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No Reserve Land Shark: 1986 BMW 635CSI

BMW’s E24-chassis 6-Series remains one of the better choices still available for reasonable money if a German hobby car is on your list. The 635CSI often gets overlooked next to the glorious M6 of the same generation, but the good news there is that prices remain low. Find this nicely maintained 1986 model here on eBay with bidding over $8K and no reserve.

Mileage is average at 112,000, but it also confirms someone loved this 635. The paint looks even and consistent going down the sides, and the black trim shows no signs of fading. That’s particularly hard to achieve on the front and rear bumper covers which are prone to fading out after years of sun exposure. The wheels are aftermarket but factory wheels are included.

The interior sports “Pearl Beige” leather sport seats, a desirable factory option, along with clean carpets and a mostly uncracked dash. BMW dashboards of this vintage love to split open, and the seller says this one has just a small crack near the odometer gauge face. Other issues include a small tear in the driver’s seat leather and missing driver’s door lock cylinder.

The M30 six-cylinder engines is one the silkiest in the BMW range, and also one of the most reliable. These are powerful (for the era) engines that were used in multiple BMW models over the years, making parts availability healthy and costs entirely manageable. With such a clean engine bay, I’m sure this “land shark” was loved – and any buy under $10K is a steal.

Comments

  1. Avatar Winnipegcarnut Member

    Candygram!

    Like 2
  2. Avatar local_sheriff

    This is one seemingly clean example and given its somehow unusual color for a 6 and manual it’s well worth the money. Just days back I coincidentally spoke with a gentleman driving a similarly clean ’85 635 with auto wearing a much more common for these cars champagne color. He could inform me these have sky-rocketed in popularity back in Germany, and decent examples sell north of 20k there.
    IMO these are well worth laying your hands on while they’re still buyable; it’s a much better BMW to own than an ’02 or E21

    Like 2
  3. Avatar leiniedude Member

    I love seeing these Bimmers come through here! This one is a knockout! I would like to see some paper work with it. Minnesota plate on her, snowbird?

    Like 3
  4. Avatar ken tilly Member

    About 15 years ago I had one of these gorgeous 635’s on my showroom floor. A customer asked if he could hear the engine so I leaned through the window and turned the key. Well, it started on the button as they say, but somehow the loud pedal was jammed on the floor due to the carpet being jammed against the accelerator pedal, and the car was in first gear! It slammed into the back of an Alfa Spider and pushed it through a plate glass window into an Isuzu pickup parked outside. It then glanced off the side of the Alfa and into an MG A roadster and crushed it against the wall, where I managed to open the door and switch the engine off before the rear tyres burnt themselves out. Talk about a demolition derby but at least it narrowly missed a Ford GT 40. My insurance company refused to pay out as they said it was not an accident as it was my fault for not following safety procedure. I suppose they had a point but it took me seven years to pay off the overdraft I had to take out to repair the damaged cars.

    Like 11
    • Avatar DayDreamBeliever

      No clutch/ignition/starter interlock system? I don’t know when those became common/mandatory, but my ’89 Mitsubishi car has one.

      A sad tale you have related, at least no one got hurt!

      Like 0
      • Avatar local_sheriff

        No such system mandatory for cars in Europe. Might have become common yes, but no requirement I know of unless the regulations have changed recently. However my ’77 C5 Blazer had the system installed from the factory

        Like 1
      • Avatar ken tilly Member

        Only my pride! Thankfully. But I had to eventually sell my 1951 Buick Super to pay off the overdraft as the bank charges were going up faster than my repayments.

        Like 0
    • Avatar rod444

      Well, I recently had to pay off a huge amount for something that I didn’t feel was my fault, and it probably wasn’t your intention, but thanks for making me feel better. As they say, sometimes sh*t just happens :) You made my day.

      Like 3
  5. Avatar Skippy

    A lot of cars still don’t have clutch interlocks. We’ve all seen the video of the kid that put his dads brand new mustang through the garage wall because he thought it would be cool to start it. (Look it up if you haven’t). None of my BMWs have a clutch Interlock and I have 11. Neither do my Alfa’s. As for this car, I agree it is nice and this model will be appreciating. The engine is not finicky or hard to service and the style is relatively timeless. Just add a modern Bluetooth radio and put another 100,000 miles on it easy…maybe put different wheels on it. The current set is nearly period correct but this car looks awesome with BBS RS wheels.

    Like 2
  6. Avatar Bob S

    In 1965, I had my 190SL repainted, and the turd that drove the car from the back of the shop to the front, plowed into another car and wiped out the grill and front fenders of the 190. I was without a car for a month while they repaired it.
    The shop manager told me that they had also changed the rear motor mounts, so when I picked the car up, and was making the 40 mile drive home, the transmission started to make a lot of noise. Approximately 1/2 way home, I pulled into a garage and had the fluid level checked. The transmission was empty! I ate a keg of nails, phoned the Mercedes dealer, and told them that they were buying me a new transmission. I drove around with the bad transmission for a month before the replacement came in. After the repair, I never went back to them again, and sold the car shortly after.
    I have a couple of 633s and an 87 635, and love the cars for the styling, reliablity, and the shear joy of driving it. I have always been surprised that they weren’t more desirable as a classic. I have the Recaro seats in one of the cars, and although they are highly adjustable, they don’t do any more for me than the stock seats with the memory computer to automatically adjust the seat.
    With the 5 speed, it is a joy to drive.
    Bob

    Like 4
  7. Avatar PDXBryan

    Knock knock. Who is it? Candy gram….. Who? Flowers mam……..

    Like 0
  8. Avatar Keith

    Missing drivers door lock cylinder? Hmmmmmmm

    Like 0
  9. Avatar John

    Finally, a clean detailed car at a “reasonable” ask.

    Like 1
  10. Avatar leiniedude Member

    Fun car, wish I was a player. Ended: Jul 01, 2019 , 1:06PM
    Winning bid:US $10,600.00
    [ 11 bids ]

    Like 0

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