The story begins with me wanting a "red" E28 some 10 or 12 years ago. I wanted something to stuff my family in and drive to any car show. I was super close to buying two during that time, but for whatever reason, I either balked or the deal fell through. I definitely wanted an IS. (I mean....I'd take an M5, but I kinda have a thing for red BMWs.)
Bottom line is, we found this one and I was in love. I almost balked at this one as well as the CarFax listed accidents.
My heart sank. I talked to my wife about it. We prayed about it. We talked to my inner circle about it and ultimately came to the conclusion that if the car was put back to factory specs, how would you even know the car was in an accident?
This was a critical shift in my thought process.
There I was, on Southwest airlines...
I had a flying, buying, and driving mindset.
Met my guy. Super nice. Super forthcoming with as much info as he had. He was an engineer and I liked him. I couldn't ask for a better person to purchase a car from.
My buddy Dan always told me. You shop the "seller" first, then consider buying the car. I did just that and it worked out flawlessly.
Pics from my travels home:
First stop: Get keys made.
Bonus was this kitty observing me and the E28
Second stop: Harbor Freight Tools for an emergency road bag.
Off I went...
The car ran decently. The A/C only worked in the "high fan" position, but I was thankful not to burst into a ball of flames coming through central to east Texas.
Stopping in Arkansas for the night.
The biggest issue I had was a "hard start" problem. I could drive somewhere and stop for 3 minutes and the car would fire right back up. If I stopped for 10 minutes, it would take forever for it to start up. It would just turn over and turn over and....nothing. I called the PO and he hadn't had that same problem. My pucker factor went up significantly, but I pushed on...
I saw some craziness on the trip back home!
I tried to keep it together, but between having to take work calls, and troubleshooting this "hard start", I was tiring out....FAST!
She made it! I finally made it home and let me tell you...it was a huge relief!
I must have slept for 18 hours after the trip.
The bottom line is, we ended up with a 5 series that I can fit my family in! #PARTYOF5
Now the real work begins...