Karmada 6 Report post Posted June 6, 2015 (edited) 1996 BMW 328i sport - manual 158xxxkm Purchased this car on Saturday 30th May 2015. Sight unseen and an 8 hour bus trip away! What could go wrong?Absolutely nothing, apart from needing a bloody good clean it drove perfectly and almost everything electrical is working on it. Firs things I noticed were the climate control backlight would flicker on and off every now and then, have read this is just as easy as removing the unit and replacing the faulty cap. Interior leather needs a good scrub up but so far it's not too bad. Here are the TradeMe photos: //* click on the pictures to see full size - I can't be bothered making them smaller *// Edited June 6, 2015 by Karmada Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karmada 6 Report post Posted June 6, 2015 Photos taken after the first exterior clean (interior still needs doing) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karmada 6 Report post Posted June 6, 2015 I did the valve cover gasket today as it was seeping a bit and obviously hadn't been touched in a while. The original gasket was as hard as plastic and was a major bitch to pull out. The inside of the engine looks pretty good for 19 years old though. Minor oil staining and no carbon build up! Took the chance to clean down all the plastic and freshen up the engine bay as well. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KwS 2373 Report post Posted June 6, 2015 (edited) engine bay is looking good The leather looks like it needs a damn good clean though, but otherwise looks like a good buy. Edited June 6, 2015 by KwS Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karmada 6 Report post Posted June 6, 2015 engine bay is looking good The leather looks like it needs a damn good clean though, but otherwise looks like a good buy. The drivers seat does, yeah. The rest of it is in ok condition. I've got fluids etc... to sort out before really worrying about that though Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herbmiester 909 Report post Posted June 6, 2015 Nice, good reminder for me to be doing my M50 rocker cover gasket soon as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted June 6, 2015 Nothing like buying a car sight unseen and then going to pick it up.. Good score on your part. Engine bay looks mint now. Thos seats though. Looks like they haven't been cleaned in about ever...lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karmada 6 Report post Posted June 7, 2015 What is the best way to bring the leather back up to scratch? I know the wrinkles etc... will never be back to 100% but would love to bring the white back out in them. I'm mental when it comes to interior cleaning so I don't mind if it takes time / lots of attempts at it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karmada 6 Report post Posted June 7, 2015 I helped my Lotus White interior a lot with heaps of elbow grease, they're better but far from perfect. I mean cleaning also, not leather repair. I use Oakwood products and remove the seat bolsters from the car to clean them. I have never found a good way to deep clean seats whilst they're in the car. Once out I put them on a hard flat surface so I can really put some scrubbing pressure on them. Then I clean, clean, clean - probably about 60 mins per front seat and 120 mins for all the rear parts. Let them dry naturally then condition them which doesn't take long. http://www.oakwoodproducts.com/products/automotive/view/oakwood-car-protection-pack/ Mine when from grey to white but that just exposed more of the flaws in the leather lol! How many packs did you need? or was one enough? Looks like a good price and product! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted June 7, 2015 This guys vid is a good one for showing how its done. I used the oakwood deep clean soap on my 750i and it worked wonders. if you dont use oakwood make sure you get a ph balanced cleaner. I used a new shaving foam lather brush. Squirt a generous amount of cleaner onto the brush and rub it onto the leather one panel at a time. then wipe off with a micro fiber cloth. https://youtu.be/AhXD_B-x_q0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karmada 6 Report post Posted June 7, 2015 Supercheap has that Oakwood kit for $35. I'm having surgery on my hand on Thursday so I'll be off work for a week or so. One hand will work still so I may as well use my spare time to clean haha! I'm sure I can instruct my partner enough to help her pull my seats out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karmada 6 Report post Posted June 7, 2015 One kit was just enough cleaner for front and rear seats but not door cards. Had heaps of conditioner left over. Conditioner gets reapplied more often so that's okay. The door cards aren't horrible so I'll buy one kit and hoe into the front seats before everything else and then get another if need be to finish off the door cards depending how different they look. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karmada 6 Report post Posted June 8, 2015 ^ I've got about 20 brand new ones at the moment. I may have gone a bit overboard when restocking my cleaning supplies after buying this car haha! Trying to stick within my allocated weekly budget for new car parts but Schmiedmann is so cheap and so tempting... So far my shopping trolley has a water pump (steel impeller), alloy thermostat housing, thermostat, sump gasket, stack of filters and a heap of interior fixtures. So far only comes to just over $200 NZD shipped. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
