1985 BMW 735i for sale in so. CA

[Racing7]

Car has been sold.

Up for sale is my ‘85 BMW 735i. It has been in my family since new. My father bought it as a retirement gift to himself in ‘85, owned it until ‘96, and then handed it down to me. It has been garaged. It has never been in an accident. It passes California’s smog test. It has been conscientiously maintained over its 177k miles. I have the owner’s manual, brochure and 27 years of service receipts! Only OEM maintenance items have been used to ensure factory-correct performance. Only high-quality fluids have been used such as Mobil 1 synthetic for engine, Redline for transmission/differential, ATE Blue/Gold for brakes, and BMW coolant.

Recent maintenance done in April-May 2012:
tranny fluid, diff fluid, clutch fluid, PS fluid, coolant, oil & filter, spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter, HVAC repair (cold AC!!!), v-belts, engine mounts

These models are disappearing fast and I feel it’s important that this car goes to someone who can appreciate the car for what it is. I would be disappointed if this were to become a parts car.

Pics are here: http://s1253.beta.photobucket.com/us...5%20BMW%20735i


Here is a list of changes made to improve performance, drivability and aesthetics:

Suspension:
Custom-valved Bilstein shocks/struts and H&R sport springs
OEM front swaybar w/ urethane bushings, rear adjustable 19 mm swaybar with urethane bushings
Dinan fixed front camber plates
Dinan rear adjustable (for camber) subframe
Hartge front strut brace

Engine: stock with E.A.T. performance chip. I will also include the stock chip.

Exhaust: B&B Tri-flow cat-back exhaust; original catalytic converter

Mechanicals:
Getrag 260/5-speed manual transmission by tranny guru Jim Blanton (Performance Gearing Int'l)
M5 clutch plate and disc
3.91 limited-slip differential with 50% lock by Jim Blanton (Performance Gearing Int'l)
UUC short shifter providing crisp, definitive shifts

Wheels: 245/40-17 Sumitomo HTRZ-III tires on 17x8.5 BBS RC wheels. The RCs are discontinued, lightweight wheels that weigh around 17.5 lbs. each.

Brakes:
Porterfield R4-S street pads that are no dust, no noise and have high heat capacity producing far better performance than OEM or Metal Masters
BMP stainless steel brake lines

Exterior:
New paint in 2008 in the original Bronzit-beige
All body panels are straight and true with only one minor PDR-able dimple on the passenger-side front fender
European bumpers and front valence and rear OEM spoiler
Cibie low beam headlights from Daniel Stern Lighting

Interior:
Cobra Daytona sport seats – fully adjustable for recline with great lateral support; much more comfortable than OEM
Momo steering wheel (360 mm)– smaller than stock and provides greater steering input with less motion; stock steering wheel also included in sale
OBC works
Factory tool-kit included, but it is not installed in rear trunk-lid

Items needing attention: Cruise control lever is floppy, but still works. (There will always be the usual maintenance items which I am not including as “needing attention.”)

Price: $5,000

Contact info: PM or call (nine-four-nine) 378-two-nine-3-1

[bmoreindy]

Really cool, unique ride. Wheels fit great, seats seem a little out of place! Good luck bump.

[coolvegase34]

Priced way too high. Nice car though.

[Racing7]

Priced way too high. Nice car though.

What is a more appropriate price?

[isaact]

3000 maybe......

[Larry O]

I'm interested in your car. Please email contact info to: hitsolid@verizon.net

Thanks.

[Hit Man X]

3000 maybe......

sure.

Clean E23s are very difficult to find, let alone one with everything mechanically ironed out..plus the mechanical mods are basically invisible for the 'purists'.

I do not care for the seats and agree OE 'comforts' or sport seats would be a bit more fitting...but this car is setup as a track runner.



If I was in the market for an additional manual E23, this would be near the top of my list.

[sebandwhit]

This beast is super clean... It would be sitting in my driveway if I wasnt at max capacity on the car storage! I could care less what these cars go for... this car is something you could drive for quite a while!

[KennyBlankenshp]

3000 maybe......

That's just plain rude. You have a car with relatively new paint, working HVAC, unobtainium parts installed and $1000+ wheels and you think it may not even be worth $3000?

[tcm326]

Do you have the original metric tires/wheels? or some suitable substitute that would allow you to keep this setup and reduce the price? ditto on the front seats, hard as rock as they may be...one guys rock hard is another guys feather bed. And ditto on the Racing Dynamics steering wheel. And maybe even the sway bar.....
With these changes maybe you get into our buying range? It is JUST what I am looking for to give my 745 a rest, without these add-ons. So I can handle the above swap outs if you can.

The rest is blood,sweat and tears and we have all been there but in the end the BS&T's arent worth 10 cents to a buyer, unfortunately. Been there myself, in your shoes. Uncomfortable but the truth I think.

What do you say Racing 7 ?

tcm326

[b3m3r]

I like the car - might even be interested if you were 1. In the pacific nw and 2. You had the original front seats!

[bmwextremeguy]

I am in the same situation as you trying, to get my money out of some nice bmws, I am trying to sell off some of my bmw's and what I found out from bmw buyers, that some dont want to pay extra then what they think the car is worth stocked or more for a car that has the add ons, if you have aftermarket items on, which you do.
I would get the parts you need to go back to factory oem, and sell the add ons separte from the car to people that want those certain items for their cars, like the rims, seats, Hartge& Dinan items and so on. To off set the price of the car, you may have $2k plus in aftermarket parts with that being said, you can sell the car at a lower rate to get most of your money out, and then you can slowly sell off the remaining parts. You should still get close to what you want, and it is easier to deal with, and everyone maybe happier with price and they can get what they want and dont want in add ons. For me the seats are the major draw back I think it is the color not matching the rest of the car. Other then that the car is worth close to what you are asking maybe $4500-$4800 without the seats And the car 100% STOCKED with NO add ons about $3000 to $3500 since it is a one owner family and has documentation! my suggestion only.
SHAWN

[LarryM]

This appears to be a truly exceptional E23; however I think the real problem is that's it's been "over-improved". It has all the qualities most people want in a used 7 series, but also has some fairly expensive add-ons which most buyers don't care about in a car of this nature (mainly a highway cruiser, not so much a sporty car).

I DO think the 17" RC's (and steering wheel, and seats) look a bit out of place on this car, but that's JMHO. The suggestion of swapping the expensive and rare RC's with something a bit more mundane (but still attractive) such as 16" wheels from another BMW or maybe some Style 5's is a good idea. Sell the RC's separately. If you have access to a nice set of original-style seats I'd swap them too, but if you don't then it's probably not worth the trouble. The rest of the mods (sway bars, etc.) can stay as they're more subtle and likewise not worth the hassle of removing.

The fact that the car has been repainted does detract from its value; there are still some E23's running around with nice original paint. Some might feel the mileage is a little high too. The stick is a good selling point however. Price-wise, ~$4200-$4500 without the RC's (but with a nice set of substitute wheels) seems reasonable. Under $5K should be easier to sell. GLWS.

[Racing7]

I sincerely thank everyone for their input.

I do not have the original seats or wheels but do have the stock steering wheel.

While I do understand the argument that it is difficult to sell the car at a higher price when it is not stock, I do not have the resources/room/capability/energy to sell off parts here and there and transition the car back to stock form. So, I understand I'm limited to a smaller pool of potential buyers...

P.S. I edited the ad to reflect the car has a 3.91 LS differential.

[LarryM]

Question; was this car originally a 5-speed or did you do a conversion? Also, any dash cracks?

I'd be seriously interested in this beauty if I didn't already have four cars and only a two car garage with limited extra space. Still thinking about it though.

[Racing7]

Car has been sold. Thanks, everyone.

[peakay]

Congrats Racing7 - I hope it went to a good home!

[Racing7]

Congrats Racing7 - I hope it went to a good home!

Thanks, peakay. Went to a nice guy in the SF Valley so it's still in SoCal and I negotiated the right of first refusal if he ever decides to sell it!

[E34 5er]

Racing7, just saw you car for sale on Craigslist by the guy who bought it: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv...742989408.html. Seems he's trying to make at least a $2350 profit on the car, ask him if you can buy it back from him. If not, I might go take a look at it as it is located very close to me in the Valley.

[Raudi Driver]

That's just plain rude. You have a car with relatively new paint, working HVAC, unobtainium parts installed and $1000+ wheels and you think it may not even be worth $3000?

That's just the way it is. I just sold a car with $1,000 of brand new tires and those same BBS RS2 wheels for $2,000.

[KennyBlankenshp]

That's just the way it is. I just sold a car with $1,000 of brand new tires and those same BBS RS2 wheels for $2,000.

Your car has new paint, fully working HVAC, lowering springs and sway bars? I'd like to see pictures...

Racing7, just saw you car for sale on Craigslist by the guy who bought it: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv...742989408.html. Seems he's trying to make at least a $2350 profit on the car, ask him if you can buy it back from him. If not, I might go take a look at it as it is located very close to me in the Valley.

If you do go visit the guy ask him what he's done to the car to justify a $2350+ price increase. It sounds like he bought the car to turn around and sell it at a profit...

Don't worry, at that price he won't sell it, at least not right away...

[LarryM]

That's just the way it is. I just sold a car with $1,000 of brand new tires and those same BBS RS2 wheels for $2,000.

Have to agree; at that selling price it couldn't have been much of a car, unless you literally gave it away. A couple years ago I had to pay $2K just for a set of 17X8.5" BBS RS wheels for my E24....and felt lucky to have found them in mint condition, within driving distance, at ANY price.

Most $2K cars I see for sale in SoCal are either high mileage, sun-damaged, badly neglected and needing maintenance/mechanical work, or a combination of all these things.

[KennyBlankenshp]

I did communicate with Racing7...he said the owner bought another old(er) BMW and can't keep both. He had offered to sell the car back to him at something less than the $2,350 markup, with the car having a dent in the fender. Of course he didn't bite.

[E34 5er]

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv...774730185.html

It seems the new owner now has dropped the price to $4350. Tempting, but I really would need to find original matching seats because I would not want to be caught sitting with those aftermarket seats.

[Hit Man X]

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv...774730185.html

It seems the new owner now has dropped the price to $4350. Tempting, but I really would need to find original matching seats because I would not want to be caught sitting with those aftermarket seats.

I have a pearl beige parts car...