antonross

Hi all,

I'm a long-time owner (and fan) of German vehicles, having owned numerous Mercedes-Benzes and Volkswagens. I've restored three VW busses (Type II) including a 1969 Westy hardtop, 1974 Westy hightop, 1978 Westy pop top, and a 1978 Super Beetle. My Benzes included wagons and sedans, and my daily driver for the last decade, a 1985 380SL named Ava. She's a keeper!

I decided to turn in my 2018 VW Alltrack SEL, quit making stupid payments every month, and paid cash for a remarkably clean 2008 BMW 535xi ("Shadowfax, the Beast"). WHAT A DRIVER! And she holds ALL my sailing gear and saxophones with room to spare for the dog.

I'm looking forward to learning more about this wagon.

I currently live on a sailboat in San Francisco Bay, and plan on making many, many trips in "The Beast."

2008 BMW 535xi lounging around Jack London Square (Oakland, CA).

2008 BMW 535xi lounging around Jack London Square (Oakland, CA).

2008 BMW 535xi lounging around Jack London Square (Oakland, CA).

2008 BMW 535xi lounging around Jack London Square (Oakland, CA).

2008 BMW 535xi lounging around Jack London Square (Oakland, CA).
wagon.

JayArras

to the fold! You'll kick yourself for owning all of those "lesser" German vehicles all of those years, once you see what this bimmer can do, lol! Good luck with her!

antonross

Thanks, Jay!

I have to say...I was sold on this wagon the minute I turned her over to listen/smell anything off. Purring like a kitten...

Got in, and then looped around Alameda Island, and then back up into Berkeley/Oakland, and through the city. Holy cow...for an old beastie, she's got legs for days. And pretty comfortable over all the bad pavement. She's very much an "ultimate driving machine."

On a number of levels, The Beast reminds me of our family BMW Bavaria (1975/3.3 Liter) we had in Frankfurt (GDR) when I was a kid. That car was roomy, fast, comfy, and my dad STILL talks about how it drive (he's a retired fighter pilot) on the Autobahn.

I'm not planning on any outrageous mods, but updating electronics (display, nav, stereo, etc) is at the top of the list, since the car "as-is" is perfectly fine.

Cheers,
Anton

donpb

you made the right choice with BMW.

antonross

Now that I've had The Beast for a few days, I've come to appreciate much of what I anticipated, including insane acceleration, quick blasts from 40-65+ on the HWY/FWY, decent bump absorption on the streets of Oakland (they're a mess, but being fixed, so they're REALLY a mess right now!), very good handling on some hilly/curvy/FUN roads up along the Berkeley and Oakland Hills (Skyline drive...WHEEEEEEEEE), and basically an all-around winner.

Hatch is capacious (compared to my VW Alltrack, and almost as large as my last E320 wagon) and well-sorted...I really like the grocery pop-up section back there (über-useful) and the pet fence is handy for my doggo Enzo Brubeck.

The seats are typically Teutonic and "sturdy." Having driven a half dozen different Benzes, I'm used to the quasi-hard bottoms, and know they really help on long distance trips. I've ordered Tailormade factory OEM sheepskins for the front seats, of course. They go on all of my German cars, save for the last VW.

Braking is very good, and the fronts were done (NEW calipers, pads, rotors) less than 3K miles ago.

Cabin is pretty vault-like, and even with the pano-sunroof open, still pretty turbulence-free.

As for upgrades...first up will be replacing/upgrading the CCC/display so I can have modern sound and Nav (Apple CarPlay). I've already found a ton of useful information in the threads (THANKS) and just need to find a decent installer here in the Bay Area...since I live on a sailboat and don't have a garage.

Other mods...not sure. I'd like to "black out" all the chrome trim ("Chrome Won't Get You Home" as we used to say in the AAIW/SEMA business). After that...we'll see.


The finest grocery-getter on the planet? I think so...and so much more.

donpb

Yeah, and that's why if you drive anything besides a BMW, you will have a sad face. Haha. I've owned four of them, and looking to get a fifth one.

antonross

Bwahahahaha...well, I've restored a ton of old cars (including many VW Type II Westies, EldoSaurus convertibles, Nash Mets, SAABs) and have loved them all. I will say the driving dynamics of this E61 have already impressed me, so much so I'm actually volunteering to go do grocery/package/whatever runs in the beast.

So yes, that smile is planted firmly on my face walking up, opening up (press the fob, everything opens...WHEEEE!), and getting in a driving.

The driver's seat is a very good place to be, indeed!

Also, to put "wagons" in perspective, my 3rd car after high school was a Datsun 510 Wagon that I drove all over the country, then rally-sported down in the Florida panhandle. Sold it to college buddy for 2x what I paid ($800/$1,600) and he drove it until the wheels (literally) fell off.

I'm one of those old-school automotive journos who thinks that a brown wagon where you row your own gears is best, and if it's BROWN, so much the better.

This 535xi exceeds all expectations so far.

Cheers,
Anton

donpb

I must admit, if I didn't do 95% of my own maintenance and repairs, I'd probably not own a BMW.

Everyone I know of who's gotten rid of their BMW, was because of the maintenance costs. Oh, and they took their cars to the Dealer. Go figure.

antonross

I believe that owners who can't be bothered to understand their vehicles (especially older, out of warranty) and do minor/major maintenance don't deserve their rides. If I do decide to do some major tinkering, I'll bomb up the hill to Moraga to my brother's garage. He'll probably try to trick me into restoring his old 1980 Vespa (P200). Poor scooter has just been sitting there for a decade! (OOF!)

Honestly, the three worst offenders under the hood were ALL Subies. And I love my subies! But my first 2000 Outback LTD burned through a valve cover gasket at 20K miles or so...dealer fixed. Lather, rinse, repeat...again at 40K-ish miles. Dealer fix. Got rid of that car 3 years later and bought Outback Imprezza Sport. High miles, but seemed solid, and was cheap. Blew codes left and right, struggled to maintain a tune, and I got tired of working in South Carolina Summer heat on that one...sold it for the same amount of money to a local shop.

Bought a 2002 Outback again (low miles) and...60K head gasket failure. Fixed that myself (damned messy)...detailed the car...put it on Craigslist...and it sold with a day.

Bought a low-mileage Saab 9000cse, and drove it from 100K miles to 200K miles. I've had a number of Saabs, loved them all, and this car was a BLAST to drive! The E61 reminds me a lot of the old Saabie. I sold the car to a bluegrass musician in Asheville, and got emails for years about how strong the car was running. I lost touch at about 300K miles, I think.

So...yeah...I can see where people would get the idea that BMWs (and Mercs, and Saabs, etc.) are all money pits.

Also...there's a reason why we've always called dealerships "stealerships." That's a fact!

So all that being said...I'll just go on record as saying a good weekend for me can easily allow for grime under the nails, missing hair, and more than a few very loud expletives directed at whatever beast is in front of me.

Man, I'm loving this forum! Reminds me very much of the R107 forums for 70s/80s SL owners.

Cheers,
Anton