A current picture of the poor old 535,

[Bill R.]

I promised her a paint job and anything else needed for a christmas present...

[632 Regal]

poor thing, why dont you put it out of her misery and let me pick it up off your hands?

[shogun]

And from me the new outer door handle gaskets come, will send them out today, Bill.

But why a paint job? On the pic is looks good.
Just checked a bit in the japanese auction house for you, what else you could give her as present,
found wood (?)
http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n47716262
a clock? http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/117702045
or for the tires? http://page17.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/v81969213

[Bill R.]

was actually raining today here so its not so obvious that the clearcoat is peeling badly on the roof and the rear deck.

And from me the new outer door handle gaskets come, will send them out today, Bill.

But why a paint job? On the pic is looks good.
Just checked a bit in the japanese auction house for you, what else you could give her as present,
found wood (?)
http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n47716262
a clock? http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/117702045
or for the tires? http://page17.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/v81969213

[Jr ///M5]

Hey Bill, we were just talking about you last night. Scott asked if I had heard from you recently. I feel better now, seeing you post pictures of the 535i sure brings back the memories, good ones too!

I would like to extend my best wishes and happy holidays to both you and Yvonne. Take care of yourself old friend, it's surely good to hear from you again.

Good luck with the 535i, you know it's been said that it has the best mechanic in the Southwest for an owner...

Merry Christmas Bill....

Jr

[Jeff N.]

Hear hear! Well said Jr! And a hearty cheer from the (snowy!) pacific northwest. We too are still here. My 5er toils away on daily commutes, Eric's stocker just keeps chugging along while Martin has just completed a home brew turbo system on his.

None of us can sell 'em. They just don't make like this anymore. Nice to see you're still sitting on yours too Bill.

Jeff

[Jehu]

5 speed?

[Bill R.]

nice to see that you are all still popping in here. And like Jeff said, its not easy for me to get rid of this car.... I work on enough enough e39's now that its been really tempting to get one.
I like them. They are definitely getting cheap enough around here. I just haven't been able to part with the old e34 . So it looks like i'll keep it and go through most of it and make it my daily driver for parts etc.
This site does bring back a lot of memories and i Hope that all my friends here have a Merry Christmas and happy holidays... Hope you guys aren't freezing your asses off either.

[Jeff N.]

hehe...Scotty is showing signs of E39 weakness.

[Jr ///M5]

"Wagon Weakness"....hmmm '03 540i Sport...

Bill's right about the plummeting prices. Lori's '01 E39 isn't worth much these days, but has served us well with 163k miles on it.

Let's see, I've replaced the plugs (twice) O2 sensors, sway bar links, valve cover gasket, radiator, water pump, thermostat, cyclone valve cold weather update, LKM module, brakes (Akebono) fan resistor, alternator and battery, the cheesy cupholder, windshield and foglights. It still runs great, except for needing the vanos o'ring replacement and doesn't use any oil between the 6k mile changes. During extreme cold starts it wants to idle rough until the temp comes out of the blue, then it's runs great. The control arms need to be replaced by now and the transmission fluid has never been changed. It still shifts fine, probably due to the mileage being 98% highway. The E39 drives real nice and after 5 years of ownership the above work probably adds up to about $2400 plus my wrenching time at a nickel an hour it would be about $1.65...=)

And yes, Bill...I'm freezin' my ass off....6 lonely degrees this Christmas morning..

JR
PS (Send some of that Arizona warmth up this way would ya???)