I've Entered A Grey Area - My 1985 BMW 745i

"offroadkarter" (04RauderDTR) 01/12/2014 at 07:46 • Filed to: bmw, e23, 745i, project mafia sentinel, NPOCP

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"What country is this car from?" - Homer Simpson

"It no longer exists. But take her for a test drive, and you'll agree -'Zagrevev min zlotny dev!" -Crazy Vaclav

Earlier today ( around 2am) I got back from Maryland, and returned triumphant (if you can call it that) with my new to me 29 year old BMW. Before I tell you how I "Put it in H!" and bought the car, lets rewind the story.

In the fall of 2012, my friend Steve drove up to PA to pick up this.. well it wasn't really a car as much as a biohazard at this point in time. You see, the car, who was owned by a group we'll refer to as "The German Brothers", was sitting out side with the front windshield caved in for over 6 years. This car was an absolute pile of shit. Actually no, that'd be insulting shits everywhere.

The car wasn't even fully assembled, they took it apart and gave up on it, so it just sat and sat and sat.

The suit wasn't a joke (okay maybe it kind of was but not really) , this should tell you that I wasn't kidding.

The German brothers fired up one of their old mercedes benz's and dragged the 745i from its slumber.

And up on the trailer it goes!

So my friend managed to drag the e23 + a 80gal air compressor from PA to southern MD all with his C1500 Chevy truck. The 4L60E was not happy I'm sure

He got to work cleaning the interior, this was 1 of 100 cleanings it'd receive. It'd eventually go from "natures cleansing" all the way to industrial strength hospital body fluid cleaners. No I'm not kidding, shit wasn't cheap either.

The car didn't really have enough parts to put the front back together, and euro spec parts are not easy to get

PGW windshield installed

735i US spec front end

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Overall it was in good shape but the front pump seal going bad is what lead him to refreshing it. The rear end also had to be reinstalled and the HVAC system was revamped so it actually worked.

Then came the first set of wheels so the stupid 14" wheels would be gone. The wheels everyone everywhere hated... The 18" antera 123's

In nov of 2012 I saw the car for the first time. A friend and I took his crown vic sport (I've posted about this car in the past also) down to Steve's house to have a set of 18" wheels and tires mounted/balanced. That turned into a whole rebuild-fest that can be saved for another story time. But during that weekend I was thrown the keys to the BMW with two explicit instructions.

1. It smells inside, drive with the windows down as the blower motor doesn't work

2. Don't crash

Here it is at my grandmothers house one morning

(I dubbed it the Mafia Sentinel Here)

It really did smell awful, but it drove awesome and it was different from anything I'd ever driven at that point. I really did enjoy borrowing it for that weekend.

Time goes by, my friend wants to try and sell the car. I submitted his CL ad to Graverobber and 2 days later to our shock, the car ends up on the front page. I guess its an internet celeb-retard now?

NPOCP BMW Link

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The car didn't sell, the market on euro import cars that nobody has ever heard of isn't really strong, especially down in southern maryland. He did have a BMW collector show up in a beautiful M6 and drive the car. The guy loved how the car drove but he said body wise it was to much for him, so he passed. Oh well.

Later on, I was down there to watch the madness unfold that was the valve adjustment. The valves were so out of spec that it sounded like a sewing machine going down the road.

Once we started it up, it ran like shit. Defeated that day, it was left alone for a short while. It was discovered later that while moving plugs around to access things, we bumped the coolant temp sensor (this EFI is primitive and thats a very vital sensor) which put it into a cold-rich loop and would flood the engine. The plug was shot, and instead of terminals, the German Brothers put ALUMINUM FOIL, yes you read that right, ALUMINUM FOIL in place of the connectors so it'd actually work. Once that plug was replaced, the car fired up and ran perfect.

Later down the road, he got tired of the anteras and picked up a set of staggered style 118's off a later 6 series. Oddly enough in pictures I don't really like them but in person I don't really mind them. I'm going to try and find a set of style 37's though as he wants these back so they can sit in his basement next to all his SBC parts doing nothing.

After MONTHS of nagging, he finally put in the effort to find a set of euro spec headlights. He ended up buying 2 sets and piecing them together, as I said before its not easy to find a good set of euro lights.

In october, I went down to MIR with a friend from HS in my supercharged marauder to hit up the track for some testing before my forum's track meet that was in November. Once again I was thrown the keys to the BMW, except the "smell" part of the instructions were replaced by "watch the temp gauge". We were taking it on a 3 hour round trip that saturday, the furthest it had ever been at that point.

Sat 8am, we hit up starbucks then hit the road for !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

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Even with traffic, it made the trip with zero issues. My friend, who also initially thought this car was a piece of shit, loved it by the time we got back and didn't want to give up the key.

Sunday was track day, and the BMW came along with my marauder and my friends marauder. The BMW ended up with a best of 15.7 @ 93mph, which according to the e23 community is the fastest known recent pass to date. The only other stock e23 745i anyone knows of running the 1/4 mile, ran a 16.4. I guess you could say this car is running as well as it did in 1985. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

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The last time I was down in Maryland, the Momo Veloce steering wheel I had in my room for ages found its way into the BMW. I knew I'd find a use for this thing one day, I just didn't expect this.

Well after the track day, the steering link broke, so the car was parked until I bought it and picked it up this weekend. It even had the track numbers on the windows still. It fired up as usual, no drama. The car was revamped with Bilstein HD struts, new tie rods, and a new steering link. The car steers with zero play, and the ride is as, not to sound cliche, but "grounded to the ground" as I've ever felt. It rides excellent, very happy with these struts. I really wish bilstein made a set of my marauder, but they only make shocks for old cars that people generally wouldn't spend the money on in the first place.

Front

Rear (yes those 735 coils are crusty, I'll deal with that later)

So this brings us to Saturday. The car was finished up and aligned while I was there. (Fun fact, e23's only have 1 adjustment on the entire car... toe... The rear is 100% fixed, and the front is toe only.)

Working on it at the house. We mounted the original horns back (had none working before). I am very glad to have working horns, since they are used often in NJ!

We had no idea how they actually went, but my friend found out that its one horn per side. So we found the stock wiring, I fitted some quick brackets out of scrap steel, and the end result

The end result is I can tell people to go fuck themselves with 2 different notes!

Alignment time!

Eventually came time to gas up and hit the road. The gas gauge is broken but thank god the "range" function on the OBC works!

I guess my friend and I now both have German cars, although mine is authentic west German, his is built in Mexico.

At some angles I like the 118's, this is one of those angles

The drive back went great. The car rides excellent and I pulled about 22mpg with plenty of time in boost.

If you can't handle theoretical "illegal shenanigans" I suggest you skip the italicized part, I don't want to hear any crap in the comments

When we hit south jersey my friend lined his jetta (2.5 I5 6spd auto) up and we went from a 50 roll. I was in 2nd gear and brake boosting (I can't believe that works on this car, but it does, woo 6psi). By the time I let off at 100 I had a solid 3 to 3 1/2 cars on him and was already on the decel when he told me he hit 100. We both knew that'd happen but I didn't know by how much. I think off the line he'd get me for sure since that I5 is pretty torquey down low, and the BMW has massive turbo lag and doesn't go anywhere. But keep it in the powerband and this thing moves out damn well for its age. It was factory rated with a 150mph top speed, where the N/A cars were 120mph.

After 4 1/2 hours I finally made it back to jersey. I'll post some updates as I work on it a bit, first order of business is replacing the shot blaupunkt and washing it.

Hope this was a decent read, if you made it this far, give yourself a pat on the back.

Edit 9:30am - Here is a teaser shot, I just gave it a quick wash. I'll have more later today

AndersSim - V10'ING > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 07:59

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Good read, and good to know some still appreciates some old bavarian steel

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 08:14

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That's awesome. This thing is gorgeous.

Sn210 > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 08:32

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Congrats on the new buy! I kinda like the 118's

DollaMoneyAve > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 08:45

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The 118's are perfect on that car.

offroadkarter > DollaMoneyAve 01/12/2014 at 09:06

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most people in the e23 world think they are to big. They are way better than the anteras tho

offroadkarter > Sn210 01/12/2014 at 09:07

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I can't keep them anyways, my friend wants them back lol

They are some heavy ass wheels, if I end up with forged style 37's it will probably shave 60+lbs off in unsprung weight

offroadkarter > Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur 01/12/2014 at 09:08

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Hah I wouldn't say gorgeous, maybe with a black paint job and zero dents it would be

Thanks!

offroadkarter > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/12/2014 at 09:09

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I guess I'm just drawn to unique cars, around 1000 of these were imported back in the 80's and I bet less than half are on the road today. This one made a comeback though.

AndersSim - V10'ING > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 09:15

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The time you and your friends put into this project was worth it, amazing story.

offroadkarter > AndersSim - V10'ING 01/12/2014 at 09:20

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My friend Steve is the one who did 99.9% of the work, I'm just taking it from here on out.

The German brothers at least somewhat kept up on maintenance before it was parked, even if the body did go to hell. The head gasket started leaking so they pulled the head and had a 3 angle valve job done, the turbo was rebuilt, all of the engine parts were blasted and cleaned, I mean the engine runs fantastic and the transmission shifts great. Mechanically this car is totally solid, its just to bad the body is how it is. If this car was worth significantly more I'd take care of all of that and repaint the entire car but instead I'm going to replace the fender and make the front match the back just so it looks good. It'll never be a show car, but it'll look good at car shows.

DollaMoneyAve > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 09:21

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Fuck what the e23 world says. They look great on your car. Older German cars with late model rims have always been a tasteful way to improve the appearance and performance without looking like something out of F&F.

offroadkarter > DollaMoneyAve 01/12/2014 at 09:23

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This is what I want to get, I personally think the style 37's are the nicest wheel BMW ever made to date. Its now an excuse to get a set, even if they are worth like 1/3rd the value of the car

DollaMoneyAve > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 09:42

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Agreed, those are absolutely beautiful, that would look very tasteful on your car

Sn210 > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 10:32

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Wow that should make a difference! I love the style 37's. Can't go wrong with Style 5's!

JGrabowMSt > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 10:58

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Where are you, and can I take pictures of it?

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 11:35

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What's this dealy on the A pillar?

signintokinjalol > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 12:09

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The wheels need to be an inch smaller, then perfect.

Nice car though.

Vracktal > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 12:12

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I like the 118's, you need a licence plate panel to cover the mounting at the front though, it ruins the bumper lines. I think they can be gotten on eBay.

offroadkarter > Vracktal 01/12/2014 at 15:44

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that doesn't exist, I'm going to put a BMW euro manuf plate up front

offroadkarter > The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 01/12/2014 at 15:45

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I think its a water channel

offroadkarter > Sn210 01/12/2014 at 15:46

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A lot of people use the style 5's on the older cars actually, on 5's 6's and 7's.

MooseKnuckles > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 21:14

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Those brothers make me think they were the German equivalent of a pikey

AM3R > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 21:41

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NoVa resident here... Why did I not see this on CL

offroadkarter > AM3R 01/12/2014 at 21:44

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beats me, it was even on the front page!

AM3R > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 21:46

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How much was the asking price? I had the intent to buy an E36 last month and ended up almost buying an E38 haha. I would've loved to see this

offroadkarter > AM3R 01/12/2014 at 21:48

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$3750 at the time

AM3R > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 21:49

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Well damn.. I probably would've ended up offering $3000 and taking it home without even seeing it in person hahah

thedevilinside > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 21:52

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Both look great, but I really like the 118's.

offroadkarter > AM3R 01/12/2014 at 21:53

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Thats probably true considering I paid less and took it home in a much improved state

AM3R > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 21:54

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Well congrats! Hope it treats you well! Maybe one day you can make the trip down to Katie's for C&C.

offroadkarter > AM3R 01/12/2014 at 21:56

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If I'm in the right place at the right time I wouldn't be objected to it. More likely than not I'd show up in the marauder unless the bmw is back at my friends house getting twerked on for something.

AM3R > offroadkarter 01/12/2014 at 22:02

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Cool! I saw a Marauder at Katie's once or twice over the summer. I'm assuming it wasn't you because it was driven by an elderly women

offroadkarter > AM3R 01/12/2014 at 22:08

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hold on

*runs to mirror*

no I'm still not elderly, or a woman. Can't say it was me then...

TotallyThatStupid > offroadkarter 01/21/2014 at 22:43

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Really nice car. Glad it's back from the dead.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > offroadkarter 01/22/2014 at 09:06

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That is a fine look'n machine you have there. It looks dam good for it's age.

Built BMW Tough > offroadkarter 01/23/2014 at 12:02

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I love that car...you, my friend, need some style 175s.

theuserformerlyknownasaluminumfoil > offroadkarter 02/05/2014 at 08:08

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What a fantastic read! I commend you on the significant effort on this fine German automobile!!

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > offroadkarter 02/17/2014 at 11:49

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15.7 is a great time for a mid '80's anything with stock power.

Is it bad that I actually kinda like the Anteras???

ThinIce-Koe > offroadkarter 02/17/2014 at 13:10

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I see the right rear light of the 928, and I've read enough stories to know that keeping that car around means you are either(or both) a)damn good with tools and know your 928 b)Effin rich and have tons of money to burn. Hail to you!

offroadkarter > ThinIce-Koe 02/17/2014 at 13:20

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thats my friends 86.5 928S, that car is an absolute money pit. He is both A and B of which you described.

ThinIce-Koe > offroadkarter 02/17/2014 at 13:52

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Haha. How does that car drive though? I've never tried finding one locally, since I know there's no way I want to flush down money that way because I'm just not rich enough :P

offroadkarter > ThinIce-Koe 02/17/2014 at 14:58

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It came with factory coilovers all around so its actually fun to drive. With the 288hp 5.0L DOHC V8 it moves out pretty damn quick to.

I wrote a bit about it here, one day I might do an oppo feature on it.

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/oppo-poll-whic…

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > offroadkarter 02/18/2014 at 09:56

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I've always liked those wheels from the 740i Sport, and they'd look great on your E23, but the 118s look good too. There's just something about factory rims on an older model car that looks right. (most of the time) I doubt you could improve on the looks had you gone aftermarket. Well done.

EauRouge > offroadkarter 05/03/2014 at 07:09

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I think 928, am i right?

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > offroadkarter 05/03/2014 at 08:22

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So when we meeting up? I gotta see this thing.

Matt Hardigree > offroadkarter 05/03/2014 at 09:11

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It's quite commendable that you and your friends have put so much work into preserving a piece of history other folks might pass on. Good show.

The Stig's Rustbelt Cousin > offroadkarter 05/03/2014 at 14:03

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I like it, except for the wheels. It's not that the style 118s look bad per se, but I think they might be a little too big for the car, proportionally. It doesn't look quite like a Donk (or Dönk, in this case), but it's dangerously close. I certainly wouldn't go back to the original 14"s (or are they those hateful metric wheels that the 735s used to come with?), but something more period-correct would be nicer.

offroadkarter > The Stig's Rustbelt Cousin 05/03/2014 at 18:36

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the 14's are stupid and the TRX's aren't wroth the money, I don't want to buy 30 year old tires. I'm going to eventually find a set of either style 37's or style 21's.

The Stig's Rustbelt Cousin > offroadkarter 05/03/2014 at 19:23

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Yeah, I wouldn't go with either of those options, especially the metric ones, since TRX tires are only available from Coker and cost something like $350 each. If it's on 14"s in the picture, I wouldn't go any bigger than 16" to keep them from looking disproportionate, but it's your car, and if you like it better on larger wheels, go with it. I think a set of style 60s would look good, in keeping with the conservative look of a bankers-suit-gray 7-series. Style 70 or 82 would also look nice, though I have no idea if any of these wheels have the correct bolt pattern or offset.

In any case, that's a nice looking, rare 7-series you have there; it's nice to see someone caring for a older car that isn't a popular classic.

offroadkarter > The Stig's Rustbelt Cousin 05/03/2014 at 19:56

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i wanted the 14's for winter wheels but my friend threw them out. I'm not positive but my spare might be a trx haha

The Stig's Rustbelt Cousin > offroadkarter 05/05/2014 at 03:01

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When I worked at a BMW dealer, I had a customer who was fanatical about keeping his old 735 as original as possible. When I saw what they charge for a set of reproduction TRXs, I realized what an idiot he was for buying them. I like keeping things correct as much as the next guy, but there comes a point where you just have to move on to the next, better thing.

offroadkarter > The Stig's Rustbelt Cousin 05/05/2014 at 03:03

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the funny thing is a 735i, hell any e23 in the US, isn't worth like anything. I could buy a pristine under 100k mile 745i for 6-8 grand all day long... if I can find one.

offroadkarter > Matt Hardigree 05/05/2014 at 08:47

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this post seems to be making its rounds again or something I keep getting notifications for it

Thanks Matt, I actually took it up to caffeine and carburetors in CT yesterday and was surprised at how much attention it got. Some days this car is a pain in my ass but others its just pure driving fun.

mumblese > offroadkarter 05/05/2014 at 10:49

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I love the car, and I love the wheels - had the same on e60. But they make your car a bit donk-ish, excuse my french. Some original wheels that came with the model would do it for the car a bit better. But I am done pissing on your baby now :). It is a beautiful car and wish you many happy miles in it.

offroadkarter > mumblese 05/05/2014 at 10:57

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the wheels are a very love/hate thing. I am changing them out (I didn't put these on) but I am not going back to the stock 14" wheels which are long gone anyways

The Stig's Rustbelt Cousin > offroadkarter 05/05/2014 at 11:18

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The same can be said of almost any luxury sedan, not just the e23. It doesn't matter how limited the production was or whether it's a special edition, every luxury sedan goes from hot new ride to old POS eventually. It probably has to do with the fact that they depreciate faster than any other market segment, so no one ever bothers to keep them in tip-top shape as they would a Porsche or Corvette. Unlike those cars, the 7-series was created for bankers and lawyers to drive every day, which naturally makes them depreciate faster than the weekend toys they share the garage with.

With some exceptions, sedan styling also tends to get stale a lot faster than sports car styling. The 7-series is the exception to that; I like almost every version of it (except the E65, may they all die painfully) because they all look good. The same cannot be said of most other luxury sedans. By the time the new model is released, the early-production versions of the previous model (with their outdated technology and last-season style) are worth a fraction of what they were when new.

offroadkarter > The Stig's Rustbelt Cousin 05/05/2014 at 11:29

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you're not wrong, and it doesn't help that as they get cheaper, and people in lower economic brackets buy them and can't afford to maintain them, they get shittier and shittier. Just because you bought a 70,000+ dollar car for 6 grand doesn't mean it doesn't have maintenance costs like a $70,000 car still

The Stig's Rustbelt Cousin > offroadkarter 05/05/2014 at 11:54

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Preach it, brother. Big Mercs and BMWs are worst victims of this, because the bodies take decades to succumb to rot. I can't tell you how many customers I had who bought a 708 year old E65 for the price of a new Accord, and were then shocked to find out how much the basic maintenance costs were, to say nothing of the bills when some random piece of hardware failed, resulting in multi-thousand dollar repair bills.

As the old saying goes, if you couldn't afford it new, you can't afford it used. (Unless you know how to do repairs yourself, have access to discounted parts, and know someone at the dealer who can hook it up to the workshop computers for you.)

Captain_Spadaro > offroadkarter 05/05/2014 at 12:39

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Good read.

offroadkarter > Captain_Spadaro 05/05/2014 at 12:45

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thanks!

Andrew Pickle > Sn210 05/05/2014 at 13:26

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I had Style 5's on my old E34 535i. I thought they looked great.

lmacnit > offroadkarter 05/05/2014 at 13:35

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The new struts really give it that "nose in the air" look. Too much open air in the front wheel wells. I'm not knocking the fantastic job bringing this 7 back from the dead, just suggesting a finishing touch.

offroadkarter > lmacnit 05/05/2014 at 13:37

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these cars have a rake to them stock, and if you look close you'll see the rear wheel well line is actually lower than the front which also makes it looked way raked. I am going to lower it but its not as simple as opening up summit and picking from 50 sets of springs. The aftermarket hardly exists for these cars anymore.

lmacnit > offroadkarter 05/05/2014 at 13:44

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Again, just a suggestion. You guys did a fantastic job on the 7. I was just looking at the tire/wheel opening distance.

offroadkarter > lmacnit 05/05/2014 at 13:48

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its going to happen, I just have to find the right stuff is all. I'm afraid of the rear rubbing but we'll see what happens. I'm changing the wheels out first and making it go a little faster before I worry about lowering it.

lmacnit > offroadkarter 05/05/2014 at 13:59

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Amen to that.

I hoon, therefore I am > offroadkarter 05/05/2014 at 19:23

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I love the E23s - there's just a bit of a shark nose a la the E24, which I'm so fond of. I'd seriously consider one of those to replace my 6er, if only because the extra doors and space would help immensely with my twins.

9brghtn4 > offroadkarter 05/06/2014 at 05:44

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Null taste for rims lol.

offroadkarter > 9brghtn4 05/06/2014 at 08:49

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I guess you missed the part where I said they came with the car

Fuel_of_Satan > offroadkarter 05/06/2014 at 10:39

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Not many would've seen hope in that BMW and gotten it back on the road, kudos!

But if/when you sell it, please give the new owners the original steering wheel as well. Aftermarket wheels has been the bane of my life in used cars and your picture shows why in perfect detail. How fast are you going and what's the RPM? No? Thought so.

offroadkarter > Fuel_of_Satan 05/06/2014 at 10:41

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I'm keeping the momo. My uncle gave it to me years ago and they're still worth some decent coin today.

Fuel_of_Satan > offroadkarter 05/06/2014 at 11:22

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It definitely looks hot and I understand your affection for it, but I just can't stand steering wheels that cover up the instruments and I know I'm not alone.

Edit: Not quite sure who's recommendation I had on my sidebar when I saw this article, but they certainly led me to an old one! Sorry for the resurrection!

offroadkarter > Fuel_of_Satan 05/06/2014 at 11:29

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I've become good at guesstimating my highway speed since I have to slump down to see 50 and above

Fuel_of_Satan > offroadkarter 05/06/2014 at 11:34

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Speeding fines come with points on your license around these parts and at 9 you're a pedestrian, so no can do. I already got 7....