BMW E28 5 Series

I did 1100 miles or so in a rented Ford Focus this weekend. I rented it from Budget Car Rental. It was new (975 miles), clean, well equipped (including Sirius / XM radio) and reliable. It was everything you'd want from an inexpensive rental, I guess. If asked to describe it in one word, I'd use the word "functional".

I would have rather done the miles in my 15 year old, 200K+ mile E36 BMW. Unfortunately, I hit a pothole the size of a moon crater last week and took out a tire, rim and pieces of the suspension. The suspension was already in need of work and the pothole just added to that. Driving a car for 1100 miles on a 15 year-old, never used, spare tire was not a good idea. I could have bought some new tires, I guess, but with the car banging and pulling severely to the right it seems like a good idea to check all that out before dropping money on tires.

To make matters worse, I pulled up to my destination and out front was a beautiful E28 5 Series (Shown at top. My ride, the Focus, is behind it.) It belongs to my cousin. She drove it from NY to VA. I'm in a Ford Focus and she's in one of the nicest unrestored E28s I have seen in awhile. Life isn't fair.

I like my cousin a lot. She deserves a nice car like that. Really. She just doesn't deserve it on a weekend that I'm in a rented Ford Focus. No one does.

My cousin's car is not for sale, but there are some nice E28s out there...

I have always like the E28. I guess it's the angular, purposeful look that attracts me to it. (Honestly, I don't think BMW ever made a bad looking 5 Series. It's just that the later, rounded cars, although brilliant, look more like luxury cars and less like sports sedans.)

Being a 1980s car, you have to deal with monster bumpers and emissions strangled engines, but it wasn't a bad car at all. In fact, it's pretty enjoyable.

The E28 to have is the 533i. In its day, it was the fastest sedan sold in America. There are very few around today.

This 533i appears to be in very, very nice condition. The paint and body looks to be in very nice condition and the interior is very good, with a tear on the drivers seat being the only flaw I can see. Everything about it appears to be completely stock.

Rust can be a problem on these cars, but this one looks to be rust free. The engines, if the cooling system is not properly maintained, can blow head-gaskets, but not much else goes wrong.

The amazing thing about the E28 is that it doesn't sell for a lot of money. This car, with just over 102,000 miles on it, is being offered for a very low $1850.00. The 533i is a lot of car for very little money.

Located in Land O Lakes, FL, click here to see the Craigslist listing.