Finally, an Allrad I can call my own

Doug called me up on Wednesday to let me know to come get it on Thursday, drive it a week and let him know what items needed tweaking, replacing, etc.  So I drove to the park and ride, hopped on the bus, transferred to the light rail and walked a 1/2 mile to his shop for $4.  

Doug had it ready for me.  Gave him a check, got the title and headed home by way of Rack Attack.  No one could find the keys to the rack and one of the three towers was locked down on the roof.   I figured Rack Attack would have a key for an old Yakima.  They didn't, but they did have a drill and took it all off for me for free.  It was worn out, but they could use it for parts for customers that had an old rack.  When I would take this car skiing, I'd use the optional ski sack the car came with so a whistling 20 year old rack wasn't of much use to me.

Under the hood, you see no signs of rust and only the yellowish Cosmoline that was coated on these cars engine bays and undersides for protection years ago, when cars were shipped over seas.  I don't think they do this today, but who knows.  Mineral spirits should take that off.  Maybe I'll give it a shot this spring time.

VIN number decoded here:http://www.bmwarchive.org/vin/8137255.pdf

Rack off, at home in the driveway

Will get these plates back to original owner once I get mine.

Dad says, "Go see Doug!"

Doug Paddock at Paddock Imports east of Santa Fe on 6th Ave has maintained and repaired our BMWs for many years.  My old 6 series and my Father's 2005 BMW X5 4.4i received wonderful support and service from Doug and his staff.  During the process of trying to buy the last BMW E30, my Father kept saying, "What does Doug say?"  "What does Doug recommend?"  "Does Doug know about this car?"   "I bet Doug knows what to do, go see him."  "I bet Doug has answers."

A week passed from when I got back home from KC to heading out Monday, March 17th on St. Patricks day to 'go see Doug.'  I drove down there in the morning and said, "Doug, what do you think about BMW E30 iXs?"

He replied, "I have a really great one right outside that one of my customers asked me to get ready for sale."

As simple as that...   One question, one answer.

I said, "Let's go look at it."

We walked 10' outside his door and bam, there this white coupe from 1989 sat.

He goes on to tell me that one of his customer graduated from Law School and proceeded to buy a new BMW 325iX from a local dealer.  It's had 158k miles on it and his shop has basically been maintaining, repairing and accessorizing it for many many years.

I walked around it as he continued his update of what this car was.   It had some rock chips and dings from normal wear but you could tell this car lived in a garage and then was driven to another garage at work.  No Dash Cracks.  No Excessive Seat Wear.  No worn out window moldings or paint.  I looked inside and was just wowed.

Smelled neutral, clean, just perfect for what I was looking for.

I popped my head up and said, "I'll buy it!"

"Oh, how much is it?"  That's how excited I was to find a car that was one owner, meticulously maintained, lived its entire life in dry Colorado, zero rust, yadda yadda yadda.

"Oh around $8K."  Doug replied.  "But come back on Wed or Th and let me get a new battery in it and tighten the belts."

"Okay, will do!  Don't sell it to anyone else now!"  :)

I found a car.  A car I could trust.  A car my mechanic knew.  A car that had proven itself for many years here in Colorado.  An E30 BMW.  A 325iX!

A resolve in middle America...

Took Adam a few hours to drive up to where I had made it, Raymore, Missouri.  Raymore is basically a suburb outside of South Kansas City.  I chatted with my friends and family on the phone.  I also looked for a flight out of KC airport on Sat night or Sunday morning. There was only one flight left to Denver at 5:30pm and I would not make that.  It was almost 4pm.

While I was diagnosing the issue on the side of the highway, I knew I had a few options.  One, I could get a tow to a reputable BMW independent mech that could fix the transmission, somewhere in Kansas City.  Two, Adam would help me get it back to Springfield where he would help me find a place back there to fix it.  Or Three, he just buy it back from me and we move on with our lives.

When he arrived, he was apologetic and we began looking the car over.  Fluid looked full, no leaks and no dice on moving forward, even with a full 3 hour cool down of the car and transmission.

I took option 3 that he offered.  I hopped into his big Chevy truck and he drove me to the KC airport 45 min up the road from where we were.  I booked a night at the Marriott Airport and he dropped me off with a check for $3,000, as he had already cashed my check and deposit, earlier that Saturday.

I checked in, had a nice dinner with room service and relaxed in the bed until it was time to go to sleep, about when I originally planned to roll home in Denver.  Bummer.

I flew out that next morning with beautiful weather and was home in Colorado by 11am.  Wife and I went to lunch and thought about what to do next.

Friday Night Departures

So after waiting an entire week from when I won the auction, Friday arrived.  So did a snow storm!

Flight was originally scheduled to leave at 8:30 and that was pushed back an hour due to delays and de-icing, etc.  Snow ended up not being too terribly heavy.   

Another flight also left a few hours before my flight and now it was lost.  Malaysian Airlines 370.  Thank you Flight attendant for continuing to bring that up as we waited on the tarmac to take off.

Not too long of a flight, less than 2 hours.  We arrived around 11:30 pm in Springfield, MO after battling a flight with a malfunctioning heater.  When we got on the plane it was about 95F and then early on they turned it off and let it get to about 45F before returning it on.  No sleep was had in that climate control event.  Not complaining, but it was memorable.

Check in at the Marriott Courtyard Airport for $80/night.  Slept soundly, woke up, ate breakfast in the lobby and waited for Adam to bring the BMW.

Around 10:30am he arrived, just as the rain is letting up.  I had already Paypal'd him $500 as a deposit and had a cashier's check for $2,500 on my person.  I checked out the car, it's running smoothly, and as described.  The interior was a bit dirty and would need more than a detail to fully sort.  Rule #32, when you see a car for sale and the interior pictures are out of focus or weirdly cropped, there's a reason.  Now BMW E30 interiors are relatively cheap and easy to replace with non-cracked, non-worn out parts, so I wasn't too upset about it.  The key to this car was zero rust and the low price.

So I drove off to top off fuel at the nearest convenient megamart fuel station.  I realized that the automatic transmission is hesitating as if the torque converter isn't hooking up correctly, as if the correct fluid spec wasn't used.  Hmm, this really was going to be an adventure.  At my first fuel up, an older country man came up to talk about his experience years ago with a BMW and check out this AWD bulldog.  Fun times, good conversation.

So up on the road this car at 75mph on cruise was doing just fine.  Drove straight down the road with minimal vibrations.  The new BigO generic tires probably needed a slight balance.  Who knows, maybe the knock off 15" Ronal rims were slightly bent?   Probably a balance.

Two hours down the road, I noticed the car was having issues climbing hills at speed and the tach was spinning up high.  Uh oh!   As I was creeping slowly down the interstate on the outskirts of Kansas City, the car began refusing to go forward.  I am only about 180 miles down the road.  Bummer.  Pulled off the interstate onto the shoulder.  The car will reverse, but no more forward.  Hmm.  

I actually was angry at this point.  I called and left a message for Adam, "Adam, I'm about 2 hours down the road and the transmission is refusing to move the car forward.  I have a hard time believing you didn't notice something wrong.  Give me a call back."

As I was analyzing the situation a Missouri State Trooper spotted me and pulled up behind me.  As he was walking up to the car, Adam called back.  I answered my iPHone, "Hello?" 

"John, I'm about 2.5 hours away, I'm driving to come get ya!  I feel bad, I'll make this right!"

That conversation disarmed me and made me realize, I better relax and enjoy the adventure.

The officer was a young man, originally from Arkansas who had been on the job about 5 years.   He and I sat in the front seat of his Dodge Charger cruiser while we waited for the wrecker, he called, to arrive.  He said, "I noticed that your plates are registered to a different black german car, what's up with that?"

I replied, "Yeah I just bought this car in Springfield.  Here's the title, my insurance on the car and neither state will give me temp or perm plates on a Saturday.  Colorado has to see the car.  So I put some plates off my Porsche so I wouldn't be driving down your roads plateless."

He looked over the documents and was cool with my story and situation.  We chatted for another 20 min about his job and what I did for a living and was a pleasant experience.  I should have asked to turn the siren on.  The lights were already on!  :)  

The wrecked showed up shortly and latched on to the front with the car in neutral and hauled me a mile down the road to a Walmart parking lot where I could wait for Adam to arrive.

Need to wait a week to fly out and drive back

So I've won an eBay auction that gives me the opportunity to purchase this 1989 BMW 325iX in Springfield, MO, approximately 750 miles from where I live.  Looking on United Airline's website I can fly there in one week, on a one way, late on Friday night, and I will only consume 10,000 miles.  750 miles home will take about 12 hours with minimal stops in good weather.

One of the fun things to do when getting an old car is to go through it tip to tail and figure out what it needs and put a plan together to get the vehicle to a reliable, known state.  You don't want to buy a 20+ year car and just drive it with out understanding what it needs and when.  This car appears to need a few things from talking with the owner, his ad and his pictures.  ABS sensor, a new radio, a detail, some OEM wheels at some point, rear iX badge and probably a few minor things.

While waiting for the week to pass, I did a search on Craigslist for E30 parts and found some very clean BMW 325iX OEM BBS rims with new snow tires, up in Boulder.  $500 for four.  I met Mike from Boulder early in the week and picked up the wheels and tires off Ward Rd and I-70.  The Center caps were in mediocre shape but the tires and rims were in fantastic shape.  

My first 1989 BMW 325iX - Rust free at last!

As I was telling my Father, I have searched countless times over the last decade for low cost, rust free, well maintained BMW 325iX.  I have obviously missed the few ones that come up for sale.

Fast forward to the last week of February 2014 and I was doing my normal searches for a clean non-rusty, under 200k miles iX, when I stumbled upon an interesting ebay ad.  Essential the ebay ad read as follows:

This car is in great condition with many new parts.
Vinyl dashboard has 3 cracks.
Front driver side has slight haze to wheel well.
Needs new clear coat.
Sunroof handle hangs down slightly. $20.00 part.
Clock occasionally blinks.
ABS light is on but functioning.
Mechanic said it was a sensor.
Around 146,000 miles this car had the following items done:
Timing belt, water pump, thermostat, intake manifold gasket, valve cover gasket, new belts and hoses, new spark plugs, wires, fuel filter, new tires from Big O with warranty remaining, transmission serviced, front and rear differential fluids replaced.
Around 149,000 miles a new fuel pump was installed by BMW.
Car was repainted due to a lifting clear coat.
This car just made a 2,000 mile trek through Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas.
The AWD on this car handled beautifully in the snow.
This is a nice, clean, classic looking car, I hate to let it go but it just isn't big enough for my growing family.
Serious bidders please request additional pictures, videos, etc.
Depending on buyers location I can meet part way for a fee.
Automatic Transmission - Mileage 152,000

I ran a CarFax and you could tell it spent 23 of its 25 years in New Mexico, so no rust.  Starting price of ebay ad was $3K.  Not bad.  Sure it needed a few things and some cleaning.  I talked to the owner on the phone and he was a BMW enthusiast and really cared about the car.  I bid the $3K and watched it for the rest of the few days remaining.  

Friday afternoon rolls around and I am at my parent's house for some afternoon coffee and conversations.  I get notified that I just won that ebay auction.  No one else bid!

One catch, the car is in Springfield, Missouri.  My wife and I thought it would be a fun Wheeler Dealer type car at the very least.  Let me find a one way flight so I can drive it back 750 miles home.

My BMW history - 1981-2013

I grew up in Houston, Texas in the 1970s and 1980s.  I don't think prior to 1981, that I knew what a BMW was.  One day while at the mall, I went into a record store and went to the back and was browsing the posters.  There I stumbled upon many beautiful images.  Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley, Lamborghini Countach, Porsche 911 Turbo.  Wow, wow, wow... My Mom, a middle school librarian, offered to take me to the laminating place with the car posters that I wanted to pin to my wall.  I picked out a few posters, a Lamborghini Countach, a Porsche 911 Turbo and a BMW M1.  These three super cars were amazing to me.

Now lucky for me, I picked up a book at that book fair called "World of Racing - Endurance Racing," which got me up to speed really fast with Porsche 911s, 930s, 935s, BMW M1s, Can AM cars of the era, etc.  So from 1981 to 1985, I started noticing more and more German cars.  I only thought I liked cars, but now I was discovering and seeing cars I'd never seen before.  In the 1980s, with the demolishing of the Deutsche Mark, Germany's now defunct currency, many grey market German cars as well as US market German cars were being purchased at a furious rate.

In my sophomore year of High School, being 15, and not able to drive yet, I realized I no longer wanted to ride my 10 speed bicycle to school and back everyday.  I wanted to ride in one of my class mates cars.  Now I was a paper boy for the Houston Chronicle, for my neighborhood as well as a few other adjacent neighborhoods.  I knew where everyone lived and I realized there was an opportunity to hitch a ride from some of my classmates.   Not being shy, I asked one of my classmates, Amy, if I could bum a ride home one day with her and her sister.  She agreed and told me to meet them in the parking lot after school.  

So after the last period of the day, around 3:30pm, I head out to the parking lot to meet my ride home.  Low and behold, Amy drove a small little German car, a 1984 BMW E30 318i coupe.  To her it was just a way to get back and forth to school.  To me, it opened up a whole new world of cars I have not been exposed to.  It was a base car with cloth seats, auto transmission, manual sunroof, exterior color silver with blue interior, but man was it a cool little car.  I was allowed to open the sunroof if I closed it before she dropped me off.  Her sister, Cindy wasn't not too pleased.  Being a two door it was a tight fit.  I rode to and from school for almost year until I was 16 and could drive my own car, but I will always remember my first ride in a BMW.

My last year in high school, 1988, my friend's much older brother showed up to their family business in a 1983 BMW 533i.  I was there working helping out and he asked if I could upgrade his stereo.  I put a new CD player in it, 4 speakers and he let me take it for a spin.  Wow.  Torque for days, heavy steering, teutonic german everything.  I didn't even know how to describe it, but I liked it.

In college, I drove my little Toyota pickup and saw many BMWs on campus.  One day.  One day.

On a trip to Seattle in 1992, I noticed a 3 series with a strange badge and noticeable fender flares I had never seen before.  It read, 325iX. This white sedan was not a normal 325i sedan.  I remember going to the library and doing some research to find out more about this strange model.  All Wheel Drive?  Holy cow.  A 4 wheel drive 3 series?  Interesting.  Having never driven in snow, I had no idea why this was so special, only that it was.  Not realizing the severe low import numbers into the USA, I had no idea how rare these really were.

Fast forward to end of college and time to buy a car, now that I have a job.  Sure I knew what BMWs were by this point and the E36 BMW 3 series had just been released.  It was 1993 and I went to the dealer and they had two red 3 series coupes for sale that I could barely afford, a 1991 318is and a 1992 318is.  Because the 1992 was an E36 generation, that was the car to get.  It was the latest so it had to be the best, right?  I drove both and didn't think twice about picking the E36 over the E30.  And over the next four years, I enjoyed driving that E36 as it fell apart around me.  Interior pieces, suspension bushings, blown head gasket, etc.  It had a sunroof and a leather steering wheel.  Red on Black vinyl, 5 speed.  No other options.  No fog lights, no trip computer, no cruise control.  We took that car on all kinds of escapades and road trips.  Other than the headgasket issue it never failed me.  But after so many trips to the dealer for repairs and other issues I sold the BMW outright and swore off BMWs.  

I moved to Colorado in the late 90s and got into iconic cars like Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40s and Audis and WRXs.  Now the internet had been in motion for almost ten years and there was so much information available to learn about everything, especially cars I knew nothing about.  So I knew about the BMW models past and present.  The new models didn't intrigue me much.  Heavy, fancy, pricey, common.  With the random cars I had purchased over the years, I was never able to recapture the feeling of the iconic BMWs of the 80s with modern cars, German or Japanese.  

About the 2008 timeframe, I bought a new Toyota FJ Cruiser, and later in the year I realized I should get a second car.  I should get back into an old BMW and with the help of ebay, craigslist, autotrader, etc. I was able to begin searching for that car.  While searching for an E30 325is, I got side tracked by a very clean, rust free 635CSi, with 110,000 miles.  Clean E30s were very hard to find, rusty or modded to all hell, it was discouraging.  But this big coupe was well cared for, well maintained and very cheap.  $2,500 later and it was mine.  

I picked up this 1985 635CSi in Reno, NV, drove it to Northern California, the opposite direction in which I lived.  By the time I got to Santa Rosa, I noticed that the car actually needed some front pads, especially if I was going to drive down the coastal road.  I found a great shop in Santa Rosa that slapped some new rotors and pads on and sent me on my way.  I drove the coastal road over two days to Los Angeles, stopping by to see my dear cousin in Santa Barbara.  I drove Angeles Crest highway and then back home to Denver, Colorado.  What a great touring car.  [Pictures in different phases and locations here]

I spent the next few years lightly restoring and driving.  I joined the BMW CCA and met a lot of great enthusiasts that I could share this interest with.  But this was a grand touring car and not the sports car I really wanted.  I sold it and bought a Porsche 993/911. This was a sports car.  A Porsche 911 that is well sorted with adjustable suspension and sticky tires is a thing to behold.  Iconic, classic, permanent.

Now my Porsche is a very nice car and really shouldn't be driven in crappy snow winter weather, especially with Porsche 911 values on the rise.  After the last couple years, I decided I need something to tinker with so I decided I would keep my eyes out for something special, but cheap and practical.  Living in Colorado,  I realized an all wheel drive car would always come in handy.  Now AWD cars don't always get the greatest miles per gallon, but my commute is only 15 miles one way.  Maybe it was finally time to pick up a BMW E30 325iX.  One big problem: BMW didn't import many and the ones they did can be very rusty, thanks to much of the US-climate being non-dry.  Prices for clean BMW E30 325iX in 2 and 4 doors range from $3-15k depending on miles, rust, etc.  

BMW manufactured 2.3 million examples of the iconic 3 Series E30 generation worldwide from several facilities.  Coupes, Wagons, Sedans and Convertibles.  Of all those, BMW imported 348,140 to the USA.  You would think that that's actually quite a lot to choose from.  However, the M3s and iXs were very limited in numbers, probably due to prices, $32-36K USD.  BMW only brought over 6,346 of the 325iX to the USA and Canada combined.  Yikes this is going to be tough, but as expected, you never see these running around.  And so I thought entering into 2014, maybe I need to put this dream to rest and move on.  Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.