E30 Zone

hello all wanting to buy 840 ci
what are they like for maintenence etc
any info will be grateful
cheers
ben

once went to meet ant and he had one that he'd been working on.

It was called various names, none of them I'd call favourable.

I'd like to try a manual one though.. just to see...

maintenance is steep, dont touch anything apart from a 850csi manual, with the mtec kit, 5.6v12, unbelievably fasrt.

By all accounts they are a total money pit with regards to maintenace. They look the nuts tho so its got to be worth it!

ben, they're a pain in the arse!! i work on quite a few of them at work and they're just shite! yeah, they look cool, but they are a money pit, and most of them are so f*cked and uncared for!!

my mate, Tee, a fellow zoner! he had an absoltely mint 850CSi all schnitzer'd up! that was an amazing car!! miniblob has got an 850CSi too, which i've done quite a bit of work, so if you want an opinion, ask him!!

cheers lads just love them wanted one for years . its just a bloke i know is selling his after having it for years
and stu your labour rate is cheap so you can do all the work for me
ok please

no worries fella!!

got a steering column if you want it its still on the car tell me how to take it off and its yours

i think im sorted now mate! you could of let me know a bit earlier, then i could of come and ripped it out tonight mate!!

wally!!!

at work tonight

stuartgallafant wrote:i could of come and ripped it out tonight mate!!

wally!!!

so!!!

I've always wanted one of these too, and I very nearly got one once but was scared of the maintenance (and the fuel bills).

argos picture don't work
still on the hunt

dodgy electrics, if anything dosn't work take 20 steps back as it
will require a dash out job

If you've got your own workshop, endless supply of money
the right tool's and knowledge

Get one.

The 850CSi is the only one to get, but remember, not many
left and so many fake ones out there.
The 850CSi was the "M8" and the engine was the forerunner
to the Maclaren F1

considered one of these before going for the soarer, would never have considered the V12 versions, defo would have been a 840, poss the 4.4. But as said, money pit.

Although it won't go down well on a BMW forum, if you are looking for a rare luxury coupe then seriously consider a V8 soarer, or a twin turbo version, these cars are built like nuclear bunkers and have excellent reliability. No BS.

If you have the folding, then there is a supercharged V8 for sale at present, £8500 would secure it.

www.toyotaimportsforum.co.uk
www.lexusclub.co.uk

JAE show on at Peterborough Showground this weekend, will be a large gathering of soarers and owners there.

Do it - you know you want to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As Stu mentioned, I've got an 850CSi.
Not cheap to run by any means, but made a bit more affordable by the likes of Stu & Tee. I was doing high mileage in mine though as my everyday car (110m per day!!).
If it goes wrong, it'll hurt your wallet - but they're awesome cars!!! Drive it properly and you'll get through a few sets of rear tyres per year!!
Interestingly, it was cheaper for me to insure than the E30 M3 convert i started out looking for!!

Never heard of an 8 before, saw the CSi by chance on autotrader when working a nightshift. Went up to preston for a testdrive, bought it, hooked!!!!

I really should be selling it, but i just can't bear to part with it!! So comfortable, so easy to drive, so fast, handling is awesome - so easy to drive it sideways anytime you want!! Hits 160mph without you even knowing about it!!

I haven't been in an auto, but can definately recommend the 6spd manual!!! Also been in an Alpina B12 5.7 and i have to say i prefer the CSi - and they're a lot cheaper and easier to find!!

Oh yeah, V12 sounds awesome!! Even through standard pipes - although mine should be changed soon!!!!

Also looks pretty sweet and people think you must be minted!!

Did i mention how amazing these cars are?

Try this link for a few pics of mine!! http://www.dnrvinyl.co.uk/325touring/b5oxx/

You won't regret buying it when your driving it - but if you stop and think too much you'll realise that it's not really sensible - but who cares!!

So for hogging this one, got a bit overexcited at the thought of getting mine back tonight!!

no offence beemerlad but the 8 series slightly eclipses the soarer in terms of looks alone.. ok maybe more expensive to run but i know which i'd have..

am tempted myself by one.. but that'd be as daft as a student having an s50'd touring wouldnt it..

If you do get one, I would definately recommend that you don't take it to the dealers - they're not nicknamed 'stealers' for nothing!!

Search out a specialist, or even better, someone like Stu!

A dealer will look on their system change a part and charge you, then if it's still wrong, they'll change the next part and charge you, and so on. There doesn't seem to be a lot of intelligence (at least at Cooper Croydon!), but i suppose a lot of dealers rarely see 8 series so just follow the 'book'.

Also, if you're getting one, make sure all the electrics work - 'cos that covers almost everything!! And they're a pain to sort out!!

Also, have a look on http://www.clube31.com/ forum can be a bit slow at times, but there's a lot of knowledge there!!

Also, Parksie (i think) on here has a modded 840 pm him for some advice!

Ben

I've had a 1994 840 for 4yrs now, it had only 36000 miles & a full dealer s/history, with that in mind i have only had to replace the wiper motor & verious suspension/steering components.
I also know many owners who have exprienced massive problems/or bad luck.

If you buy cheap bewear! it'll bit you on the bum

Try to get a 96/97 model with proper history priced around£7-8000 & then bolt a Blower on i've recently done so & even more fun can be had, 0 to 60 in 5.2 & 0 to 100 in 11.8

sounds exactly like Cooper Croydon to me!!

my mates got one in the trader for £4200, its on a cat d.

Argos wrote:

Shadow_Browser wrote: The 850CSi was the "M8" and the engine was the forerunner
to the Maclaren F1

No it wasn't - it was a bored and stroked M70, nothing more - standard heads and valves and possibly cams as well. The M8 was the 48 valve prototype which never went into production.

I stand corrected on this one.. thank you for putting that right mate.

I used to have a 850ci manual, I wouldnt have another 850i, I beleive the 4.4 v8 840 is a better car, If I were to buy another 8 i'd go for the 850csi, but they aint cheap.

Shadow_Browser wrote:

Argos wrote:

Shadow_Browser wrote: The 850CSi was the "M8" and the engine was the forerunner
to the Maclaren F1

No it wasn't - it was a bored and stroked M70, nothing more - standard heads and valves and possibly cams as well. The M8 was the 48 valve prototype which never went into production.

I stand corrected on this one.. thank you for putting that right mate.

The F1 was based on two M3 engines bolted in a V

one of my dream cars. just way too thirsty!!!!!

bmpaul wrote:one of my dream cars. just way too thirsty!!!!!

My 840 is much more economical than my 325

really i did not think that would ever be the case with a big motor!

YEAH i know, 21/22mpg for 325 driven as it should be , against 24 mpg pre- 29 mpg post supercharger conversion

lol, wats it like around town

On a run @ a steady70 to 80 ish , the computer reads around 35 mpg , the quotes previously were around town

35, that's excellent!

I get 18mpg everywhere, but it is getting new plugs, leads, caps & o2 sensors soon

E30BeemerLad wrote:I get 18mpg everywhere

ouch!!!