A stunningly preserved example of BMW’s classic “shark nosed” 5 series.
Originally supplied by BMW Park Lane, it was exported to Bahrain where it remained for a number of years, before being re-imported into the UK. No doubt, beginning its life in a dry climate has helped in keeping this car corrosion free, both bodywork wise and its underside, which sadly, cannot be said of many surviving E28 BMWs today.
Fitted with the sought after 5 speed manual gearbox, the car was highly specified from the factory with options including, leather interior, air conditioning, electric windows, mirrors, central locking and sunroof, along with a Limited Slip Differential.
As a 528i, it’s fitted with BMW’s legendary straight six M30 engine that generates 184bhp (only 6bhp less than the latest 2.8 BMW engines). With the correct maintenance, these engines are capable of huge mileage and to date, it has covered only 71,600 miles from new, which is incredibly low mileage for an E28.
The car comes with a huge history file of maintenance invoices and the service booklet contains no less than 25 stamps.
Tipped by Quentin Wilson as one of his “Smart Buys” in the Classic Cars Investment Guide 2021, this car represents a great opportunity to own one of the finest available examples of this classic “lantern jawed” 80s BMW saloon.
We think the Alpine White bodywork beautifully accentuates the rakish lines of the E28 series.
As can be seen from the photos, the paintwork is in superb overall condition, with no corrosion to be found in the usual places (jacking points, wings, sills, door bottoms, sunroof area, bonnet, boot edges and footwells).
All the chrome brightwork is also in excellent condition, with no signs of pitting.
As part of the pre-sales preparation, the chrome strips that run around the front and rear screens, were replaced with genuine BMW items, as these always go a little milky with age.
The E28 was noted for its ergonomic interior design. With a clear and simple gauge cluster, a centre stack all angled towards the driver, a perfectly-placed gear lever and well-spaced pedal box, it’s every bit a driver-focused interior you’d expect.
The car was highly optioned from the factory with, a leather interior, heated electric door mirrors, electric windows and sunroof, central locking, alloy wheels, green insulated glass and a Limited Slip Differential.
The seats are both supportive and comfortable and the “Taurus Rot” upholstery, contrasts superbly with the white bodywork. As can be seen from the photos, the seats are in lovely overall condition, with the driver’s and passenger’s seats sympathetically re-furbished (as part of the pre-sales preparation), so as not to lose all patina.
Cleverly designed thin A, B and C pillars provide for a light and airy feel to the cabin, further accentuated, when the electric sun roof is opened. The design also provides for superb all round visibility. The leather door cards are immaculate and unmarked and the original carpets have been preserved in pristine condition, by a set of BMW mats front and back. All the switch gear works as it should and the boot looks like it has never had anything in it and has remained bone dry, with no signs of any corrosion. The car comes with a pristine set of BMW tools, original jack, warning triangle, spare bulb kit and centre cap removal tool.
For UK registered cars, factory fitted air conditioning was a rare option. Fitted in this car, it still blows cold and no doubt was an absolute must for a car destined for Bahrain when new.
The car has been retro fitted with a Sony DSXA410BT Digital Media Receiver, which allows for both Bluetooth and USB connectivity. The original Blaupunkt Cambridge M23 radio cassette player, has been retained and will come with the car.
The straight-six under the bonnet is a perfect example of why it was the go-to engine of choice at the time, for companies looking to build cars that could feel both luxurious and sporty.
In the 528i guise, the M30 engine is incredibly smooth. It is tractable at the lower end of the rev range, the well-spaced gearing making the most of the ample torque. However, when you start to hold the gears to explore the upper reaches of the rev range, it rewards with real urgency and a great bark to its exhaust note.
Mechanically, the car has been exceptionally well looked after with no expense spared, evidenced by an extensive set of maintenance invoices and service records, dating back to its pre-delivery check.
As part of the pre-sales preparation, the car was given a full service, which included engine, gearbox and differential oil changes, as well as a coolant change. In addition, the cam cover was removed to check for any undue cam shaft wear, which showed none and the oil spray bar banjo washers were replaced and all banjo nuts were checked and tightened to correct factory settings. A prudent maintenance step to take periodically, as these have been known to work loose on the M30 engine, resulting in loose nuts interfering with the spinning cam shaft!
Finally, over time, wear in the gear lever linkage bushes result in an imprecise and sloppy gear change. Again, as part of the pre-sales preparation, worn gear lever linkage bushes have been replaced with genuine BMW replacements, resulting in a precise and slop free feel to the gear change, reminiscent to how it would have been when it left the factory and a joy to use.
The car sits on beautifully refurbished 15 inch Factory BMW sculptured cast alloy wheels, fitted with 225/60 R15 tyres all with significant tread left. The spare wheel was also refurbished and the tyre fitted appears unused.
The car is currently sitting on slightly lowered H&R springs, which provides for a more purposeful stance, but without any issues with the wheels rubbing on the wheel arches or creating an overly harsh ride. The original springs have been retained, are in very good condition and will come with the car, should the new owner wish to return the car to original.
Fitted with discs brakes all round for plenty of stopping power, the braking system was thoroughly checked over when the car was serviced, as part of its pre-sale preparation.
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As can be seen from the photos of the underside, this is one of the cleanest cars we’ve seen. The original underseal is in incredible condition, there no evidence of the car ever being welded and no signs of corrosion to the floor pans or sills.
As part of the pre-sales preparation, all mechanical componentry on the car’s underside were painstakingly treated to a coating of clear DINITROL automotive rust prevention and corrosion protection treatment, to provide for long-term protection.
In addition, “Lanoguard Motospray” treatment (see link:
https://www.lanoguard.co.uk/collections/moto/products/lanoguard-moto-spray)
has been applied over the top of the original underseal and the hard to access areas, such as under the bumpers, prop shaft tunnel, up behind the spare wheel well and behind the petrol tank.
This provides for a further level of corrosion resistance to those areas, which is long lasting and jet wash proof. This all adds up to a car that now has outstanding underbody protection from corrosion, typically unavoidable for cars driven on UK roads all year round.
There is an large history file, dating back to the original order specification sheet from BMW Park Lane.
The file contains extensive maintenance and parts invoices, evidencing the high level of care it has received since new.
In addition, the car comes with its original BMW owners folder, which contains the Owner’s Handbook and Service Booklet. The Service Booklet contains no less than 25 stamps in its service history, a mixture of main dealers and independent specialists.
The history also contains the registration document, export correspondence and a set of MOT certificates dating from 2002 to the current one.
Finally, there is a Total Vehicle Check report undertaken when we acquired the car, providing amongst other information, a clear HPI check.
Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure accuracy of the vehicle descriptions and information, some inaccuracies may occur. It is important that you do not rely on this information but check with Montpellier Motor Cars Limited about any items which may affect your decision to buy this vehicle, as well as examine the vehicle and check the accuracy of the information before purchasing any vehicle. We cannot accept any liability arising from any errors in the data provided.
Whilst every effort is made to represent details accurately on our Web Site, variations or errors may occur and so the information contained herewith does not constitute an offer for sale of any particular vehicle, accessory or specification.
