All posts filed under: E28

My 1984 BMW e28 533i is For Sale

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For the last five summers I’ve been enjoying the e28 I bought from just outside Portland, Oregon from its long time owner. The previous owner bought the car in July 1987 and kept the car until July 2018. I wrote about the long time owner here. It’s a 1984 533i which was only sold in the US and Japan in small numbers. This 533iA is one of 2,514. This rare model has the 3.2L version of the M30 making it just as fun to drive as the 535iS. The 533i is also lighter than the 535i and 535iS. Alpinweis paint over rich Pacific blue leather interior. One charming feature of early e28’s like this one is that they used horsehair cushioned seats; this gives the cabin a wonderful scent reminiscent of a vintage Porsche. The later model e28’s used foam, so they lack this quality. This car has been a joy to own and has been meticulously kept throughout its life, primarily by the previous owner – who has kept hundreds of service records detailing …

What it’s Like to Own an E28 BMW for 30 Years

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Its July 1987: Full Metal Jacket is playing in movie theaters nationwide and the E24 M6 graces the cover of the July issue of Car and Driver. Gasoline hovers around 0.90 cents per gallon and U2’s Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For hit top of the Billboard Hot 100 music chart. I wasn’t even born yet – until December that year. The Summer of 87 is when the previous owner of my E28 began shopping for and ultimately purchased his 1984 533i from an ad in the local paper. The dealer invoice I have dated July 16, 1987 indicates a sale price of $19,000 which became $21,084.50 after tax and title. He would drive the car for the next 31 years until I bought the car in July 2018. Last week, I sent an email to the previous owner to ask some questions that I had hoped would help me understand more about the car and it’s long time owner. We hadn’t spoken since the pandemic began in 2020, but I knew I wanted …

BMW Intermittent Random Stalling Issue Help

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If your BMW is randomly stalling out, it is dangerous to your safety on the road, and it must be resolved ASAP. Here are some of the common reasons why your BMW might be exhibiting stalling issues. The fuel pump is faulty and needs to be replaced. 2. The crank position sensor is faulty and needs to be replaced. This is common on older classic cars such as the E30, E32, E34 and E36. But it can also present as an issue on modern cars like the E39, E46. 3. One of the most difficult to diagnose stalling issues is when the intake camshaft position sensor is beginning to fail. This part will fail very slowly overtime, and will not always throw a service engine light with stored code. This makes diagnosis next to impossible. This stalling happens in slow speed such as coming to a stop sign or slow drives around a shopping center parking lot, for example. If your BMW is showing these symptoms of intermittent stalling, with no trouble codes present, it …

Liqui Moly MOS2 Anti-Friction Engine Treatment for BMW

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With today’s advances in fuel economy in new BMW models, those of us driving older models will try almost anything to squeeze out a few extra miles per gallon for our daily drivers. Keeping the tires properly inflated, ensuring fresh synthetic oil is flowing through the veins, and rebuilding those vanos units are the tried and true methods for maintaining better fuel economy. 

Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner Review

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Cleaning the wheels on a BMW with OEM brake pads can be a tedious part of your detailing schedule, but it doesn’t have to be. Finding the right wheel cleaner and technique is the best way to cut down on time spent cleaning brake dust out of every nook and curve of those expensive factory wheels. Today I’ll discuss the Sonax Full Effect wheel cleaner and how I found it for cleaning BBS wheels on a BMW. 

BMW Broken Window Regulator Quick Fix

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I’m sure all of us will experience this at some point: you’re going about your life cruising to work in your BMW and you crack your window open for a little bit of fresh air. It makes a horrid clunk sound and you immediately realize that your window isn’t going back up anytime soon. It’s likely that you need a new window regulator; but how do you keep the window up until you can get it fixed? 

Where to Buy BMW Parts

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Shopping online for replacement parts for your BMW has never been easier thanks to this brand’s massive enthusiast following. You can purchase parts at just about any major outlet, with brands ranging anywhere from low end suppliers to the good old German-made brands. Wether you are shopping for your E30 or E46, here are my favorite online vendors to order parts from. 

5 Essential BMW Detailing Products

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Auto detailing has been a hobby of mine for the last 13 years, since purchasing my first car in 2003. That car was a Zinnoberrot E30 sedan, which was a true diamond in the rough. My dad convinced me that the dry, faded looking paint was nothing to be concerned about. “It will come right back with polish”, he said. After discovering how paint polish applied by hand brought the paint back to a rich glossy shine, I was hooked on that process of transformation. 

E30 Odometer Gear Installation

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One of the most common problems with vintage BMW’s is that the plastic gears inside the gauge cluster degrade over time. The delicate plastic gears turn into a soft cheese like material and stop tracking mileage in the odometer. This makes it difficult to tell the true mileage of an old BMW, because often the owner will continue driving the car for years before making a repair.