OV9

Thank you all for the warm welcome and the love for the 635. It’s good to no longer be a voyeur.

Johnny wrote: Mon Jan 22, 2024 10:49 pm Yes! It was at Stonor Park - great spot. I don’t live too far from there.

A few more pics - apologies for the pics spam.

that's stunning...

Rich B wrote: Mon Jan 22, 2024 11:26 pm

Johnny wrote: Mon Jan 22, 2024 10:49 pm Yes! It was at Stonor Park - great spot. I don’t live too far from there.

A few more pics - apologies for the pics spam.

that's stunning...

This

That

Hello, welcome to not lurking.

640 looks great too. And no idea, in answer to the question that you snuck in there that everyone ignored

“It’s not stalking, it’s selective walking”

Nice to see an all-BMW garage. Approved. I’m interested in the 640 too - a GC is on my list for the future - and IIRC the fuel consumption on the 640i is impressive and not *too* far from the diesel so unless you’re doing mega miles the petrol engine is an appealing choice.

Welcome to the forum! Surely your son needs to have a BMW of some description or the front drive is going to be all out of kilter?

635 looks like a late Highline. Would it have been on the metrix TRX wheels and tyres originally?

Johnny wrote: Mon Jan 22, 2024 8:53 pm Also in the market for a car for my son - 17 years old, so a new driver. Car needs to be safe, reliable, with low cost insurance, manual and not too fast or too slow.

As you know - this decision is heavily driven by insurance costs. Recent discussion here (including a link to another thread)

duncs500 wrote: Tue Jan 23, 2024 8:22 am Welcome to the forum! Surely your son needs to have a BMW of some description or the front drive is going to be all out of kilter?

He’s a little petrol-head and would love a BMW - but insurance is insanely expensive even on small engined ones. So I’ll have to spoil the look of my driveway and definitely won’t be showing him your message!

Jobbo wrote: Tue Jan 23, 2024 8:38 am 635 looks like a late Highline. Would it have been on the metrix TRX wheels and tyres originally?

Yeah, it’s a Highline. I imagine it would have originally been on TRXs. I can’t take the credit (or blame for not keeping it original) of the current alloys - the car came with them. I guess that’s not a bad thing as I hear TRX tyres are difficult to source and pricey.

mik wrote: Tue Jan 23, 2024 8:39 am

Johnny wrote: Mon Jan 22, 2024 8:53 pm Also in the market for a car for my son - 17 years old, so a new driver. Car needs to be safe, reliable, with low cost insurance, manual and not too fast or too slow.

As you know - this decision is heavily driven by insurance costs. Recent discussion here (including a link to another thread)

Magic! Thanks - that thread is really useful. Similar budget & needs to mine.

Johnny wrote: Tue Jan 23, 2024 10:47 am

duncs500 wrote: Tue Jan 23, 2024 8:22 am Welcome to the forum! Surely your son needs to have a BMW of some description or the front drive is going to be all out of kilter?

He’s a little petrol-head and would love a BMW - but insurance is insanely expensive even on small engined ones. So I’ll have to spoil the look of my driveway and definitely won’t be showing him your message!

Mini or Rolls-Royce then.. there was a post recently about a 996 being half the price insurance-wise of a GR86 so don’t be afraid to try a bit left field

IanF wrote: Tue Jan 23, 2024 10:51 am

Johnny wrote: Tue Jan 23, 2024 10:47 am

duncs500 wrote: Tue Jan 23, 2024 8:22 am Welcome to the forum! Surely your son needs to have a BMW of some description or the front drive is going to be all out of kilter?

He’s a little petrol-head and would love a BMW - but insurance is insanely expensive even on small engined ones. So I’ll have to spoil the look of my driveway and definitely won’t be showing him your message!

Mini or Rolls-Royce then.. there was a post recently about a 996 being half the price insurance-wise of a GR86 so don’t be afraid to try a bit left field

He wont be getting a 996 before I get one!

Matty wrote: Mon Jan 22, 2024 10:55 pm That E24 is CAF

Matty is correct.

Congratulations on outing yourself.

Sundayjumper wrote: Tue Jan 23, 2024 8:17 am “It’s not stalking, it’s selective walking”

Nice to see an all-BMW garage. Approved. I’m interested in the 640 too - a GC is on my list for the future - and IIRC the fuel consumption on the 640i is impressive and not *too* far from the diesel so unless you’re doing mega miles the petrol engine is an appealing choice.

I have a couple of mates who had 640d GCs. MPG is much better on those - c. low 40s. I get c. low 30’s on mine. As you’d expect, it can drop to mid-teens with a heavy right foot. As you say, as long as you’re not doing mega miles it’s fine. The GC is reserved for longer trips - weekends away, etc. The majority of the miles go on the i3 whilst the GC covers no more than 2000 miles a year. An M6 GC has been on my want list - but running costs are prohibitive.

Johnny wrote: Tue Jan 23, 2024 1:30 pmI get c. low 30’s on mine. As you’d expect, it can drop to mid-teens with a heavy right foot.

Similar to my M2's, my overall is around 27mpg over the last 20k miles - but I'll get low 30s on a run usually. It's probably far lower geared than a 640i though!

Welcome Johnny!

As has been said a lot already - love the E24! And the 640 GC as well. I've hankered after both for a while and was seriously considering an E24 until I was warned to steer well clear of them last year by the BMW Indy I use (Darren Wood). His view was that, unless you know the car is utterly mint and not been "restored" it will more than likely be a basket case. Said they're the worst BMW by far for rust and pretty much as you say, the vast majority that claim to be the best are very far from it.

It sounds like yours was meant to be though.

I hankered for a 650i GC for a while but the horror stories around the N63 have put me off.

Welcome! Is the E24 granitsilber? I ask because it looks the same colour as my old E31 (850i). Lovely car (the E24, not the E31 which was an unreliable slug). I hadn't noticed the B pillar treatment before the close-up photo above; it reminds me of the C pillars of the Mercedes 450SLC if you are old enough to remember those.

Re cars for kids, we bought a 2011 VW Polo 1.2 SE for my son back in 2015 and we are all still using it - it's the most reliable car I have ever owned and the cheapest to run, but also surprisingly fun to drive and fast enough for most roads. Not sure it has electric rear windows in the back, but your son won't care if he is driving it. We fitted a replacement VW audio unit with Bluetooth (the latest technology at the time) so that he could listen to his phone. I suggest you get something with CarPlay so that he can use the navigation app on his phone, as kids these days have no sense of direction..

I think it's Dolphin Grey. My old 535i Sport was Granite Silver and it looks a bit lighter: