RE: SOTW Special: BMW 635 CSi
Discussion
ejenner said:
I had the full-power 635csi F-reg highline. I bought the best one I could find. Apart from rot in the front wings (my reason for selling) it was good as gold. Power was good but delivered in a 'leggy' way. i.e. hang-on for ages in every gear but it certianly pulls. The noise it makes getting up to the red-line while you have your foot welded to the floor makes me sob it's so beautiful! Not bettered by any car yet.
As a benchmark, racing around Manchester when I was on a business trip with a mate driving a Lexus IS300 the 635 was exactally the same performance. Neither of us could pull-away from either. Except off the line where traction control on the Lexus made it a really slow starter.
Excuse to post 635 pic! Yes PLEASE!
Rot starting, little pimples poking through paint!
Cockpit! I used to love the air-craft style gear selector in the old BMs!
What a quote, enough for me. Off to the classifieds I Go.As a benchmark, racing around Manchester when I was on a business trip with a mate driving a Lexus IS300 the 635 was exactally the same performance. Neither of us could pull-away from either. Except off the line where traction control on the Lexus made it a really slow starter.
Excuse to post 635 pic! Yes PLEASE!
Rot starting, little pimples poking through paint!
Cockpit! I used to love the air-craft style gear selector in the old BMs!
They are great cars. Mate bought one and I don't think he even opened the bonnet when I did so we discovered inner wings which were more weld than sheet! It used to return single figure mileage and was forever costing him. But looking at the car you could forgive it anything. Aside from the 3.0CSL it's the best looking BMW of all time. (IMHO)
jon- said:
Out of interest, what is the best handling BMW for £1000?
I suspect only a few will agree. But, I think at today's prices, it is prob an e36 318i Compact.The lighter weight of the Compact and the older rear suspension set-up, from the e30, actually gives the 140 bhp e36 Compact, great fun handling for a budget of £1k. For that money you can get a nice one, where as, there are few other BM's, for that price that handle so well, at current values.
HantsEddy said:
ejenner said:
I had the full-power 635csi F-reg highline. I bought the best one I could find. Apart from rot in the front wings (my reason for selling) it was good as gold. Power was good but delivered in a 'leggy' way. i.e. hang-on for ages in every gear but it certianly pulls. The noise it makes getting up to the red-line while you have your foot welded to the floor makes me sob it's so beautiful! Not bettered by any car yet.
As a benchmark, racing around Manchester when I was on a business trip with a mate driving a Lexus IS300 the 635 was exactally the same performance. Neither of us could pull-away from either. Except off the line where traction control on the Lexus made it a really slow starter.
Excuse to post 635 pic! Yes PLEASE!
Rot starting, little pimples poking through paint!
Cockpit! I used to love the air-craft style gear selector in the old BMs!
Why don't you buy it back - your old car is for sale!As a benchmark, racing around Manchester when I was on a business trip with a mate driving a Lexus IS300 the 635 was exactally the same performance. Neither of us could pull-away from either. Except off the line where traction control on the Lexus made it a really slow starter.
Excuse to post 635 pic! Yes PLEASE!
Rot starting, little pimples poking through paint!
Cockpit! I used to love the air-craft style gear selector in the old BMs!
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2845819.htm
Nice
thewheelman said:
Great cars, at such a low price there could be big problems ahead.
Serious rust is the only real "big problem". It's an old car - stuff goes wrong. But they're relatively straightforward, parts are readily available (whether new or from breakers) and the money you save through cheap classic insurance and depreciation-free motoring gives you some cash to play with to keep the thing on the road.
Edited by Gruber on Friday 14th October 11:57
thewheelman said:
Great cars, at such a low price there could be big problems ahead.
Not a useful statement really. The same could be said for any car, at this price. But, actually, you are wrong, in this case. Because, this could be a bargain and for those that know and can work on their cars, it could be a superb buy and profitable when sold. Plus a pleasure to own and drive. Not picking on you, but, your post is ill-informed.
Gruber said:
thewheelman said:
Great cars, at such a low price there could be big problems ahead.
Series rust is the only real "big problem". It's an old car - stuff goes wrong. But they're relatively straightforward, parts are readily available (whether new or from breakers) and the money you save through cheap classic insurance and depreciation-free motoring gives you some cash to play with to keep the thing on the road.
Jon
Absolutely fantastic SHED. If you are looking to buy the best car you can for under £2k, then surely you still have a grand left to sort the rusty bits and the gearbox? And who knows the overdrive might be an easier fix than you think (could just be electrical).
Of course you will have some Job's comforters are saying this is going to cost you. If it has been serviced properly the 3.5 engine is virtually bullet proof. A friend of mine had a 735 from the same era which did over 250,000 on the same engine and box with nothing more than regular servicing.
And there are plenty of specialists out there to help. The only real costly bits over and above a standard beemer are the body panels and the interiors (and judging by the photos the interior looks in fine fettle).
Well done and best of luck (I am truly jealous)!!
Absolutely fantastic SHED. If you are looking to buy the best car you can for under £2k, then surely you still have a grand left to sort the rusty bits and the gearbox? And who knows the overdrive might be an easier fix than you think (could just be electrical).
Of course you will have some Job's comforters are saying this is going to cost you. If it has been serviced properly the 3.5 engine is virtually bullet proof. A friend of mine had a 735 from the same era which did over 250,000 on the same engine and box with nothing more than regular servicing.
And there are plenty of specialists out there to help. The only real costly bits over and above a standard beemer are the body panels and the interiors (and judging by the photos the interior looks in fine fettle).
Well done and best of luck (I am truly jealous)!!
flatline84 said:
What a quote, enough for me. Off to the classifieds I Go.
same engine as in thishttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF3gXS0t8lQ
sound better in the flesh than in a video, i've driven a 535i for about 1200 miles and the engines are superb and go on and on and on. the one i drove had 227k miles on it and was still going strong and pulling well up to the red line.
the 6 series is a wonderful thing, it's just rust
E38Ross said:
flatline84 said:
What a quote, enough for me. Off to the classifieds I Go.
same engine as in thishttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF3gXS0t8lQ
sound better in the flesh than in a video, i've driven a 535i for about 1200 miles and the engines are superb and go on and on and on. the one i drove had 227k miles on it and was still going strong and pulling well up to the red line. also been in a 635 and it's lovely, the 3 speed auto just mute the power somewhat though.
the 6 series is a wonderful thing, it's just rust
Gruber said:
Series rust is the only real "big problem".
Autoboxes are prone to packing up (as did mine- started refusing to shift out of first). Rot was the eventual killer- the sills, inner wings and rear arches were absolutely gone. I would love another mind- a nice one to tuck away in the garage for a nice weekend rather than a daily.
pSyCoSiS said:
jon- said:
Out of interest, what is the best handling BMW for £1000?
My SOTW E30 325i Track Car!dbdb said:
pSyCoSiS said:
AdamPT said:
2nd best looking .....3.0csi/csl is the most beautiful BWM ever.........
No - the best looking has to be the E30 M3 Sport Evo !I can't vouch for the cars condition today as it's about 4 or 5 years since I sold it. The guy who's selling it now is the guy I sold it to and I think it must have only covered 7000 miles in his ownership. You can see it still has the same tyres - i.e. my photo v.s. his description. You'll have to forgive me if any of this is wrong - it was a while ago. When he bought it from me he had it inspected by the AA and it was the full inspection including a long test drive and a trip to Kwik-Fit (the only time it was ever in there) to put it up on the ramps to complete the underside inspection.
It has rare optional extras including:
LSD
Tint-top windscreen
heated seats
AC
Cruise Control
Rare extras.
The car was originally registered in the Isle of Mann and wasn't imported to the UK for a few years. It covered very little mileage during that time. The current owner told me he had the front wings repaired. So I'd guess the problem I had with it (i.e. worried about rust) is now cured so nothing to worry about.
I fitted lots of new service parts to it when I owned it and the oil was changed three times using genuine BMW stuff. I had it serviced once at BMW and once at Munich Legends as I didn't think BMW were up to snuff when they did the first service. Munich Legends are the boys to go to if you want things done properly.
I fitted the 'old fashioned style' radio which plays MP3s off a CD but looks brilliant in the dashboard. I bought it deliberately because it would go well with the car.
And just in case anyone wanted to know I had lots of nice girlfriends who all liked it. One of them used to call it 'sharkey' - loads of people used to stop me in the street and ask if I wanted to sell it and I took it to three different car shows for display while I owned it.
If the condition of it hasn’t deteriorated since I sold it then it would be a good one to buy. I paid £9000 for it so it has always been an expensive car.
It has rare optional extras including:
LSD
Tint-top windscreen
heated seats
AC
Cruise Control
Rare extras.
The car was originally registered in the Isle of Mann and wasn't imported to the UK for a few years. It covered very little mileage during that time. The current owner told me he had the front wings repaired. So I'd guess the problem I had with it (i.e. worried about rust) is now cured so nothing to worry about.
I fitted lots of new service parts to it when I owned it and the oil was changed three times using genuine BMW stuff. I had it serviced once at BMW and once at Munich Legends as I didn't think BMW were up to snuff when they did the first service. Munich Legends are the boys to go to if you want things done properly.
I fitted the 'old fashioned style' radio which plays MP3s off a CD but looks brilliant in the dashboard. I bought it deliberately because it would go well with the car.
And just in case anyone wanted to know I had lots of nice girlfriends who all liked it. One of them used to call it 'sharkey' - loads of people used to stop me in the street and ask if I wanted to sell it and I took it to three different car shows for display while I owned it.
If the condition of it hasn’t deteriorated since I sold it then it would be a good one to buy. I paid £9000 for it so it has always been an expensive car.
Edited by ejenner on Friday 14th October 12:17
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