Vehicle Details
- Year: 1987
- Make: BMW
- Model: L6
- VIN: WBAEC8401H3265247
- Mileage Shown: 43,000mi (TMU)
- Transmission: Manual
- Title Status: Clean
- Color: Salmon Silver
- Seller Type: Private Party
- Location: Wilmington, CA 90744
- Lot #: V-0027393
The BMW L6 was a single-year USA model produced in 1987 as an ultra-luxurious version of the E24 6-Series and was the most expensive car in its class that year. Sharing the drivetrain of the 635CSi, the M30 inline-six, the L6 featured unique hand-stitched leather upholstery on almost every surface of the cabin including the dashboard, center console and headliner, and a long list of standard features including power-operated seats, a power sunroof, power steering, four-wheel disc brakes, and a rear center console with individual climate control. This L6 was purchased new in Hawaii and was sold sometime in the 90s to the second owner in Northern California. The second owner relocated it to Arkansas where it spent most of its time garaged. The seller acquired the L6 in late 2021, returned the car to California, and subsequently fitted a Getrag 5-speed manual transmission in place of the standard automatic transmission, reupholstered the front seats, and carried out a complete engine service including the replacement of the air conditioning compressor, struts, and brakes. Previously listed on PCARMARKET, this L6 comes finished in Lachssilber Metallic (Salmon Silver) over a Natur leather interior and is now being offered at auction at no reserve by its seller out of California.
The exterior is finished in Salmon Silver (203). Equipment includes a front spoiler with integrated fog lamps, U.S.-spec chrome safety bumpers, chrome window surrounds, power-adjustable door mirrors, chrome door handles, and a dual-tipped center-exit exhaust. The seller notes some minor paint chips on the hood as well as minor scratches that have been touched up, the roof was repaired from a small dent and resprayed with a new clear coat, and the passenger side fender has been refinished. Detailed images are provided in the gallery along with a clean CARFAX report. The original metric TRX wheels have been replaced with a set of 16” BMW Style 5 wheels mounted with Toyo Eclipse tires from 2014.
Representing the most luxurious model of the E24 6-series, this L6 features special Natur leather upholstery covering the seats, door pillars, door panels, dashboard, and a hand-stitched center console. The power-operated front seats offer a memory function and power-adjustable headrests. The L in L6 stood for luxury. It includes standard amenities that were optional on European models such as self-leveling rear suspension, a beverage chiller (cooled by an air-conditioning system) between the rear leather bucket seats, air-conditioning vents for rear seat occupants, a rear sunshade and an 8-speaker premium sound system. Other interior amenities include climate control, cruise control, an original M-tech 1 steering wheel, a two-position electric sunroof, an AM/FM cassette stereo, power-adjustable and heated exterior mirrors, a power antenna, and a heated driver’s door lock. The seller reports the front seats have been reupholstered with OEM BMW leather, and the instrument cluster has been replaced.
The L6 is powered by a 3.4L M30 inline six-cylinder rated at 182 HP and 214 lb.-ft of torque. One of the reasons for poor sales of the L6 was the fact that it was only offered with a 4-speed automatic transmission. To bring out the full potential of this beautiful car the seller has replaced the transmission with a Getrag 5-speed. The donor transmission with approximately 120,000 miles was sourced from a 1984 635Csi and has been serviced with new master and slave cylinders as well as a full clutch pack. Upon acquisition, the seller reports most of the engine gaskets were replaced along with the hoses and belts, fluids, a valve adjustment, new struts, brake pads, rotors, and a new air conditioning compressor were installed.
This sale will include multiple keys, including valet keys, the factory keyless entry and keyfob, a clean title, owner’s manuals, a spare TRX wheel and tire, a cassette deck cleaner, some associated literature, and a shop manual. The trunk toolkit is also said to have been ordered and will be included with the vehicle or sent to the next owner upon delivery.
Auction Results
- Sold for: $13,750
- Auction End: Mar 02, 2023 08:41:31PM UTC
- Number of Bids: 37
Comments (74)
@Open-wheel-Racer what else do you have ?
Sold for $13,750
@Harbormotorcars @Carwaymotors I wish I could keep it. I'm moving back east and currently have 5 (now 4) classic bimmers. I have to thin the heard.
Luxury Crusier with a manual transmission and low production. This is one of those that we are going to look back on 10 years when its a $100,000+ car
Bid in the amount of $13,750
This is a cool car
Bid in the amount of $13,500
Bid in the amount of $13,250
Bid in the amount of $13,000
Alas.
3k down now too!
@Firewood goes against terms of pcar. Sorry
Bid in the amount of $12,750
If you want to let me pay in 3 months, I'll take you up on east coast delivery. No jive.
Bid in the amount of $12,500
@Firewood my son wound up with an 87 m6
Btw, I don't know the seller, and have no dog in this fight. If I hadn't just bought an M3, and a car for my son, I'd be bidding for sure. But out of room, and close to out of dough too.
Bid in the amount of $12,250
@ace_pilot I'm moving to the east coast and can make a deal to drive it in April??
Its only 2k to ship it to the east coast.
Bid in the amount of $12,000
Shoot, wish you were on the east coast. An equivalent year M6, granted a more collectible & hotter car, sells for $40 to $80k these days. What a deal this car is!
Bid in the amount of $11,750
Bid in the amount of $11,500
Bid in the amount of $10,750
Bid in the amount of $10,500
Wow, this is way too much cool car, and well sorted, for too little bread. Worth much more!
Bid in the amount of $9,750
Bid in the amount of $9,500
Bid in the amount of $9,000
Bid in the amount of $8,000
Bid in the amount of $7,500
Bid in the amount of $6,750
Bid in the amount of $6,500
@Firewood it was a drip and no. I'll pick it up this afternoon.
So you won't know what is causing the small oil leak before auction end?
@Firewood saw a small oil leak yesterday. Brought her in to change the oil for the new owner and see what was causing the drip.
Any leaks or seeps anywhere? Thanks.
Bid in the amount of $5,750
@sharkhunter84 hear is good. ac compressor was replaced and filled. Works in front and rear. All windows and roof are good to go.
Hi there- how well does the HVAC work? (AC truly cold and heat hot)? All the windows working properly? Thanks!
Bid in the amount of $5,500
Bid in the amount of $5,250
Bid in the amount of $4,900
Bid in the amount of $4,635
Bid in the amount of $4,250
Bid in the amount of $4,000
I live in San Diego beautiful car. Looks like you’re about two hours north. Blue plates are cool on this car.
Bid in the amount of $3,750
Bid in the amount of $3,500
Bid in the amount of $3,250
Bid in the amount of $3,000
@Open-wheel-Racer perhaps a video would show the right front best?
@maladent take a look at picture#16. It looks like it's the bumper trim that makes it look off. I'll take a couple of pictures tomorrow.
@Champaign83 no rust at all.
@maladent got it..I see what you mean in pic 2. I'll go out tomorrow and let you know. Thanks.
@Open-wheel-Racer Nope, it’s front the bumper, way out of level.
@Champaign83 yes seats are all operational. In the description you'll see that I had that fender refinished. There was a small dent on it when I bought the car. That's about all I can say. I don't know more. I see no issues but you may have caught something I didn't notice?
Are the seat adjustments all operational and any rust? Also front right fender and bumper look a bit out of line, is that the case or is it the photo angle?
Bid in the amount of $2,750
Bid in the amount of $2,500
Bid in the amount of $2,250
Bid in the amount of $2,000
Bid in the amount of $1,000
Bid in the amount of $500
Bid in the amount of $250
@charliek911 I smogged it last year when I registered it. It passed with flying colors. In California you need to smog a car every two years. At this point the smog certificate is a year old but I re-registered it for 2023. You can drive it with a year free registration or title or and I'll smog it again.
There is an error in the posting. The odometer shows 43000 miles but it is TMU.
So, the smog is not yet 90 days old? Thank you for fast response...
@charliek911 it is registered in California and was smogged prior. I just renewed the registration and it has a year to go until it needs to be registered again. I will let the 80s California plates go with the car as well.
Will the registration be brought up to date and will the car be California smog certified prior to the sale?
@SVOMustang Thanks for your quesiton. I buy old Bimmers and try to bring them back to the condition they should be in. I make them run right, and look great in hopes that they will stay with a family on the road for years to come. I was going to keep this after it didnt reach the reserve in the last auction, but my family is moving across country and I will be selling 3 of my classics and keeping 2.
The L6 is a very special car, it was the Maybac of its day. Take a look at the attached artiocle to learn more about it. It was an amazing work of art. Its leather handstiched by artisens....BUT it was only sold as an automatic. The L6 was the most expensive car in its class...but after a year of poor sales they stopped making it. There are very few on the road in the physical condition of this expmple. Why the swap...? After buying the car in Arkansas and driving it back to Los Angeles I realized it had more under the hood than I was able to experince with it being Auto. After the swap... it is a completly different animal.
Hi there, Thank you for taking a look at my 1987 BMW L6. It has been a wonderful experience, purchasing, driving and lovingly refurbishing this vehicle. Im here to answer any questions you may have about the car. Please feel free to leave them in comments and I will answer as soon as possible. Good Luck bidding.
This is my second trip to the auction with this car. It didnt hit the reserve in the previous auction, but the family has decided to move across country and I need to thin the herd. I will be auctioning off a couple of more cars after this one.
The L6 looks great and superb conversion to a manual. Why the sale after the short ownership and putting substantial money and effort into making it so nice?