635CSI on Autotrader

[Niwou]

Anybody knows this car?
http://www.autotrader.co.za/used-ca...o-durban-fpa-8a8183214ae9c8d4014af18905952d9e

A good friend of mine is really keen on this car, but is scared of the car having rust.

 

[ChefDJ]

Advertised as 635d :roflol:

If it really was a diesel, it would be mine already :biglol:

 

[Maljan]

Very nice car, I once took one for a test drive. I was tempted but decided against it. At the time I was doing thousands of km per month for work and I didn't want to destroy a classic doing that.

It was fast but not brutal. Fairly noisy and very mechanical, i.e. you are not as isolated from the things that happen underneath you as you are in a modern car. An interesting thing about it is that the water temperature gauge actually works. As you drive around, it goes over the halfway mark, comes down, goes back up etc. Not like a modern BMW that goes up to the halfway mark and stays there.

The not so nice, kinda sad thing about a 6-series in SA is that there was a a facelift in mid '82. The dash became somewhat nicer. The rear bumper wrapped all the way round to the wheel arches. A whole lot of mechanical upgrades, including ABS, also went with this change. It happened because the 5-series (the daddy of the 6) evolved from E12 to E28, I think. Unfortunately, BMW SA stopped importing the 6 when this happened, so (almost) all the cars you see here are the pre-facelift ones.

Pity about the wheels on this one. He does have an excuse. The original wheels were metric sized and fitted with Michelin TRX tyres. Getting tyres in the very weird size of 220/55R390 must be quite a mission now. :RedNo:

Here is a picture of the facelift model, with original TRX wheels and tyres.

 

[Peter@AEW]

Leave it alone as the pre facelifts are known to have rust issues on the highveld let alone at the coast.

The tandem boosters can also present problems which are not easily rectifiable now as there are not enough parts in SA for them.

Maintenance if done correctly is inexpensive however all body parts and trim are eye watering expensive.

The pre facelifts do not drive as well as the facelifts.

Here is a facelift
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=52213

 

[Niwou]

Problem is we are up in Gauteng and the vehicle is in KZN.
Is there any reputable workshop / classic car restorers one can ask to go through the car and give a report on it? (at payment to the workshop off course)

 

[Maljan]

I nearly had one once. It was an auto that was advertised ar R29K. I phoned the seller to view the car. As I remember, that was Thursday evening. I had something else to do on Friday afternoon, so I said I will be there on Saturday morning. When I phoned to confirm, before leaving home, the car was already gone! So that Friday afternoon appointment meant that I missed out.

PS: the one I test drove was much more expensive.

 

[Clownshoe]

I used to have one and I feel the post faelifts are worth waiting around for. BUT parts from breakers are invariablely for the more common pre-facelift. And the "facelift" was a complete overhaul from chassis up... so almost nothing common on the two cars. Even though it takes a keen eye to spot the differences.

This car looks good on the outside. The general condition of the engine bay is a concern.

Wheels... juck... deep dish works well on these cars.

 

[HOONIGAN]

Such a classic, great condition

 

[Teezy_F30]

car still looks in very good condition .. in the pics though ... just the choice of wheel .... dont feel it suites the car that well ....

 

[Wes]

The chances of that car being completely rust free are very slim.

If your friend is seriously looking for a 635 then it wouldn't hurt to go and look at the car in person, thats really the only way to see if the car is something he may be interested in.

And then take it from there.

 

[Clownshoe]

OLX very nice looking one Actually a very nice on this. Full spec imported face-lift. Problem auto with electric seats.


red OLX I love Henna Red. Also looks OK from the limited photos

AND ANOTHER

blue one Looks in very good nik and obviously ownerd by someone who really cares about it.

And Another

silver olx

Hmmm... maybe I will scrap plans and get a 6er again.

 

[Maljan]

I was quite amazed at the number of 635CSi's available on OLX. Plenty of choices, no need to grab the first one because it is the only one.

One piece of advice I have seen in classic car magazines is that is better to pay more for one in good condition that to buy a bad one thinking you can fix it up cheaply. That one seldomly works out as planned, even if you supply your own labour. With old cars like this, parts are not cheap. Sometimes they are hard to find. Nowadays, the interweb is your friend but shipping parts to ZA is not cheap.

 

[skank]

is better to pay more for one in good condition that to buy a bad one thinking you can fix it up cheaply.

This.

 

[Elton_LV]

Would love to get my hands on one and mod the daylights out of it, create a custom coupe tourer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Niwou]

One piece of advice I have seen in classic car magazines is that is better to pay more for one in good condition that to buy a bad one thinking you can fix it up cheaply. That one seldomly works out as planned, even if you supply your own labour. With old cars like this, parts are not cheap. Sometimes they are hard to find. Nowadays, the interweb is your friend but shipping parts to ZA is not cheap.

Thanx for the advise!
That is very true, I have seen that with a couple of old Alfas I had.
Way cheaper to just buy a good car.

 

[Clownshoe]

But depends what you want to do...

I specifically got the 6 I did because the Mcoupe wouldn't break and I love playing with a car.