When I got my '87 535i, I had a ten hour drive to get it home, and I brought a lot of tapes for the trip. The only way the OEM POS tape deck would work was if I held the tape down with my finger while driving. As soon as I got home I put a Clarion tape deck and a Sony 10 CD changer in. My step-father's '88 528e does the same thing as mine, but he has yet to replace it. I'd go with the new deck. Good luck and happy holidays!