If you had the option to trade your E24 for an E31 with the same overall condition and mileage, would you do it? 840Ci for 633 635 euro/us -and- 850i for M6.

yes, i need a 6th cog for my daily commute

i think id trade a 635 for a 850 not an m6 though...haha

If someone waltzed up with a perfect 850CSi, I'd have to think about it, but...

...I can't imagine I'd do it.

Not in a million years...id rather have a rusty six than a rust free 8 haha.

-Jeff

650CSi vs 850i Hmm, which weighs less? Manual or Automatic tranny? If it is manual, hell yeah, otherwise, my car is (will be) much more rare.

I want an 8 in addition to my 6, but could never, ever part with my 6. Given the choice of the two before the purchase of the M6, it'd have been very, very hard, but I'd still have leaned towards the 6, I think.

Both are exquisite creatures.

id trade, 8 is much rarer and the design is timeless, i love the 6 but having known people who have a 8 id have to trade, they say theres nothing like having a 12 cyl engine and with only 5000 sold in the us u wont see to many. they have a meet every year on the west coast, last year over 60 showed up. 850csi is really a m8 in every way but the name and still worth a fortune.

i couldnt trade my 6 its a family car i grew up in the back seat ,and now im getting old in the drivers, and will someday do a full restro with my son or daughter (dont know what im havein yet my girlfriend is only 3 months along) and pass it down when im done with it , i plan on having it the rest of my life ,and hopefully my kid will too

I never warmed to the 8, so I'd keep my 6 and get her back into decent shape.

E31>E24 asthetically

E24>E31 electronically

ANY E31>E24 Powerwise

I aim to prove you wrong with my project NikosX.

i feel e24s are easier to work on so thats what i would choose. if i was rich and had no time to work on a car though, e31 all the way, while i drive my e24 around

No


E24 is much prettier.

Having the luxury of an L6 and the power of a e12 based 633 w/m30 & 5pd I think I live in both worlds. Granted I can't keep up w/ an e31 but I can get up and go pretty damn quick and as I replace the suspension it will I think be fast enough and the key phrase here is "as I replace" I don't have to put either six in the shop very often especially w/ all the help I get from this forum. :lol

I saw my first six in 1977 when I bought my first BMW, a 320i. It was a black 630. I was advised by a German master mechanic that the 630 had some teething problems so I guess it was a good thing I could not afford it at the time.:) I have loved the look of the car ever since. In 1981 I brought back an 80 Euro and drove it till last year when I sold it to my son and bought the 87 M6. Might not be rational, but I would not trade my M6 for the 850i. Unless I happened to have two M6's. Then I would go for the 850.

Debate

this is a no-brainer... assuming i can trade the '87 and keep the '86

Trade it away Monty?

Nope.
However, I have a found a 850i here for sale, near my house. It is a long confusing storey, but, the summary is that this car is a consignment, and the dealership it resides at has little interst in trying to sell it. I am told it has some sort of electrical problem and they wont/cant elaborate. I was going to try and trade my truck for it, which is my daily driver. My common sense got a hold of me before I did that, just due to the unknowns. I ended up trading my truck for a 740 iL instead, much more reliable and a great daily driver.

Its still for sale and if I come across some bags of cash that fell out of a Brinks truck, I'll go and buy it for sure.

can i just keep both?

reddragongti, yes you can keep both! Tell us how do you feel when you switch from driving the 6 to the 8 and vice versa. Thanks.

Folks, I say most of us (who drive E24) are curious regarding the 1989 E24 replacement, the E31 bird. We like to drive and maybe keep one, but we prefer not to give up our sharks. We also think the bird has more maintenance compared to the shark specially in electrical area. Are these true statements?

Now, how about the predecessor of our E24s, the E9, lets say last year 3.0CSi version. Will you trade your E24 for an E9 with the same mileage and condition?

i haven't gotten the 6 drivable yet-- it smokes (needs rings) and i haven't taken time yet to retrofit the e30 sport seats. but it won't be a typical comparison since the 6 will be a gutted track car... it's already got no back seat, door panels, under-carpet insulation, or trunk upholstry. a/c and some other things will be coming out too... i'll be doing as much as i can to get it down toward stock e30 weight. and w/ a much stiffer suspension it'll be much more responsive than the 4100 lb 8. the 8's all about torquey smoothness and high speed cruising... and lots of gas...

and I would trade any day, IF I could only have ONE. As it is, I like both cars, but whereas I have the 635 as my daily driver, I would NEVER consider using the 850 as one.

Why? Several reasons- first, BMW only imported about ~5,000 850s to the U.S. and there isn't as many available should "something" happen. Second they are EXTREMELY complex in regard to the electronics (rumor has it they have more computing power than the early space shuttles). Third, I did not buy the 850 with any sort of "investment" in mind. I bought it for me, and plan to keep it till...

As for comparrison, there really isn't any. While the 635 is a beautiful design on the outside, the interior is not very exciting (to me). The 850 is gorgeous inside and out.
When I get into the 635, I always feel somewhat seperate from the car. When I get into the 850, we become one.

Driving the 635 after the 850 is frustrating. Both cars are automatics and have aftermaket chips, but the 850 is SO-O-O-O-O much faster!
The 635 is great for cruising at 80-90mph, but I feel like I'm gaving to beat the snot out of it to get any decent acceleration. The 850 begs for tripple digits, and with the aftermarket mufflers it just HOWELS!

I think the best analogy would be to say that the 635 is like a P-51 Mustang, while the 850 is like an F-104 Starfighter (look it up, it's worth it).

Don't get me wrong, I love both cars and plan to keep and moddify them. But if I could only have one...


Regards,
M.R.

Thanks M.R. Interesting point of view. Very valid in my opinion. Now, how about the predecessor of your E24, the E9 ? Will you trade your E24 for a 3.0CSi E9 with the same mileage and condition?