is the paint.


So far (it's been only two days) I've had a nice experience with the car. Aside from loosely attached wires falling off the battery terminals causing the engine to shutoff randomly in the middle of intersections, it's been great! I know it's going to need a lot of work, and have prepared myself financially.

Now for the pics (apparently I'm not allowed to embed images or post URLs yet, so add the http before these):

://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n89/mojocoggo/my_e28/WiidylanscarMar-1.jpg

://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n89/mojocoggo/my_e28/WiidylanscarMar-4.jpg

More coming soon!

Any feedback, tips, suggestions, or "What in the name of all that's holy possessed you to buy such a car?" would be appreciated!

No offense to your car in particular, but looking at those bumpers makes me never want to move back to the states.

Considering the typical American motorist, I'm sorta glad we have bigger bumpers even though they aren't that attractive.

Sounds like a good score man. If I were you, I'd look at the front airdam thats for sale on this board. Lights can be found on ebay, just make sure they're for a 535is and not a 535i/528e. The fuel cutoff switch thingy sounds like a bad fuel pump or fuel pump relay to me. You should probably confirm that with some other people here. Oh and if you haven't already, join mye28.com.

cant join b.c the mod never emails you with your confirmation

PM me your screenname on mye28 and i'll see what i can do.

Considering the typical American motorist, I'm sorta glad we have bigger bumpers even though they aren't that attractive.

Sounds like a good score man. If I were you, I'd look at the front airdam thats for sale on this board. Lights can be found on ebay, just make sure they're for a 535is and not a 535i/528e. The fuel cutoff switch thingy sounds like a bad fuel pump or fuel pump relay to me. You should probably confirm that with some other people here. Oh and if you haven't already, join mye28.com.

not to change the subject, but i have not been able to locate said fog lights on ebay. is there anywhere else i can look to?

btw: welcome to the forum. lots of good knowledge here.

Thanks for the responses.

Coincidentally, I just got my mye28.com activation email today, so I should be good to go over there.

not to change the subject, but i have not been able to locate said fog lights on ebay. is there anywhere else i can look to?

btw: welcome to the forum. lots of good knowledge here.

Sometimes there are foglights on the bay, sometimes not. Check mye28.com every so often and they will pop up.