Roadtrip Pics of my new 535

[Gayle]

What do you get when you live in San Diego and buy a car in Scranton, Pennsylvania? Road trip. Once I read about some college kids who kidnapped a lawn ornament and took it on a road trip, sending pictures back to its owners of the gnome in front of Mount Rushmore, the Golden Gate bridge, etc. Always had an urge to do that. So those who are interested will get to see pictures of my 535 in front some off the beaten path destinations.

Maybe you are wondering why a not-young chick buys a car 2,500 miles from home sight unseen. Here is the condensed version of the explanation. My husband and I had 4 cars and wanted to thin the fleet. Sold the wrangler, sold my 90 325 convertible, and had plans to sell hubby’s 90 525. I started driving the 525 and decided I wanted to keep it, but there was the problem. Hubby’s definition of maintenance is top off whatever is leaking and when something breaks to the point it won’t run, get it towed in to the non-bmw-trained indy. I started reading this board to figure out what I need to do to keep the 525 running for another 200,000 miles. I found the 535 on this board and it was love at first description. Bought it and instead of shipping it, preferred to spend the money on a vacation.

Got it July 4th. My initial reaction is I love this car. The paint job was better than the pictures. Started it up—engine sounded good. Doesn’t have the throaty rumble our 525 had but it doesn’t have valve clatter either. This one had a nice quiet purr. And oh, the clutch…..I have owned 9 cars with manual transmissions, and this is the best ever…. Tight, smooth, not contrary. Thank you Philip (P.O.) and thank you to your indy.

Drove down the Garden State Parkway to the southern tip of Jersey. The M30 and the chip make merging on to the freeway much less of a challenge than the in-need-of-a-tune-up M20. And oh, by the way, did I say how much I love the clutch? Watched the temperature. A hair below 12 o’clock. Everything seems smooth and tight. Made it to Cape May a happy girl.

[Jeff N.]

Nice...stick around and join in the fun (madness?)

[Gayle]

So I am doing a Jeff and posting to my own post.

So after taking stock of the important stuff, I reverted back to the chick that I am an
started thinking things like “This car smells like vanilla. Yuck.” I started dreaming of shopping—what could I buy to put on the car—maybe chrome exhaust tip. Definitely will get one of those kits from Whit’s boss to reinforce the door before the hinge goes through the door wall.

Then started fantasizing of sending my boss a rub-it-in email about how great the car is. He really gave me a hard time about buying this car. His attitude was “I wouldn’t drive 6 blocks to buy a used car. You know I think you are nuts.”

Took the car to the beach. She has been a NYC car most of her life. And she has spent a lot of time in garages. I want her to be a free-range BMW. Here she is getting a whiff of ocean air. The thing in the background is the prototype of a fleet of concrete ships our military had plans to build. It was not one our country’s stellar moments in defense technology.

[Jon K]

What do you get when you live in San Diego and buy a car in Scranton, Pennsylvania? Road trip. Once I read about some college kids who kidnapped a lawn ornament and took it on a road trip, sending pictures back to its owners of the gnome in front of Mount Rushmore, the Golden Gate bridge, etc. Always had an urge to do that. So those who are interested will get to see pictures of my 535 in front some off the beaten path destinations.

Maybe you are wondering why a not-young chick buys a car 2,500 miles from home sight unseen. Here is the condensed version of the explanation. My husband and I had 4 cars and wanted to thin the fleet. Sold the wrangler, sold my 90 325 convertible, and had plans to sell hubby’s 90 525. I started driving the 525 and decided I wanted to keep it, but there was the problem. Hubby’s definition of maintenance is top off whatever is leaking and when something breaks to the point it won’t run, get it towed in to the non-bmw-trained indy. I started reading this board to figure out what I need to do to keep the 525 running for another 200,000 miles. I found the 535 on this board and it was love at first description. Bought it and instead of shipping it, preferred to spend the money on a vacation.

Got it July 4th. My initial reaction is I love this car. The paint job was better than the pictures. Started it up—engine sounded good. Doesn’t have the throaty rumble our 525 had but it doesn’t have valve clatter either. This one had a nice quiet purr. And oh, the clutch…..I have owned 9 cars with manual transmissions, and this is the best ever…. Tight, smooth, not contrary. Thank you Philip (P.O.) and thank you to your indy.

Drove down the Garden State Parkway to the southern tip of Jersey. The M30 and the chip make merging on to the freeway much less of a challenge than the in-need-of-a-tune-up M20. And oh, by the way, did I say how much I love the clutch? Watched the temperature. A hair below 12 o’clock. Everything seems smooth and tight. Made it to Cape May a happy girl.


Gayle, there is a very good possibility that you and I passed on the Garden State Parkway as I came north from Ocean City NJ! Read your whole post, you were in Cape May, that's so freaking weird, I was too... weeeeeeeeird.

[Gayle]

Gayle, there is a very good possibility that you and I passed on the Garden State Parkway as I came north from Ocean City NJ! Read your whole post, you were in Cape May, that's so freaking weird, I was too... weeeeeeeeird.


Jon

Did you see the fireworks in all the towns south of Newark? How did you like Cape May?

Gayle

[Bimminator]

What do you get when you live in San Diego and buy a car in Scranton, Pennsylvania? Road trip. Once I read about some college kids who kidnapped a lawn ornament and took it on a road trip, sending pictures back to its owners of the gnome in front of Mount Rushmore, the Golden Gate bridge, etc. Always had an urge to do that. So those who are interested will get to see pictures of my 535 in front some off the beaten path destinations.

Maybe you are wondering why a not-young chick buys a car 2,500 miles from home sight unseen. Here is the condensed version of the explanation. My husband and I had 4 cars and wanted to thin the fleet. Sold the wrangler, sold my 90 325 convertible, and had plans to sell hubby’s 90 525. I started driving the 525 and decided I wanted to keep it, but there was the problem. Hubby’s definition of maintenance is top off whatever is leaking and when something breaks to the point it won’t run, get it towed in to the non-bmw-trained indy. I started reading this board to figure out what I need to do to keep the 525 running for another 200,000 miles. I found the 535 on this board and it was love at first description. Bought it and instead of shipping it, preferred to spend the money on a vacation.

Got it July 4th. My initial reaction is I love this car. The paint job was better than the pictures. Started it up—engine sounded good. Doesn’t have the throaty rumble our 525 had but it doesn’t have valve clatter either. This one had a nice quiet purr. And oh, the clutch…..I have owned 9 cars with manual transmissions, and this is the best ever…. Tight, smooth, not contrary. Thank you Philip (P.O.) and thank you to your indy.

Drove down the Garden State Parkway to the southern tip of Jersey. The M30 and the chip make merging on to the freeway much less of a challenge than the in-need-of-a-tune-up M20. And oh, by the way, did I say how much I love the clutch? Watched the temperature. A hair below 12 o’clock. Everything seems smooth and tight. Made it to Cape May a happy girl.
Very nice, I'm considering a manual in the future. How mch did it set you back?

[Gayle]

Very nice, I'm considering a manual in the future. How mch did it set you back?


$8,500

Philip (PO) had a thread about was the $10,000 he wanted for it reasonable. That thread is how I actually found the car. The feel I got from the replies and from some inquiries I did that 7000 to 7500 would have been market for it, even though Philip put 10000 into it. Since I won't be wrenching myself it was worth it to me to pay 8500. It wouldn't be worth that to someone who could work on it himself.

I also concluded was that the low mileage was not a big deal since the years could do as much damage as miles. Rubber rots you know. From my 325 I also know that things break while the car sits in the garage not being driven. What I was actually buying with this car was its history of good maintenance.

[uscharalph]

Great post!

[bahnstormer]

chrome tips?!?!? blah!!!!!

do a full eismann catback setup stainless steel - u'll get that nice purr
and then some! =]

[Gayle]

Bahnstormer--Thanks for the suggestion.

Day 2 of roadtrip

In my desire to get a picture of my car next to all manner of tourist attractions, I tried to get a picture of a gaggle of geese looking at my car. I am trying to herd them to a spot next to the car; the geese aren’t having any of it; and hubby is laughing his ass off. So I yell at him to move the car to the spot the geese want to go. He get in, starts her up, and starts swearing. The car is overheating in the middle of nowhere.

It is not like we haven’t been down this road before with our 525. Hubby caught the 535’s hot flash at the ¾ mark. He turns on the heater to pull the heat out of the engine. Does this really work or is this an old husband’s tale?

We call AAA roadside service (just upgraded our membership to premier status so I am looking forward to cashing in on the 80 miles of free towing). We pass the time waiting by trying to figure out where the coolant goes (doesn’t look like the 525 or the picture in the Bently) and berating ourselves for not checking the coolant level before leaving.

The car cools back down to normal in about 15 minutes. The tow truck gets there. The coolant level is normal. The driver can’t see any leaks either. We decide to drive on to Washington DC without using the air conditioning.

Here is a picture of my first overheating episode. Stay tuned to find out what happens.

[bahnstormer]

ooo strut tower bar! sexay!

just to let u know when u have the m30 on for a while
and then turn it off the heat soaks the engine and coolant
and if u turn it on again before it cools it'll be a little hotter
than normal, but it always drops down to normal just like
yours did..so i suspect it got up to 3/4 in part to the heat
and partly cuz it was just run.....am i right?

[uscharalph]

The heater thing works.

[TTyMiller]

Where did you get the Wheels i want some .

[632 Regal]

Nice write up Gayle, are you going to condence it into a one page post and like a photogallery? I think most folks here would like to see the different location thing...great idea.

Like posted above the heater does help and the engine can get hot after sitting briefly.

[Kalevera]

Ditto. Heat soak will do that time and time again, especially if it's a nice 'n hot day. Also, the M30 generates a lot of heat as it is....

Glad you're taking pics and enjoying the drive, Gayle!! :)

best, whit

[Gayle]

TTyMiller--The prior owner bought the wheels from David Chen, a member of this board.

Overheating Part 2

When the car overheated in the first 24 hours I had possession of it, I was not too alarmed, because I had the solution before I had the problem.

The last week before I got the car, it seemed like every post to this board was about overheating. I started having visions of my car overheating on a deserted stretch of road between San Antonio and El Paso. I pictured calling AAA and having the tow truck driver being like the guy in the commercial with Yao Ming saying “You ain’t from around here, er ya?” The thought of the mechanic is just too horrible to describe. I was losing sleep over this vision. Checked the website of BMW indys and couldn’t find any near any of my planned stops, so made an appointment to have the cooling system checked by the stealer in Washington DC.

I thought this would be a 2-3 hour delay in the roadtrip and thought we would just wait. Stealer tells the guy checking in next to me might not get his car back that day, and sitting around dealership seemed like a less appealing idea. They quoted $106 to diagnose. I mentally add repair rates of probably $125/hour and who know what for parts. Do we want to pay for rental car on top of that? Hubby goes to price a rental car. Comes back with the news the rental car is complimentary (fancy word for free). Leave, do some “catch and release” shopping in Georgetown and some monument hopping. Still no call from stealer. Take a nap. Still no call.

Decide to go hang out at stealer and be riff raff in their showroom. Figure if we start scaring off potential buyers, they will up our priority. Car goes into service bay at 1:30. Wait. Pace. Still no news at 3:30. Thoughts: Why don’t they know what’s wrong yet? Are their complications? Did she have to have an organ transplant? (Whine) I just want my car back. :(

Send hubby to be pushy in the friendly way that only Californians can do. Learn that the guy working on it went home sick without telling anyone. They put the shop foreman on the job. At 4:30 the stealership manager, wearing his bowtie, comes and says “Good news. The radiator flow is good. Everything is good except the aux fan and the stealership doesn’t have one in stock. You can drive on. You can run the air when you are on the road, just not in stop and go traffic.” :)

I bolt for the car and hubby goes to pay. He comes back mumbling about being shocked about the price. I am wondering if they charged us for the mechanics’ sick time. The price was $0. Free, Nada. :p

So they fully checked all the components of the cooling system, didn’t charge us the $106 they quoted to diagnose, didn’t stick us for over-priced stealer parts and rates, and gave a free rental car. Unbelievable huh? :D

I had hoped to have a cool picture that looked like the Washington monument coming out of the sunroof, but instead all I have is a pic at the stealership.

The second picture is in front of the Vanderbilt Estate in Asheville, NC. It is the largest home in the US. Had to crop part of it out to get the pic down to allowable size to post. Thought it was weird that there were no BMWs in parking lot here. Then I realized I haven't seen a single Bimmer on the road in N.C. and now in Tennessee.

[Kalevera]

Asheville's a great town, isn't it?! :) One of my good buddies lives on (practically) the side of a mountain there. His driveway's one of these insane ~50 degree deals.

Sounds like you found the only good dealership in the US. Aux fan -- typical :D


best, whit

[Johntee540]

You were down in South Arlington. BMW Arlington is okay and they are known to be honest. But the best shop in South Arlington / Alexandria is Martin Motorsports - Gary Martin is very active in BMWCCA Local chapters and an enthusiast just like we are. You were about 2 miles from the Best BMW Indy in DC! - JT

[Gayle]

Johntee--Wish I had known about him. Did a search for indys. Remember seeing his name but didn't know where any of the indys were in relationship to where we were going to be. Went with the dealer just because they had a website with a map and they were near the metro.

Kentucy and Bama

Left my friends camera in Knoxville hotel. They will mail it. Bought a camera. Can't figure out the setting to get pics from camera to computer. Will post tomorrow.

Imaginary picture #1
White 535 by roadside stand in front of ramshackle house. Sign on stand advertises Miller lite. You have to love a state that sells beer instead of lemonaide.

Picture # 2
White 535 by flea market. Man on blanket sells wheels, mostly mismatched and rusty. No Style 5s here.

Stop at Unclaimed Baggage Center of America in Scottsboro Alabama. Big garage sale type place selling things people left on airplanes. People have left some pretty amazing things--guidance systems for military jets, live rattlesnakes, mummy. I was hoping for accessories for the 535--pair of dress wheels or something. No luck. Did buy an Olympus c770 (ultra zoom)for $250.

Forge on. Starts to rain as we drive into the front of Huricane Dennis in Alabama. We got a big test of its rain capabilities driving across Virginia. We had a ~500 mile from DC to Asheville. (And yes Whit, Asheville is goregous. I was really impressed). It rained most of the way and we didn't get started til 5pm. It was brutal, but the 535 performed like a champ. The protezas held the road really, really well. I never felt like I was on the verge of losing control, even the times were rolling at 80. I was happy the wripers were good. Water beaded up on the wax nicely. Wished the windsheild had rainex, but you can't have everything. I started to get delirious about midnight. Hubby took over. He discovered the high beam. Duh. What a discovery. The road ahead lite up with stadium lighting. Oh my god, was it amazing. Thank you Philip. When we are not in a rush, I plan to puruse the records and find out what I've got. I want similar lights for low beam. I am assuming that is possible.

We are in Meridian, Mississippi. Today we are going to book for New Orleans, right in front of Dennis. Dennis is supposed to hit land 133 miles south of us. New Oreleans is a little west. We expect to have the place to ourselves.

[Gayle]

Saw a whole string of "used" car lots like this in Alabama. Hubby and I are starting to suspect it is our "po white trash" heritage that makes us want to own a bunch of old cars. It's in our genes.

The second and third pictures are in the French Quarter about 2 hours before the huricane hit. Only a few sprinkles and nice cool weather. The gray skys don't make for interesting pictures though.

[rickm]

Asheville? You should have yelled. :) I live there, haven't been driving my E34 around. Depending on what day it was I could have tossed a chunk of bison on the grill.

[Gayle]

RickM--bison sounds good. sorry I missed it. did have some interesting food today though--alligator soup, crawdaddy pie, red beans, rice, and sausage. Locals steered us to favorite non tourist dive--Frankie and Johnny's. At the next table were 3 detectives wearing ties and packing heat. You know it is a good place when it gets the police vote.

Got the road grime of 2 tropical storms washed off the baby today. To find a hand wash, had to go to the ghetto--"World of Suds" which was a hose and vac in a vacant lot. I got to sit in a lawn chair in the shade of an I-10 overpass while Chad and Tony made her pretty again. Chad sweet talked her with "this bad boy--she's tight." She drove better after the bath.

First pic is the French Quarter school attended by Lee Harvey Oswald and Richard Simons. Hmm. Second picture is the place where Jennifer Flowers (Clinton's main squeeze before Monica) sings. Third one I think in the balcony from which the vodoo queens calls to Tiger Woods as he drives by in his Buick.

[rickm]

If you feel like more time in Louisiana (or looser-anna as Winfred calls it), head west over to Abbeville and eat at Black's. Yum, it's worth a roadtrip.

[Brian C.]

It seems like the only thing you need might be to have Michael Palin in the back seat with a film crew! :p Great pics....looks like you're having a great time. The car is very nice looking too. The wheels are sweet!!

Do you take requests?? I'm thinking of a photo in front of the Grand Canyon maybe.......or how about on the strip in Vegas?? Isn't there a "World's Largest Ball of Rubber Bands" or something along the way?

And if you're in Tuscon, AZ and need a mechanic, there's this guy named Bill R...................... ;)


Enjoy the car and the trip!!

Brian C.

[Gayle]

It seems like the only thing you need might be to have Michael Palin in the back seat with a film crew! :p Great pics....looks like you're having a great time. The car is very nice looking too. The wheels are sweet!!

Do you take requests?? I'm thinking of a photo in front of the Grand Canyon maybe.......or how about on the strip in Vegas?? Isn't there a "World's Largest Ball of Rubber Bands" or something along the way?

And if you're in Tuscon, AZ and need a mechanic, there's this guy named Bill R...................... ;)


Enjoy the car and the trip!!

Brian C.

We have a stop planned in Tuscon and I may need a mechanic by then. If it isn't breaking, it isn't a BMW right?

[Gayle]

# 1 is at the Alamo

# 2 is a bridge over Riverwalk. The 535 is a great car but she doesn't do stairs, so couldn't get her down to the river. Check the star of Texas in the bridge.

#3 Pecos--home of hanging judge Roy Bean. Just outside of town, hubby earned his Indian name "He Who Whizes with Grasshoppers"

[Gayle]

Miles melt away on back roads in areas of sparse population with no police. The M30 purrs.

#1 in Carlsbad Cavern Park

#2 This picture needed a tripod, but check out the black streams over the roof and windshield. These are some of the 500,000 bats that fly out of the cavern at dusk in mass. A "bat out of hell" is really not that fast.

#3 Roswell New Mexico. The best thing about the alien museum is seeing the pictures of area 51. Has a 6 mile long runway.

[uscharalph]

Keep 'em coming.

[Gayle]

The temp in Arizona, while the highest, was not the most miserable. San Antonio beat out Washington DC, New Oreleans, and Arizonia on the subjective discomfort scale. Was really glad the cooling system problem didn't prevent us from using the air on the open road.

[Brian C.]

You're almost home, huh? How about Hoover Dam? You gonna do a photo there? When you're home, you'll need to compile a "Bimmer Across America" photo show. Very nice pics!

Brian C.