Significant odometer reading

[cddallara]

[KillerPM]

Now this is a 5-Series...

HAHA..

Thats off the wall man...

Well done.

[leadphut]

[Brian in TN]

Matt and I met . He was driving a rental so I didn't get to see any of his E28 stable – just his snazzy rented Prius.

Wait. WAT?!

[Brian in TN]

I like the all 5's pic. Nice going Ron!

[geordi]

I hope this photo made it into the 2014 calendar!

[a]

Good job, Ron. I assume the floor is holey , How are the door sills ? Nice job with using a soup can to fix gas pedal BTW. .

555555 wow. The engine has never been re-done, just a head gasket. If I remember rightly.

Great picture of you and the 535i,

[RonW]

Is anyone surprised?

[wkohler]

Your odometer keeps me entertained. Haha.

[Mike W.]

Now this is a 5-Series...

[tig]

That's awesome.

[bobby in Derby City]

[BRRV]

Ron, I'm very impressed. A half million miles gives me confidence that I'll be driving mine well into retirement. Any tips/hints/advice you can give on what happens between a quarter million and a half a million, maintenance-wise? Congrats, in any event. -Rick

[RonW]

Any tips/hints/advice you can give on what happens between a quarter million and a half a million, maintenance-wise?

300,000: Fuel pump died.
400,000: Head gasket blew, leaking coolant all over, but I could keep driving if I didn't mind topping it off every 100 miles. Also, the battery pan failed and I had a new one put in. The part was cheap, the installation not cheap.
500,000: Floor pan is now rusted out. Still haven't fixed it. Carpet is worn through and I can see the road through the floor. I figure in another year I'll be able to put my foot through it if I don't do anything. The accelerator pedal fell through the floor last Christmas, so I cut up a tin can and fit it in there last year. So far so good. The windshield was replaced, but the window frame is rusty enough that I might not be able to replace it again.
>500,000: Strut housings – got cheap replacements from a board member. Windshield wiper linkage – had it welded, but got cheap replacement from a board member just in case. The license plate lights still work for some reason, but looking at them I'm not sure how that's possible. The sunroof panel rusted through.

[Justin_FL]

How many miles did the car have in 2003 at 5erfest? Are the deer whistles still on it?

[RonW]

How many miles did the car have in 2003 at 5erfest?

About 250,000.

Are the deer whistles still on it?

No.They came off one winter when I was scraping snow off the car. I know they were still there in April 2008 – here's proof:

[tschultz]

Curious of current mileage... is this beast still running?

[RonW]

Curious of current mileage... is this beast still running?

Funny you should ask. The inspection expired today. The undercarriage is shot, so I didn't bother getting it reinspected. Two days ago I took a ceremonial final drive to my favorite restaurant and had a nice chicken dinner, leaving the car with 585,677 miles after 30 years. Frankly, it's just plain used up.

I have a 500' driveway and a couple of acres of woods, so I guess I can still take it for a spin once in while without venturing onto public roads. But my plan is for it to be a diagnostic reference platform and parts source for the 535is.

[leadphut]

love it!

[Mike W.]

Curious of current mileage... is this beast still running?

Funny you should ask. The inspection expired today. The undercarriage is shot, so I didn't bother getting it reinspected. Two days ago I took a ceremonial final drive to my favorite restaurant and had a nice chicken dinner, leaving the car with 585,677 miles after 30 years. Frankly, it's just plain used up.

I have a 500' driveway and a couple of acres of woods, so I guess I can still take it for a spin once in while without venturing onto public roads. But my plan is for it to be a diagnostic reference platform and parts source for the 535is.

Wow. Even more impressive is if you'd been west coast it would still be going strong I suspect. My first E12 ended up dead in a Chinese restaurant parking lot with 385K and my E28 last passed smog 4 1/2 years, suggesting it went 5 to 6 years after I sold it with 330K, so 400 would not be out of the question, but distinctly humble next to almost 600K. A tip of the hat Ron!

[duggi]

Curious of current mileage... is this beast still running?

Funny you should ask. The inspection expired today. The undercarriage is shot, so I didn't bother getting it reinspected. Two days ago I took a ceremonial final drive to my favorite restaurant and had a nice chicken dinner, leaving the car with 585,677 miles after 30 years. Frankly, it's just plain used up.

I have a 500' driveway and a couple of acres of woods, so I guess I can still take it for a spin once in while without venturing onto public roads. But my plan is for it to be a diagnostic reference platform and parts source for the 535is.

Any chance you can share some photos of the car as it looked both new and at retirement?

[leadphut]

the car needs a proper send off, like a viking funeral

[SPF2006]

Curious of current mileage... is this beast still running?

Funny you should ask. The inspection expired today. The undercarriage is shot, so I didn't bother getting it reinspected. Two days ago I took a ceremonial final drive to my favorite restaurant and had a nice chicken dinner, leaving the car with 585,677 miles after 30 years. Frankly, it's just plain used up.

I have a 500' driveway and a couple of acres of woods, so I guess I can still take it for a spin once in while without venturing onto public roads. But my plan is for it to be a diagnostic reference platform and parts source for the 535is.

Phenomenal. A well-deserved award or some kind of memorial is in order.

[Nesset]

I need to work on mine, Only 187 and change. That's dealership miles!

[leadphut]

Curious of current mileage... is this beast still running?

Funny you should ask. The inspection expired today. The undercarriage is shot, so I didn't bother getting it reinspected. Two days ago I took a ceremonial final drive to my favorite restaurant and had a nice chicken dinner, leaving the car with 585,677 miles after 30 years. Frankly, it's just plain used up.

I have a 500' driveway and a couple of acres of woods, so I guess I can still take it for a spin once in while without venturing onto public roads. But my plan is for it to be a diagnostic reference platform and parts source for the 535is.

Phenomenal. A well-deserved award or some kind of memorial is in order.

like a viking funeral

[oldskool]

A Viking funeral?! I was thinking the exact same thing!