1980 BMW 728i

The headlines first. This 1980 728i is a 13,500-mile survivor and it must be the finest of its kind available anywhere. It is, we think, the best-preserved car we have ever had the privilege to offer on THE MARKET.

 It is original and unrestored, having been pampered through a long first ownership that only came to an end four years ago when it passed to a collector who never re-registered it in his name for road use - so on paper it remains a one-owner car.

Instead, the vendor says he spent around £2000 refurbishing the brakes, fitting a dealer-supplied BMW exhaust system and ensuring that this 7-series is no seized-up museum piece. It is on the button and ready to go.

It was supplied new by a BMW dealer in Wolverhampton and in recent years has been on display in the same dealership, loaned by the first owner. After a period as his company car, the gentleman took it on as family property, but still barely used it - MoTs from the 1980s and 1990s show an average annual mileage of a few hundred. The speedometer was changed in 1985 when showing 6000 miles and it’s now showing 7445. The vendor explains how he found it.

‘I heard about it through a mutual friend. The car lived indoors, sharing a large garage with a ride-on mower, and it was in incredible condition. “Time-warp” is a massively over-used phrase for describing well-preserved cars but this time it’s genuinely justified. I jumped at the chance to own it.’

Now, four years on, with 12 other cars to distract him, it’s time to offer the BMW for sale.

There’s every sign that the paint is the factory finish. The first owner said as much to the vendor, and a check with a paint-depth indicator would seem to support this. In keeping with a 40 year-old finish, it’s not entirely perfect - if you know where to look you can find signs of small spider-tracks under the paint in one or two places on the front wings and some tiny scabs and peel-backs on the rear of the front wheel-arch lips. To any casual observer it looks new. Brand new. And carrying out repairwork to something so original for something so trivial would be sacrilegious.

That description will do for the remarkable untouched bumpers, chrome, grille and lamp lenses too. Not a parking scuff, not a ding, not a crack. The wheels are all unmarked and retain their BMW roundels in the centres and undamaged stainless-steel trim rings. Even the wheel bolts look like they’ve barely been touched. Any new owner who intends to use the car should invest in four new tyres and keep the handsome but elderly Michelin XVSs for the show field.

Fabric interiors, especially European ones from the 1970s onwards, can be literally impossible to refurbish properly as the correct cloth is often unavailable and brittle plastic parts have never been reproduced. So most people put up with a few rips, cracks and stains.

Not here. We kept thinking that this car doesn’t even feel like one that’s done 13,000 miles…try 1,000. The seats have not sagged, the bolsters are not scuffed, the door cards have never been scraped with a muddy boot. The little brush-edged pieces in the gear selector slot have not bent into position around the ‘D’ mark, because the car has spent so little time on the road.

The carpets look like a perfect recent fit of a new old-stock set but they’ve been there since 1980. The plastic sewn-in mat for the drivers’ heels doesn’t seem to have picked up a single mark. The headlining has never been touched with grimy fingers and the dashboard could be a brochure photograph. Even the little red digital clock works. The only flaw we could find is that the Philips radio-cassette isn’t sitting quite square in its slot – easily fixed, we are sure.

You won’t be surprised to read that the showroom-like condition continues under the car and inside both the bonnet and boot areas. Starting at the back, the boot floor is almost comically clean – lift the spotless carpet and it’s like peeking at one that’s still on the production line. The light inside the boot lid works and the spare carries another elderly but unworn XVS Michelin. Needless to say, there is no hint of rust.

The same goes for the rest of the hull. Beemers of this period could get quite frilly if neglected, but in a dry garage, this one’s factory underseal and judicious aftermarket touches of anti-corrosion wax have allowed no tinworm to move in. The new BMW exhaust hasn’t had time to develop even a prickle of rust though we did notice one rubber hanger that needs re-attaching.

The engine bay is not concours-perfect, but it’s about half an hour’s work from becoming so. It is incredibly smart and clean. The engine is not as silent as a Rolls-Royce and it’s not meant to be…that BMW straight-six rasp has won a lot of fans over the years and urging this car into kickdown on a long straight will show you why.

On our brief test drive, we confirm this car is absolutely on-the-button.

It’s all there, right back to the car’s running-in service and pre-sale inspection when new. Actual service records are outnumbered by MoTs, as you’d expect for a car that barely did any miles or wore anything out, but it turns out the vendor’s estimate of £2000 for his recent expenditure is actually closer to £3000 – that new exhaust was £639 on its own. These bills give a thorough idea of the work needed to get a little-used but immaculate car up to true roadworthiness and include a replacement rear section of exhaust manifold as well as more obvious items like brakes, belts, oil, filters, the odd relay and that exhaust.

Let’s state the obvious – there is no reason to pass up this car. If you want it, and if you can afford it, you should try very hard to buy it. It’s that good.

If you want to stroke your chin for a bit longer before throwing in that winning bid, consider the options for anyone who does buy it. You could use it for literally any journey a brand new car could do and it wouldn’t bat one Bavarian eyelid. You could clean the engine bay with a Q-tip and compete in some really quite serious concours shows. You could do BMW club events and ride the waves of smugness as everyone marvelled at your car’s condition, rarity and originality.

Or you could keep it all to yourself and get the same warm glow every time you opened the garage door and peered into that showroom-fresh interior. Which brings up the question of mileage and condition – is it too nice to use? Would driving it harm the value? Think of it like this. If you fitted some new tyres and kept up the same religious approach to cleanliness and maintenance, you could do a joyous 10,000 miles over the next five years. Not heaps, but more than most classics do. And then in 2025 you’d still have the best 728i anyone could find, and with a mileage that’s still just 23,000.

‘Youngtimer’ German classics are surging in popularity and for an example like this, buyers should be queuing round the block. We estimate the car will sell for between £16,500 and £23,000. Good value when a similar 735 with nearly 20,000 miles sold at auction for over £22,000 last summer.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Footman James for classic car insurance Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car and AnyVan for transporting it.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.

Please note that this is sold as seen and that, as is normal for used goods bought at auction, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. See our FAQs for more info, and feel free to inspect any vehicle as much as you wish.