1990 BMW735I - Rare 5-Speed Manual Transmission

Short (Sad) Story

In the spring of 2008, was looking through the offerings in eBay-Motors for a 5-Series BMW with a manual transmission. I have always liked the look of the late 1980s - early 1990s BMWs. I was most interested in the 5-Series because it was bigger than the 3-Series and yet could be found with a manual transmission.

As I search, inadvertently came across an offering from "Bimmers R Us Auto Sales" at 3435 S Kingshighway Blvd, t. Louis, O 63139. They were offering a 1990 BMW735i sedan with roughly 67,000 miles. The most unique part of their offering was that the car had a factory 5-Speed Manual transmission. I did not know that 7-Series of this vintage had been available in the United States with a manual. They had great pictures of the car on their showroom floor and were asking somewhere north of $15,000.00.

After some time, he car disappeared from eBay, ut I retained the contact information. The car stuck in my mind, o I called the dealership one afternoon. I asked if they still had the car and if someone could talk to me about it. They said that they still had it, hat it was their owner's car and that he would be on with me in a minute. The owner/president was Greg Stroud, he man who had built the business out of his family's two-car garage.

Greg invited me to come to St. Louis for a test drive and, f course, rom hearing my enthusiasm for the car, e was confident he could make a deal. One Monday morning, left our home at Lake of the Ozarks and headed into St. Louis. When I met Greg, e tossed me the keys and told me to take the car for as long as I needed. Two hours later, returned and we started talking. I think Greg started out at $15,000 and I tried $13,000. Although NADA book in 2015 is up to $8,250, y recollection was that in 2008, t was more like $6,000. So, was double book to begin. I think we settled in $13,750. My wife knew what I paid for the car, ut she didn't know until later that it was that much over book.

Last year, e bought my wife a new 2014 Mini Cooper(S) Countryman with a 6-Speed Manual. After that I began driving her 2008 Honda CRV. I quickly missed driving the Bimmer, ut I was determined to stop adding miles and hoped to "SOON" cherry-it-up to make it a genuine show-car. I displayed it in the St. Louis European Car Show at Frontenac Plaza two years running 2012 & 2013.

Watching the car sit in my driveway covered for nearly one year has made me think that I need to s _ _ _ or get off the pot on the restoration. So, or this weak moment, 've decided to get off the pot. If you want a car that runs well, s a kick to drive, nd would be a thrill to restore, ive me a bid. It now has 135,818 miles on the original odometer. I can polish it up nicely as you will see in the pictures, ut it won't hold a shine for long. There are some minor body defects (mostly noticeably the lead edge of the hood), ut it is a very sound body.

I have the car insured for $15,000 because I believe that is its value as-is. I think it would draw more than $25,000 cherried-up. I just don't have the time. If you love this car and want to have some fun, 'll look forward to meeting you in Kansas City. Oh, nd the only SAD part is that I'm ready to say goodbye.

I have attached several links to YouTube that display things about this E32 BMW 7-Series. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spqfWjWbqX8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWAeNjip6aM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecaOlq_HzCg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6eKdFaludE