zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
For $7,500, Does This 1988 BMW 635CSi Jump The Shark?
For $7,500, Does This 1988 BMW 635CSi Jump The Shark?-March 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:09:58

CSI isn’t just the name of a glitzy but ultimately insipid police procedural, it’s also that of today’s BMW. Let’s see if this 635’s price means it can’t get even arrested in this town.

Yesterday’s may not be the cheapest mid-engined Italian you could buy. Then again, it could very well be as prices on Fiat X1/9s continue to climb and even duffer Ferrari Mondials are now generally out of reach. That could go a long way toward explaining the Lanica’s solid 60% Nice Price win. Then again, it could be that it’s just a damn-fine looking automobile and who wouldn’t want something so funky to call their own?

Okay, so you could go down to Funkytown in the Lancia, or you could enjoy the stoic but still cool Wagnerian opera that is today’s .

We generally assign the E24 6-series the same ardor we hold for the smaller E30 3-series. Those two offer a snapshot of a period when BMW was seemingly in its prime; its hot college years as it were. The company had just had a dalliance with mid-engined greatness with the M1, a car that would set the stage for the marque’s sporting fare for decades to come. It was also the era when BMW produced some of its best-looking products, a fact exemplified in this seemingly tidy example of 635.

Now, the E24 replaced the Karmann-built Neue Klasse CS and CSL coupes in 1976. The model was originally based on the E12 5-series, but in the early ‘80s switched to the more modern E28 front suspension. That made for a car that handled in a more contemporary fashion but didn’t look significantly different.

This is one of the latter, and in fact from the model’s last year of production. Being that year of 635 it rocks a 208-bhp/225 lb-ft 3,430-cc SOHC M30 straight six. This one benefits from backing that up with a Getrag 265 five-speed manual. The ad claims that the car exhibits “NO MECHANICAL issues at all.”

Being one of the last of the E24s, this one also has the body colored bumper snoods front and rear, instead of the black ones on the earlier cars. That goes a long was to lighten the looks. Here you get a duck tail aero aid on the back and some deep dish BBS alloys. The latter shows evidence of some curbing (or kerbing to you Brits) but look recoverable. The paint holds a shine, but also shows some war wounds here and there. And over there. Also it’s shy at least one fog light so plan on staying out of the fog.

Addressing the interior, I must say that on first glance I thought the car was occupied by a pair of escaped Manta Rays. Those it turns out are a pair of aftermarket seats. Those look okay but make you wonder if the multitude of seat adjustment buttons on the console are now there exclusively for show. The rest of the interior seems to be in good shape and you do get a sporty three-spoke M wheel to hang onto when you’re in there. Lucky you.

The ad says that the car has been garage kept when it was not racking up its modest 92,544 miles. The paint seems not to be original (there’s overspray on the sunroof seal) and there’s no pics of the boot so we can’t tell if all the factory tools are intact, a factor for the OCD among us.

That all may be a moot point however seeing as the price tag for this 635CSi is $7,500, an amount that many might be able to swing. The question of course is should those swingers get it on with this car? What do you think, is $7,500 a seemingly good deal for this shark nosed big coupe? Or, is that price reason to leave this shark in the ocean?

You decide!

Baltimore MD , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to FauxShizzle for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your Kinja handle.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
For $22,995, Become Crown Victorious
For $22,995, Become Crown Victorious
After semi-retiring from pro racing, Bob Bondurant opened a respected driving school, teaching everything from street safety to road racing. Today's Nice Crown Vic sports Bondurant School lineage, but does its price make the grade? Bob Bondurant won the GT class at Le Mans for Carroll Shelby's Cobra team in...
Mar 30, 2026
Hennessey VelociRaptor 600: First Drive
Hennessey VelociRaptor 600: First Drive
Hennessey Performance's "standard" Raptor is supercharged, produces 500 horsepower and is called . Their new produces 600 horsepower and is called the . Creative? No. But who needs creativity when you've got two giant bumper-mounted turbochargers? Walking around Hennessey's main headquarters in Sealy, Texas it's hard to ignore the feeling...
Mar 30, 2026
For $6,500, Wankel Wagon, Wankel Wagon!
For $6,500, Wankel Wagon, Wankel Wagon!
Supposedly, when one person accidentally stuck their Hershey's bar in somebody else's jar of Jiff, a new taste sensation was born. Today's 12A-powered Corolla wagon is also an amalgam that might prove equally tasty. Once in a blue moon comes a deal like yesterday's , and as the photos made...
Mar 30, 2026
For $3,900, Is This VW Yet Another Jetta?
For $3,900, Is This VW Yet Another Jetta?
When introduced to the U.S. in 1980 the Jetta became the first notchback VW ever offered for sale in this country. Today's Coupe seems a fine example, but is its price a coup too? Perhaps it was too many bad memories of riding in the back of them, or of...
Mar 30, 2026
For $4,500, This Cabrio Adds Sunburn to Yugo Ownership Travails
For $4,500, This Cabrio Adds Sunburn to Yugo Ownership Travails
Sure, the Yugo has joined the Edsel as an automotive punchline, and its diminutive size implies it may imminently unleash a profusion of clowns. Despite all that, today's Cabrio asks, who's laughing now? Not so funny was yesterday's , and in fact a surprising 62% of the votes were for...
Mar 30, 2026
For $3,900, The M in This BMW Is For Miata
For $3,900, The M in This BMW Is For Miata
It may signal the end of the relationship when one partner comes home to find the other wearing their clothes. Today's turbo Miata wears Z3 threads, and it's ready to start a relationship with you. Maybe it's the witness protection program, or perhaps it's having seen Pricilla, Queen of the...
Mar 30, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved