Photograph by Tim Suddard
It was love at first sight. Now to get it home.
The latest object of our fascination was this 2011 BMW 328i sedan. Manual transmission. No sunroof. Clean. Really clean.
The reality: We found the car up at the big import show in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and now needed to get it home to Florida.
[Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals: All imports, all fun]
Would all of our magazine booth stuff even fit inside? Answer: yes. The large trunk and family-friendly back seat lent itself well for this mission.
The trip home wouldn’t be direct, though. We needed to work on our upcoming Shenandoah Valley tour for Classic Motorsports, our sister magazine, meaning stops in Alexandria, Charlottesville, Hot Springs, Roanoke and Virginia International Raceway.
Along the way, we also sat down and had coffee with James Clay, owner of BimmerWorld. He took our latest purchase for a spin and, likewise, couldn’t recall seeing such a lightly optioned E90 sedan. James remarked how light and quick the car felt. He also noted that car could use tires and shocks–plus, ideally, a set of 18x9-inch wheels.
This conversation provided some validation, and we then headed further south with virtually no issues. While the car had just been inspected and serviced, our only complaints involved a drooping rearview mirror–a common issue on these cars–and the seats. We wish the car came with the optional sport seats, but we see them available on the used market.
Once home, we cleaned up the car and presented it to our primary driver, Marjorie Suddard–also co-owner here at Grassroots Motorsports.
She also loved the look and feel of the car and agreed that it would be a fantastic daily driver. So, let the project begin.
Nice car.
I just read a post this morning over on the mye28.com board about a guy who drove his old 535is with 350,000 miles on the odometer from New York City to Portland without any issues. 
Older BMWs with some miles on them don't necessarily need to be avoided as long as they've been cared for.
A drooping mirror? I don't know. That could be a big issue!
In reply to Noddaz :
Drooping on older models... well know issue. Hard to keep it up properly for all those miles/years...
I did a fly and drive with my M3–Tennessee back to Florida with a stop at BimmerWorld.
I survived. :)
N52 manual RWD no iDrive?!?! That's pretty bulletproof as long as the electric water pump doesn't E36 M3 the bed.
If you find some power sport seats, there will be some jumpers necessary in the wiring. I'll happy to dig it up if needed. But this one is begging for manual sport seats. Both varieties are not real hard to find.
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