I loved my e24... (archive)

Okay guys I'm about to spill my soul here. . .
I own an '85 635 and although I love the machine, I have to admit I'm a little intimidated by it. I audit the E24 forums regularly, and I'm amazed at how many things go wrong with these cars! My car is a seldom driven, pampered "garage queen" so I don't have to deal with some of the headaches others are complaining about (electrical problems up the wazoo, mostly) but every time time I take my car out I'm almost expecting some component to fail. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'm even afraid to accelerate hard through the gears for fear that the auto tranny (known to be not the most durable in the world) will start slipping and I'll be faced with a $2000+ repair bill.
Sooo. . .I'm beginning to feel that this car is just too luxurious and complex for me and that a nice E9 is what I'm really looking for. I'm a "gearhead" at heart and would much rather be swapping cams, carbs, etc. than tracking down electrical gremlins. I grew up with cars in the '60's and the beautiful 3.0CS/CSi has always been one of my favorites; sometimes I wonder why I didn't buy one of these instead of the 6er.
After all this, here's my question: how's the reliability of the E9, in general? Do you guys have a lot of nitpicky problems with them? Have any of you gone through the E24 experience, like me, before purchasing an E9? I'd appreciate any feedback and comparisons between the two models. Thanks!
Larry
'85 635 CSi

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It was VERY reliable. I don't understand all the problems, because my car was very good that way. It had 190K and ran like a clock. Sure, some cluster problems (bad solder joint) and some replaced parts, but in 190K and 15 years, what can one expect.

My e9 has a beautiful body (though I am selling her for financial reasons), handles quite decently, and has the "look" (which my wife thinks means "OLD" and "OUTDATED"), and just feels good to drive.

Unless you install a 5 speed, the 70 mph cruise is a bit noisey, and DON'T drive it in the rain unless you do some serious retrofitting and under chassis cleaning (to remove dirt/crud which accelerate the corrosion process).

If you get one, buy a Western car that has as little rust as possible (I honestly believe I could find rust somewhere on EVERY e9, despite protests from the faithful).

Lastly, don't sell the e24 until you've had the e9 for a year to make sure it suits you better.

Bob

Follow Ups:

...rust on EVERY car... dang 12:56 9/13/2000 (1)
- The difference is... Bob 22:56 9/13/2000 (0)
Oh yes, Bob 10:52 9/13/2000 (0)

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