The E28-platform of BMW’s 5-Series sedan is often written about glowingly, and for good reason: hugely reliable engines; all-day highway cruising ability; many of them outfitted with a manaul transmission; plentiful spares and parts are reasonable; the list goes on. I owned a 1987 535is for about a year before it was moved out to acquire the Toyota HiAce project, but I still find myself missing it without a four-door project car in my fleet. Find this nicely preserved 528e here on eBay with bidding at $4K and the reserve unmet.
My 535is had the creamy M30 powerplant under the hood, which was a seriously fun motor to run through the gears. This 528e comes with the widely-used M20 2.7L inline-six, which will deliver strong fuel economy with enough torque for effortless highway cruising and an in-town friendly personality. While less powerful than the 535i, they can be woken up with an aftermarket chip and exhaust. On a personal note, I love that this mass-produced sedan featured a center-exit muffler.
This is as bare-bones as it got for a late 80s 5-Series, as this car comes with the cloth interior in “Pacific Blue”, a gorgeous shade that my 535is had but in leather. Truthfully, the leather at this age requires so much love that the cloth looks more appealing. Interestingly, when you decode the VIN, this shows up as a Canadian market model, which explains the somewhat “barren” interior compared to U.S. cars, almost all of which had leather seating surfaces. The only option is the factory-installed Premium Sound system.
Which, if it was sold new in Canada, makes its current condition all the more impressive. A common reference point as to how original an old BMW is can be measured by the presence of cosmoline in the engine bay, and it appears the valve cover is still smothered in it. These are interference engines, so a timing belt job is a must if it can’t be confirmed with vehicle records; even then, it’s a small investment to keep this survivor 5-Series on the road. The 528e is now located in Oyster Bay, New York, with just over five days left in the auction.
Looks like a nice car for someone to own and enjoy… What the Brits call a ‘practical classic’ (and there’s a magazine of the same name).
Hopefully, we’ll get an update on your Hiace sometime soon, Jeff.
What is a manaul transmission?
Goodness mercy!! Pics look like manufacturers ad photos. LOL.
Never a big BMW fan, but I always liked these. For the eventual price it’s a much better choice than a Civic/Sentra/Corolla (all nice cars, btw, but no real pizzaz). Drive in style or take the bus.
My Mom had a 1987 528e manual in dark blue with tan leatherette interior. She got it when it was a couple of years old with maybe 25k on it. The torque available at low speeds and the manual made it reasonably lively to drive. Far superior in comparison to much of what was around then from a driving perspective. It was pretty well equipped and I recall it getting outstanding mileage, too. The car was eventually sold in decent running condition with around a 180k on it many years later. A fair amount of money was spent to maintain it, but it held up well overall. Needless to say I drove it whenever permitted.
When I was looking for a good used 325i years ago I happened to test drive a 325e, the one with the eta engine that’s in this car. It was designed to be fuel efficient while producing enough torque to move a car as large as this 5-series.
The eta engine (‘eta’ refers to efficiency) moved the car along all right, but it reminded me too much of the Ford tractor that I learned to use a clutch and shift on back in the last century. “Agricultural” pretty much described both engines.
I ended up buying a 1987 325is with the terrific 2.5 liter M20 engine and was very glad that I did. For these reasons I don’t think I would be a buyer of this larger 528e, as nice as it is. Come to think of it, if I was in the market for an older 5 series I think I would go for an M5, which seem to have become more affordable lately.
In the mid ’90s my daily driver was an ’88 528e with stick. It was the same color blue as this car on the outside, but had a pearl beige cloth interior. The ’88 had the “super eta” engine, which didn’t look like all that much on paper, but really made a difference in real world use.
I sold that car because I became convinced that with a new, good paying job, I needed to buy a new vehicle. I was wrong; I should have kept the BMW.
528e = bread & butter BMW. Were really nice solid transportation in their day & maintenance ‘cheap’ for ze Germans.
The last BMW I owned (well except for an Isetta) was a 528e. The car truly suprised me, having worked for the largest west coast BMW dealer during the heyday of the marvelous and near perfect 2002, Bavaria and 3.0CS as it had all the reliability of a Jaguar XJ6 or a Fiat! Oh, how the mighty have fallen I thought – and that was 25 years ago!
Had a 1983 528e I bought for $800 when I moved to Portland 20 yrs ago. I was broke and the price was right. Owned by the son of a BMW body shop owner. That car had tons of torque and really would shine above 80mph…it just hauled ass. Really soulful car and handled great. Perfect mechanical feel. I drove it 3 yrs and sold it for $1,200. Still miss that car dearly after all these years.
Still looks great.