You will probably think that we met under the shiny lights in a dealer’s showroom, but you would be wrong. In fact, she was already ten years old at the time. The previous owner was ready to move on, so I went to his house to take a look and maybe go for a test drive. When he turned on the lights in the garage, I knew that I had found something special, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. After the test drive all doubts were dispelled, and he had all the service records available. Eventually we agreed on a price, so I went to the bank and picked her up the following morning. It was a great day, love at first sight.
From the very beginning I often received compliments on her looks everywhere we went, and it was always thrilling to get behind the wheel. But I knew there was room for improvement. I started with a set of BBS wheels and a Ronal front air dam. On the inside, I installed a Momo/Alpina steering wheel, Alpine speakers and a new JVC head unit.
Besides regular maintenance and replacing wear items (luckily mostly still available special order from eEuro) such as brakes, tires, belts, etc., the performance and reliability have been consistently superb. The most dramatic upgrade was done about twenty years ago, when the four-speed transmission was replaced with a five-speed unit. The result was lower RPMs, better mileage, and less noise and wear on the drivetrain. Please don’t call her an antique; she is kind of sensitive about her age. In fact, she does not even wear antique plates and is driven on a daily basis, except in winter, when she rests in the garage. I always look forward to spring, when she comes out of hibernation and we get on the road again. Our love affair continues.
*This story was one of the entrants in the 2017 February love story contest. Maybe we’ll do it again… -Ed
But she’s not a SAAB!
Just kidding. Those 530’s were neat and drove well. never forget the first time i sat in one. couldnt belive the seats and how they wrapped around me. considering i was coming from a Camaro. Then when i drove it, i was amazed. I looked for one for a long time and finally found a SAAB i instantly fell in love with. so i know how you feeel about your E12.
Men and their toys, eh? what your non winter car?
Keep rolling and rocking
best regards
Fred
Great looking E12. From one owner to another, two thumbs up!!
My very first BMW to drive was a silver e12 530i that a lawyer owned and would drop off at the service station where I worked across the street from his office. He would have us change oil, wash it….All I can remember is that shifting thru the gears was like butter, I had never driven a stick that was so smooth.
My first BMW was a 1976 530i. I lived near a BMW dealer and asked them to let me know if something came in that was cheapish. A senior lady traded this car in – they asked $2000. They also had a set of exim rims and tires for $200 more. I was 26 and the mechanics came out and said I was too young to have such a car. I did a complete paint job and maintained it very carefully. I owned it for nine years (sold and bought it back once). I’ve had 7 other BMWs since – but never another 5 series. Other than the horsehair seats collapsing, nothing too unexpected happened.