'88 5-spd 735 for sale (maybe) (archive)

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Very nice body / nice (re)paint, very clean (no rust) undercarriage, near perfect interior including exceptionally nice leather / wood.

New or recent: complete BMW R-134 kit (still needs to be charged-will do before selling). New high pressure line and expansion valve, front upper and lower control arms, Rotex brakes (f), Ansa muffler, p/s pump (rebuilt), belts, oil pressure switch, Bridgestone Turanzas, shift boot (internal), fog lamp bulbs, wiper inserts, antifreeze, brake flush, air filter, etc, etc. My price assumes that the following work will be completed shortly: Tie rod assemblies, alignment, trans output / shift select seals, guibo, shifter rebuild.

The previous owner replaced many other things, including the engine gaskets, brake bomb, clutch, battery, light relay, etc, etc. I'm told that the struts are repacements, too.

Car includes a spare set of alloys (for winter tires, etc.), a couple other spare items (rebuilt water pump, belt, etc).

I've been picky about this car. Only synthetic fluids used(engine, trans, diff), etc. None of the above parts needed to be replaced for state inspection (save the muffler) - it passed the last two years without any problems - I've done it because I wanted the car to be right. I have a service history for the past 5-years (I've owned it for 1-1/2). Like all older e-32's, there are a few jobs needed to be perfect - passenger seat up/down cable needs shortened, HVAC temp. sensor needs cleaning (so I'm told - the system basically works correctly, but temp. is incorrect), there's a faint anti-freeze smell when heat is first turned on, but it goes away after a couple minutes (this is often the y-pipe/heater core o-rings - a relatively easy job - have e-link to illustrated, simplified procedure) - the smell is no worse this year than last, so it's probably not a deteriorating heater core. Capacitor repair probably should be done (some German readouts on occasion)- I have the parts / instructions on hand.

I can't afford to sell it at a bargain-basement price. Last I checked, the avg. retail was $8,300 - and if I take much less than that, I'll be losing a bundle. If you want to buy one for $5,500 (and you can), I think you'll be getting what you pay for, from what I've seen - as you probably know, many people own these merely for status and run them into the ground, with mismatched tires, broken sunroofs, loose suspensions, and oil changes only when the service indicator recommends it (which is way too long). This one's apparently had three owners, all engineers. There's a lot less to be done on mine than on many you'll find - the overall condition is such that people frequently tell me they imagined it to be a two or three year old car - and 5-speeds are especially rare and wonderful to drive. A friend of mine has been a BMW tech in the Atlanta area for a number of years, and was favorably impressed with the car, both in his on-the-lift inspection and in its driving qualities. He also said that his boss was selling one (an automatic) for $8,000-$8,500 which wasn't nearly as nice. If you want to buy mine "as is" (before completion of aforementioned work), I will negotiate.

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