Up for sale is my 1993 BMW 525i. It is a 5-speed manual and it has 117K on it. $4,200 firm. As a German car nut I have maintained this car well for 8 years. This car has been driven very respectfully (never raced about or abused in any way, I am obsessive about my cars.) Likewise it has not been molested- any upgrades are modest, positive, of quality and in keeping w/ "BMW approved" or factory options. Mechanically and cosmetically I think this is one of the best examples of a 5-series of this era (the E34's.) It has been meticulously maintained by Import Autohaus in Richmond. Yes, I drive an hour one way just for their mechanic- I care. White (what BMW calls Alpine White) exterior and tan leather interior, w/ wood trim.

This is not a perfect car. It is now 16 years old. Excuse the lengthy ad, but it’s my intention to provide all possible info up front to cut down on back and forth dialogue- I'm simply anticipating questions and providing all I can.

Pros:

- ALL documentation since new- all service records, repairs, parts and upgrades. Amazing documentation and all manuals.
- BMW transmission installed at 113K
- BMW Clutch at 95K.
- BMW (Behr) Radiator installed at about 110K.
- Belts at 114K
- New Battery one year ago.
- Water Pump and Idler Pulley at 117K (inc. upgrade to metal thermostat housing.)
- New suspension installed at about 85K (shocks, Sachs springs, M5 sway bars, sway bar links, bushings, etc.) Car sits a little lower than stock, looks very nice. Firm ride, handles very well w/ this Sachs set up. No body lean- stays as flat as Nebraska through twisties.
- Very recent compression test- all checked out great.
- Engine chip installed- provides a very modest power gain. I have the original engine mgmt. chip as well.
- Routine oil changes- always w/ Mobil 1 fully synthetic.
- Cosmetically beautiful. Paint in good condition, as is the interior. I get compliments on this car all the time.
- AC strong, very cold.
- Power sunroof, etc.

Cons:

Idiosyncrasies I refuse to fix/invest in on a car of this age. I care about the mechanical aspects above all- I'm in the camp that says some bells and whistles, in my humble opinion, are not worth fooling with. They are:

- Power locks- the car will sometimes spontaneously unlock. This is the result of a sticking actuator, and as a safety feature these cars auto unlock if the system senses resistance. To fix each door panel has to be removed one at a time until the suspect actuator is isolated.
- Radio display out- Blaupunkt CD unit that works well and is intuitive. For functions not intuitive there’s the manual.
- Display of on board computer out- it works, but is too dim to read in daylight (can see at night.) Further, the display can be toggled to read on the dash at the speedo- so if I need to view temp, mileage, distance, etc. I just pull it up on the dash.
- Tires- very near end of life but still tread all around. Sorry folks, I do not replace tires until they’re pretty much totally shot.
- Fuel gauge light out- it works intermittently which means the bulb has a broken/loose filament still making contact.
- Extremely minor dings commensurate w/ a car of this age/mileage.

Blue book is less, so no sense e-mailing me about that. I am going by market value. By way of example do a search on Auto Trader of ’92 to ’94 525’s (200 mile radius of Charlottesville, VA) and you’ll get 5 results:

’92 @ 92K for 5K
’92 wagon @ 176K for 4K
’94 @ 59K for 8,900
’92 @ 130K for 5,450
’93 @160K for 4,900

My car has a new transmission, new clutch, etc. w/ documentation and again it has been meticulously maintained by Import Autohaus in Richmond. I am firm on my price as one, I am not in a rush to sell it and two, it's a tight and strong car. I'd love to see the car go to a German car nut who wants to keep it in good shape, but in any case it's a good daily driver for anyone.

Thanks and if you do have any questions after all of this then by all means let me know. I am picking up my next car this coming weekend so the 5-series will be available to be fully taken on 8/17/2009. It’s been a good 8 years w/ this 5-series.

Reply to [email protected] for inquiries or pics. Thanks!