While not perfect, today’s Nice Price or No Dice 635CSi covers the basics and is handsome as all get-out. Let’s see if that’s enough to also cover its asking price.
“Weird” is a word bandied about quite frequently these days, and, handily, it’s a perfect descriptor for the 2003 Cadillac Escalade EXT we looked at yesterday. The EXT’s “Suburban-with-a-trunk” style wasn’t hugely popular when new, which is unsurprising considering the same body style could be had on the cheaper and less embarrassing to be seen in Chevy Avalanche. Still, $6,950 is not a lot of money to ask for something that runs and is likely pretty comfy to drive, so our weird Escalade survived our voting with a 53 percent Nice Price win.
Allow me to ask you to exercise your brain a bit here—how many two-door cars can you think of on the market today with rear-side glass that goes up and down? Let’s make this easier: how many two-door coupes are offered today?
The Germans still seem to hold some value in the coupe category since Mercedes and BMW continue to offer a selection of models fitting that designation. To be fair, both companies also offer cars with four doors that they call coupes, but we’re going to table that inappropriate behavior for the moment.
Why is any of this pertinent, you ask? Well, because we have this 1985 BMW 635CSi to ogle and discuss, a genuine coupe and one of the loveliest bodies ever to wear the BMW Roundel. Oh, and to close the circle regarding my initial query, its rear-side glass goes up and down.
Many consider BMW’s first 6-series one of the Bavarian maker’s all-time best, but not everybody knows that the iconic two-door switched platforms in the middle of its production run. Introduced in November of 1975 as a replacement for the similarly proportioned E9, the earliest 6 Series rode on the E12 platform of the initial 5 Series.
Halfway through its life, however, the 6 Series transitioned to the E28 platform, gaining improved suspension geometry, a revised dash, and a spate of other mechanical and interior changes. Externally, however, the differences between first and second-generation cars were more subtle, the most obvious being an increase in the height of the front fenders.
This is one of the later E28-based cars, and while the seller claims it to be a restoration project, it doesn’t seem to need all that much.
Painted Henna Red, the bodywork appears in excellent shape, exhibiting no noticeable dents or scrapes and seeming being rust-free. Underpinning that is a set of Style 42 alloys that are probably a decade or more newer but accommodate the car well and are free of curb rash.
The coal mine cabin is leather-clad and in equally serviceable shape. It’s decked out with sport buckets up in front and a three-spoke steering wheel, plus the coolest back seats you’re ever likely to see (fun fact: the back seats in the Lancia Beta HPE are even cooler).
According to the seller, not all seat controls work, and the car could stand some new stereo speakers. Other than that, everything is supposed to work as it should.
Under the long shark-nosed hood sits BMW’s silky M30B35, a 3430 cc 182 horsepower SOHC inline six. That’s mated to a ZF-sourced 4HP22 four-speed automatic for blissful highway cruising. New shocks, tires, and a cold air intake (the original comes with the sale) are additional incentives. Per the seller, aside from a small leak from the brake master cylinder, everything is tight and without issue.
The mileage is a bit iffy. The seller claims the dashboard was replaced at “around 100K” and the odo now reads 108,910. It could be more than that, or it could be a lot more than that. The title is clean, and the asking price is $12,750.
What do we think about this light project 635CSi? Does $12,950 feel like a fair price for the car as it sits? Or do the demerits—seat controls, brake fluid leak, etc—demand a discount?
You decide!
Seattle, Washington, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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