1990 BMW 535i for sale by owner - Portland, OR - craigslist (2024)

This is an early-production BMW E34 sedan of which I am the third owner. The basics:

- 1990 (production 1990-01-09)
- 3.5L inline-6 M30B36 SOHC
- 5-speed manual transmission, RWD
- Silver (BMW Silbergrau-hell/light silver-grey) exterior
- Complete original silver full leather interior (BMW Silbergrau) (unfortunately not extended leather)
- Fine woodgrain trim
- Electric comfort seats with armrests, no memory, not heated
- Interior: 7/10 (complete, minor wear, typical aging due to vinyl shrinkage and UV)
- Exterior: 6/10
- Oregon registered, good until 2025

The good:

- Virtually everything works. All lights (interior, exterior, and accessory), seat controls, windows, HVAC, A/C, cruise control, central locking, OBC functions. The list of things that don't work exactly correctly (see below) is quite short.
- ~147,000 miles, of which ~40,000 have been in my ownership
- Original dash, no cracks!
- West Coast car, no rust!
- Style 42 BBS Two-Piece rims (E39 M Sport), 17x8

The upgrades:

- Feal 441+ single adjustable coilovers with adjustable bump stops and Swift springs (engineered and serviced in USA), <3000 mi.
- Racing Dynamics adjustable sway bars
- No-name shock tower brace
- Corners absolutely flat, no body roll
- E31 spherical upper control arms, all Lemforder steering parts
- Alpine stereo with USB + Bluetooth, handsfree
- Upgraded brakes with E31 front brake calipers and rotors (rears included in sale, not installed)
- Upgraded, rebuilt fuel injectors
- A/C system converted to R134a
- New windshield

The maintenance:

- ~3500mi oil change intervals my entire ownership
- Cooling system refreshed, new radiator, new thermostat, hoses (as needed)
- Gearbox flushed (it's coming up on time to do it again)
- All suspension and steering components refreshed
- Engine valves adjusted
- Braking system completely refreshed: ABS modulator is new, original brake calipers were remanufactured
- Differential flushed and re-sealed
- Rear subframe rebuilt with Powerflex Yellow (soft/street) bushings
- Power steering flushed and adjusted
- A/C condenser and valve replaced, HVAC control module "sword" replaced
- Sunroof drains and gutters thoroughly cleaned, track lubricated
- Window regulators cleaned, lubricated, and glides replaced
- New ignition lock core from BMW (original keying), rebuilt driver's door lock core

The bad:

- Exterior condition: 6/10.
- Extensive clearcoat damage. Minimal chipping, virtually no scrapes.
- Minor damage to driver front fender, front sill.
- Interior condition: 7/10
- (Almost) all original components present. The rear seat belt retractor trims are toast, the buckle trims have broken clips, and the very tops of the seat back seams have started to open up (the thread could not survive the UV).
- Woodgrain trim in excellent condition. Excluding the shift surround, which was damaged beyond repair by a previous owner and replaced with original vinyl trim.
- Typical age deterioration: parcel shelf is bleached, headliner is sagging, door card vinyl is shrinking.
- A/C switch is cosmetically damaged (I have a replacement)
- Cabin recirculate circuit is shorted to A/C switch. Activating either recirculate or A/C will also activate the other function. I suspect this is an issue in the switch module itself.
- The universal coolant level indicator fault is present. I have replaced the sender, to no avail.
- The current front brake pads do not have wear sensors.
- Dipstick handle is broken.
- Windshield washer fluid reservoir is missing its cap.
- Passenger door gasket is starting to melt. The driver rear window gasket has a crimp (still seals correctly).
- The passenger rear door decorative silver trim has a broken clip.
- Trunk gasket damaged, trunk wiring harness trim cover missing (I have both parts)
- One of the fog lights has a cracked lens (I can provide a replacement)
- The coilovers are not set up comfortably. They're single-adjustable, but the rebound and compression damping curves are not aligned well: in order to eliminate bounce/porpoising, the required compression damping is too high, making the ride unnecessarily harsh. This can be fixed by the manufacturer at the next service interval (50k under normal/street driving).

Contact me by email to exchange phone numbers. Serious inquiries only, reasonable offers considered: if I want to get rid of this car fast I have an open lowball offer from a dealer, but I'd rather give it to another enthusiast directly.

Wide variety of parts available.