I went out to pick up some oil and a filter for the mustang in the household, and I spotted my old E39. 200o 528i, factory sport package car. It now has a roundel front license plate, some M colored stripes on the grill and some fake M badges added by the guy I sold it to, but on the whole the car still looks reasonably presentable.
The headlights are now fading, and the clear coat is peeling on the top of the rear bumper (was just a tiny spot when I sold it in 2015), but I’m actually astonished that the car is in as good of shape as it is. It is also still rocking the same tires, which tells me he hasn’t driven it more than 5 or 10k in the last 3 years. It’s also still rocking the sun shade I threw in with the car and my expired in 2016 Texas registration sticker.
I felt some heart pangs when I sold this car, because it was a three owner car with nearly complete (and meticulous, and very expensive) maintenance documentation since new. It was in very nearly perfect condition when I sold it with around 120k on it. It was a supremely good car, and it is one of the few I’ve owned that I miss. The guy that bought it took it for a test drive and absolutely fell in love with the car. I had determined within ten seconds of talking to him that he wasn’t going to be able to maintain it himself, and in the course of the transaction I came away with serious doubts that he could afford to pay a qualified wrench to keep it nice either. Still, I took my money and moved on to the corvette as a daily driver. It made my day to see that this car is still on the road and as nice as it is.
Back when I owned it in 2015:
Taken after post-purchase Svending, but before having got it registered in Texas.
And the day it found its modern counterpart in the work parking lot:
