E28 Buying tips?

[AllGo'n'Show]

Looking at getting an E28, ex-Vegas car so no rust, good deal I think but since I'm going to have to travel for it I want to get a list of stuff to check up on and ask the guy before I head up there.

mye28.com is a good site, is their any others out there?

[paddyhart]

The tires. The TRX tires run over $125 a piece (+ mount & balance) and are getting very hard to find. They use special metric rims, 390mm (15.3"). By today's standards they are not very good tires, yet cost a lot. Most people convert to 15" or 16" rims and tires.

The front end. This is a weak spot and shimmies will develop as parts wear. This can be hard to track down, so it should be fixed before you have to hunt it down. This may be caused due to one bad part or a whole bunch of worn out stuff.

Brake shimmies. Common and easy to fix, though it takes new pads and rotors to exorcise completely (as long as the calipers are good).

The exhaust. It comes in two pieces from the factory and the forward piece with the catalytic converter can be pricey, if not ordered from the right sources.

Repair records are nice. They show what problems that car has had.

A/C. The A/C system on these cars is barely adequate in truly hot weather, so make sure it is working to spec. Generally the compressers are not compatable with R134a so conversion from R12 will be a few bucks extra.

The 535i engine. A great engine. But the idle is notoriously uneven in some cars, the oil spray bar (under valve cover) bolts tend to come loose (updated version available from the dealer). Also the oil pressure sensor at the rear of the block leaks when it fails and it looks like a head gasket leak. Expect 20mpg around town 25mpg on the highway.
Rust. These cars do well in this area, but if you live in a salty environment any car will eventually sucumb. Look around the licence plate lights, and under the lip of the trunk lid.
Water leaks. The tail lights are by far the biggest leak path as their foam gaskets crumble due to age. Some people have problems with sunroof drains. Look for rust around any water leaks.
Power Head Rests. These basically all eventually stop working.
Service Indicator Lights. These green/yellow/red lights light in order indicating the time for the next service, adjusting for actual usage. The Ni-Cd batteries will fail, but some boards go bad. On newer boards the tach and other gauges will fail with the SI lights.