(FYI - German market 728i, imported to the US some time back... it is a previous BaT car that I bought from the BaT auction winner after he found a car he wanted more than this - just a few weeks after the auction).
And it's been kinda fun.
Fun to have to plan ahead on what I do as I don't have a big motor up front (2.8L with ~180hp) with a decently chunky car to motivate.....
Once the revs are up - the power is ok. But then I need to shift and... we start over. LOL
Not having traction control makes it (at times) a bit more exciting than I expect....
Earlier today I was making a right turn (in rain) to a road going up a hill. Of course, just as I pulled out a car came up behind me at a pretty good clip (I had limited sight to my left). I was surprised that I had to feather both the throttle and even the clutch (a bit) to keep the wheel spin to a minimum. I didn't think it had it in it - That motor loves to wind it up.
I have often driven my E38 through that same intersection and have seen the traction control light go on at times. This time, 'I' was the traction control - LOL
The trunk is BIG... but not as big as it would be if the spare were in a better place. LOL
Seats are very comfortable.
This was the period of time when BMW was just figuring out how to work climate control. Works ok - but my same year Mercedes (W126) was better.
One thing both the W126 and E23 do well is manage the airflow around the car. Earlier today I went from a dry area to one that had rain. I had to run the wipers to clear the front, but the aerodynamics (airflow management) and gutters kept the rain away from bothm the side and rear windows. I always appreciated that in the Mercedes and found the BMW does a similar job on this car. Was nice to see.
The suspension has soaked up all that the PNW weather and roads have thrown at it.
I have received a decent amount of thumbs up and horn toots and light flashes as I have taken the car around. Fun to see.
I probably have about a thousand miles on it these last few months.
Even though I've had the car since 2017, I did not really drive it too much. But - when I went down to get my E9 (at Don's shop in Alameda) a couple of years back - I didn't want to take my car trailer empty down to get the car, so.... instead of dead-heading with my trailer, I took this car down to have him refresh the mechanical bits. I took the E9 north and then picked up the car a few months later. Since then, it is kinda nice having a car like this (40+ years old) that I can kinda daily drive knowing it is in about as good a shape as it was when it was new-ish.
Don went through hell to find some of the parts for this car (and I paid a pretty penny for all of this) - but am happy I did.
The funny thing is that when I took the car down to Don's I was thinking I would be way over spending for this mechanical work compared to the value of this car. And that was ok. I wanted a unique car that I could use on a (mostly) daily basis and the E23 would be fun doing that.
But after I got car back, I looked at Hagerty valuations. I was surprised to see these are top near $40k now... Hagerty agreed with that and my car is now protected appropriately (as such). Nice not to be under water - LOL Not that that matters as such. Just a nice feeling.
Oh - Merry Christmas.
And it's been kinda fun.
Fun to have to plan ahead on what I do as I don't have a big motor up front (2.8L with ~180hp) with a decently chunky car to motivate.....
Once the revs are up - the power is ok. But then I need to shift and... we start over. LOL
Not having traction control makes it (at times) a bit more exciting than I expect....
Earlier today I was making a right turn (in rain) to a road going up a hill. Of course, just as I pulled out a car came up behind me at a pretty good clip (I had limited sight to my left). I was surprised that I had to feather both the throttle and even the clutch (a bit) to keep the wheel spin to a minimum. I didn't think it had it in it - That motor loves to wind it up.
I have often driven my E38 through that same intersection and have seen the traction control light go on at times. This time, 'I' was the traction control - LOL
The trunk is BIG... but not as big as it would be if the spare were in a better place. LOL
Seats are very comfortable.
This was the period of time when BMW was just figuring out how to work climate control. Works ok - but my same year Mercedes (W126) was better.
One thing both the W126 and E23 do well is manage the airflow around the car. Earlier today I went from a dry area to one that had rain. I had to run the wipers to clear the front, but the aerodynamics (airflow management) and gutters kept the rain away from bothm the side and rear windows. I always appreciated that in the Mercedes and found the BMW does a similar job on this car. Was nice to see.
The suspension has soaked up all that the PNW weather and roads have thrown at it.
I have received a decent amount of thumbs up and horn toots and light flashes as I have taken the car around. Fun to see.
I probably have about a thousand miles on it these last few months.
Even though I've had the car since 2017, I did not really drive it too much. But - when I went down to get my E9 (at Don's shop in Alameda) a couple of years back - I didn't want to take my car trailer empty down to get the car, so.... instead of dead-heading with my trailer, I took this car down to have him refresh the mechanical bits. I took the E9 north and then picked up the car a few months later. Since then, it is kinda nice having a car like this (40+ years old) that I can kinda daily drive knowing it is in about as good a shape as it was when it was new-ish.
Don went through hell to find some of the parts for this car (and I paid a pretty penny for all of this) - but am happy I did.
The funny thing is that when I took the car down to Don's I was thinking I would be way over spending for this mechanical work compared to the value of this car. And that was ok. I wanted a unique car that I could use on a (mostly) daily basis and the E23 would be fun doing that.
But after I got car back, I looked at Hagerty valuations. I was surprised to see these are top near $40k now... Hagerty agreed with that and my car is now protected appropriately (as such). Nice not to be under water - LOL Not that that matters as such. Just a nice feeling.
Oh - Merry Christmas.
