I bought this BMW E24 635CSi sight unseen on eBay for £1,760. Missing glass, rusty wings and disconnected parts soon revealed the size of the gamble. Could this classic BMW still be saved?

Follow the auction, delivery, sped-up interior and exterior clean, and the discoveries that turned a cheap purchase into a much bigger restoration.

This updated film also includes the bodywork underway in January 2025 and the hard-to-find bumper arriving in March 2025.

LATEST UPDATE — October 2026
I have spoken with the bodyshop, who expect the car to be ready in about two months. The restoration continues!

Thank you to everyone who offered advice, parts and encouragement on the original video. Would you have taken the gamble?

CHAPTERS
00:00 The rust shock
00:29 The eBay gamble
01:40 Delivery and first inspection
03:54 The sped-up cleaning sequence
06:26 What the first clean revealed
07:51 Missing parts and wiring
10:57 Why I wanted to save it
11:53 The jacking points
13:29 Bodyshop progress: January 2025
14:32 Parts hunt: March 2025
17:11 The latest bodyshop update

The auction screen shows £1,760; my original commentary refers to it as £1,700.

MUSIC
'Fate and Fortune' by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/libra...

'Ascension' by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/libra...

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Music edited and synchronised to the footage.

#BMW635CSi #BMWRestoration #E24