Need advice for 635CSI E24

[nbristow01]

Thinking about picking one up for my weekend/fun car. I was reading on bimmerforum about how expensive these cars are to own. But when I look up parts prices on Autohaus, BAV etc prices seem to be the same or cheaper than our 02's

Am I missing something?

[M3M3]

they were the first generation of the highly complicated electronic age. power everything, which all breaks and is a pita to fix. they are also gas hogs. unless you have deep pockets and are good with electronics, i would stay away.

i had a 733 of same era. same car as 633/5 except with four doors. nice car on the highway? yup. nice car on a twisty road? not as much. hated working on it.

they have a bit of a cult following and there are some folk in this board that currently have them. i am sure they will chime in.

[nbristow01]

Nick + electronics = disaster and car fire

[02Les]

Nick,

I bought an '83 633csi earlier this year........just because!

I'm finding the certain parts I need, even used (Ebay), very expensive.

I may have to sell a couple of '02s to keep her going. Looking under the hood is a scary sight compared with the '02 for sure.

Wouldn't want to sway you one way or the other, but, it's a helluva nice ride.

[nbristow01]

man they are such sweet cars

[AndyS]

LS3 and a hot Rod wiring kit will take care of all that...

[ray_]

Hmm, I dunno.

Hang out on the Bimmerforums E24 forum fer awhile.

Mine's not been so bad -- but i don't drive it much.

Cheers,

[wegweiser]

With a Bentley manual, you can fix just about anything on that car's electrical system. (I think they make one for the E24....if not, get an E28 one)

These are considerably different from 7 series cars of the same era IMHO. None of that horrid vacuum controlled HVAC system stuff for instance. Easier to disassemble the dashboards, doors, etc.

Great for long, fast road trips. The engine management electronics are nothing to be afraid of. Buy a multimeter and the aforementioned Bentley book and you'll be surprised how many things can be diagnosed / fixed.

Exhausts and suspension parts can get expensive relative to other models, but the really expensive stuff is trim and weather stripping. I scored a rust free, shiny one for $700 a few years ago. Loved it, fixed the suspension up, but sold it to fund my last 2002 build. That 3.5 motor is addictive.

[Harv]

Nick,

I bought an '83 633csi earlier this year........just because!

I'm finding the certain parts I need, even used (Ebay), very expensive.

I may have to sell a couple of '02s to keep her going. Looking under the hood is a scary sight compared with the '02 for sure.

Wouldn't want to sway you one way or the other, but, it's a helluva nice ride.

Wha Wha Wha What!!!!!?????

John

[02Les]

John, I was checking Craigslist (Houston) and saw the 633. Bought it sight unseen and Yvonne went and picked it up.

Needs a few things, but, as an Arizona car until 2003, rust is not a problem.

If I can ever get back to SAT when you fly in, I'll pick you up in it.

Wha Wha Wha What!!!!!?????

John

[bob02]

Nick, it's like a 2002, but with a few more wires. Start with one that has not been molested too much, and not been outdoors for the past 30 years. You will be a happy man. As stated by others, make sure the seals are good, trim is intact(the most complex part of the entire car!), it's a 5 speed, ideally it'll have the factory radio also.

I've had my e24 for 5 years, and have had zero electrical issues, other than the si board batteries. My old e28 was sold to a friend and now has 520,000 miles, still gets 27mpg and runs amazing.Oh, and the r12 a/cworks great and has never been serviced. Also, it's an outside dog, original paint and zero rust.Shit, even the m635 gets 22 on the highway. Imho, these are the most reliable of all bmw's, especially if they have been responsibly maintained. That is the key.

As for the mechanicals, it's nearly the same as the e28. Yes, some parts are expensive...but look at the prices for 02 parts.If you're mechanically inclined,they can be maintained on a budget. Not sure about by you, but in the bay area you can still find e24's in the junk yards, although not nearly as common as the e28.

Good luck,

bob

[Kpeters]

It's honestly not that bad, it's no 850i now that's one beautiful nightmare. Ofc it will be more complicated and parts are not cheap either. I would say a little bit more expensive than 02 maintenance parts.

Biggest difference is complexity of the car itself but if you got it only for the weekends and joy rides I wouldn't care a lot. I would even try an 850csi if I had the cash under the understanding that I will only use the car on the weekend.

Just make sure the fuel injection, vacuum lines and electronics haven't been tampered with and you should be fine. It's not that complicated honestly.

[Harv]

John, I was checking Craigslist (Houston) and saw the 633. Bought it sight unseen and Yvonne went and picked it up.

Yvonne is way too cool!

John

[nbucklew]

Personally it's my dream coupe second only to an e9, and it's well known that they share a lot of stuff with the e28. And it's probably more cheaper to maintain than an e9.

There's been discussion on mye28 that certain members don't care for the driving position in the e24 compared to the e28 but those body lines sure are addicting.

The biggest issues I've heard about e24's are they have a slightly different HVAC including a separate ac for the rear seats that can be troublesome to repair and they obviously wear suspension bits faster than smaller coupes out there. Those m30's will run forever if taken care of and are an absolute blast!