Re: I've owned an '88 635, as well as an M6...> (archive)

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The M6 is a fantastic car, probably my favorite BMW of all. I wouldn't say it's pandora's box, but it's not the reliable, cheap car to own that an E36 3-series is. In my opinion it's a much better car than the 87.5-on 635's, mainly because the M-cars built then were really built by Motorsports rather than BMW marketing dept. and offers so much more performance than the 635's. These late 635's don't perform any better than than your present car, but have much higher costs (case in point: check the cost of an exhaust for an '84 635 vs. an '88, then try to find an aftermarket exhaust for each). For that reason I consider an '87.5-on 635 to have the negatives of higher cost that the M6 has, without the benefits of the performance and collectibility of the M.

Out of curiosity, why would you recommend the 84-86? I currently have an '86 635, but am looking towards an '88 or '89 M6. Am I just opening pandora's box?

Here's what I can tell you from personal experience. The car probably has dual a/c, and even if it doesn't, the system can be extremely expensive to repair, easily $2000+. The problem with the bouncy rear-end is because the self-leveling system is shot, also an extremely expensive system to fix. You are better off ditching it and going with conventional springs/shocks. This isn't cheap either. The electronically controlled automatics are very expensive to repair as well, more so than the earlier cars. This is the main problem with the later-model 6's (mid 87+): Many of the cars major systems are unique to these years, and cannot be easily replaced with other 6-series pieces. This includes A/C, exhaust, transmission...etc. Another issue is that aftermarket parts for these years are hard to find. This is a $5,000 car that could easily cost you another $5,000 to bring up to speed. Both of mine were easily the most expensive cars I've ever owned when it comes to repair and maintenance, and this includes a couple of Ferrari's, many Porsche's, and about a dozen other BMW's. It's still a wonderful car, and I'd buy another in a second. You just need to know what you're jumping into. A better choice from a cost of ownership point would be an '84-86 car.

Figure on at least $600 to fix ac though, unless it just needs a charge, and a couple of hundred for the trim, a couple for the window.
I'd go straight H&R/Bilstein for the suspension, it will save you alot that way. Figure about $1k for suspension, related bushings, etc.

Have you driven the car? Is the tranny solid? Does the owner have records? How many owners before? If it is on the level, it is not a bad deal!

Give me the VIN, and I'll run a carfax for you. Also, look for RUST. It can be a BIG factor.

Check inside oil-filler cap, and sneak a peek at the condition of the engine's internals. If it is clean-looking, you may have a steal.

thanks for the advice.I definitely get it
fully checked out. I have known this guy, and he has had the car several years, he bought it with
88,000 miles on it.I am not skeptical about
his price, he has his daughter driving it, she is 16 or so, it needs shocks real bad, as I feel
like mr pimpmo in it as the rear bounces up and down like a 72 caddy. Its has been fairly
well taken care of, but still semi-neglected.
Greg at BimmersRus here in St louis will check it out for me.

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