FREUDE AM FAHREN!
Discussion
Well, it's taken just short of a year...and following two abortive trips a few weeks ago (firstly aborted with what was mis-diagnosed as the common fuel pump relay failure...which was thence diagnosed following the second abortive test drive as a dodgy AFM) I've finally had my first proper drive in the car:
http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk:80/gallery/index.php?...
Today, I fitted a replacement AFM, new dizzy cap, rotor arm and plugs. The evening was dry and sunny here in Shropshire so I took the opportunity...
Fabulous! Cruising smoothly and sweetly past all the 'modern stuff' on the A-Road, sunroof open, Style Council Cassette selected from the center console cassette-holder...wind noise...TRX road noise...and it was like being back in 1986!
I stopped at a country petrol station where the 'cool' drivers of an E46 Saloon and an X5 (with blacked out "Privacy Glass"
) both did a double-take at the car that was pulling away with that characteristic '80s BMW rorty exhaust note and realised this wasn't just some "old clapped out 5-Series" and how much 'cooler' it was than their cars!
FREUDE AM FAHREN!
http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk:80/gallery/index.php?...
Today, I fitted a replacement AFM, new dizzy cap, rotor arm and plugs. The evening was dry and sunny here in Shropshire so I took the opportunity...
Fabulous! Cruising smoothly and sweetly past all the 'modern stuff' on the A-Road, sunroof open, Style Council Cassette selected from the center console cassette-holder...wind noise...TRX road noise...and it was like being back in 1986!
I stopped at a country petrol station where the 'cool' drivers of an E46 Saloon and an X5 (with blacked out "Privacy Glass"
) both did a double-take at the car that was pulling away with that characteristic '80s BMW rorty exhaust note and realised this wasn't just some "old clapped out 5-Series" and how much 'cooler' it was than their cars!FREUDE AM FAHREN!
Edited by derin100 on Friday 13th June 20:20
Edited by derin100 on Friday 13th June 20:22
Many thanks, Matt!
Daily driver!? Good Lord, No!
I currently own eight BMWs (crazy but true!). In terms of driving pecking order...second to last comes an 840Ci Sport with 25K miles on the clock which in nearly three years has covered less than 700 miles...the greater part of which was the journey bringing it home to here after buying it in London.
The E28 comes after that...LOL!
No...now it's finally finished I'll just keep it until someone offers me some proper money to buy it!
It'll be the last E28 I do.
(I'm hopefully close to finishing another; an M535i in Diamond Black...but it doesn't belong to me but belongs to the chap who bought the white 528i on my website a year ago)
Daily driver!? Good Lord, No!
I currently own eight BMWs (crazy but true!). In terms of driving pecking order...second to last comes an 840Ci Sport with 25K miles on the clock which in nearly three years has covered less than 700 miles...the greater part of which was the journey bringing it home to here after buying it in London.
The E28 comes after that...LOL!
No...now it's finally finished I'll just keep it until someone offers me some proper money to buy it!
It'll be the last E28 I do.
(I'm hopefully close to finishing another; an M535i in Diamond Black...but it doesn't belong to me but belongs to the chap who bought the white 528i on my website a year ago)
Edited by derin100 on Friday 13th June 21:46
Many thanks!
Well, the car comes with both sets of wheels! (see pics).
The original metric Michelin TRXs had fairly recently replaced with new when I got the car.
Given that these tyres are now circa £250 plus per corner to buy and perfomance-wise, compared with modern tyres, aren't the cleverest in terms of grip and road noise etc I elected to get another set of 16" rims (which are a direct replacement and virtually identical dimensions) and put new, modern Michelin rubber on them assuming that anyone who buys it might want to both drive the car but also occasionally take it to shows where wearing it's original TRXs would be more appropriate.
Well, the car comes with both sets of wheels! (see pics).
The original metric Michelin TRXs had fairly recently replaced with new when I got the car.
Given that these tyres are now circa £250 plus per corner to buy and perfomance-wise, compared with modern tyres, aren't the cleverest in terms of grip and road noise etc I elected to get another set of 16" rims (which are a direct replacement and virtually identical dimensions) and put new, modern Michelin rubber on them assuming that anyone who buys it might want to both drive the car but also occasionally take it to shows where wearing it's original TRXs would be more appropriate.
Gotcha - well it looks great.
My Mum worked fro BMW for 2o years or so. I've got some great memories from the massive variety of cars that we had. The two that are most prominent over all those years are:
E28 535i. Prob 1983/or 4. Diamond black with ox-blood red leather seats. It was gorgeous. My dad got it up to 145 on the A3 in those days when you could!
The second was a E34 535i Sport in a kind of sky blue. Think it was f or g reg. Gorgeous car.
Anyway - enough rambling - that 525i looks superb. Great choice.
My Mum worked fro BMW for 2o years or so. I've got some great memories from the massive variety of cars that we had. The two that are most prominent over all those years are:
E28 535i. Prob 1983/or 4. Diamond black with ox-blood red leather seats. It was gorgeous. My dad got it up to 145 on the A3 in those days when you could!
The second was a E34 535i Sport in a kind of sky blue. Think it was f or g reg. Gorgeous car.
Anyway - enough rambling - that 525i looks superb. Great choice.
derin100 said:
Thanks Olf!
Yes...when I get in an E28 nowadays I can't believe I ever had the nerve to take one to over 140 mph...but I did! It wasn't on a road as scarey as the A3 though 
Your Dad must have had some b*lls! 
He did have but it was here:Yes...when I get in an E28 nowadays I can't believe I ever had the nerve to take one to over 140 mph...but I did!
It wasn't on a road as scarey as the A3 though Your Dad must have had some b*lls! http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=...
quite safe really.
Good fun though
Mum's boss put an E28 M5 through a burger van on the A3 at 120mph early one morning - pissed.
He did a runner and got away with it.
Edited by Olf on Monday 16th June 19:59
But here was safer : http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=...
Well...'safer' that was until my smart-arse son grassed on me to my wife and told her what "number" Daddy had on the clock in his car! That's when things became decidely dangerous!
(btw It was years ago in an M535i)
Thanks, Bob!
Well...'safer' that was until my smart-arse son grassed on me to my wife and told her what "number" Daddy had on the clock in his car! That's when things became decidely dangerous!
(btw It was years ago in an M535i)
Thanks, Bob!
Edited by derin100 on Monday 16th June 20:42
Edited by derin100 on Monday 16th June 21:06
derin100 said:
Many thanks, Matt!
Daily driver!? Good Lord, No!
I currently own eight BMWs (crazy but true!). In terms of driving pecking order...second to last comes an 840Ci Sport with 25K miles on the clock which in nearly three years has covered less than 700 miles...the greater part of which was the journey bringing it home to here after buying it in London.
The E28 comes after that...LOL!
No...now it's finally finished I'll just keep it until someone offers me some proper money to buy it!
It'll be the last E28 I do.
(I'm hopefully close to finishing another; an M535i in Diamond Black...but it doesn't belong to me but belongs to the chap who bought the white 528i on my website a year ago)
Ah, I see now. Fabulous hobby you've got there. Great website as well - fantastic cars. Daily driver!? Good Lord, No!
I currently own eight BMWs (crazy but true!). In terms of driving pecking order...second to last comes an 840Ci Sport with 25K miles on the clock which in nearly three years has covered less than 700 miles...the greater part of which was the journey bringing it home to here after buying it in London.
The E28 comes after that...LOL!
No...now it's finally finished I'll just keep it until someone offers me some proper money to buy it!
It'll be the last E28 I do.
(I'm hopefully close to finishing another; an M535i in Diamond Black...but it doesn't belong to me but belongs to the chap who bought the white 528i on my website a year ago)
Edited by derin100 on Friday 13th June 21:46
I've gone 'back in time' a bit myself.
Bye bye souless boring VAG TDi products on 36 mth lease cycles, hello low milage 2002 e39 530i Sport auto! I've always liked them - I actually think the shape and lines are better resolved than the latest 5 (IMHO) and the proportions of the car just seem to work for me. Plus, the 3.0 straight six in this car is a great engine.
It's my new daily driver so hoping it will be mechanically sound for many a mile to come.
Sorry to go a bit O/T, but what would you do/check for on a car of this age to get it driving to the best of its abilities? The previous owner got it serviced on time but didn't come across as an enthusiast really, so I'm really looking to get this on top form. New tyres have been ordered, Oil service not due for 6,000 miles but i've booked it in anyway - anything else whilst I'm at it?
Picking it up tomorrow - can't wait
Edited by dr matt uk on Monday 16th June 21:15
derin100 said:
But here was safer : http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=...
Well...'safer' that was until my smart-arse son grassed on me to my wife and told her what "number" Daddy had on the clock in his car! That's when things became decidely dangerous!
(btw It was years ago in an M535i)
Thanks, Bob!
Thought you might have tried the local "police approved" route Derin Well...'safer' that was until my smart-arse son grassed on me to my wife and told her what "number" Daddy had on the clock in his car! That's when things became decidely dangerous!
(btw It was years ago in an M535i)
Thanks, Bob!
Edited by derin100 on Monday 16th June 20:42
Edited by derin100 on Monday 16th June 21:06
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&ge...
Beautiful car, Derin.
Thought you might have tried the local "police approved" route Derin
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&ge...I grew up in Shrewsbury but don't make it home that often. Always use that road when I do though. Is it regularly used for revenue collection purposes then?
Shropshiremike said:
Thought you might have tried the local "police approved" route Derin
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&ge...
I would never dare do such a thing here in Shropshire, Mike...LOL!
Thanks guys!
Well, pricing on something like this is very difficult. I generally just have to wait for someone to make me offer that I think is reasonable.
Sometimes I never even advertise my cars formally other than on my website. For example, last year my E30 M3 went to someone who'd been waiting quite a while for it to be ready and available. I didn't advertise it anywwhere else and never entered into negotiations with anyone else. But it's now recently gone to someone else in Italy.
I don't think it's appropriate for me to specific here about how much I sold the car for...but let's just say it was significantly LESS than some of the ones that have been on here in the Classifieds lately!
I did advertise the white E28 528i (see my website plus also in the "Gallery" for better photos of that car). I had an offer of £10K for that car from someone in Cyprus but when they found out how much the import duty was on a car of that engine capacity they had to pull out. A U.K buyer then bought it from me for £8K.
I guess in coming to my own mental conclusion as to what I think is a "reasonable offer" I think along the lines of:
A) My financial costs for the project i.e initial purchase price, parts bought and third party costs that I've incurred etc...
B)I'd then like to see a small amount for my own personal investment in terms of hours of effort (and grief!) working on the car.
Obviously, the latter may ultimately amount to hundreds of hours on one of these older cars in terms of phyiscal hands-on labour, hours searching the internet (plus other known sources/contacts) for parts and sometimes travelling long distances to collect items. Clearly, I couldn't factor in a return at what I might regard as my normal 'professional' hourly rate!!! But I do factor in something mentally in recognition to myself. Which then usually gets absorbed into the next project anyway!
We've recently had this debate elsewhere...but it now has to be recognised that for cars like the BMW E28 the polarisation of values is such that "Any-Old-Banger-Not-Really-Worth-Having-Beyond-The-Next-MOT-Type" of E28 and "A Really-Good-One-Worth-Keeping" means they are Worlds apart now...and will become increasingly so.
About a year and a bit ago (certain) people here baulked at the £8K I sold the white one for. However, I think we will increasingly see the prices of really good E28s(and I emphasise "really good") going up as the numbers of that type of car rapidly dwindle.
It may take time for general acceptance (by which time it will probably be too late!) but some of the people who want a really good one will have already accepted the above and moved away from the notion that a "really good E28" is a cheap car. They aren't anymore.
One can buy one and then invest significant amounts of time, effort...and money... to achieve a goal worth having. Alternatively, one buys one "Off the Shelf" so to speak because either one doesn't have the time, knowledge, skill or because one simply doesn't want to be bothered with all the hassle yet one would still like to have a really good example. Either way they will no longer be "cheap cars".
BTW Dave and Mike...is that road...I mean is it actually exactly where you've put that arrow?...I mean...I'm just asking purely out of interest's sake!
Thanks guys!
Well, pricing on something like this is very difficult. I generally just have to wait for someone to make me offer that I think is reasonable.
Sometimes I never even advertise my cars formally other than on my website. For example, last year my E30 M3 went to someone who'd been waiting quite a while for it to be ready and available. I didn't advertise it anywwhere else and never entered into negotiations with anyone else. But it's now recently gone to someone else in Italy.
I don't think it's appropriate for me to specific here about how much I sold the car for...but let's just say it was significantly LESS than some of the ones that have been on here in the Classifieds lately!
I did advertise the white E28 528i (see my website plus also in the "Gallery" for better photos of that car). I had an offer of £10K for that car from someone in Cyprus but when they found out how much the import duty was on a car of that engine capacity they had to pull out. A U.K buyer then bought it from me for £8K.
I guess in coming to my own mental conclusion as to what I think is a "reasonable offer" I think along the lines of:
A) My financial costs for the project i.e initial purchase price, parts bought and third party costs that I've incurred etc...
B)I'd then like to see a small amount for my own personal investment in terms of hours of effort (and grief!) working on the car.
Obviously, the latter may ultimately amount to hundreds of hours on one of these older cars in terms of phyiscal hands-on labour, hours searching the internet (plus other known sources/contacts) for parts and sometimes travelling long distances to collect items. Clearly, I couldn't factor in a return at what I might regard as my normal 'professional' hourly rate!!!
But I do factor in something mentally in recognition to myself. Which then usually gets absorbed into the next project anyway!We've recently had this debate elsewhere...but it now has to be recognised that for cars like the BMW E28 the polarisation of values is such that "Any-Old-Banger-Not-Really-Worth-Having-Beyond-The-Next-MOT-Type" of E28 and "A Really-Good-One-Worth-Keeping" means they are Worlds apart now...and will become increasingly so.
About a year and a bit ago (certain) people here baulked at the £8K I sold the white one for. However, I think we will increasingly see the prices of really good E28s(and I emphasise "really good") going up as the numbers of that type of car rapidly dwindle.
It may take time for general acceptance (by which time it will probably be too late!) but some of the people who want a really good one will have already accepted the above and moved away from the notion that a "really good E28" is a cheap car. They aren't anymore.
One can buy one and then invest significant amounts of time, effort...and money... to achieve a goal worth having. Alternatively, one buys one "Off the Shelf" so to speak because either one doesn't have the time, knowledge, skill or because one simply doesn't want to be bothered with all the hassle yet one would still like to have a really good example. Either way they will no longer be "cheap cars".
BTW Dave and Mike...is that road...I mean is it actually exactly where you've put that arrow?...I mean...I'm just asking purely out of interest's sake!
Edited by derin100 on Wednesday 18th June 16:54
DaveR said:
Beautiful car, Derin.
Thought you might have tried the local "police approved" route Derin
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&ge...I grew up in Shrewsbury but don't make it home that often. Always use that road when I do though. Is it regularly used for revenue collection purposes then?
I was thinking more of the efforts of Mr Milton (159mph ) than the odd speed/ANPR camera Shropshiremike said:
Thought you might have tried the local "police approved" route Derin
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&ge...
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