DAILY DRIVER

HI ALL,AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR,WISHING YOU IT NOW WHILST I CAN STILL TYPE OR SEE STRAIGHT!!!!!!

    I HAVE OWNED A 635 PREVIOUSLY ON A 86 PLATE,NOW SOLD BAD MISTAKE!I  AM SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING BUYING A MUCH LATER 89 MOTORSPORT ED.I HAVE A FEW CONCERNS,WILL THE CAR BE OK AS A DAILY DRIVER?IM NOT BOTHERED ABOUT FUEL CONSUMPTION!

 IS IT PRACTICAL TO RUN  ON A DAILY BASIS,PROBABLY BE DOING 200 MILES A WEEK ABOUT,ANY COMMENTS?THE CAR IM THINKING ABOUT HAS METRICS,WHAT WHEELS FIT FROM BMW RANGE OR AFTERMARKET WHEELS?

THANKS EVERYONE RUSS

They are okay but aren't as robust as say an E34 5
Series. They need yearly doses of Waxoyl and the
Metric tyres are utter garbage - harsh ride and
absolutely evil in the wet. The best all round
replacement is the 15 inch BBS cross spoke from
the E34/E32 with 225/60 tyres. About £200 for an
absolutely mint set with good brand name tyres and
they look absolutely 'right' for the car. New tyres are
about £60 each for a good brand like Michelin or
Pirelli.

I have a mate with a perfect, fully sorted (with FSH)
1988 example for sale - P.M me if interested.

I would echo what's been said.  I use a 1990 M3 as a daily driver.  It's done 208,000 kms, and yes, we do have the occasional "issue".  However, it is sufficiently different from what is on the orads today to make you feel special, and that's before you even turn a wheel!

I would thoroughly recommend the older car.  For the money, where can you travel in anything like the syle?  people will be forever asking you about your car, and telling you they used to have a mate who had one, and how cool they are etc etc.

That just doesn't happen with an E46 or similar.

Get rid of those TRX's though, as they are an abomination, and furiously expensive to run.  I'd go for 16 inch wheels with Goodyear Eagle F1s, as they are fab in the wet.  Personally, on a daily driver, I'd go for the ubiquitous Alpina replicas (is is BK171?), as I think Apls look fantastic on the car, and they are close enough for everyday use, and comparatively cheap (wheels plus tyres less than the price of a set of new, and rubbish TRX's).

Just my twopenneth mind you.

I love to see sixes on the road - if there's a chance of one more, then I applaud it!

Hi,

    Sorry forgot to mention,head was done and skimmed by bmw 5000 miles ago.

thanks Russ

Drew540i wrote: These days a really exceptional 635CSi Highline in immaculate condition with absolutely everything done (wings, brake lines, radiator, SI board etc) is worth a minimum of five grand. Many have been lucky and bought for less but not often!

Make it nearer £10k if it has under 100k on the clock. Depends on what your definition of "exceptional" is.

Drew540i wrote: As far as I'm aware, the Motorsport had the Bilstein dampers and LSD??

They did plus a few other bits & pieces from the options list.

I think Misano Red really suits the Six though I am biased!

Back to what I said re the Alpina rep wheels.  The BK171 is cheap and cheerful, and looks v close to the Alpina (19 spokes instead of 20 I recall).  Looks very nice indeed on a six, and I love them in Misano red!

Andy, I'm not usggesting yours are reps - they are BMW's own, from a Seven series aren't they?  Your car is just the dogs b's.

Russnik - if I were you I think I'd be realistic about buying it at 4 grand.  It seems cheap, and it just might be.  It might also mean that you have to allocate £2K in your mind for all the little jobs that might come up in the next few months, just to get them sorted.  Speaking personally, if the bodywork looks good and rust free, and all the electrics work, at that money I'd buy it.  Sure there will be tedious little things that you'll have to sort, but they can be done over time.  that way you get the pleasure of using the car and making it better.  If you are any good tinkering, all of that kind of stuff can be dealt with ove time, in a way that a rusty pair of wings cannot.

My M3 has not been a cheap car to run, but it has never broken down, has been fantastic fun, and is worth as much or more now as it was when I bought it 3 years and 60,000Kms ago.  There aren';t many cars you can say that for, and I reckon your 6 could be the same deal - how far is it going to drop from 4K if you look after it?

Tempting though a new M6 is (assuming you have 80K to spend on wheels that is) I dread to think how much of that money will have gone up in smoke in a couple of years' time and 20K miles.  It's a scary thought.....

My wheels are BMW Style 32's - similar to Alpinas but easier to clean! I was advised against BK replicas as the quality can sometimes be a bit iffy.

Condition-wise mine would meet Drew's criteria except for the wings - they are original except for the section just behind the indicator which has been replaced with new metal & lead loaded. The rest of the wings were fine although I was quite prepared to shell out if necessary.

When I bought it 2 years ago it had 64k miles with a full service history. I wanted a top condition car & frankly they don't come at £6000 unless the owner doesn't know what they have. The jobs list on mine amounted to nearly £3000 but that did include a Inspection II service. All bushes in the front suspension were done (Bilstein shocks were only a year old & so were the rear bushes). Various other jobs that needed doing but perhaps weren't critical pushed the final price well into 5 figures.

I have no doubt the car could have been bought cheaper & the various jobs could have been done for less but I had neither the time, expertise or quite frankly the inclination to drive all over the country looking at over priced restoration projects before I found one.

I knew what I wanted & I bought it at a price I was happy to pay. That's why my wheel arches & the rest of the car are as clean as this:-



I doubt the AA would know where to start with a Six. If the car is anywhere near East Sussex you could get it checked over by Munich Legends - if the owner will let you as the are very critical.

Unless you can live with some of the faults that show up be prepared to spend another £3k+ to bring it up to scratch.

One thing that does crop up irrespective of how carefully the car is looked after & that's the cam. Around 130 to 160k it will start to get noisey & the only cure is a new one. I wouldn't like to put a price on it as it will depend on where you take it. Ask Munich Legends & work down from there!

If the car feels baggy to drive you're facing a suspension rebuild. Whilst this can be done on a as-needed basis getting the whole lot done at once will really add to the enjoyment of driving the car.

Check the coolant system for leaks & signs of overheating. This has long been a BMW bugbear whatever the model. Look for evidence of regular (every 2 years) coolant change.

Take a look at www.bigcoupe.com for a buying guide.

Maybe you should have a look at Drew's mates car for the extra £2k !

basically the highline has the same engine as an E34, along with many other common parts. The rest of the mechanicals and electrics are E28, only the body and trim are significantly different to the E34 and E28.

If you are worried by looks then keeping the body and trim in good shape can be time-consuming and expensive.

Otherwise there is no reason why an E24 should be any worse than a 5 series of similar age as a daily driver.

cheers

 

  

Actually the Highline has the E32 7-series motor with 220bhp. The E34 had 211bhp, presumably to stop it being faster than the 7-series.

I don't know how this drop was achieved - exhaust manifold perhaps? I believe the catalysed (or should that be castrated) Euro version of the 635 was down to 211bhp too.

The E34 engine mounting bosses are in a different place but I believe some had un-drilled bosses in the correct position for the E24. Don't know about the E32 mounts.