528e Time Capsule. One owner. All records. No Rust. 5-spd stick. Refurbished.
528e Time Capsule. One owner. All records. No Rust. 5-spd stick. Refurbished.
This 528e was bought new in Santa Barbara, CA in 1983 and lived here all its life. Always garaged, carefully driven and faithfully maintained. Dealer-installed replacement engine has 50K miles. 147K miles on chassis. Owner passed away 10 years ago and car has been in garage storage since. Widow (a neighbor) needed the space in the garage, so I bought it as a resto project. I am a retired engineer and have been wrenching all my life. I have put $1500 in parts and over 110 hours of labor to bring this beautiful BMW fully back to perfect running condition. Engine purrs, 5-speed manual trans shifts as it should. Clutch and brakes are smooth. Suspension and steering are solid. No rust anywhere. Original Safari Beige paint polished up beautifully with Meguiars compound and ceramic wax. Tan leather seats were protected with sheepskins from the beginning, so interior is nearly like new. All mechanical work has just been done including timing belt+tensioner+water pump, engine and heater hoses, drive belts, AC compressor+dryer+R134a conversion – blows cold. New brake pads and flex hoses, trans and diff oil, valve adjust with new cover gasket and rocker seals. Window regulators and sunroof cleaned and lubed. Bumpers stripped and polished; Meguair’s Ceramic Wax coating. And dozens of smaller refurb tasks. Even the cruise control and odometer work!!! Spreadsheet of all tasks available upon request. Starts and idles perfectly. Runs strong and smooth, a true pleasure to drive! Clear California title. Smogged, registered, and insured in CA. From what I’ve seen on B.A.T., it should be worth between $15K -$20K (US). I’ll start at $15K. CA$H or PAYPAL ONLY. Will not ship – come and get it and drive it anywhere. See photos on Facebook BMW E28 Group. General Altimax tires are in good condition, no cracks, BUT timed out. If you meet my price, I'll include new tires with the car - your choice of brand. 195-70R14. Mobile 805-637-5723 (CA) Dropbox link to photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5hez4713z2dp ... MOqHa?dl=0
Re: 528e Time Capsule. One owner. All records. No Rust. 5-spd stick. Refurbished.
Why the engine replacement at 100k? Clean looking car
Re: 528e Time Capsule. One owner. All records. No Rust. 5-spd stick. Refurbished.
According to dealer records, one cylinder was fouling the sparkplug. Cylinder was measured to be low on compression and rapid leakdown (broken ring?). Engine replaced.
Re: 528e Time Capsule. One owner. All records. No Rust. 5-spd stick. Refurbished.
This beautiful car is still available. Make me a reasonable offer. I"m not in a huge rush to sell - no low-ballers please.
-Eric
-Eric
Re: 528e Time Capsule. One owner. All records. No Rust. 5-spd stick. Refurbished.
Very nice! That interior looks like a nice place to spend time. No dash cracks?? I’m just down the road in Camarillo and if my garage wasn’t overfilled I’d be interested. It’s always nice to find an obviously loved, well preserved, and original car like this.
Re: 528e Time Capsule. One owner. All records. No Rust. 5-spd stick. Refurbished.
Congrats! I hope it went to a good home. Is it staying in CA?
Re: 528e Time Capsule. One owner. All records. No Rust. 5-spd stick. Refurbished.
Imma guess we'll never hear from him again. And Imma guess he didn't get anywhere near his price because there were some weird things very wrong with this car.
Re: 528e Time Capsule. One owner. All records. No Rust. 5-spd stick. Refurbished.
could you explain what you see that's off? just curious
Re: 528e Time Capsule. One owner. All records. No Rust. 5-spd stick. Refurbished.
I’m curious too. The ask may have been a little high but the car seemed pretty legit.
Re: 528e Time Capsule. One owner. All records. No Rust. 5-spd stick. Refurbished.
"some weird things very wrong"? I'm curious to know what you saw. Only things that struck me as weird were
1. Some of the interior colors (armrests contrasting with door cards, rare brown center console/glovebox etc... but it's a 1983 model, in a color I have never seen on an E28. I would have liked to see more photos of the underside, and of the motor bits.
2. Engine bay seems impeccable, orange "use only original parts" sticker is not crinkled, intake manifold/valve cover are not yellowed, BUT! single-piece hood liner is not present...
3. The very early motor swap? Not sure how common is it that the owner of an (early) M20B27 is presented with the opportunity to get a new motor early on... AND THEY STICK WITH AN (early) M20B27. The story sounds almost too wholesome to be believed, but at the same time it's so strange it must be true.
what else?
Re: 528e Time Capsule. One owner. All records. No Rust. 5-spd stick. Refurbished.
Sorry for the delay. Admittedly, I compare every "time capsule" I hear about with my time capsule.
When I think time capsule, I recall the definition of a time capsule... something preserved and untouched over the years. NOT something "refurbished". The word "refurbish" negates the term "time capsule"...
To whit... so much of this car has been messed with, it's hard to know what to believe. That interior has nothing that matches. I suspect the dash is a replacement as well. No big deal, you say? Well, there are a bunch of wires and connections that have to be messed with to replace a dashboard, that cannot be a time capsule. Again, when I think time capsule, I'm thinking connections that have not been touched in nearly 40 years.
None of the photos show what's going on with the paint. Admittedly, that is a difficult color to photograph. Unless my computer screen is really crappy, I wonder if I'm seeing all kinds of oxidation on the roof... and from the photos, it's difficult to see where else there is oxidation. This car needs a color correction badly... I would have had to physically SEE the car to know whether it was repainted in part or in whole. If that is the case, a painted car cannot be considered a time capsule unless it was a full metal restoration, which a 1984 528e would never justify.
In my case, I have the window sticker and service records going back to December 1987 when my car was purchased and put into service. One can tell precisely what was touched in the past 35 years. On the other hand, this car is a big question mark. Nice car, but a mystery.
That said, it does present well -- the driving videos are good -- and a new, clean, engine is nice. Of course, a California car is always nice because there is no rust. I wouldn't touch an E28 without ABS (i.e. 1986 or later has it) but that's just me... I finally learned how to threshold brake my old 83 528e at Mont Tremblant 30 years ago but still prefer ABS.
Hope the seller got a good price for it... it's all a mystery...
When I think time capsule, I recall the definition of a time capsule... something preserved and untouched over the years. NOT something "refurbished". The word "refurbish" negates the term "time capsule"...
To whit... so much of this car has been messed with, it's hard to know what to believe. That interior has nothing that matches. I suspect the dash is a replacement as well. No big deal, you say? Well, there are a bunch of wires and connections that have to be messed with to replace a dashboard, that cannot be a time capsule. Again, when I think time capsule, I'm thinking connections that have not been touched in nearly 40 years.
None of the photos show what's going on with the paint. Admittedly, that is a difficult color to photograph. Unless my computer screen is really crappy, I wonder if I'm seeing all kinds of oxidation on the roof... and from the photos, it's difficult to see where else there is oxidation. This car needs a color correction badly... I would have had to physically SEE the car to know whether it was repainted in part or in whole. If that is the case, a painted car cannot be considered a time capsule unless it was a full metal restoration, which a 1984 528e would never justify.
In my case, I have the window sticker and service records going back to December 1987 when my car was purchased and put into service. One can tell precisely what was touched in the past 35 years. On the other hand, this car is a big question mark. Nice car, but a mystery.
That said, it does present well -- the driving videos are good -- and a new, clean, engine is nice. Of course, a California car is always nice because there is no rust. I wouldn't touch an E28 without ABS (i.e. 1986 or later has it) but that's just me... I finally learned how to threshold brake my old 83 528e at Mont Tremblant 30 years ago but still prefer ABS.
Hope the seller got a good price for it... it's all a mystery...