This was my car 20 years ago:
Bought her in Tucson while attending UA with 75,000 miles and ended up driving her for the next 5 years all over the country until I finally sold her with almost 200k miles on the clock. Great car!
Fast forward to 2018... After living in WNC for almost a year, I decided to pick up an e30 convertible for fun drives on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Found one in Yuma, AZ and arranged for it to be shipped back east. I had truly forgotten what fun these 80's BMW were!
These days, I work from home and travel out of state from time to time when I am not working at home, so my need for a commuting car is no longer a necessity. I finally decided to get off the train of upgrading to a new car every 2-3 years. The lease is up on my current car early next year and I would find an older BMW as my 'new daily driver'.
That's when I remembered finding an older 535is during my search for the e30 convertible. It was a 2 owner Arizona car that looked unmolested and rust free. I knew they were somewhat hard to come by and that piqued my interest enough to message the seller. It had been over 8 months since I had, for pure curiousity, inquired about the car. Did he still have it? I messaged him and sure enough, he kept it and was not actively trying to sell it. After a week of slow messaging and some photos, I made my offer. He countered once and so did I. The deal was struck and I would be the new owner, sight unseen!
I arranged a transport and she was on her way to the mountains!
Before she arrived, I knew I had my work cut out for me. She was in need of a deep cleaning and several cosmetic and mechanical refreshments! The 3 mile drive from the parking lot to my house I discovered a leaking fuel injector, a broken seat, and suspension that rode worse than my old Jeep before I restored it 10 years ago! See ancient thread if interested: (https://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/boom ... t-1085653/)
But it was mine and I was ready for the work in store....
Within the first hours of ownership, I had the interior out. The carpet was shot from a past clutch cylinder failure and the dash had more than enough of the Arizona sun!
Sourced a good dash and some better wheels BEFORE the car was delivered:
32 year old paint cleaned up nicely and with new shoes, the car is beginning to take a pleasing shape!
Under the hood, it was time to begin baselining... New ignition parts, new exhaust, change the fluids, belts, hoses and still much more to do.
Getting there for sure, but more to come!
As for the title of my thread? During my search on this forum, I discovered that ironically this car was almost purchased by a fella who also lives in WNC. He had a PPI done in AZ that came back with over 2k of work to be done and seller wouldn't budge on his original price, so he decided it wasn't for him. I sent him a PM to chat, but the only thing I got from him regarding the car was "No bueno". I guess one man's trash is another man's treasure, eh? I'll take my chances!
I've been a member of mye28.com for over a month now and I must say this is a great group of enthusiasts! Very helpful and welcoming. I hope I can reciprocate and pay it forward. -Richie
