635csi purchase help! (first BMW)

[Tate.]

Hello!
recently i came a cross an 85' 635csi that someone was selling and immediately loved it. the cars interior and exterior are in great condition and the maintenance that it is said to have done sounds promising to the reliability of the car in the future.
I am coming to bimmer forums for the first to for help about the engine and its insane ammount of miles as well as if the asking price of the owner is reasonable for the car. Below i am going to leave some pictues of the car along with some of the description of the AD.

Asking Price: $7400
Miles:320,000
Delphin grey with Pearl sport interior, 5 Speed manual, Euro air dam and trunk lip, sunroof, Bilstein with H&R coil springs, BBS 17" with Yokohama ADVAN S4, Excellent condition.
Upgrades include rotary AC compressor and R134 retrofit, Big fuel injectors, Comforti ECU, LSD, rear camber kit.
Recent maintenance includes: oil change (every 5K) valve adjust, factory reman alternator, PS Pump, reman driveshaft, new flex disc, SS exhaust, clutch master cyl, water pump, radiator, thermostat, brake master cyl, records to 2007.

pretty much looking to find out if this car is going to die 10k miles down the road and need a swap, thanks for any help!!!

[dcains]

That's some serious mileage, even for an old Bimmer. I'd want a compression and leak-down test on the engine, and a full inspection of all the suspension pieces. Even if that all checks OK, $7400 seems a high price for a US-version with those miles and the suto trans.

[hakeem43020]

My e24 has around the same mileage but I still drive it everyday so miles isnt an issue if maintained. If the transmission hasnt already been replaced it'll go anytime now. My transmission went at 300k and majority go out before that but then again mines an auto. You more than likely will have a few things to replace after purchasing the car. $7400 is way too high of a price .

[dmac156]

I've seen this car on CL for a while. Looks nice, good colors, nice wheels, sport seats. If the mileage was in the mid 100k range, that price would be okay. I'm sure the only reason it's still for sale is the auto trans and the mileage.

[DesktopDave]

These cars have truly rugged powertrains. Motors, transmissions and differentials can clock up astonishing mileage if basic maintenance has been performed. My '91 318i has 291K miles currently, and it's been an incredibly trustworthy car. As mentioned, a PPI at a trusted Euro independent mechanic is a great idea. Leakdown test, emissions test, and a comprehensive mechanical check are all excellent ideas. This car has all the right options and it seems obvious that the PO really knew what they were doing. The upgrades are tasteful and easily reversed if you wanted a totally stock machine.

Very high mileage M30s should have had their timing chain guides replaced at least once. Also be sure the mechanic checks very carefully for camshaft wear. Have a mechanic re-tighten the head bolts and verify that the upper cam oil spray bar bolts are secure. The valves tend to get clattery since the valve stems eventually wear grooves into the lash adjusters. It's not a huge problem since most mechanical spares are still available. One specific weakness of this car was the Getrag 260/5. It had a tendency to wear out the 2nd gear synchronizer. BMW installed a revised version of that transmission later (Getrag 260/6). The /6 must have fixed the problems as it was installed in thousands of E34 535i and the occasional E32 735i. The earlier Getrag 265 was a far stronger gearbox, but it was expensive. The factory dual-mass flywheel occasionally causes trouble but that's easily replaced. The cars are relatively simple, particularly compared to newer BMWs. From what I've seen, trim and body are the weak points on the E24. This is what you're investing in, and that car has most of the really nice upgrades. The sport interior has flawless leather, the dashboard isn't cracked, and the chassis doesn't seem to have any hidden surprises. The E24 is especially weak with front fenders & rear quarter rust resistance. The M30 and other parts are also relatively common, due to their durability and the sheer length of the production run. That goes for other parts too. The differentials are common, the driveshafts are commonly rebuilt, and the Getrag 260 transmission was used in thousands of cars - mechanical spares are not a problem with these cars.

I'd say that price is a bit on the high side, but it's not totally unreasonable. Running costs should be low (particularly if you do a lot of the work yourself). The condition of the car looks extraordinary, and what other comparable collector car could you get for that money? Prices on many other interesting 80s cars are startlingly high; your costs on the left coast will be a lot higher than much of the country. If it feels right, pull the trigger. It's an underrated European thoroughbred on sale for about the same price as a seven-year-old crossover!

[bkats]

I agree with DesktopDave. Personally, if I could verify the condition of the camshaft and timing components, I would buy. A 5-speed with that interior condition is quite uncommon. There isn't a whole lot of stuff on the M30 that just up-and-breaks. You can do some major work on this car and still end up with a very nice 5-speed for under $10k.

[88m53453]

for the mileage, that car looks incredibly clean, still seems a bit high to me

[Zieg]

Am I missing something but is this not a 5 speed car?

I checked out for a friend from the E 28 board on an 87 535i with 315 miles on it. The car ran great stopped even better only problem was some rust issues in the usual door locations. The price was $3K, good maintenance records for last 100K Guy purchase the car flew down to Florida and drove it back to I think Virginia no problem. That was a year ago and he is still using it as his daily driver.

Unfortunately they just don't make them like this anymore. This looks like a nice car. A little high priced for the mileage IMHO.

[dcains]

Am I missing something but is this not a 5 speed car?

I checked out for a friend from the E 28 board on an 87 535i with 315 miles on it. The car ran great stopped even better only problem was some rust issues in the usual door locations. The price was $3K, good maintenance records for last 100K Guy purchase the car flew down to Florida and drove it back to I think Virginia no problem. That was a year ago and he is still using it as his daily driver.

Unfortunately they just don't make them like this anymore. This looks like a nice car. A little high priced for the mileage IMHO.

That's what I said in the first reply to this thread. You can see the shift console in one of the pics, and the ATF dipstick in another.

[DesktopDave]

I'm a little confused, did two threads get merged or something?

It's this car, right?
https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/6033266099.html

I forgot to mention the steering box mounting - definitely a weakness on our cars. Any E24 PPI must include a check of the front subframe & steering box mounts for metal fatigue.

[dcains]

Now I'm confused too. Don't you see the red ATF disptick in the engine pic? That other interior pic wasn't posted to this thread, but I surely see the manual shift lever. In any case, still way too much $$$.

[88m53453]

I bought an 88 535 in excellent condition in 1996 with about 200k on it, think the price was 5000 at that time to keep going slightly off topic....

[ldk]

Based on how the reflection is on the side of the body, with it not being straight on the fender behind the front wheel, I'd say the car was in a mild front-end collision, which bowed the fender. Look for evidence of body straightening and re-paint. Use to bargain.

[Zieg]

Definitely a 5 speed car. It has 3 pedals!

[Tate.]

Hey guys, little update on what i've heard from the seller, and yes the car is a 5 spd manual.
I got a few more pictures, ones that the owner had on hand, that shows a little bit more but not a lot of the car. The Washer Fluid light comes on intermittently on the light cluster to the left of the steering wheel. The dash has a thin but noticeable crack going towards the windshield, but he's not hiding much more than that within the interior as he had pictures of the top half of the rear seats and they look as good as the rest of the car.
At the time of his email he said that the antenna had stopped in the expended position (pretty funny imo) but that he planned to fix it that weekend, so as we speak. There is a quarter panel that shows some paint bridging, could have been caused by a small accident like mentioned above(?). other than that he goes onto say....

"The running gear is in great shape. ... Suspension is stiff and tight. The transmission, clutch, breaks and tires all work well. The shift linkage has just been replaced, so it drives very nicely. Even though it has a lot of miles, i rarely add oil."

thanks all for the help in the hopeful conclusion that i pull the trigger and buy this car for the right price!

[tvjake2]

When you are buying a car like this there are two reasons you buy it...investment or transportation. This car, with this many miles, is transportation. The deal with transportation is that you want to get as much out of it as you can without spending a lot. With a car like this you are going to spend money on upkeep and repairs...but you'll look good while you do it. The thumbs up you get when you drive one of these cars is pretty cool. As long as you are satisfied that you'll get service and some fun out of driving it I'd go for it. Getting the engine and trans checked out would be a good idea as would a number of the recommendations given here. On the plus side, this sounds like it's current owner is an enthusiast and that's good for you. Go ahead and try to negotiate the price.

BTW - that's one of my favorite colors, very classy looking.

[dmac156]

I was thinking it was an auto. So other than the mileage this car looks nice. I definitely like the colors. It's never going to be a serious collector car in terms of value, but you will still turns lots of heads driving it around, and you can still bring it to shows. I think you could have a lot of fun with it. Find a price that accounts for the miles and have fun with it!

[Roku35]

For a 300K mile car, it does still look like a clean example. Shows how well built they are when taken care of. It is A LOT of miles, so lots of items maybe approaching their useful life. When ever folks ask if they should buy a E24, they usually want to know whether if it is worth it or not. Ultimately, it really depends on what you want to buy it for. As said earlier...transportation or for weekend fun. Older car as a daily driver is not realistic (but doable). Owning a clean Classic E24 to cruise around town on weekends (and looking extremely cool), desirable (and doable). The best advice is to find the most expensive example E24 that you want to buy and can afford. Even replacement M30 B34 engines are very economical to replace. IMHO, if it is not an immaculate/very well conditioned Euro M635csi, as an E24 model, it is not collectible. Buy and have fun!

[dm635]

Son had an '89 with over 350K on it and used it as a daily driver. He didn't baby it and it still ran fine.

[Big Six]

Noticed this car up at Strictly BMW in Bellevue last week, PPI?

[mvoorhoeve]

I am looking to buy a euro 635csi. Anyone know of one for sale. Prefer stick.

[Tony Shark]

I got my 85' 5 speed for $2000 with 310,000 frozen on the clock so who really knws how many miles mines has so I did a full tune up and still runs like a champ.