so I sold a 9-3 saab with stage one tuning so I could buy my first bmw last December. it was love at first sight. 530i. The color is Japanese "Rot" im told. Im a "speeder" for life lol jk. but I was taught early on how to maintain a ticket free record and "pull me over red" is one of the first rules on the list besides the obvious safety points so red is a first for me lol. its got coilovers. she tucks tire in the rear, its sexi, the stance is gorgeous. im terrible at remembering the wheels, style 2 perhaps. facelift version. sport steering wheel. m stripes on the grill, haha. its painted on. Ill leave it. no badges. recently pulled the classy red/"carbonfibre" badge sticker addition. im ashamed to admit I like the asthetic. im new to bmw and obvs not a purist. some joker put a damn Dual headunit in the dash for some reason but it works so whatever. gauge cluster is 100% it was plagued with wet floorboards so I resealed the doors and finally located the loose sunroof drain last month. clearcoat is s.h.o.t. but it was a steal. im proud of my baby, and I think I want to be an e39er for good. thanks for reading my swooning haha...
well god brought her into my life and god mayve quite literally taken her out.. without going into much detail, the front pass mount behind the coilover cap that the cabin filter clips onto, is no longer aligned. its maybe an inch or less apart, the exact position fails me right now..i may still be in shock. ive been told its likely a car killer. im not tech, but im fairly manageable working on cars, that's what I like about the e39. ive replaced a wheel speed sensor, an ignition coil and window regulator but im not familiar with coilovers or this type of structural damage. Its on a property out of town in the county where it was towed and I haven't even started to measure it yet.
I don't want to let her go, gentlemen. if theres anyway I can manage a respectable repair for a reasonable sum, ill put in the effort and pay a small upcharge of time and money if I can work it out. im not stupid, but maybe a tad dumb in love. I looked for donor rollers. good luck finding a red 530i :-( and hey, fight me, but I think the beige leather complements the gal perfectly. I even bought a matching steering wheel cover to stretch over the current one last month haha. I really prefer the model of this e39 to any other but the m5 of course. it even had the black trim clumsily replaced to the red body trim and the tag mount was damaged so it looks kindof like a janky m style/sport I guess especially at the front because the black trim doesn't clip exactly tight possibly because its the 530i body still. there are still several sport upgrades all over I believe. ive learned so much about these car In the last 6 months but I may confuse a few details still. like it has the sport 3 post wheel and manual shades all 4 in DECENT shape, although the back auto is completely absent.. (I would just kill to be able to tap that button and have all 5 shades poppin, feelin like somebody, ill tell ya!)
I know, im kind of a white trash, raised in a trailer on a rural route, back in the holler, even further, down a chirt drive of minor hill, tn kinda good ole boy (every single word!) but the car has struck me. not since my pearl white 90' 5.0. H.O. with the perfect gen cobra R fiberglass hood with pins, smooth Weld bullet holes, 3.5" skinnies c4 trans and 3.73 gears have I been near as proud of any of my dirty south rides, so I decided to post an intro while looking for support info. 540s ALL DAY LONG but a red 530i?? nope...
Im not sure if Nathan reads these long winded, clueless newbie posts but the "50 things to look for" and subsequent videos were priceless since I was deadon like at least the first 20 items in a row LOL and it seemed like quite a few after the 20. Those e39 vids gave the the confidence to settle in and "labor of love" ol roxxxane. so I wanted to say thank you. that good advice from a neighbor, the window regulator vid, and the updated vid I found later lol were a lot of help. ark Kansas people are almost as classy as tn boys with the collared shortsleeved polos and 12" flare free wheels on lowered f150s! :-D
I guess I wanted to write a dang book, but I mainly wanted to share my story, meet some similar folks and (long way around!) Fish for parts, buyers or donor car owners! im open to options and I realize it was a 2500 dollar car almost (tops) halved in value, but it means somethin to me and I felt that car was worth a memorial at the very least. future goals include possible fixer upper m5s and long term, I will lease a 7series for a while when I have more money to grease those wheels!
still more! 2 of my best friends are ASE certified, and one is a BMW trained tech. I wont begin to try to steal credit for it, but I helped him rebuild (A LITTLE) a first year M car that was reported stolen in cali then found as a literal burned out hull that then shipped to Memphis and he painstakingly rebuilt it in entirety only to have the damn bodyshop tow truck next door back into the damn claybarred front bumper AND THEN try to silently slink away like dirty dawg! thank the lord for security cams or theydve never solved that mystery! its a gorgeous piece of performance history that sounds every bit as nice as it looks! Ill post pics if anybody is interested in seeing it, and if im banned for word vomit! ill be damned it I proofread this mess hahaha