1986 BMW E28 528e Very Nice Condition

Description for BMW 5-Series 1986

For sale is really neat E28 BMW 528e in very good condition for its age. This car has been a West Coast car for its entire lifetime and is remarkably well preserved. There is no rust to speak of and the Alpine white paint is, to the best of my perception is 100% original. I can see no signs of either paint or body work. All bolt heads for hood, fenders and trunk lid appear to have never been touched. The paint is still very attractive. Not brand new but still holds a nice shine. Please see two cosmetic issues of note: hood has a bit of damage near Roundel and bumper rubber trim piece missing at front driver's corner (bumper itself is fine).
The interior is also original. There is wear to the leather but it is largely intact with no significant tears. There are a few seams which can be seen to have stretched from heat (top of rear seat backs). Perhaps more importantly (for people like myself) the seats are still firm and supportive, with none of the soft sag and pivot point slop that has set in on many other vehicles of the age. A surprising number of features still function well, including interior dome lights (both), cold air conditioning, dash and gauge lights, fog lights, window washers (though passenger side jets are plugged) and sunroof. Now, what does not work: rear pass side power window is sluggish and rear driver's side is intermittent and sluggish. Passenger side seatback does the twist (one cable housing needing shortening), passenger seat fore and aft sliding seems to be hitting an obstacle in rail and both headrest do not motor up and down (though motors can be heard to work). Power mirrors do not work. The dash does have a few cracks.
The single most impressive part for me about the car is how tight everything feels. The steering, brakes, and controls are tight and the ride is tight and surprisingly devoid of major squeaks and rattles. Doors close with satisfying thud with no hinge sag or gaps. Blower motor works at all speeds and AC is nice and chilly, while heat is hot. The driving experience is pleasant: the engine fires up and sets to a nice smooth idle (by M20 standards) and pulls smoothly and even briskly (again for an ETA motor). The transmission shifts up and down very smoothly with no clunks and no noises. The car tracks nice and true down the freeway with no shimmy or drift. I can hear a bit of gear whine from the rear end up until about 40mph, after which wind and road noise is more apparent. It is not terribly noisy, and I think being a BMW differential, it will go on for quite a while but it's perceptible.
The car came with a hand written list of recent repairs. It was previously owned by a motorcycle mechanic who did his own work, so I do not have a stack of shop service records, and therefore cannot verify all of these (though some are evident and there may be some invoices from the BMW specialty shop across the street). The list goes as follows:
Past year or so: oil and filter change, brake fluid, Bilstein shocks with H&R springs (can be seen), lower control arms with bushings and ball joints (confirmed with visual inspection), sway bar end links (confirmed).
A year or so prior to that: radiator and all coolant hoses, as well as most vacuum hoses and power steering lines (visual inspection appears to confirm these).
Sometime around the end of 2015: timing belt, water pump and valve adjustment. I cannot visually confirm, though I will say, I heard few single cam BMW inline six engines run so quietly in the top end (there is a parts invoice on hand from supplying shop for timing belt and a couple other items).
The few years before that: front pads and rotors, starter, brake booster (yes looks new), rebuilt cylinder head and replaced transmission.
The original service booklet is also included, which shoes pretty regular maintenance (dealer and indy) up until about 154K miles. It should be noted that the odometer has been stopped at 260K since sometime between late 2012 and early 2016. I have been given an estimate of only about 5k miles driven since then but again I cannot verify that.
The underside of the car looks good. There is a bit of power steering fluid seep evident at the pump. As my front drive is not concrete, I cant tell for sure if it has dripped, but if so, very little. There is a minor weep at the pan gasket (no drip) and a minor weep at the rear differential) again no drip. This car starts right up hot or cold without a wisp of smoke from the exhaust, nor is there oily or chalky buildup observed there. The car is stock beyond the Bilstein shocks and struts and passed CA smog pretty easily last month. Tires have very good tread.
This car is not a museum piece but is a well maintained, daily driveable example of a vehicle that is getting harder and harder to find in this condition.
If memory serves, I have sold 4 or so older BMWs on Ebay through the years and, to the best of my knowledge, have had no disappointments, but all the same please email with any questions you can think of, as it's entirely possible I may have missed some details. Interested buyers can email for a phone number if you would prefer to talk directly. I am located in the North Bay Area and can be available to show the car if anyone is local or has a local helper who could take a look at it. After 4 during the week and usually free on weekends.