We've only had one 6-series BMW so far in this series, so when I saw this '83 parked just around the corner from the '74 Porsche 911 Targa, I figured it was worth shooting. This one is a good example of a solid daily-driven car; a few scars, but nothing too serious.
This was a seriously expensive car back in '83, listing at $39,120 (about 83 grand in 2008 dollars). That was pretty much three times the cost of a new 320i, and for another $4,000 over the cost of the 633CSi you could have had a Porsche 928S.
Say it's 1983 and you're a low-ranking S&L employee who's managed to grab $43K in scraps from your bosses' wholesale looting. You deserve some German machinery, but what to buy? Do you take the three 320is, the 928, or the 633CSi? A few minutes at Sharknose.de tends to make me favor the 6-series.
Nowadays, of course, you can buy a running example one of these cars for peanuts... but keeping one running is considerably more costly. 633CSis are pretty commonplace in the wrecking yards as a result.