Re: Buying Recommendations on a 635csi (archive)

yours is a tough call. price seems a bit steep for an 85 w/ so many miles. i bought an 85 (black) a year ago and paid $6G. it had 135,000 and was in great shape. at that age, however, lots of things are/were due for failure. hence, fairness of the price depends not just on how well the owner kept up w/ repairs, but on just exactly what s/he has had occasion to replace. some failures s/he avoided will surely land on your lap. for example, at 160,000 miles, you might expect to replace l/r upper control arms, tie rod assemblies, maybe the clutch, and prolly the slave cylinder. likewise, air cond/heater blower, and maybe some switches. and the shifter should prolly be upgraded, if it hasn't already. all this is to say, good luck. i've put nearly 20,000 miles on my 6 in one year, and i wouldn't part w/ it for twice what your owner is asking.

herb
85 635
89 325i

Greetings all,

I'm in the market for a 635csi and I looked at a nice black '85 today that is being offered at $8K with a 160K miles, 5spd and all records from day one. No negoations have begun, although the car has high miles it appears to have been very well maintained inside and out. Only very minor cosmetic work is needed, the usual small chips ect...

I'm new to the 6 series world, so genrally speaking, what is the most desireable year for a 6 series coupe and why? Besides the usual rust locations what should I pay particular attention to when looking at these cars. At 160K what are the major engine wear points, ie: rockers, cams, mains & rods ect...?

Also one final question; should one stay away from buying Euro cars? I've heard that many parts are NLA and smoging them can be a real problem. In fact here in CA I understand the DMV can take your Euro car if all the papers are not in order. Is this all true? Any input you Euro car owners could give would be great. Thanks in advance and happy motoring.

Best regards,

Tim

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