BMW 8 series, thoughts??

Death wish

Death wish

Death wish

Associate
Joined
25 Aug 2013
Posts
33
Location
stoke on trent
Evening folks

So im on the look out for a 2nd car, got a tatty old corsa for my daily runaround.
Always loved the shape of the 8 series & seeing one drive passed me the other day rekindled my interest :)
But what are they like to own? Keep bumping into the Internet horror stories that they are expensive to run and unreliable, is that the general thought of these?

Thanks for any info
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
I know someone with a long wheelbase version.
Big long lovely vehicle.
His has plenty of kits, not sure how much is standard.
Expensive vehicles to purchase.
Click to expand...

There is no long wheelbase 8 series. Neither are they that expensive to purchase. Are you thinking about the 7 series?
 
They're lovely cars that still feel special today, however the only 2 I've had any experience of were both complete liabilities and from what I understand that's the way a lot of them are and were even when much newer
 
They are awesome, but if you're not reasonably confident with working on cars, particularly electrical systems, I would avoid. Sorting the niggles you will invariably encounter will cost a fortune if you don't do the work yourself.

Parts can be pricy, mechanically they are pretty robust. The engines are found in other models. I'd go for an early 850 if you can find one in decent condition, or a later 840. Along with the 750 it's probably the cheapest way into a reliable usable v12.

Lots of people will tell you to get the 7 series instead so be sure to ignore them as they don't get the appeal of the 8.
 
Why on earth would you want an 8 series?

Huge car but tiny inside. Terrible fuel economy. Expensive parts. Lots to go wrong, particularly given the age etc.
 
They're not exactly fun to drive. Just big GTs. Depends what you want, really. Finding a good one, one worth owning, can take time too.
 
The E31 8-Series is an interesting car. It's based loosely on the E32 7-Series platform so expect dynamics that aren't too dissimilar to that. This isn't in itself a bad thing but at the end of the day, if you buy an 840ci or 850ci you are essentially buying a car with a chassis from 1986 and also driving dynamics of that day too. An E32 7-series in in the £500 category these days.

The thing with the 8-series is that there's only really 1 worth having, and that's the M850Csi. It has the S70 V12 and lots of clever (for the time) electronics that adjust the rear wheels depending on road speed. Unfortunately the Csi is really expensive to buy and super expensive to maintain. The normal 850ci only has the M70 which is lower performance than the 4-valve S70 in the csi.
The 840ci you would buy purely for the looks. The M62 V8 is a good engine and was used in the 540i and 740i but it's never going to set the world on fire in a 2 tonne car.

I feel that the interiors of the 8-series aren't a very nice place to be these days with switchgear from late 80s BMWs and loads of buttons.

In my opinion, the M850csi is the only 8-series worth buying and unfortunately, you've got to really love them to justify the purchase cost and the running costs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom