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Great looking car. In all honesty, the E28 5-series is nicer to drive - lighter and more stiff, and also a considerably better value. With the E24, you're paying for the looks!
Tiemco is right about gunning for an '88 or '89. Those cars have the same engine computers as an E32 735i and E34 535i, which means 208hp and 225lb-ft. '84 is the last year for the 633CSi, and it produced 181hp and 195lb-ft. The 635CSi from '85 to '87 produced 182hp and 214lb-ft.
Trust me, the '88 and '89 are quite a bit faster, and considerably better on gas. That said, I got a 3-speed automatic '83 633CSi up to 135mph once...
Avoid the 4-speed automatic LIKE THE PLAGUE. They are quite fragile. Their particular weakness is if revved above 1200rpm in park or neutral, they grenade themselves very quickly. I STRONGLY reccomend holding out for an example with a manual transmission. The Getrag manual box is bulletproof. Many older examples suffer from worn shifter bushings which will make the gear level feel like a wooden spoon stirring a pot of spaghetti, but this is easily mended.
These are pretty old cars now, and the bodies are susceptible to rust on the rocker panels, shock towers, and wheel wells.
The M30 "Big Six" has a couple of points to watch out for, mostly in the head. The valves need to be manually adjusted, and if let go, damage to the camshaft and lifters will result surprisingly quickly. Additionally, the banjo bolts that hold down the oil sprayer bar above the camshaft are famous for working themselves loose. This also causes greatly accellerated wear. BMW released updated bolts which have loctite on the ends, but you can apply the same to the old ones.
The cooling systems have a bad reputation but I've never had any problems... just flush it regularly and don't use crap coolant.
Buying the wrong example of any of these cars will quickly drain your wallet, but the right cars are really very reliable with routine maintenance. Maintenance records are absolutely essential. I'd suggest networking through your local BMW club if you are serious about buying. Enthusiast-owned cars may have been driven hard, but are typically much better taken care of, which for a BMW is just fine.
Tiemco mentioned to aviod the M6. I strongly disagree. Granted, they are much more expensive, and the fuel consumption is astronomical, but the regular maintenance requirements aren't much worse than the regular cars. M-specific parts cost a fortune, however. The M-Power 24-valve inline six is an absolute work of art, and an extreme pleasure to operate. I had an E34 M5 with a very similar motor to the E24 M6, and cannot reccomend it highly enough, as long as proper maintenance has been performed. You'll often hear that these things don't go much past 200k miles, but if the thing is maintained meticulously, proper warm-up procedures are followed, and synthetic oil is used, they'll go much longer.
Comparing part price for a 9000 and a 635CSi isn't much different, generally speaking. A good mechanic who appreciates these cars is an invalueable asset - again, your local BMW club probably has some reccomendations.
There are plenty of these cars out there, especially if you open up to the fabulous E28 5 series. Take your time, demand maintenance records, and have any prospects inspected by a trusted mechanic!
Cheers, and good luck!
--jeff
'90 Alpina B11 3.5 5sp - 75,500km- powered by a 254hp M30 Big Six!
'93 9000 Aero 5sp - 211k km - head gasket blown, rusted rear shock tower... it's toast.
posted by 24.86.2...
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