1989 BMW 635CSi

Finished in Alpine White complemented by a Silver Grey leather interior, this delightful right-hand-drive, UK-spec BMW 635CSi Highline might just be the very best of its kind on sale in the United Kingdom today.

Supplied new in November 1989 by Jacksons Garage in Guernsey, it was then sold again by the same garage to its Jersey-based owner before making its way to the mainland in February 2018, where it is now showing just 71,747 miles on the odometer.

With a comprehensive documented maintenance history, a recent service andMOT, and four new - and expensive - Michelin TRX tyres, it is being offered for sale with a very sensible reserve price making this the ideal time to treat yourself to the ‘Sharknose’ BMW 635CSi you’ve been lusting after for years.

Probably still sporting its original Alpine White paint, the CSi shows just how well these cars were built back when BMW’s reputation for building ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’ was still justified: It’s survived 30 winters with remarkable aplomb, but then it has spent the bulk of its life in the sunny climes of the Channel Islands, an area not known for either its harsh winters or widespread use of road salt...

The vendor has owned a few of these over the years and points out that all the usual vulnerable areas like the rear wheelarches and front wings are not only free of corrosion but don’t look like they’ve ever had any remedial work either, which is quite remarkable. It is, as he puts it, “like a car with half its miles under its belt.”The panels gaps are terrific too, and the rubber trim on the sides of the car all line up beautifully, as do the correct twin-pinstripes which, again, the vendor believes are the originals.

With ripple-free flanks, only one small dink on one front wing and the odd touched-in stonechip mar the otherwise pristine finish. As well as the original paintwork, the car still boasts the full suite of factory addenda such as the discreet boot lid spoiler, body colour wheelarch extensions, and black plastic A-pillar trims.Speaking of originality, while many have been converted to a more conventional size wheel, this collectors’ quality 635CSi has retained its metric wheels.

They’re in great shape too, and are free of any damage whatsoever. They are, just as importantly, fitted with the correct 240/45 x 415 Michelin TRX tyres. This was done only recently (and at huge cost; they’re around £350-400a corner…) and being the later GT design, really help the beautifully balancedchassis to shine.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but do give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

Problems are limited to a scuff on the nearside front corner of the bumper. 

The BMW has, as you might expect given its showroom sticker price of the equivalent of £110,000 in today’s money, got an awful lot of toys. So, you’ll find a switchable automatic gearbox in there, plus electric leather seats, air-conditioning, an electrically operated sunroof, and more leather than a YMCA convention.

And the leather covered door cards, dashboard, headlining, sun visors and BMW Sports/Recaro seats are in a fabulous condition, with their finish still being soft and undamaged. The leather BMW Sports front seats are a real highlight, being both luxurious and sporting, comfortable and supportive, competing demands that the CSi balances better than most.

They are not known for being the most robust seats ever fitted to the marque though, which is why the condition of these is such a delight; while almost all will have sagged, and even collapsed, over the years these are still as firm as Kylie’s buttocks thanks to (presumably) a couple of slim and careful owners on the Channel Islands.

The individual rear seats look to be almost unused (which is hardly surprising given how little rear legroom there is…) but the new owner might want to look at the upright bolster on the driver’s seat, which has lost a little of its colour.We’d be tempted to leave it alone if it were ours but a more fastidious owner might want to have the area sensitively re-coloured.

The air-conditioning has been converted to R134a and is blowing ice-cold, and the BMW has managed to hang on to the original Blaupunkt Atlanta SQR47 radio/cassette player - and the owner’s wallet even contains the handbook for it.

In fact, the BMW is full of lovely little details like the vertical chrome plates thatsit in the door shuts. They’re genuinely lovely, and would bring a smile to yourlips every single time you opened the door.

The gearlever is a charmingly blunt, purposeful item and the three-spoke steering wheel might be a little on the large side but there’s no denying it feelsgood in the hand and is wonderfully simple in design.

The carpets are excellent too, as is the factory rear sunblind.In fact, the whole thing could be five years old rather than 31.

So much so that the boot is home to the unused spare wheel. Yup, that’s right; the CSi is so original that the spare wheel in the (spotless) boot has probably never been used…

An interim service was carried out by Twynham Motorservices Ltd in January of this year. This work also included purging and cleaning the fuel system plus fitting a new offside front lower suspension arm. The final bill came to just under £500 but was money well spent as the BMW is now fighting fit and in need of nothing.

It also had a full service back in April 2018, at which time it was fitted with a new Bosch battery, new auxiliary belts and wiper blades, plus rear drop links and four new Michelin TRX GT tyres. The final bill came to more than £2,500.

The engine bay is clean and tidy without being obsessively so, and the underside is very straight and well presented in its original factory finish. It also looks to be utterly solid.

The BMW’s MOT certificate expires in March 2021.

The car comes with a ring binder full of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it over the years, along with the stamped service history booklet, two sets of keys, the full OE book pack, a complete factory toolkit, the original BMW torch, and its original Blaupunkt Atlanta radio/cassette player.  

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to the very highest standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.  

NB. We know that many of you will be limiting your social exposure over the coming days and weeks, so if you’d rather not come to see the car in person, please give us a call and we can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like us to concentrate on.

Or, even better, why not contact us with your mobile number and we can set up a WhatsApp video call? You get to direct us in real-time, giving you a virtual personal viewing experience while maintaining the lockdown. We like to call it ‘The Market’s 2020 Vision’…

A good BMW 635CSi has always been a safe place to put your money, especially when they’re as original and well-presented as this; when the market dips, it looks to the very best cars of their type and this is certainly one of the best, if not the best, right-hand-drive ‘Sharknose’ 635CSi on offer today. Remember too that this is a later Highline, some of the earlier Highlines did not have all the trim upgrades associated with the model.

And, despite its condition and pedigree, we don’t think it will sell for the sort of silly money that some vendors are asking for theirs; the seller has agreed a sensible reserve price with us and we think it should end up somewhere between £21,000 and £26,000, which seems very reasonable for a car like this when others are asking up to twice this for inferior examples.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’. 

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Footman James for classic car insurance Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car and AnyVan for transporting it. 

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.  
Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality. 
Please note that this is sold as seen and that, as is normal for used goods bought at auction, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. See our FAQs for more info, and feel free to inspect any vehicle as much as you wish.