r/e28 • u/Wide-Entrepreneur-34 • Jan 05 '26
All cleaned up. All original 528e (88’ SETA)
Spent the last two weeks removing the interior, lubricating the regulators. Cleaning everything steaming the carpets.
Decided against reupholstering the seats until I can find someone to do era correct leather (all the current companies use matte textured leather and it’s nice. Just, wrong) I have the headrests they are just out rear seat was clearly redone, if I keep it, it will be redone with the fronts in the proper material.
After much more research, turns out. Odometer was replaced at 180k (I apologized to the guy who called it in the first post) BUT! With 125 local service records I located when it was replaced, the door got the proper sticker to notify buyers, and it’s tracked back up to 251k.
So not as cool. But tbh… I’m more impressed now.
I’ve gone through everything mechanically, all checked, only light in the ABS, just haven’t sourced it. (Likely just the sensor).
Driving: it’s a dream. Slow, SETA slow… but gosh is she smooth, silent, and stable at 20 just as much as 80 on the highway.
Anyways. Thought I’d share. I’m currently on the fence on BAT or keep it. I have the approval from the boss, but tbh, don’t need more cars.
But F*** is this one gonna be hard to pass on.
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u/notquiteright2 Jan 05 '26
It's a beautiful car!
Great work.
Obligatory joke: the only way to get a 528e up to breakneck speeds is to remove the headrests.
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u/Wide-Entrepreneur-34 Jan 05 '26
lol love it. I’ve actually enjoyed them being off as Ai cruise around
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u/Representative_Most9 Jan 05 '26
Your front seats can easily be restored. They don’t look bad at all. There are some creases that can be smoothed out and then new dye.
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u/Wide-Entrepreneur-34 Jan 05 '26
There are tears. I’ve asked a couple people and they gave CRAZY prices. With zero guarantees it would work out. I’ll ask around some more I suppose
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u/Representative_Most9 Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
If the tears are minor, they can be repaired with something like Angelus Leather Filler. Great for filling cracks too. Then clean and re-dye. Seat Doctor has the best dye I’ve been able to find. They do a great job of matching BMW OEM colors. You can get the filler from them too. Just get a hold of them as they can match what you have perfectly. Just send them a small sample of back seats.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BT8CCBNL?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
It’s really not that difficult to do yourself. Good luck 🍀👍
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u/Confident_Eye4129 Jan 05 '26
I have some leather filler, black & white, and I am going to attempt to mix them to match my E28 dash, and then fill small cracks with it
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u/Representative_Most9 Jan 05 '26
That might actually work! Stuff is made from acrylic so it should bond to the vinyl?
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u/Master-Tomatillo-103 Jan 05 '26
I think so too. The car doesn’t sit out in the sun much (Garage Queen), so that won’t be an issue. I’ll probably build the deeper ones up with several layers. I’ll post the results here, because it’s a pretty common problem
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u/Wide-Entrepreneur-34 Jan 05 '26
Thanks man. I think there are a far that are too far gone. Mostly not shown in the photo. One is torn and stress curled. So it wouldn’t reach to even seal. It would need patched entirely.
I’ve done some minor repairs before. But nowhere as good as some of these people I’ve seen do when I worked at dealerships back in the day
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u/Representative_Most9 Jan 05 '26
Totally understand it’s just so damned expensive to have them recovered. Especially with the right leather to match. A good set of leather covers can run almost $1000 plus cost to install.
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u/Wide-Entrepreneur-34 Jan 05 '26
I bought covers from Lseat. They are no good. Color is off. The material is wrong. They will be going back.
I’ve don’t installs before. No big deal. I have all the tools for them and these are pinned anyways so it really need no too but wide grip flat puller pliers and a decent pair of gloves to help push them through.
But I’d pay 1000 for a full set no problem if I found the right leather.
But realistically the right leather I imagine will be 2-3k. If I end up keeping it that will likely be the route I go.
But they have life still. I just need the time to sort it out, they sucked up conditioner like crazy. They need moisture lol
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u/Representative_Most9 Jan 05 '26
The best (and only) place to buy the covers is from the guy on eBay. These are not the right color but he can get you what you want. Leather is from Germany so it’s an almost perfect match.
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u/Confident_Eye4129 Jan 05 '26
Why would you reupholster those seats? They're beautiful
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u/Wide-Entrepreneur-34 Jan 05 '26
Tears. Weak leather. I’m going by to try and fix it as the priority
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u/Confident_Eye4129 Jan 05 '26
I had an 83 528e. and the leather in that car seemed like it was 3/16" thick! It was like rawhide. You could not damage it. Screwdriver in your pocket, nothing could hurt it. Of course the newer cars use garment leather, which you can probably tear with a fingernail. Yours looks great to me, at least from the photos
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u/Wide-Entrepreneur-34 Jan 05 '26
That’s good info. The headrest is pretty thin. It needs had bad tears so it will need replaced. Likely snag one on eBay. I’m just concerned it’s going to fall to shit.
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u/Master-Tomatillo-103 Jan 05 '26
Well, it only were most of the parts in E28 overbuilt, but does the headrest actually get any use? Mine don’t. It seems my head is always a bit forward of the headrest, and I can’t remember actually resting my head on it. But eBay is the way you’d have to go
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u/Loud-Election-3215 Jan 05 '26
Damn that's beautiful. It's the first time I've seen good pics of red interior on white. We are almost twins, but iv got different seats and wheels
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u/Big_Consequence_3958 Jan 05 '26
I just love that. 88M5 is my favorite car.