Out of The Shadows - ‘88 535is

[olim]

Well it appears the time has come, not entirely sure why I’ve decided as to now but bear with me lol. 

My name is Milo and I reside in good ol’ TX, I am the proud/unfortunate owner of this ‘88 535is, I bought it a couple years ago with the full intent to deep dive into it, well life happen and now I’m in a constant debate of should it stay or should it go. As I’m sure many of you can relate, once I go for a drive the thoughts of selling seem to disappear. However enough of that, not even sure if this is a thing anymore as it seems forums are slowing coming to a demise. 

The car:
1988 535is 
Alpine White over Llama.? 
362xxx miles.

If I remember correctly CARFAX states the car lived mostly in CA but not too sure.

Anywho, hello all, happy to be a part of the community.


 

 

[Roberto]

Hey Milo,
That looks great with those wheels. If you can enjoy it the way it is and have room to store it in between, just keep on driving it! That's what I would do. If it means that much to you. I've sold cars due to pressure and seem to always regret it. Sometimes holding on isn't as hard as it seems. You can always put things on the back burner. That being said what stuff were you looking at improving. Looks like its in great condition? I've been getting the vibe that things are a little slow around here but personally I like the forums much better than the facebook groups, which seem to have a lot of activity, because the facebook groups are not an archive of knowledge and there are not as many thoughtful responses. The forums will always be the place to go for extensive info and the best advice, in my opinion. Welcome to the forum!

Btw, I just went to see a car almost the same spec as yours that was sitting for about 6 months, the owner had to move and left it behind. I was so close to buying it but someone else could pick it up sooner and the owner wanted it sold ASAP. Ive been wondering if someone on the forum picked it up. It needed a new alternator. White 535is, with manual black sport seats and a roof rack. Mostly a CA / Oregon car but was parked in Germantown PA! A unicorn that needed a lot of clean up but no rust. Someone got a heck of a deal!!

[olim]

Hey Milo,
That looks great with those wheels. If you can enjoy it the way it is and have room to store it in between, just keep on driving it! That's what I would do. If it means that much to you. I've sold cars due to pressure and seem to always regret it. Sometimes holding on isn't as hard as it seems. You can always put things on the back burner. That being said what stuff were you looking at improving. Looks like its in great condition? I've been getting the vibe that things are a little slow around here but personally I like the forums much better than the facebook groups, which seem to have a lot of activity, because the facebook groups are not an archive of knowledge and there are not as many thoughtful responses. The forums will always be the place to go for extensive info and the best advice, in my opinion. Welcome to the forum!

Btw, I just went to see a car almost the same spec as yours that was sitting for about 6 months, the owner had to move and left it behind. I was so close to buying it but someone else could pick it up sooner and the owner wanted it sold ASAP. Ive been wondering if someone on the forum picked it up. It needed a new alternator. White 535is, with manual black sport seats and a roof rack. Mostly a CA / Oregon car but was parked in Germantown PA! A unicorn that needed a lot of clean up but no rust. Someone got a heck of a deal!!

Roberto,

Thats exactly the plan at least at this current moment. I wouldn’t necessarily say something major is wrong with the car. If anything it’s the little things it does need that just keep piling up that becomes overwhelming sometimes. Thanks for the compliment lol, car is definitely like a 10 footer. Has some rust spots but nothing that has scared me away fully, yet. I love forums, most of what I’ve learned about cars has been because of forums. I find Facebook groups to be somewhat over saturated with bashing and competition, neither of which interest me. 

That sounds like a great spec, sad to hear you couldn’t snag it. I bought mine from a lady about a hour or so away from town whose husband had passed and she could keep up with all his things any longer.

[stuartinmn]

As I’m sure many of you can relate, once I go for a drive the thoughts of selling seem to disappear. 

Quoted for truth.    If you enjoy the car that's really all that matters.  From the photo it looks like it's still in pretty good shape, you don't have to try to make it perfect.  

[olim]

As I’m sure many of you can relate, once I go for a drive the thoughts of selling seem to disappear. 

Quoted for truth.    If you enjoy the car that's really all that matters.  From the photo it looks like it's still in pretty good shape, you don't have to try to make it perfect.  

Absolutely the mindset I’m trying to have with this one.

[stuartinmn]

Another thing, besides the personal enjoyment of driving one of these cars - virtually every day I get a thumbs up or someone stops me in a parking lot to say "Cool car!"  Something that wouldn't happen if I had a modern grey boringmobile.  

[Blue Shadow]

Fire up a thread about your ride with a list of all the issues. We could probably solve a third of them in short order. Sooner rather than later as parts are getting harder to find in some cases. 

[steve52sbd]

"Once I go for a drive the thoughts of selling seem to disappear."

I could not agree with you more, Milo. I've had my car listed for almost two months and have had very little interest. I had one potential buyer request different photos, videos, etc., and every time I sent him something I wondered what I was thinking. All it would take is one drive for the doubt to set back in. My car is a ten footer as well, but when I'm behind the wheel it doesn't seem to matter. Besides, I don't think I could replace it for what I gave for it seven years ago. 

Your car looks great from the photo. If I could go back in time and buy another one, I'd have hunted down an Alpine white one. It just looks right on a classic BMW. Drive your car. Enjoy it. Fix the little things as you go. Thanks for articulating the exact thoughts I've been having over the last several weeks.

[olim]

"Once I go for a drive the thoughts of selling seem to disappear."

I could not agree with you more, Milo. I've had my car listed for almost two months and have had very little interest. I had one potential buyer request different photos, videos, etc., and every time I sent him something I wondered what I was thinking. All it would take is one drive for the doubt to set back in. My car is a ten footer as well, but when I'm behind the wheel it doesn't seem to matter. Besides, I don't think I could replace it for what I gave for it seven years ago. 

Your car looks great from the photo. If I could go back in time and buy another one, I'd have hunted down an Alpine white one. It just looks right on a classic BMW. Drive your car. Enjoy it. Fix the little things as you go. Thanks for articulating the exact thoughts I've been having over the last several weeks.

Yeah I kind of knew plenty would understand the sentiments. Add that to the fact that just the thought of going through the selling process gives me a headache haha. 

I’ve been daily driving it for the last month and I love it, need to fix the AC asap though because I can only withstand the heat for so long.