ssbmw

Yes, this is Bruce's car. I agree it is a lovely looking example. It was only sold about 6 months ago (?) I think to a family in Auckland. I was surprised when I saw this on trademe. I like the colour - a real M power colour from that period.

The UK / NZ M635csi's had the M88/3 power plant. There was never a 635csi with m options. It was either a M635csi (commonly called the M6, even though the US were the only market that officially used that moniker ) or a 635csi. Even though the visual differences were subtly - two vastly different vehicles.

Hi there, it is definitely a M635csi. It's a 85 in Lapis Blue.

I know this car. I recall seeing this for sale at Turners at some point over the last 5 years and also at some point resurfaced at a 2nd hand Euro dealership next to BM Workshop in Grey Lynn. At Turners the highest offer was $11k and at the dealership in Grey Lynn it was for sale for $15k. I drove it. It is not the best looking example. The interior was appalling; the drivers seat had a hole in it and ithe leather was parched and worn out. Unusual for the E31 as I understood the leather utilised was of a high quality. Paint was a little dull and required some hard work to rectify. For what it is worth, I remember the car going pretty well. I remember heading onto the motor-way and being very impressed with the way the car accelerated. Rapid and smooth! The mileage was around 200 kms so this 8 hasn't been driven much since. Could be a expensive project. On the flip-side, it may have had alot of money thrown at it mechanically and could be a good, cheap 8.

Hi mate, That is a beautiful car. Fantastic to see that you have the colour that BMW had with all their initial promotional photos of the M6 when it came out. Even the promo car in NZ was Indy red. Sadly most of the m6 buyers in NZ and Australia seem to have ordered black! How many do you think there are in NZ in this colour? The colour I also like is Interlagos blue. There was a fabulous example with white leather that I'd see in East Tamaki regularly 3-4 years ago. Welcome to the Bimmersport community! My goal is to get one of these over the next few years. I love them!

Hi Tim, Btw- Which BM Worshop do you go to? Grey Lynn or Botany? I live in Hamilton but have always taken my cars to Ross at BM Workshop in Botany - he is a great guy and has an immense knowledge of these older special cars. He was the manager at Grey Lynn for many years, working for Guido before he started his own workshop. Either way, they are both very good. I have a friend who has a very tidy 3.6 E34 M5 that is a 220,000 km daily driver and he swears by Ross's handi-work as well. Regards.

Tim, congrats on your collection! I think I have seen your Schnitzer E39 before. Good to see the E34 has gone to a good home. I think I started the topic- re: the discussion about the 3.8 M5. I have an interest in the E34 M5's and was trying to track this car down several years ago. I knew it was indeed the only NZN 3.8 M5 in the country, but had no idea where it was. Congrats again. Avus Blau looks fantastic in these cars. I heard it was heading back to Auckland but had no idea who the new owner was. Well done.

Hi there, there is a genuine 1984 E28 Alpina B9 that I know of. Like a Lachs silver or Polaris, not sure. Blue cloth interior. Interestingly enough, not a UK Sytner vehicle, evidently manufactured specifically on order for the NZ market. 245 BHP. Very rare- only like 65 Alpina E28 B9's in RHD. HAs like 250 kms. I think it may still be available for sale. Contact me if you want the owner's details. A fun car!

I figure that you car has still got tons of life in it and just deserves to be driven. The 3.0 engines are very strong and sounds like you have a car that has some of its age-related issues sorted out. Mileage is an interesting one. I have many friends who swear by buying a high mileage car (and I have bought a few too) that has extensive history /receipts. Often when you buy a car that has clocked 200 kms you get a car that has had extensive maintenance work (like your gear-box (or items like suspension)) already. The only problem really is when you want to sell a car with high mileage - your target market becomes a little smaller! There are some people who would never buy a car with over 150,000kms, irrespective of the car's condition/ history. Sad but true!

Hi Chris, Congrats on the car! Hugh was a fine man. I met him at Concours at Ellerslie when he displayed this car around 3-4 years ago, and we spoke about E24's for quite awhile that day. I like the red leather interior. Seriously cool - and very period. Are these the same set of wheels? I seem to recall larger gaps between the wheels and arches and I seem to remember different wheels, possibly 16"'s. Are these Style 5's with the centre's painted gold? They look like 17"s in the photo. There aren't too many post face-lift manual 635csi's in NZ either, which makes this car even more special. I kept in touch with Hugh by phone regularly after that day, and felt terrible the day I called and heard his wife say he passed away. Seemed like a very nice man. Fantastic car. I suspect it is worth a few more $'s over the Tasman, like all E24's. Regards.

I concur; it is a superb magazine. What I found fascinating was the wheels; from old photos I always assumed they were throwing stars without the covers on - who would have thought they are the same design but carbon kevlar? Isn't it fascinating too that this thing is still 'alive and kicking?' With so much conjecture that the M8 was destroyed after being in storage for many years, it is great to hear that the prototype is still around. I have seen photos of a 850csi individual that had a purple /black interior. It looks like BMW used some spare bits of purple trim on the M8. I love the front spoiler and air scoops on the sides. Tres' cool.

Hi there, you will find that over the last 20 odd years, most BMW's had different options with seats. Most M power cars came with 'BMW sports seats' as standard, but there was the option to order what BMW called 'Comfort seats.' The comfort seats tend not to have the functionality to have the front of the seat extended to provide further support. Most of the E39 540i Motorsports seem to have the comfort seat option. They may be comfortable but IMHO they fall short in the aesthetics department!

I see the ex Singapore 850i that has the contentious plate V12 CSi has re-surfaced in the BOP/Waikato area. It was for sale until fairly recently in Palmerston North. Looks like there were some lovely cars.

Hi there, I think I know your 635csi. This was the car that was owned of a director of Dynatron? He bought this car 6-7 years ago and was automatic. Being a handy mechanic, he converted it to a manual. If it is the same car, I know it well. AS much as I am a die-hard shark fan, I probably prefer the E34 because it is more original. Sort of in a dilemma - sharks are very rare in a 635csi manual format, even if this is not original. I like this car as it is in a nice colour (arctic blue / blue leather?) However, originality wins the day for me - I prefer the E34.

PS - Please disregard my spelling - what I meant was 'breaks' - not brakes- I have the flu and I am having a shocker!

Sorry, what I meant was budget $3-4k to get on replaced. If the chain brakes- you are looking at a rebuild here; I know one guy who spent $12k to repair his engine. REgards, SS

Hi Ari, Would this car have the complete M-tech body-kit including side-skirts? If so, this is the only luxor beige m635csi that I know of. It also has brown leather interior. If it is the same car, the owner has the original metrics but replaced them with standard E34 16" weaves. All the NZ new cars have the M88/3 engine which is the same as the UK spec cars. It is one of the lower k cars in the country- should have around 130-140 kms these days. The owner has owned it for the last 9 years or so. Completely original car. From my perspective, not the best looking colour. Completely original though. This car broke a timing chain at only 100 kms - showing that chains do break before 100 k miles / 160,000 kms. That is the only major issue with these cars, unlike the E30's, the chains on the M88's actually do go. Not a cheap job either - budget $3-4k. REgards, SS

1989 - auto; hence why the car once needed a gear-box re-build. The manuals are virtually bullet proof. Very few manual Highlines.

Sure mate, in a nutshell, BMW 'up-graded' the appearance of the E24's in late 1987. So for the final 2 years (they ceased production of the E24 in April 89 with the E31 being released) for the UK market they revised the bumpers which in essence had very little chrome unlike the pre-Highlines. The bumpers were similar to US 635csi's. The Highlines as they were called also had leather everywhere - headlining, dashboards, around the fascia, centre consoles, and doors. All of a sudden, the car looked alot more regal, even if some thought they looked more conservative. In countries where the summers are hot, BMW revised the spec- they retained the plastic dashboards from the previous pre Highlines. From what I know there are only 5 true ex- UK Highlines in NZ. From what I know there are a similar number of 1988 /1989 NZ new vehicles without the full leather. Seriously, the car above is a fantastic car if someone wants one of the best 635csi's around. It had a re-spray even the paint was very tidy, has new suspension, new gear-box, has been chipped to put out 250 BHP, had 1/2 of the leather replaced (even though it was in mint condition when I had it) and like new Style 5's.

Brent is abolutely right- the most important thing is the structure - is the body-work ok, devoid of rust. The unfortunate thing is that even the NZ ones are prone to some tin worm. Check the body out and ideally try and source one of the later ones. M30 Engine is pretty strong; can keep going up to 400-500kms sometimes without major issues. I would check this out though by one of the BMW independents. Most are autos - especially in the later ones. Ensure that the transmission doesn't jerk too much. Mine was sold at 140 kms on clock and I know the next owner had a re-build at like 160 kms. In todays terms, their handling is a tad 'boaty.' If you can change the shocks to Bilsteins and get new springs like Eibach etc that will provide immeasurable improvement. Some interiors are a little rough now - may need some TLC with leather conditioning etc. Still a beautiful looking car if they are looked after. What is your budget because my old car is possibly going to be on the market again. Loved by me for 3 years, and loved by the latest owner for 8 years. He has spent around $2ok on that car. 1989 Highline - Burgundy and cream leather - one of the last and one of approx 5 Highlines in NZ (ex UK- but this car is beautiful. Style 5 wheels + he has the original metric wheels too. I think he wants like high teens to $20k for it. One of the best in the country.

Good luck Boris- stunning car - and the photos are beautiful. Looking forward to seeing photos of the 535is again. No doubt that will look beautiful too. I wonder if the freak low mileage hell red 540is that is somewhere around NZ is as good as yours looks. Regards, SS E: Removed quoted pics etc

Hey mate, as Golfboy mentioned, it was on the 14th of Feb. I too was disappointed with the BMW turn-out. The high-light was Gerry Hodges's new acquisition - a super rare Alpina B7s (E24) which he has just given a re-spray. A very special find that he sourced from Japan. Un-believable to see one like that in the flesh. Rare as hens teeth any-way, to see one in that condition was wonderful. There was also a E39 Alpina and Mr E34's fantastic 540is. Great looking original car. Stunning in that colour. In terms of M's- there were was a far better field 3-4 years ago when there was a E24 M6, E30 M3, E28 M5, etc. I found it disappointing that Porsche had such a massive field of cars on show and the BMW stand had such a small number. We must rectify this situation next year!

Hi there, my mother has a E36 328i Motorsport coupe. Before we purchased this car 4 years ago, somone has obviously tried to break in to the car, making a few garish holes in the rubber seal that fits around the door (driver side). By chance, as anybody got a second hand one that is in good condition. Please contact me if you do. REgards, SS

I agree Phil - nice car; a very good friend of mine bought that car 5 years ago- it was a ex Japanese, Sth African build car. So has the full m-tech kit that many of the brit car's don't have. My mate spent $7k re-spraying it and sold if for $35k toa guy in Orewa. It was in mint condition when he sold it. There were only like 187 RHD made (UK) so even with the Sth African cars, rare as hens teeth. Niche market- so much fun, goes like stink but isn't 'pretty' enough for some people for a classic car. I am figuring that car needs a new chain. BTW- the owner in Orewa re-built the suspension. It is a nice car.

Hi mate, if you are interested in one of these, please contact me directly and I can go through the ins and outs of owning one of these. These M6's are my all-time favourite car and I have owned one for 5 years and have over the years have driven 13 different M6's. In reality, the only real potential serious issue with owning ones of these is the timing chain. Apart from that and the possible problems with rust if they have been neglected, pretty solid cars and will provide ridiculous amounts of fun. They are more than reasonably quick (as quick as a standard E36 M3 (give or take) and the twin-cam sound-track from the M88/3 is beautiful. Contact me if you are interested and I will provide a better insight. Regards.