[Day Laborer]

Came across this beauty for sale.


Still on its original tires and still starts up like it's new.

Will have the tires and battery replaced


DM me is interested

Private seller doesn't even have a price yet lol, but are taking offers

[positiveions]

Wow. My E30 has 44k mikes and I am proud. But this … it’s on a different level.
It’s a 535is not an525is.

[StradaRedlands]

My dream car for many years.

[IcewaterPete]

Thanks is a gem!

[BMWCCA1]

You should probably check the model number on the trunk before you post!

And, if you knew these cars better, you'd know that original tires on a 30-year-old car is not a selling point. For that matter, TRX tires on any car is a real liability and far from an asset. Plus I just don't believe those could be the original tires, anyway.

Are you affiliated with the sale? Why else would you disguise the license plates? Is it legal to pimp for a dealership on this forum?

Might be helpful to at least say whether it is automatic or stick, even if you intend to profit from your listing it here.

[Murf the Surf]

Originally Posted by Day Laborer

Came across this beauty for sale.


Still on its original tires and still starts up like it's new


DM me is interested

Dealership doesn't even have a price yet lol, but are taking offers

Good looking car.

[..Rush..]

Dream car from the time that I was a kid

[EdM5]

What's up with these horrible bumpers? 1988 US regulations?

[ky0u]

Originally Posted by EdM5

What's up with these horrible bumpers? 1988 US regulations?

Yup good ol' DOT. Euro bumpers are pretty high demand for the US spec owners out here because of those "diving boards"

[Mani59]

What an awesome example!

Originally Posted by ky0u

Yup good ol' DOT. Euro bumpers are pretty high demand for the US spec owners out here because of those "diving boards"

I am not really au fait with USA motoring rules and regulations but I am just curious; would the new owner be able to stick Euro bumpers on the car and it be legal or would the owner have to keep those bumpers?

[ky0u]

Originally Posted by Mani59

What an awesome example!



I am not really au fait with USA motoring rules and regulations but I am just curious; would the new owner be able to stick Euro bumpers on the car and it be legal or would the owner have to keep those bumpers?

I personally don't know on that one. Especially since even amonst our states, we have further variations on regulations. It gets even weirder when you consider models like my '88 e30 that came with those gross bumpers stock (but updated body), but '89+ had the nicer plastic ones despite being the same everywhere else

It seems to happen commonly enough to make me assume that inspections arent looking for that or dont care. A bigger "violation" in regulations seems to be the US requiring side markers on the bumpers themselves, which the euro trim does not have. (I believe euro spec had the fender mounted marker instead)

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by Mani59

I am not really au fait with USA motoring rules and regulations but I am just curious; would the new owner be able to stick Euro bumpers on the car and it be legal or would the owner have to keep those bumpers?

Euro bumpers bolt right up on US spec E28s and E30s built before 9/87, but good luck finding a clean set.

I agree with everyone that it's a super clean 535iS, but if it has original TRX wheels and tires those would go in the trash before I put the first mile on that car.

[M-technik-3]

Originally Posted by ky0u

I personally don't know on that one. Especially since even amonst our states, we have further variations on regulations. It gets even weirder when you consider models like my '88 e30 that came with those gross bumpers stock (but updated body), but '89+ had the nicer plastic ones despite being the same everywhere else

It seems to happen commonly enough to make me assume that inspections arent looking for that or dont care. A bigger "violation" in regulations seems to be the US requiring side markers on the bumpers themselves, which the euro trim does not have. (I believe euro spec had the fender mounted marker instead)

The facelifted cars were still 5mph crash resistant ROW metal E30 bumpers were 2.5 mph. E28 in Main land EU did not have sidemarkers but UK might have.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Chihuahua

Euro bumpers bolt right up on US spec E28s and E30s built before 9/87, but good luck finding a clean set.

I agree with everyone that it's a super clean 535iS, but if it has original TRX wheels and tires those would go in the trash before I put the first mile on that car.

The Euro E30 bumpers do not bolt right up on USA market E30 models earlier than MY '89. BMW had to change the USA market rear valence panel to fit US versions of the Euro bumpers.

[ky0u]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

The Euro E30 bumpers do not bolt right up on USA market E30 models earlier than MY '89. BMW had to change the USA market rear valence panel to fit US versions of the Euro bumpers.

They do on the 88s because they used the updated valences but the old style DBs. Weird little transition period. I personally hated the early model rears

[KevinC]

Originally Posted by Mani59

I am not really au fait with USA motoring rules and regulations but I am just curious; would the new owner be able to stick Euro bumpers on the car and it be legal or would the owner have to keep those bumpers?

I had a Scirocco 16v for a decade and it had euro lights & bumpers on it. The Scirocco bumpers for USA were equally hideous to these park benches on the BMW. Whether or not you could get away with it without hassle depends on where you live. Here in Arizona they don't even look at a car when registering it, and we have no annual safety inspections of any kind, so no problemo. In my rural county we don't even have smog tests - ever. It's glorious.

If I were buying this beauty, first thing I'd do is seek out euro bumpers. And headlights.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by ky0u

They do on the 88s because they used the updated valences but the old style DBs. Weird little transition period. I personally hated the early model rears

I owned a 1989 E30 325i 2-door sedan. Back then BMW called the "Coupe" a 2-door sedan in the owners manual. We bought the car new in November 1988. It was a July 1988 build. If I remember my E30 history correctly, and I'm 99.999% sure, MY '89 was the first year the Euro-style bumpers were added to the E30 body for the USA market. The '89 E30 was the optimal year to own because the "is" version of the M20 (M20B25) became the standard engine offered in the USA market, the bumpers moved to the Euro-style plastic covered bumpers (still different than the real Euro bumpers) and the airbag was not added (until the 1990 model year).

A review of the tail panel part numbers on realOEM does show a 1-year period tail panel unique part number. Interestingly the USA Euro bumper shows as a 06/1988 part number change, which would be congruent with start of the 1989 USA market model build.

When I researched all this decades ago, I found that the MY '89 rear tail panel was the limiting factor of swapping to the USA Euro-style bumpers. I still do not believe chihuahua's statement is correct about the Euro Bumpers bolt right up to E30's built before 9/87 because the rear tail panel for USA market cars was different to accommodate the 1970's and 1980's-mandated DOT 5 MPH bumper requirements of the USA market.

But I've wasted too much time on this, this morning.

[M_Bimmer]

Having owned two E28's ('84 533i & '88 535i), i do see some great pluses with this vehicle and would consider being a serious buyer....even with the TRX shoes. But that dealership decal on the trunk would be the 1st Mod (removed)..and that antenna (easy fix) would be the first thing to be addressed....

Am I the only one that finds it odd that such a large BMW showroom contains a 34 year old car and only 3 other vehicles? (two sedans & one 2-series cab (?) - hard to tell) Are cars that scarce?

[Almuliman]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

Am I the only one that finds it odd that such a large BMW showroom contains a 34 year old car and only 3 other vehicles? (two sedans & one 2-series cab (?) - hard to tell) Are cars that scarce?

I think so. Small Sample Size alert, but I was at Bellevue BMW (WA) a few weeks ago and they had maybe 3 cars on the floor. Easily, and probably usually, 8+ cars on the floor. And their lot is picked over too, with extra space between cars and what feels like even a row or two less than normal.

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

The Euro E30 bumpers do not bolt right up on USA market E30 models earlier than MY '89. BMW had to change the USA market rear valence panel to fit US versions of the Euro bumpers.

They most certainly do. Any non-cabrio built 9/87 or after has the updated quarter panels and front valance. 88s are a weird model year for E30s, they have the updated body panels but retained the metal US bumpers for one more year. I've owned and modded more E30s than I can remember, one of them was an '88. Cabrios are a different story...

Keep in mind that there are two styles of 'euro' bumpers; there are the metal ones used in Europe on early cars and then there are the later plastic 'euro' bumpers.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Chihuahua

They most certainly do. Any non-cabrio built 9/87 or after has the updated quarter panels and front valance. 88s are a weird model year for E30s, they have the updated body panels but retained the metal US bumpers for one more year. I've owned and modded more E30s than I can remember, one of them was an '88. Cabrios are a different story...

Keep in mind that there are two styles of 'euro' bumpers; there are the metal ones used in Europe on early cars and then there are the later plastic 'euro' bumpers.

I'm not trying to be a dick about it, but re-read your original post. It says bolts up to E30's built before 9/87, now you are saying after. I was addressing your original comment, which was not correct. If I was off by a year ('88 vs. '89) okay. Like I said when I researched it 20 years ago the consensus was MY '89. IIRC it was from one of the Bimmer Magazine articles they published about "Collectable BMWs - E30" or something to that effect.

The cabrio's got the Euro bumpers in the USA for the last MY in 1992 (just for info purposes).

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I'm not trying to be a dick about it, but re-read your original post. It says bolts up to E30's built before 9/87, now you are saying after. I was addressing your original comment, which was not correct. If I was off by a year ('88 vs. '89) okay. Like I said when I researched it 20 years ago the consensus was MY '89. IIRC it was from one of the Bimmer Magazine articles they published about "Collectable BMWs - E30" or something to that effect.

The cabrio's got the Euro bumpers in the USA for the last MY in 1992 (just for info purposes).

Metal euro bumpers bolt up to early cars (pre-9/87), plastic euro bumpers bolt up to later cars (9/87 and later). BTDT several times over with E30s I've owned and E30s I helped several friends with. Cabrio facelift took place in 12/88 if I recall correctly. The car in my signature is mine, '87 iS with a build date of 12/86 that I retrofitted an OEM M Technic kit to. This is how I have all of this info in my head; it was quite the undertaking.

You may not be trying to be a dick, but you are succeeding.