1997 BMW 3-Series

Convertible

2.8 liter inline 6 cylinder

Manual

WBABK7325VET65175

Clear

GAS

1997 BMW 328 convertible with hardtop (if the buyer doesn’t want the hardtop, I’ll knock $1,000 off the final price, and adjust the reserve accordingly). I bought the car in July, 2007 with 79K miles on it, and I drove it another 87K miles since I've owned it, or a little over 15K miles per year. Almost all of hte miles I put on the car were commuting, and most of those were highway miles. This car is mechanically sound, and it runs great. The 2.8 liter, inline 6 cylinder engine idles and runs smoothly, and the car accelerates, shifts, brakes, and corners exactly as it should. There are a few rattles in the door panels that can be heard when driving on bumpy roads, but there is no steering wheel shimmy at any speed, and it brakes in a straight line. The brakes and suspension are outstanding. The gears do not grind, the clutch does not slip, and there is no rust that I can see, or that I am aware of anywhere on the car. This car is, by far, the best handling, cornering, and braking car I had ever driven (up until a few days ago when I bought a BMW M Roadster). The car looks great from a few feet away, but it is by no means a show car or a collectors car. This was my daily driver for the last 5 years and 8 months, and I have kept the car up to spec mechanically, but there are small chips, dents, and scratches as described in detail below. I’d still be driving this car if I hadn’t very recently come across a really good deal on a low mileage BMW roadster. I have detailed below all of the information on the car in order to accurately describe the condition. I know it looks like I have listed a lot of problems, but most of these are small issues, or minor annoyances, and I am listing everything I can think of in the interest of full disclosure to potential buyers. I prefer to sell this car someone locally who can come and inspect the car, and test drive it to verify that the condition of the vehicle is exactly as I have represented it here, but all are welcome. I commute about 40 weeks out of each year about 75 miles per day, and 68 of the 75 daily miles of that is on the interstate highway. I average between 28 and 31 mpg, depending on how fast I drive, and how many stop lights I encounter when I run errands on the way to and from work. This car was rated 20 city/29 highway mpg, and when they changed the mpg ratings system in 2007, that was lowered to 18 city/26 highway. The onboard computer indicates 30.6 mpg for the current tank of gas, and 30.2 mpg average over the last three or four years, however, I have found that the computer over-estimates the mpg by about 1.5 mpg. I have gotten as high as an indicated 33.6 mpg on interstate driving for several hundred miles @ 55 - 60 miles per hour, but this was with some effort to stay off the gas pedal, and coasting down the mountains. I rarely use the car for anything other than commuting on the interstate in the right lane at 65 - 75 mph. If I’m running 70 mph, and push the pedal to the floor, it will go to 95 mph in a hurry, and it feels steady as a rock at any speed. It will go a lot faster, but not with me driving! It has variable valve timing (BMW calls it VANOS) on the intake camshaft, and as soon as the engine revs go over 3500 rpm, the acceleration really kicks in, but I only run the engine that fast once in awhile to make sure it still runs like it seems to want to. Shortly after I purchased the car, I replaced the air filter with a K&N lifetime filter, and put on new Zimmerman brake rotors and new brake pads on all four wheels, and had the oil changed in the transmission and differential. The local BMW master mechanic replaced the head gasket about 5 months later due to a coolant leak, but the engine did not overheat, and the head did not warp (the check coolant level light came on, or I wouldn’t have known there was a coolant leak) In January, 2011, I put on a new set of Michelin Pilot Exalto tires, and at the same time, the mechanic replaced the rear trailing arm bushings and the front lower control arms, and had an alignment done. The old tires wore perfectly evenly, and the new tires appear to be wearing evenly also, and there are tens of thousands of miles left on these tires (at least there are the conservative way that I drive). I change the oil and filter every 3,000 - 5,000 miles with Mobil 1 synthetic oil. The sound system is stock, with a six-CD changer in the trunk, and the LCD display only works once in awhile. BMWs were not known for their great sound quality back in the 1990s, but it doesn’t sound terrible, either. Most of the speakers were re-coned about 5 years ago. The good: The car runs, drives, and handles great, and gets pretty good gas mileage for a 16 year old car with a 6 cylinder engine. The A/C blows cold, heat blows hot. All of the switches, buttons, and lights work perfectly, except the radio LCD display, which only comes on when it feels like it, and the airbag warning light stays on. The airbag warning light is a common problem with BMWs from the 1990s. If you google BMW airbag light reset, you can read how often this warning light comes on when there really is no problem with the airbags, and you can buy a $100 tool to reset the warning light if it bothers you, and the warning light will stay off for a couple of months before it comes back on again. The engine does not burn or leak any oil, and the oil level does not drop at all between oil changes. There are no oil leaks that I am aware of, but I have spilled some oil on the engine the last couple of times I changed it. The paint looks great from 15 or 20 feet away. No rust anywhere. Exhaust, brakes, and clutch are completely functional and work great. I have never had an accident in the car, and I've never seen a carfax on it, so I don't know if the car has had any accidents prior to my buying the car in 2007. The bad: The car has the normal wear and tear for a 16 year old car with 166K miles. There are many small stone chips in the grill and hood from highway driving, and the lower lip has places where the paint has worn off. The previous owners apparently never put any leather conditioner on the leather seats. I apply conditioner at least twice a year, but there is some wear on the driver's seat left side bolster that was mostly done before I got the car in 2007. One of the rims has a small amount of curb rash, another rim has a noticeable dent in it. These BMW rims are known for denting easily, and the local BMW master mechanic said it isn't anything to worry about, and it won't affect handling, braking, or tire wear. The spare in the trunk is in great shape with no curb rash or visible dents, and could be easily swapped for the dented one, or the one with minor curb rash. A previous owner put an American flag sticker next to the license plate. The sticker fell off a long time ago, but there is still some residue on the paint, I suspect this could be buffed off, but I never bothered trying anything other than soap to remove it, so the adhesive probably bonded to the paint. The rear driver’s side rear tire leaks one or two pounds of pressure per day. I recently took the tire shop try to find the leak, but they couldn’t find any leak to repair, so they replaced the valve stem, and re-seated the beads on the rim, but it still leaks that same amount. It is annoying, but I fill it up to 40 lbs. every other day at the local convenience store on my way to work (I run 35 lbs. in the fronts, and 40 lbs. in the rears). The carpets are worn and have some stains, but are not falling apart. The passenger front window squeaks, and probably needs new guides (another common problem on older BMWs). There are a few very small parking lot dents on the sides, and a few very small hail dents in the hood. These are really small, and not obvious, and you have to look for them to see them. When taking these pictures, I noticed that the windshield rubber gasket is missing a chunk at the top center. The hardtop rear window has a gap at the bottom center that I discovered a month ago, and I covered it with black electrical tape. Both of these can be seen in the pictures. The fog lights do not operate at this time. One of the lenses is cracked, and the other lets water leak in. There are replacement fog lights on eBay for around $70/pair, or the BMW replacements for > $100/each. If you just need them to work to get through state inspection, a couple of new bulbs would probably work for for long enough to get inspected. In my opinion, fog lights are more for looks than for function. They don't do squat in the fog, and I never use the ones on my truck or my wife's car. The windshield cowl/wiper motor cover - the piece of plastic with a rubber edge that fits at the bottom of the windshield and underneath the wiper posts is shot. The rubber is cracked and deteriorating. Replacements are available on ebay for around $54 +$10 shipping the last time I looked. The rear seats in this car have a tiny amount of legroom. If the driver or front passenger moves the seat back as far as it can go, there is no way that an adults can sit behind them unless they are tiny. The rubber gasket around the windshield is missing a small chunk as can be seen in the picture below. The hardtop rear window rubber gasket has a gap at the bottom center, which I covered with a piece of black electrical tape (also pictured below). The convertible top has just begun to leak a few drops when it rains hard. The convertible motor that raises and lowers the top works, but sometimes it involves an extra step or two to ensure the top folds up correctly. I assume this is the original convertible top, and if I was going to keep the car, I'd replace the top. I leave the hardtop on about 8 months of the year, so I haven't bothered replacing the soft top. The hardtop: This was a very expensive BMW option, and these are fairly rare, and highly sought after. If the auction winner doesn’t want the hardtop, I will keep it and knock $1,000 off the final, winning bid, and will sell it myself in a separate auction. This car did not have the hardtop when I bought it, but the first time I saw ice and snow on the convertible top, I knew I had to have one, and when I found one for sale locally for $1,200, I bought it even though it was a different color, had a few scratches on the roof, and the headliner was coming apart. I had a local upholstery shop replace the headliner, and I bought and installed the hardtop mounting kit, which locks down the rear corners, and provides power to the internal courtesy lights and rear winder defroster. The top is made of aluminum, and it only weighs about 40 pounds, and can be easily attached or removed by two people in less than two minutes. Another note on the hardtop: convertible cars have a fair amount of torsional flex in the frame compared to sedans and coupes. It is remarkable how much torsional rigidity the hardtop adds to the car. Maybe some people wouldn’t notice it, but I can really tell, especially when accelerating on bumpy interstate exit and entrance ramp cloverleaf turns. Other information: The radiator was replaced before I bought the car. The plastic thermostat housing was replaced with a metal housing before I bought the car. The previous owner told me the battery was brand new, and I have never had any problem with it since I've owned it. I have no way of knowing, but I assume the clutch and the convertible top are original. The clutch operates perfectly, and has zero signs of ever slipping. In my opinion, the top is ready for replacement, or just leave the hardtop on. The title is clear and in my name. The car is used, and there is no warranty or guarantee. It has been a very reliable car for me, and I see no reason to suspect it will not continue to provide years of service given proper maintenance. I may be forgetting some other detail, and if I remember anything else, I will add it. Please let me know if you have any questions, or if you'd like to see the car. I have more pictures in higher resolution that I can send upon request. I think the reserve is set at a reasonable level below the Kelly Blue Book value, and considering the age, mileage, condition, after subtracting some amount since it needs a new convertible top, and adding some amount for the hardtop. On Mar-31-13 at 20:02:49 PDT, seller added the following information: Note: I have no idea why the listing indicates there is a sunroof in the options, and it appears I cannot fix this error. There is no sunroof. It is a convertible, and it has a hardtop in addition to the convertible soft top.On Mar-31-13 at 20:28:51 PDT, seller added the following information: The Options: sections should also indicate the car has BMW's Sport suspension package. Also, I just remembered that the previous owner replaced the front turn signal lights and side marker lights with aftermarket lights with clear lenses. The front turn signal bulbs appear to be blue to match the car color, but when flashing, they light up orange as turn signals should.On Apr-05-13 at 21:25:38 PDT, seller added the following information: I forgot to add - it has heated front seats and it has climate control.