My father-in-law is a car buff. He loves anything fast. He's had a Porsche, classic Thunderbird, '78 Trans Am, Corvettes... anything that moves quick.
In October of 2007, he found a steal on E-bay. A 1985 BMW 635csi in Wisconsin for $1,500. There were only 20,000 of these manufactured for the US market. He lives in Las Vegas, but he bought it anyway because my husband's Uncle lives in Menomonee. Uncle Mike picked it up for us and planned to drive it out to Las Vegas for a restoration job to be completed by Bob, my father-in-law.
Bob was going to undergo a surgery for Parkinson's in a few weeks called Deep Brain Stimulation. He was so optimistic about the surgery, that he thought he would be able to restore the car as his first project after surgery. It's a long story, but we'll suffice it to say that the doctor botched the surgery, nicked Bob's brain and caused significant damage.
The BMW that Bob was planning on restoring for me sat in Wisconsin until December of 2008. When it became clear that a full recovery was not in his future, my husband and I picked up the car and brought it back to Illinois.
The first thing I did when I got my new baby home was to replace the blower motor for the heater. In January, I couldn't drive the car with no heat. It was a fairly simple job for my first ever car repair.
Then I scraped the horrible after-market window tint from the driver and passenger side windows. It was bubbled, ripped and turning purple.
The next step is a new paint job on the trunk and top of the car. The former owner tried to sand it down himself to change the color, and he ended up just scratching the heck out of the paint.
The car has some rust on it, and the interior needs a little work on the driver's seat, but other than that I'm in love with it. It's mechanically sound, drives smooth and accelerates fast. Owning a BMW is a childhood dream come true.
I'll post more pics as soon as the new paint is on. I'm planning on keeping it the original color.
About the Author: Kristina Pratt is a REALTOR® with Goshen Realty Group at RE/MAX Preferred Partners in Edwardsville, Illinois. She and Nancy Milton help their customers buy and sell homes and investment properties in St. Louis' Illinois suburbs of Madison and St. Clair counties with special emphasis on the communities of Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Collinsville and Troy. For more information, visit their web site at http://www.GoshenRealtyGroup.com or e-mail Kristina@GoshenRealtyGroup.com
I have a 2008 645 ci convertable in California if you want to add it to your collection!
Hi Kristina,
The photos helped to clearly see what your post described. I look forward to reading future posts once you have the changes made!
Michael
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Kristina sorry to hear about your father in-law....that is a great looking car glad you are loving it...and hope to see more about the up coming paint job....peace zane