[Barrique91]

I never introduced myself properly on the forum. I love station wagons. My mother bought an lci 328i e90. I test drove it, and kinda got hooked. I discovered that there was a manual 3 series touring. I wanted it really bad but knew I could probably never find one. I began searching for e90s that I could get rebuilt because I am a high school kid. I found a 2006 325i - manual, sport package. I won it and after taxes it was around $700. I was pretty happy and ordered all the parts I needed. Only had one small problem- the car never showed up. I really don't understand what happened. The shipping company told me 2 "answers". Apparently it got "stolen" before they could pick it up or another shipping company picked it up. The car was reposted for about 24 hours after I got my full refund, after that it vanished and was never seen again. Who knows, maybe the car never existed in the first place. I was pretty bummed and returned all of my parts besides my new hood and replica m3 bumper, I figured I could get some good use out of them on the right e90. After a short break I was back searching for the perfect e90, no rush. I initially didn't want to ever view this car- 2006 325xi touring- manual, sport package. I was kinda put off because of the color. I reviewed photos of barrique red online and started to love the color. The car was a theft recovery but ran and drove. A week or so before the date of the auction they changed its status to "biohazard". I was curious why but it didn't scare me or my dad. I made up my mind and was determined to not let this car slip from me. I won it and after taxes I was in it for $2800. We received the car and examined it. It was disgusting, the person who photographed it at the auction yard left the door half latched. Mold grew throughout it, luckily very light and easy to remove mold. Oh yeah, also the previous owners were dog enthusiasts, dog hair everywhere. My father and I got our cleaning supplies and for the next 2.5 days we went to work. The interior is nearly perfect now. Forgot to mention, the car has some deep scratches on the passenger side doors and side skirt. I polished the color and it really came to life(my favorite color now), I added new oem bmw rubber floor mats, new zhp shift knob, deleted the charcoal filter, got a good deal on winter wheels and tires, tinted the windows, got an exhaust put together, and am just enjoying it now. Currently we are working on painting my new hood and bumper, they aren't that bad on the car but I figured I could use them and get ride of some rock chips. Plus I really don't like the look of the standard e90 front bumper. The doors and side skirt will be next, only the lower sections were affected. Overall I am very happy with my purchase and love the car. When I look back on everything I am so glad that the black e90 sedan was "stolen" or whatnot. Thanks for reading my story guys. Here are some photos, have a great day.

[Barrique91]

Now. And no I did not take photos of the interior before cleaning it. It's was much much worse than the auction photos because mold grew after those. I kinda wish I would have photographed it before, I was too grossed out :

[BourneJack]

Looks good

Great read! Congrats OP!

If half the members on this board had half as much of your tenacity and enthusiasm this would likely be the best forum on the internet.

[smass]

Welcome aboard. I am getting ready to start the same type of project with my son.

[Bimmer_Engineer]

I bet high school girls love wagons!

Great post dude...lots of passion here...

[Barrique91]

Originally Posted by BourneJack

Looks good
[IMG]http://gshort.click/buluhidung/78/d.png[/IMG]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

Great read! Congrats OP!

If half the members on this board had half as much of your tenacity and enthusiasm this would likely be the best forum on the internet.

Thanks a lot guys I really appreciate it. Doing my best to learn as much as I can about these cars.

Originally Posted by smassey321

Welcome aboard. I am getting ready to start the same type of project with my son.

I've learned a lot with my dad, I've mostly been an apprentice(handing tools, doing smaller things, research and that kind of stuff) but I'm trying to transition to working on my own stuff alone

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Engineer

I bet high school girls love wagons!

Great post dude...lots of passion here...

Hahaha, all my girlfriend says about it is that it's "comfy". Probably because my old car was a Nissan hardbody pickup with 324k miles! The seats bowed in from the foam being so used up I think. Thanks for reading!

Here's what we have been working on. I am needing an alignment urgently, we have it booked for this upcoming Saturday. The inner tires have been "eating" themselves alive. Something might have been bent from the forklift that they use in the auction yard to move these cars around. Hope it's not that bad, but it has to be fixed.

[Efthreeoh]

Great story. What you've done is called "value-add". You took a raw product, added value to it via labor, and now it is worth more. That is the basis of our capitalist economy (just trying to counter all the socialist crap you are going to get taught in school ).

And Kudos to your Dad for educating you in the industrial arts. My Dad did the same thing with me... a long time ago.

[BIGGNS]

Welcome to the long roof family! Nice spec with 6mt and sport, I like the color cause you don't see it very often. Looking forward to following your build

[Drifter2090]

Damn! never seen that colour before, it looks great all cleaned up! Sports package and 6MT is key!

I really want a E91 or E61 wagon for a daily

more pis please!

no no no please don't pay someone to do your alignment. You and your dad seem to have more than enough capacity and the resources to DIY.

Please, if anything, try it yourselves first before wasting $100+ getting someone else to do it. It's really quite simple on these cars.

I use this method to adjust toe with phenomenal results:
https://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f91...ignment-45655/

For camber, use a straightedge and an iPhone. You'll be surprised how accurate it can be.

[Barrique91]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Great story. What you've done is called "value-add". You took a raw product, added value to it via labor, and now it is worth more. That is the basis of our capitalist economy (just trying to counter all the socialist crap you are going to get taught in school ).

And Kudos to your Dad for educating you in the industrial arts. My Dad did the same thing with me... a long time ago.

Id like to think that I have added value to my car but unfortunately it did receive a salvage title from being a theft recovery. I think it's pretty dumb and so did the lady at the dmv but oh well there's nothing I can really do about it.

Originally Posted by BIGGNS

Welcome to the long roof family! Nice spec with 6mt and sport, I like the color cause you don't see it very often. Looking forward to following your build

Thanks man I really am enjoying it. I have yet to see another barrique red touring with 6mt and sport.

Originally Posted by Drifter2090

Damn! never seen that colour before, it looks great all cleaned up! Sports package and 6MT is key!

I really want a E91 or E61 wagon for a daily

more pis please!

Thank you! I love it more and more everyday, it looks so different with different lighting. I'll dig up some pictures. I haven't gotten very many great pictures with my dslr yet ..

[Barrique91]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

no no no please don't pay someone to do your alignment. You and your dad seem to have more than enough capacity and the resources to DIY.

Please, if anything, try it yourselves first before wasting $100+ getting someone else to do it. It's really quite simple on these cars.

I use this method to adjust toe with phenomenal results:
https://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f91...ignment-45655/

For camber, use a straightedge and an iPhone. You'll be surprised how accurate it can be.

Thank you for sending me this. We would give it a shot but we have already scheduled everything. It is with a family friend so it won't be that bad. Also he will inspect everything under a lift since we haven't purchased our lift yet. Thank you!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Barrique91

Id like to think that I have added value to my car but unfortunately it did receive a salvage title from being a theft recovery. I think it's pretty dumb and so did the lady at the dmv but oh well there's nothing I can really do about it.


Thanks man I really am enjoying it. I have yet to see another barrique red touring with 6mt and sport.


Thank you! I love it more and more everyday, it looks so different with different lighting. I'll dig up some pictures. I haven't gotten very many great pictures with my dslr yet ..

Well, first off, you have very rare E91 with the sport package and manual trans, so keep it until you can pass it on to your kid (you can keep a BMW for 20 years - I have one that we've had since new and is 21 years old). Second, if you are crazy enough to sell it, just keep all the documentation to show the car really just needed detailing and wasn't really mechanically damaged. It probably got a salvage title because the owner was paid by his insurance company before the car was found, so his claim was paid out as a total loss. Once the car is "totaled" by the insurance company it has to have a salvage title (in most states).

AND if you do sell it in the near future, PM me. I'm calling first dibs.

[Barrique91]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Well, first off, you have very rare E91 with the sport package and manual trans, so keep it until you can pass it on to your kid (you can keep a BMW for 20 years - I have one that we've had since new and is 21 years old). Second, if you are crazy enough to sell it, just keep all the documentation to show the car really just needed detailing and wasn't really mechanically damaged. It probably got a salvage title because the owner was paid by his insurance company before the car was found, so his claim was paid out as a total loss. Once the car is "totaled" by the insurance company it has to have a salvage title (in most states).

AND if you do sell it in the near future, PM me. I'm calling first dibs.

All very true. I bought the car to use and enjoy it so the title didn't bother me. I'll keep you in mind if I ever decide to sell it. The strangest part about this car is that it was filed as stolen in the month of April and was recovered 5 months later. When it was recovered it went to the same bmw dealer it was always serviced at and got a basic "check up" with 129,575 miles. The auction photo of the cluster reads the same mileage so it was towed to auction. When we got all of the paper work from IAA it seems to be that the original owner got into a lawsuit with bmw financing and owed them over $3,000 of storage fees... It is all kind of unclear and pretty strange but the maintenance history seems to be spot on and it's been cared for mechanically. And I'm the second owner which is a plus.

Pictures as promised. Wagon doing wagon stuff. A front end shot. And showing how much of a difference polishing can make. Thanks for all the support guys, the e90 community is pretty great.

[e90yyc]

Man, I am loving both that color and trim!

Nice work!

It's so cool to see a true enthusiast bring a car like this back to life. It's clearly in great hands.

On another note: Though I don't have one at the moment, I do love dogs. But I've never understood people who let their cars go to rat shit because they just can't be bothered to spend 30 minutes vacuuming it every few months. I can't imagine what it must have looked like before. Moist, moldy dog hair. Delicious.

[Barrique91]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

Man, I am loving both that color and trim!

Nice work!

It's so cool to see a true enthusiast bring a car like this back to life. It's clearly in great hands.

On another note: Though I don't have one at the moment, I do love dogs. But I've never understood people who let their cars go to rat shit because they just can't be bothered to spend 30 minutes vacuuming it every few months. I can't imagine what it must have looked like before. Moist, moldy dog hair. Delicious.

Thanks I really appreciate it! I love the car and I would be kicking myself forever if I let it go to waste! I have a dog but I don't think I'm ever get let him inside, maybe if I got a rear cargo mat... maybe. The car smelled horrible before but now after letting it air out and the thorough cleaning you would have never guessed it was ever dirty inside.

[e90yyc]

Originally Posted by Barrique91

Thanks I really appreciate it! I love the car and I would be kicking myself forever if I let it go to waste! I have a dog but I don't think I'm ever get let him inside, maybe if I got a rear cargo mat... maybe. The car smelled horrible before but now after letting it air out and the thorough cleaning you would have never guessed it was ever dirty inside.

You're welcome

It's incredible the night-and-day difference a little elbow grease can make. Some see junk; we see opportunity!

[atmosphericM]

Cool post and you sound like you've got a decent head on your shoulders for a "high school kid."

Happy motoring!

[e90yyc]

Forgot to ask:

You sure the biohazard status is only cause of the mold?

Might be wise to take a black light to the interior, you know... just to make sure it doesn't look like a Jackson Pollock in there

[CTinline-six]

Awesome! Love the work you are putting into this car, helps you appreciate it much more. My 2009 had only 32k miles when I bought it a few months ago, but needed some work as well. I might start a thread on here about it but just haven't gotten around to it yet.

[Barrique91]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

Forgot to ask:

You sure the biohazard status is only cause of the mold?

Might be wise to take a black light to the interior, just to make sure it doesn't look like a Jackson Pollock in there

I'm pretty positive, it wasn't labeled as biohazard when it was first listed. 3 or so months later when it was updated for the bidding to start, it was all of a sudden biohazard.

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

Awesome! Love the work you are putting into this car, helps you appreciate it much more. My 2009 had only 32k miles when I bought it a few months ago, but needed some work as well. I might start a thread on here about it but just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Thanks man I would love to see the work you are doing as well. You should start the thread!