So... I bought...

[Chapel]

a 1997 BMW 328i Sedan with the Sport Package
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=cd8b2ef0da
the 'ass problem'

here it is in another position


here's one of the reasons I bought it:


Interior is clean:


two problems here

what should I do about this? i always buy cars with bolster tears and the intent to fix them, but no idea what it costs. I'd like to do it right out of the gate this time. How much would that cost?

Needs a couple of things that I noticed:
clutch bushings are shot
shifter bushings are shot
Front tires are mounted backwards of rotation.
trunk fabric is falling down from seat area

[Sporin]

The rest of the seats are in nice shape, imo it's worth taking the driver's to a pro upholstery shop and getting a quote, probably less $$$ then you think to repair.

[dubjager]

Wow that looks nice. Aside from the bolster which you can get fixed at any upholstery shop, you can glue that carpet back to the rear seat and bingo!

[Maggiolone]

Wow that looks nice. Aside from the bolster which you can get fixed at any upholstery shop, you can glue that carpet back to the rear seat and bingo!

Or velcro fasteners.

[patrickvr6]

You can get a new seat cover from these guys and put it on yourself.

http://www.autoberry.com/

[turbo_nine]

The rest of the seats are in nice shape, imo it's worth taking the driver's to a pro upholstery shop and getting a quote, probably less $$$ then you think to repair.

Indeed. I have a receipt here from an interior job done on my 745i where all the leather was replaced. Total was $600, and the seats were only half of that -- the rest was the headliner.

[Obin Robinson]

The rest of the seats are in nice shape, imo it's worth taking the driver's to a pro upholstery shop and getting a quote, probably less $$$ then you think to repair.

Ditto. I've found that professional upholstery shops not only can do the work much faster than I can but they cost a whole lot less than I originally thought.

obin

[Sporin]

Ditto. I've found that professional upholstery shops not only can do the work much faster than I can but they cost a whole lot less than I originally thought.

obin

Yeah, and as long as you aren't anal about the wear/color matching, you can have them do just the upper and lower bolsters on that side and it will be really close and you shouldn't have to worry about it ever again.

[PhilHVW]

Congrats! Fun car.

[josh_did_what]

Also, my local BMW dealer has an interior specialist come in every week and will replace individual pieces of leather on seats with OEM leather. Since the rest of the seats look perfect though I would just get the whole driver's seat done and have a mint interior.

[BLK9GEN]

Very nice! Mind if I ask what you paid?

[Chapel]

Or velcro fasteners.

I was thinking of using CommandLoc strips (fancy velcro)

Very nice! Mind if I ask what you paid?

It was advertised at $3500. I paid a little less.

[Obin Robinson]

Yeah, and as long as you aren't anal about the wear/color matching, you can have them do just the upper and lower bolsters on that side and it will be really close and you shouldn't have to worry about it ever again.

Exactly! They might have a whole bunch of extra material in a slightly different color that will end up looking fantastic. You never know until you ask.

obin

[Silly_me]

Make sure to have a spare water pump in the trunk for that 'just in case' moment when the plastic innards explode

[MAGICGTI]

I like it. A lot!

[tampaSi]

What's the deal with the rear suspension? Got hydraulics?

[Chapel]

What's the deal with the rear suspension? Got hydraulics?

just the way it's parked.

[geofftii2002]

Those are great cars and largely forgotten in the face of the E36 M3 in the minds of enthusiasts. They're still plenty fast, have beautifully balanced handling and those sport package seats are among the best of their era. They're also solidly reliable machines if they've been well cared for.

As for that seat, you have a couple options. I am assuming a full recover is not one of them, but if it is, check out World Upholstery or GAHH for alternatives to the dealer. You'd have to check with them, but either of those vendors may sell just the Bolster covering. If you yanked the seat and brought it to an upholstery shop you'd probably get out for just a few hundred bucks.

Another alternative is to have it repaired. Those are big holes, so it may not be repairable but I have seen some of those leather repair guys work magic. Find a friend in the dealership world who knows one. There are some good guys out there. One thing to note, you'll want that seat out as the clear coat they spray is a royal PITA to remove if they don't mask the rest of the interior 100% perfectly. Ask me how I know...

Great find! I'm sure you'll enjoy it for what it is so I won't bother saying don't ruin it with big wheels and coilovers.

[patrickvr6]

Cheap fix for the seat.

[AKADriver]

Mileage? If it's as low as it looks you stole that thing.

[Chapel]

Mileage? If it's as low as it looks you stole that thing.

189k

[B3passatBMX]

Congrats! Looks super clean. Did it come with maintenance records? Curious because of the Victor Reinz sticker on the valve cover. Wonder if the engine has been resealed at some point.

[crookedarm]

there is an identical coupe with 25K miles for $1500 local to me, all reciepts/service records and never seen snow.

its very very tempting. if it were a manual it would be parked in the street.

EDIT.

thought i'd call on it, sold.

[Chapel]

Congrats! Looks super clean. Did it come with maintenance records? Curious because of the Victor Reinz sticker on the valve cover. Wonder if the engine has been resealed at some point.

There's a pretty solid stack of paperwork. maybe not complete, but looks better than some I've seen

[B3passatBMX]

There's a pretty solid stack of paperwork. maybe not complete, but looks better than some I've seen

Figured if that's clean. The guy I bought my E34 gave me a folder of maintenance and receipts about 3 inches thick that he'd done in the last 8 months. I didn't hesitate to buy from him. My car just rolled 239K

[OOOO-A3]

shifter bushings are shot

UUC bushings, and UUC Short Shifter
http://store.uucmotorwerks.com/uuc/articles/main.htm

trunk fabric is falling down from seat area

I can explain this.

The e36 could be had with a ski pass-through in the rear armrest. On cars that did NOT have the pass-through installed, there was a metal panel tack-welded into the opening that you see there. A hammer and punch is all it takes to pop the panel out (obviously done on your car) and as you will see by looking at the armrest, the interior (back seat) upholstery covering the hole behind the armrest has velcro at the top for easy access. The previous owner just took the in-trunk upholstery panel down to use the pass-through instead of cutting a hole in the panel. That panel should be held in place with some of those plastic trim fasteners that you can get in the red "HELP!" packages.

Now, if you want to make it a proper pass-through, you can order the part from BMW. You'd cut a matching hole in the trim panel in the trunk, and part of the kit is a plastic flange that dresses it up neatly and covers the edges of the metal opening, and has an attached ski bag that would expand into the car through the armrest opening when in use.

The cheap thing to do would be to get some windlace to dress up the raw metal edges of the opening (so you don't scratch the **** out of your skis/whatever passes through it), and cut the matching hole in the trunk panel before you re-attach it. That's what I did.

[matty_peppers]

Awesome find. I need to be more vigilant, you beat me to an awfully clean e36 and you're in my area too. Not many in such shape around here.

[Old Windy]

That is a nice one. Any reason as to why is the suspension locked in that position? E-brake cables rusted solid and in that position? Does it only happens when it is parked?

[J-Tim]

Looks very straight! Congrats!

[Chapel]

UUC bushings, and UUC Short Shifter
http://store.uucmotorwerks.com/uuc/articles/main.htm

100%. I loved my UUC Short shifter. It's wicked expensive now.

I can explain this.

The e36 could be had with a ski pass-through in the rear armrest. On cars that did NOT have the pass-through installed, there was a metal panel tack-welded into the opening that you see there. A hammer and punch is all it takes to pop the panel out (obviously done on your car) and as you will see by looking at the armrest, the interior (back seat) upholstery covering the hole behind the armrest has velcro at the top for easy access. The previous owner just took the in-trunk upholstery panel down to use the pass-through instead of cutting a hole in the panel. That panel should be held in place with some of those plastic trim fasteners that you can get in the red "HELP!" packages.

Now, if you want to make it a proper pass-through, you can order the part from BMW. You'd cut a matching hole in the trim panel in the trunk, and part of the kit is a plastic flange that dresses it up neatly and covers the edges of the metal opening, and has an attached ski bag that would expand into the car through the armrest opening when in use.

The cheap thing to do would be to get some windlace to dress up the raw metal edges of the opening (so you don't scratch the **** out of your skis/whatever passes through it), and cut the matching hole in the trunk panel before you re-attach it. That's what I did.

Yesterday at the show, the kid was using the passthrough to put something through. He played dumb about it on Saturday, but maybe realized he could use it on Sunday to put some fold up chairs.

[sandiegan]

That looks nice.

[B3passatBMX]

words about the ski pass

Or...someone had a subwoofer in the trunk and wanted more bass in the cabin. Easiest way to do is punch out the ski pass. Did it in my E30

[Jrod511]

I just had the sport seat in my 325i redone; the bottom cushion was recovered in leather, and some wear on the upper bolster was air brushed. Seat came out perfect; paid $160. Guy quoted me $100 if I wanted it in vinyl.

[Chapel]

I just had the sport seat in my 325i redone; the bottom cushion was recovered in leather, and some wear on the upper bolster was air brushed. Seat came out perfect; paid $160. Guy quoted me $100 if I wanted it in vinyl.

will they patch holes normally?

[Mike0105]

Nice buy Jared! Besides the driver side seat the interior is in really great shape, how many miles on the car?
Mike