Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.
When I was a young driver, I was lucky enough to have a few mid 1980s BMWs in the family. My father had collected an assortment of some of the best; a 1982 633CSi, a 1985 635CSi, a 1988 M5 and a 1988 735i 5-speed. Of course, driving each of these cars, I felt in some measure invincible. Considering I had learned to drive on a 1984 Toyota pickup, these leather-lined inline-6 monsters might as well have been Ferrari Enzos. And as if an invitation to dip into that speed, the later 6 and 7 had factory hard-wired radar detectors. Not only was I at the wheel of a car capable of Saturn V levels of thrust, but it was also invisible. My cloaking device engaged, I’d speed down the roads; in hindsight, the who scene was probably similar to the pinnacle of the storyline in The Hunt For Red October as a torpedo closed in on the submarine. I’d stomp on the binders as soon as those beeps registered what was surely an entire squad of police setting up a roadblock for me. Oddly, they all seemed to occur around stores with automatic doors. Even more oddly, there never seemed to be any police there. And especially vexing was the total lack of response when you would drive past an actual police car. At first, I assumed they just had their systems off. I mean, why would BMW install a system in their car that didn’t work? But as the number of actual police speed that the radar detector picked up remained shocking close to zero, I began to be suspicious that this system had actually been installed merely to annoy me. I still get a chuckle every time I see them in older BMWs, such as this 1987 535is:
The E28 M5 was one of those cars that moved the chains forward in the automotive spectrum. These were sedans that would popularize the idea that a four-door car need not be boring family transport. The inaugural year for the M5 would be 1985, but North America would not see this performance sedan until the 1988 model year rolled around. At that time, all destined for that market would be painted black, replete with crash bumpers and most coming equipped with a tan leather interior. In other markets, the options were a bit more diverse, as is the case with this 1985 M5 for sale in Minnesota. With its slim bumpers and headlamp wipe/wash system, it has that Euro look so many strive for. In this case, however, the look is authentic. Also, the aftermarket McIntosh stereo is also a nice touch, given that these are not cheap systems and replicate the look of period head units quite nicely.
We’ve seen an array of E28 flavors recently. We’ve examined how nice a 524td has to be to make for its lack of pace to how much work a 535is is worth when it still looks badass. Well, today was have a nice example of the bread-and-butter E28. It’s like the E28 version of E60’s 550i – a restrained but powerful 5er. Remarkable cleanness inside and out belie 178k miles. The M30 should have little problem going quite a ways more, and the lack of real history is less of a concern than something like an S38.
The 535is was the first E28 that really caught my eye and led to my pursuit of the M5. Back then, the allure was just a very sharp 80s sedan with some subtle aggressive tweaks – exactly how I like it. There are at least two gorgeous red examples in my area, and the rare times I see them out are always a treat. Today’s example comes well-used, with a lot of miles and some general cosmetic love needed. The Borbet wheels will probably be polarizing, but I’ve seen worse choices. The biggest draw here is the no-reserve auction, and this could be a great entry point to the E28 life.
Coming up on 3 years into our relationship, I’m still loving my E28, largely due to how it reminds me of a time when cool cars didn’t have to be all things to all people. Today’s 524td may be at the opposite end of the powerplant spectrum from mine, it doubles the gas mileage and keeps the great 80s looks. It is truly shocking that this car has 203k miles on it – inside and out it looks like a showroom model from the year before I was born. At first I thought “that must be a redone interior,” but the presentation of the exterior and engine bay corroborate the seller’s indication that this is just an amazingly-kept, all-original survivor. It may be slow, but the E28 is a great car to practice carrying speed with. What a commuter this would be!
