Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Back in April I took a look at the fan-favorite E28 535iS – a car that struck a great balance, with most of the performance and look of the M5 at a cut rate:
Today I’m back with another in one of my favorite shades – Royal Blue Metallic – and inside is a treat as well, with Llama (209) leather upholstery. With higher mileage and some modifications, is this one a good deal?
Some time last year I pulled into the parking lot of my university’s gym and spotted a student getting out of an E28 535iS. I walked over to compliment him on his ride. It had been ages since I had seen one on the road, and I had forgotten how neat they look. While his was saddled by an automatic transmission and a little rough around the edges, with the paint giving out all over the body, it still managed to look special. Because the iS is not really much more than a 535i with a fancy body kit and sport suspension, these cars haven’t yet begun to command the very high prices of the equivalent era M5, keeping them relatively affordable. I still haven’t yet entered full-on fanboy mode, but this video on Petrolicious, in which a young woman discusses her love for her E28 while driving it through sun-baked Californian streets, nearly sent me over the edge.
Following up on the few neat 5-series that Nate posted yesterday, let’s ponder the E28 535is. In many ways this was like the later 540i M-Sport; you got a sports suspension, interior and the look of the M5, but with a more mainstream and affordable motor. Is that a bad thing? The best part of three decades on, no – in fact, it makes ownership of an E28 a reality for many more people. As M5 prices head understandably up and towards where many have argued they should be since their inception, the 535is is still an affordable slice of 1980s BMW goodness:
For proof that automobile enthusiasts often don’t make much sense, one doesn’t need to look much farther than the E30 325ix Touring. Built on exactly the same formula as yesterday’s Passat 4Motion, while enthusiasts will look upon that car generally as an overpriced oddity, pop a clean ix Touring onto their computer screen and wallets begin to fly. Understandably, there’s a style difference between the Volkswagen/Audi products and the highly sought after E30 Touring, but honestly does this car do anything appreciably better than a S4 Avant? I can only think of one thing – it generates income for the seller:
