633csi Daily Driver California Car Rare 5-speed Black Good Body E24 E28 635 535 on 2040-cars

VIN: WBAEB7401E6727989 Year: 1984
Exterior Color: Black
Make: BMW
Interior Color: Red
Model: 6-Series
Number of Cylinders: 6
Trim: Csi
Drive Type: RWD
Mileage: 999,999
Options: Sunroof, Leather Seats, CD Player

Condition: Used: A vehicle is considered used if it has been registered and issued a title. Used vehicles have had at least one previous owner. The condition of the exterior, interior and engine can vary depending on the vehicle's history. See the seller's listing for full details and description of any imperfections. ... 

(I subscribe to the theory there's no such thing as knowing too much about what you're buying. Apologies in advance, the following description will, to some, read over long. It is so not because I'm a mechanical expert (the reader will soon know I am not), or even that I've a long history with this car (on the contrary, it's been short), but rather my experience as a buyer on ebay leads me to err on the side of inclusion--good and bad--rather than the opposite. Also, please note, generally how I rate and describe the car is on a relative scale, adjusted to the bottom end of the price scale. For instance, describing something as in 'good' condition on a $1000 car has one meaning; saying something is in good condition on a $20,000 car has quite another. May seem an obvious point, but experience has shown isn't always so...)

I bought this car in September of last year, in Salt Lake City. I wasn't necessarily looking to buy, but it showed up for sale locally, the price was right, and it was a 5-speed (can't do automatics); I'd always been fond of the 6 series. I drove the car daily until last month (I moved over to a TT). In my ownership I've done a thousand and one little things on the machine, but there's still work to be done...

The bottom line. California car--the Autocheck report with this listing shows the oldest record a '97 CA emissions...and showing up in UT in '08 (I remember there was a CA plate in the trunk when I bought it, dated '08 as well). Mechanically the car's in decent shape for it's price range (i.e. low end): starts, stops, cruises at 70 just fine. But there are three issues of note, which I'll mention here and describe in further below: has some top end oil burning (blue smoke at startup); an oil leak; and the rear end is bit jerky. The body is pretty decent, rust is not an issue. The interior is pretty clean and functional. In fuller detail:

Mechanics. The week after I bought the car I drove to my parents' home in Kansas City, thus the MO plates. (I had planned the trip earlier, and it worked out quite well, for tagging the car in MO saved me the hassle of dealing with SLC emissions.) The car drove perfectly there and back, which is about a 2200 mile round trip. On the way there I used about 3/4 of a quart of oil, pretty normal for a car this age, I reckon. Car was quite comfortable cruising at 70 all day

The 6 always starts first try. But yes, as alluded to above, at startup you will see puffs of blue smoke--some oil getting past the valves. Not a huge deal to me, but it may be to some, esp regarding emissions. The clutch, brakes, front suspension are all pretty decent, nothing obvious to report there. But the rear suspension (driveline?) is definitely on the jerky/thunky side, both when shifting and when pushing in/letting go the gas (you can finesse the shifts and smooth that bit of jerkiness out, but on accel/decel it's still there--most annoying at low speed in parking lots). I did replace both CV assemblies, that helped a little bit, but was not the source of the problem. I never looked into it too much, my guess is the u-joints (I remember looking at rubber center driveshaft support, think it was OK) 

The other oil issue is a leak. About two months ago the car suddenly started using oil, hadn't been the case before. Quickly discovered it was a leak--let the car idle in one place for five minutes, and you'll see a fairly sizable puddle underneath the car when you drive away. Definitely not burning oil (above startup issues notwithstanding). I've been busy/lazy, haven't looked into it, only thing I can tell is it's coming from the rear of the engine (can see it's dripping; doubt it's anything drastic like the rear main, would've affected the clutch by now). Top of the engine is pretty dry and clean, but the bottom is caked in oil. The oil leak issue will absolutely need to be addressed sooner than later, the leak is substantial, it varies, but it's about a quart every 2-300 miles. I make no promises, but within the next week I'll try to pull the car in and see if I can't address it. I'll update if there's any luck; if any BMW enthusiast has any suggestion, I'd more than welcome it...

The clutch is fine, and the car shifts pretty OK. The shifter is a little bit on the vague side, time to replace those bushings... The gearbox and differential fluids are new, Redline. Engine oil I use full synthetic. Within the last thousand miles, the steering wheel has developed an annoying wobble between 45-55mph, classic "tires need balancing" feel, I don't know I've ever had those tires balanced, and they've got around 20K on them (came from my old 5)

What the mileage is I have no idea. The replacement speedo reads 176K. Original speedo read 186K, but the odometer wasn't working... I'd guess the car is in the typical 200-220K range...

Interior. In shambles when I got the car. I've always been keen on interiors, so that's where I put most of my labor. I essentially gutted the thing, the only parts of the interior still original are the carpet, headliner, and dash frame--everything else I replaced. The seats are BMW's excellent sport seats--hands down the best seats I've ever had. (I had a 535is before this, which served as a donor for the seats, as well as wheels, front air dam, and a few other misc bits). Rear seats, door panels, parcel shelf, and other bits I found, quite luckily, at the junkyard. NB: the interior I 'dyed' red--underneath that dye the parts are mostly tan, but some blue, some black. The dye job turned out excellent, no other word for it. If I didn't say anything, chances are you'd never know. I used SEM paint. Good stuff. Shouldn't be able to dye leather, but I've got no complaints. No signs of cracking, has stayed flexible. Driver's seat does have a tear at a seam, haven't gotten round to repairing...

I dyed the carpet with Jacquard nylon dye in gray. The dash I put a molding on (extremely cracked and faded underneath). Not a perfect solution (the pics show it's already sun warped), but a hundred times better than before. Replaced the instrument cluster, all gauges work, including odometer. Replaced the climate switches, and the center console. The radio is a JVC, nothing too special, but it is ipod compatible, and has Bluetooth for your phone. Just as important as any of this, no strange smells etc from the interior, a non-smoker car, just has that lovely (I think) smell of an old German car: a cocktail of ancient leather, carpet, vinyl. I even replaced the steering column, only way I could get the M wheel to fit ('84 column had a coarse spline fitment) 

All of the windows, sunroof, work. Replaced all the dash bulbs (pet peeve of mine, lights out on the dash). Fixed the door locks (quite the pain), power locks are all fine

Body.  Looks what it is, a CA car: no rust to speak off, paint is a bit faded, the dash and original parcel shelf where quite sun faded. Regarding the paint, I'm probably the only guy on ebay who'll admit it, but the paint definitely looks better in pictures than it does in person. It's OK, but there are a lot of scratches, faded areas, blemishes, etc, that just don't show up in photographs (I tried). But for the low end price scale, I'd say the paint is pretty average, considering. There's one dent (see photo) I took care of, front left corner, can see the mismatched paint. Also the sunroof I reidid the paint on (it was cracking and peeling). Both repairs I did with simple spray cans, just a stopgap measure... There's about a half dozen dings (not dents) in various spots around the car; various scratches, etc... 

The front air dam and rear spoiler I added (and as above, painted with spray cans). FYI if anyone's interested, the front air dam is from an e28, actually a pretty decent fit... BBS wheels came from my old 5, they're pretty straight, and the tires have decent tread left on them

Etc. Random stream of consciousness: starter will grind every now and then...all of the essential electric seat adjustments work fine, but the passenger seat has developed a short (blows a fuse when trying to adjust, hopefully just the switch)...windshield has a ding...done a tuneup (plugs, wires, cap) but who knows when the valves were adjusted last?...the radio and speedo (i.e. together) had started to cut in and out, I'm guessing something to do with the radio wiring...battery is newer...time for an oil change--synthetic...I've not spent too much time underneath the car, but it seems pretty dry to me...oil drain plug has some strange piggyback affair going on...the sunroof does leak (a lot actually), needs a new seal...of course the a/c doesn't work, but heat works just fine...cruise control doesn't work...no spare tire, and of course car doesn't have the tool kit...fog lamps aren't hooked up, and are a mismatched pair...the OBC of course doesn't work...the on board check computer works fine, but the 'wiper fluid' light is staying on...speaking of, wiper fluid wash mechanism doesn't work, but I'll include all the used parts to get it to...the brake (fluid) light will flash in and out on the dash, just a short...no overheating etc issues...the front sport seats are from a four door, i.e. don't fold forward...no gas smells from the trunk, replaced all of the vent hoses, as well as the sending unit rubber...speaking of, the inside of the fuel tank looked pristine...side mirrors don't work (electric adjustment)...hadn't gotten round to the headliner (stained, but in one piece); was going to brush paint it with some canvas paint...the badges on the c-pillers are my homage to the e9...

Quick note on the reserve (to forestall the inevitable questions): It's quite reasonable

Title. Clear MO title, in my name

Fine print. Please remember this a a vintage machine, going on thirty years old. I've tried to describe the car as best I can, but I'm no expert, and vintage cars always have more secrets than they tell. Please ask questions if anything is unclear, I'll do my best to answer. A $250 deposit is due within two days; balance is due within 7 days, whether car has been picked up or not. If any potential bidder has issue with terms regarding payment, I kindly ask they do not bid. Please remember the winning bidders enters into an enforceable contract for sale, not an option to come and tire kick. Any and all shipping, etc arrangements are up to the buyer; of course I'll try to be helpful as I can... Good luck, and thanks.