Extensively Upgraded 1988 BMW M6 in Royal Blue Metallic

Extensively Upgraded 1988 BMW M6

Fewer than 1800 of these were imported into the US from 1987 – 1989 with this metallic blue being a very rare color among them. That’s how this car started out. It’s quite better today given the extensive upgrades. Because of those upgrades, two owners have thoroughly enjoyed this masterpiece for more than 30 years. You can make its history for at least the next ten!

This M6’s sticker price of about $59k would be $157k today. Just the included receipts for the upgrades total to about $60k today. That’s more than $215k today; think about that. Here’s how Hagerty values a stock M6, without any of these upgrades: https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-tools/bmw/m6/1988/1988-bmw-m6 Frankly, the $20k starting bid is really just the value of the engine alone.

eBay doesn’t allow enough photos to do it justice so here is a detailed video.

https://youtu.be/6IG_Y-sSepg

This car is just a blast to drive! It's a well-balanced beast without being a straight-line muscle car.

If you want to have great fun and maybe even attract attention, this rare color, upgraded E24 M6 is your best bet.

It’s a fine daily driver as is and should be driven! Don’t store this M6 in a collection. Drive it! It’s also a prime candidate for a cosmetic restoration that should cost less than $10k.

Upgrades:

In 1996, the previous owner installed the upgraded motor and gearbox from a 1991 M5.

-Included Dinan camshaft gears and performance computer chip.

- Notably stronger than a stock M6.

Throwing Star wheels. Wheel centers are painted in a color shifting blue that’s similar to the body’s color shifting Royalblau-Metallic.

Premium sound system with modern, Bluetooth radio. Comes with earlier Eclipse radio that will run the multi-disk CD changer in the trunk.

Front seats reupholstered in marine vinyl.

Over $60k in upgrades (in today’s dollars). See receipts in the video.

Complete repaint during repair from minor rearend accident 15 years ago.

LED headlight bulbs.

Replica aircraft stick grip mounted on shifter. Original shifter knob included.

After market anti-theft system.

History:

In addition to the upgrades listed above:

“The M6 was the second-fastest BMW ever built at 158 mph — only the equally rare high-performance M1 coupe boasted a higher maximum speed.” “… it is believed that 1,632 examples of the E24-seriesM6 were shipped to the U.S. market from 1987 to 1989.” https://www.sportscarmarket.com/profile/1988-bmw-m6-coupe

Very few of them were blue. The current owner has never seen another blue one on the street in over 26 years of driving E24s.

The previous owner took that unicorn and had a mid-life crisis all over this M6.He replaced the motor and gearbox with a Dinan-upgraded system from a1991 M5 that only had 1500 miles. He lowered it, replaced the stereo with the best he could get in the ‘90s, reupholstered the front seats, replaced the wheels with 17” BMW Throwing Stars and truly enjoyed it until MS prevented him from driving a manual transmission. The sale was more of an adoption than a contract. Since then, it’s been both a daily driver and a frequent driver, logging about 3k miles per year over two decades. That’s enough to keep it running really well.

This vehicle was not detailed for these photos. This is truly what it looks like every day.

Having been designed for the US market during the 55 mph speed limit days, this M6 has the acceleration rear differential (compared to German spec models).Combined with about 50 more horsepower than stock, it’s a screamer.

Current owner installed factory spec springs to reverse the lowering as it was too low to be driven on Colorado’s roads.

California then Arizona then Colorado car. No rust.

244k miles on the body, about 115k fewer miles on the motor and manual gearbox.

Maintenance:

It comes with 20 years of frequent driver, handwritten maintenance records kept by the current owner, a meticulous jet pilot, with professional services when needed.

Tires 5k miles ago.

Plugs 10k miles ago.

Engine compartment hydraulic hoses about10k miles ago.

Battery 13k miles ago.

Radiator 23k miles ago.

Hydraulic pump (steering & brakes) 30k miles ago.

Clutch, bearing, seals 34k miles ago.

Driveshaft and O2 sensor 44k miles ago.

Transmission mounts, engine mounts,bolts, washers, brake disks, brake pads, oils, filters, etc. as needed.

Records included:

Owner’s manual.

Two repair manuals.

Current owner’s repair log.

Original upgrade receipts, such as engine, transmission and stereo.

Tire warranty.

Entire box of records from the previous owner’s modifications.

Flaws or problems:

Damaged rear bumper and driver’s rear quarter panel from a low-speed accident. Frame unaffected. Alignment good.

Repaired air dam. Also chipped as usual by rocks on roads.

Scrapped underside from previous owner lowering to Stage II (see video). Original specification springs reinstalled to allow daily driving.

Original freon A/C is in place but inoperative.

Original cruise control is in place but inoperative.

Front passenger seat is not as stable as the driver’s seat and doesn’t adjust properly. Appears to be a disconnected adjustment cable inside that seat.

Repaired trunk roundel.

The driver’s side rear window switch rarely works.

The sliding vent control levers are missing one out of three knobs.

Normal upholstery wear, including repair on driver’s interior door grip.

Pick Up note: eBay wrongly lists this as pick up only. Yes, we can also arrange shipment at the buyer's choice and expense.