Looking at a 635csi.......

Depends on what you're looking for. If all you want is a toy to play around with then £400 isn't much. Probably worth more as spares. As  an example, a good one with full history, 60k miles & few worries would be £11k+ from Munich Legends. Pays your money etc.

Most mechanical parts are shared with the E28 5-series so are fairly affordable & available. Wings & bodywork are another matter. £450 a wing + painting etc. Corrosion is a major concern.

174k ?? Could be fine but a camshaft is on the cards at 150k+ & a new engine is £2-3k. It's the little things that add up so don't expect to turn it into concours Pebble Beach winner. No depreciation but 18 mpg is to be expected. At the end of the day, how much do you want one?

I think AndyS's prices are a little high on some things. A good six is available for between £4-6k. The best ones in the country are nearer £10+. Wings are exspensive and bodywork and tin worm are the biggest worries on these cars.  Mechanically they are very strong and if we are talking about a regular 635 which runs on the old M30 engine these don't wear out and if a replacement is needed a good second hand engine can be had for between £250-500.  Most cars at the £400 mark will be spairs cars only, but it could also be a bargain as Goldryder bought for herself. Rust needs to be looked for in the front wings which as andy has mentioned are exspensive. All other body work areas can generally be cut out and a new piece of metal re welded in. However the underneath of the car needs to be checked especially around the the rear axle carrier bushes. If this is no good you are talking about lots od welding which is exspensive.  A six can be run on a tight budget, but after a while if neglected it will hurt you finantially. The best way to run one is to have a no exspense spaired attitude towards maintenance. Consequently the car will be more exspensive to run than an e21 or e36 although there is plenty of second hand parts available.

Hope this helps and if you have any more questions send me a PM

If the car has a solid undercarriage and a bit of rust on the body it sounds a very good price. Worry about these things rather than mechanicals. Do bear in mind that a new exhaust is around the £500 mark genuine and about the same for a stainless system.  However you real cost of buying a car like this will be at least 2k after you have sorted the little things that are wrong with the car. Also bear in mind that even the best six will need work done to it. If you love the car and want to keep it then thats not a problem, but if you want the car as an investment you will be very unlikely to recover your money.

Just like to say a big thanks to everybody for their valued contributions. I am having a little look tomorrow, and will arrange something more in depth if I like what I see.

I will keep you informed now I have a better idea of what to look for!

Thanks again!

Went to see the car for a more in depth look today, and I wasn't that impressed. The passenger side wing was you could almost remove by pulling it, and there was a very nasty rusty lump affecting the roof, must have been a few inches at least - probably not easy to repair.

Apparantly it has had a new auto box fitted recently, as well as a new set of M-style alloys on low profile tyres, which I liked.

It must have been outside for a while as the black paint of the car was terribly faded. The leather interior was well used, but looked as if it could be restored with elbow grease!

I have got the owners number, so I'll think further. I was wondering if it was worth buying for the alloys alone!

If the inner wing is not rusted and the only other rust is the roof then the car will be able to be fixed up although a new wing will be £400 + fitting and the roof will require the headlining to be removed from the car and will be another £200+ then the changed /damaged panels will need to be resprayed. If the leather is not ripped you will be suprised how much it will clean up. Where is the car as i can have a look at it if it's close to me. Send me a PM.

James 

The front spoiler and bottom third of the sides is painted gloss black with Polaris silver over on my beastie.

I am waiting for it to return from 4 patches of welding, about 2" across each, near the jack points and retest.  One road then 2nd week of June

Brucey wrote: I get 22-24mpg on short runs, 28-30mpg on long runs;

I've heard fuel consumption quotes like yours but I'm only getting 16mpg! I'm sure my six is running rich.

My daily drive is about 6 miles to work, 4 miles of which is dual carriageway. On a longer run it tops 20-22mpg. Exhaust is pretty black & when I pulled the plugs they were really sooty.

The throttle body & idle control valve were stripped & cleaned 6 months/3500 miles ago so they should be ok. It passed it's mot then too.

The car starts & drives fine though idle is a bit lumpy & the car tries to surge a bit when it's stone cold. I think a faulty AFM would show up in normal driving (I hope!).

Think I'll try a local six series specialist I've heard good reports about. It's Jon Morgan in South Shields. One of the guys on this site was going to try him. Can't remember who???

if your car is using fuel at that rate, you need to check out both the AFM potentiometer and the throttle angle potentiometer. Both should be smooth and progressive, without any glitches in them. The throttle angle pot is a killer- a rough spot translates to the Bosch DME system as 'full throttle, NOW!' and this will definitely increase your fuel consumption.....

There are posts on BCG (I think) re stripping out and overhauling the AFM potentiometer. With the throttle angle one you may just have to replace it. There is NO POINT in having your car 'tuned' or adjusted if either of these items is up the spout....

The 5 series Haynes manual and a multimeter is all you need to test both items.

hope this helps

cheers