What’s in your garage?
[Published in BMWCAR March 2010]
With two M cars and a R1100S in his garage, we meet the man who thinks of himself as a non traditional BMW fan.
For most people the blue and white roundel is the default choice when looking to join the premium market. But this months WIYG subject, Richard Head, comes from a different perspective.
Having spent a number of years living in Egypt with his family and owning a selection of cars, Richard is quick to point out “for a start I don’t consider myself a BMW man.” A strange statement you may say considering he has a mint M635CSI Motorsport Edition parked in his garage alongside an E30 M3 Convertible. “The cars I get are the ones I think are great. I’ve always tried to have interesting ones, the first being a London Taxi which we drove around Paris for three months in the summer.” As it turns out, Richard has always liked older cars, “This was mainly driven through poverty when I was a student,” he laughs. “Anyone can buy a new car but the ownership challenge is with identifying a car you really like and spending a while finding that car and making it better” he says.
Richards search for one of his current cars started as far back as 2002 when he read an article on the M635CSI in a Classic and Sports car magazine. “I’ve compared every car since 2002 to the big BMW and nothing really stood up to it, so when I got back from Egypt I thought right I’m having one of those.”
Richard ended up buying a standard 635 just two weeks after returning to the UK, keeping it 18months. “I sold it after feeling so guilty that it was 27years old with only 20,000 miles, I ended up leaving it in the garage. It was great but I realised I had bought the wrong car. I had always wanted an M635CSI” he says.
Narrowing his search down from the 101 Highline models to the very rare Motorsport Edition, Richard decided the time was right to find the big six he had always desired. With just twenty Motorsport Editions produced, he looked to three cars, two red and the one he eventually ended up buying some time later. “I would have bought the red one but was let down at the last minute. I was gutted so that evening I went onto Piston heads armed with my bag of money and bottle of wine saying ‘I’m buying a car this evening!’” Having Looked at several M6s and finding some really tired examples, Richard started to look at M3s as a rebound. “To me the convertible E30 M3 made sense on a nice sunny day blasting around, it seemed great. But I never thought I would see one.”
With only 786 convertible E30 M3s being made and just 33 sold in the UK, it’s a rare car. As luck had it one popped up whilst Richard trawled through various websites. “I rang the seller straight away and he said ‘Christ I only put that on ten minutes ago’, so I agreed to be in Birmingham the next day with a bag full of money, the kids and dog all loaded into the car” he says laughing. Richard is renowned for his cars within the family, adding “my wife is very tolerant and lets me have three cars and a motorbike.” Fortunately the M3 was as described and had been well serviced with some hefty bills. Enthused by it Richard did the deal and arranged for the car to be transported home the same day, “within 24hours of first deciding on the M3 and seeing this one, I had it sat on my driveway. It’s been great and I’ve had no problems with it” he says. Richard fondly recalled one of the first trips to Halfords, “It proved memorable as I had the boys from Halfords peering into the car and taking pictures as I returned from the shop, asking if it was an original. It was a great feeling, and it’s been a great rebound!” he says smiling.
Having bought the M3 just over two years ago, Richard says the car fits the bill and has been a reliable choice, only requiring the odd bit of work and some time and effort treating the leather. But at the back of his mind the M635CSI he had hankered after was still their. “About a year ago I saw this M6 and decided I was going to get it.” As fate had it the M635CSI Richard picked was not only the same Macao blue that he had seen in that magazine article some years previously, but in fact the last Motorsport Edition to roll off the production line. Stranger still the car was originally sold just one day apart from his E30 M3.
The M6 had a full service history with plenty of big bills, notably for a timing chain change and two replacement front wings, but needed the bushes replacing and the brakes juddered on heavy braking. According to Richard the Motorsport Edition is a special choice, saying “very few people are familiar with the model and the colours are just great. You can look through the old MOTs and see people interpret theMacao blue as either a blue, black or even aubergine on sunny days.” Richard fondly recalled his first thoughts when he viewed the car with its contrasting interior, “I initially remember thinking white leather, beige carpets with a dog and two kids, that won’t work! But actually it’s great and makes the interior an airy place to be.”
Besides the M3 and M6 Richard also owns a BMW R1100S motorbike and says his choice is unintentionally linked to his choice of car. “The bike is fast enough, interesting and although I wouldn’t consider myself a BMW fan per say, when I’ve been making decisions on what car or bike I want I’ve recently been defaulting to BMWs as they fit the bill for what I need.”
With two M cars sitting within the garage, Richard says he doesn’t need a car for commuting as he cycles into work, “As I don’t need a car to drive everyday I can pick models that are interesting, so that’s the M3 and M6” he says.
When asked about further purchases Richards eyes light up. “Don’t tell my wife but I’m looking at getting another car.” With two M cars, is a third on the horizon? “At the moment I’m going through the notions of either a Citroen SM or a BMW Z1” he says enthusiastically. Mentioning the Z1 brings Richard onto the BMW range past and present, “Put the whole BMW thing of the late eighties into perspective, they were making some brilliant cars. The Z1 concept with the doors was fascinating. It really was a great portfolio of cars” he says. Contrasting this to the range on offer today, Richard said “technically the new range is far superior, but I get enough from a late eighties car and what they have in abundance is character. That’s what we are loosing with modern cars and in twenty years time people aren’t going to be writing articles on an X3 or current M3.”
For Richard the current BMW line-up has lost its edge, partly in terms of sheer volume. “I like having something’s that’s different, a little bit rarer, like the M6” he says. Part of the interest for Richard is the history behind any potential purchase, saying “Cars have a story behind them and I only buy ones that are in good condition and something I can be proud of. To my mind you earn your money to do things you enjoy and cars are my hobby.”
With the best cars proving to be the M3 and M6 and the best bike being the R1100S, Richard says he’s come to own three BMWs through a range of decisions. “I haven’t bought one BMW and thought what’s the next one I’m going to buy, I’ve thought I’m going to buy another car and what’s the best choice. On three occasions I’ve defaulted to BMW.” So, is Richard now able to class himself as a true BMW enthusiast? “My friends would say I’m a BMW nut” he says laughing, before finally adding; “But I’ve arrived at this position through a series of trends that sit in my garage and it’s been a great learning experience.”
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