What do you think of the BMW 8 series?

[Phil Dicky]

blade7 said:

Lovely looking cars but I think if I'd go for a 928 GT instead.

Always thought the bork factor was strong in those

[Phil Dicky]

pti said:

toppstuff said:

Bloody gorgeous

Agreed

[Mastodon2]

In terms of looks, the best looking BMW ever made. If it were possible to have one of these with the E60 V10 engine in it, it would be my ultimate BMW. I doubt the engine would fit through, probably too tall, and the chassis would probably be shown up once it had 500bhp strapped to it. Still, one can dream.



I love the M1 style front end.

[Deisel Weisel]

The cool wall, but freaky expensive to run, no doubt.

[Debaser]

They are very cool cars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpvrRB79koU

[Fun Bus]

blade7 said:

Lovely looking cars but I think if I'd go for a 928 GT instead.

I remember CAR magazine did a test of an 850i and a 928GT back in the day. I think they included a Jaguar XJR-S too.

[soad]

Timbola said:

An absolute classic.

Still looks awesome today.

Am a big fan.

[cerb4.5lee]

Debaser said:

They are very cool cars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpvrRB79koU

Enjoyed that vid thanks incredible to maintain that speed for so long.

[m444ttb]

I absolutely love the 8. It was one of the cars I added to my wall as a teenager to join the Ferraris I loved when I was even younger. Like the 928 a lot too!

[chrispj]

LuS1fer said:

Annoyingly, Hammond said tha he and Clarkson had bought the two cars and intended to report back on running costs but they never did.

Wasn't that because by the next week one of the two cars had broken and hit them with a £2000 bill?

[DaveCWK]

Love the 8 series. A red 850CSi sold on ebay a few months ago now for £10k'ish. I'd love to get a nice 840/850 in a few years but fear all the cheap ones will have long gone by then and only low mileage minters will remain at £15k+

[blade7]

Phil Dicky said:

blade7 said:

Lovely looking cars but I think if I'd go for a 928 GT instead.

Always thought the bork factor was strong in those

Probably, both were big money new and not cheap to run now.

[LuS1fer]

chrispj said:

LuS1fer said:

Annoyingly, Hammond said tha he and Clarkson had bought the two cars and intended to report back on running costs but they never did.

Wasn't that because by the next week one of the two cars had broken and hit them with a £2000 bill?

I think it was £1200 for a coil pack but many said you could get pattern coils for far less.

I preferred that Merc over this BMW. It was certainly much faster but will probably rust being of "that M-B era".

[300bhp/ton]

blade7 said:

Phil Dicky said:

blade7 said:

Lovely looking cars but I think if I'd go for a 928 GT instead.

Always thought the bork factor was strong in those

Probably, both were big money new and not cheap to run now.

Curious but how would an 840 really cost more than say a 540 or 740 to run and maintain? Assuming you aren't buying new body parts every week for it.

[Alucidnation]

TAFKAP had one in bright yellow.

Looked good TBH.

[soad]

Deisel Weisel said:

The cool wall, but freaky expensive to run, no doubt.

Want!

[shalmaneser]

What do I think? They are amazing!

[shielsy]

I had a 1996 840Ci for the first six months of this year.was one of those cars that had been on my "list" for some time and I had to get it out of system. My impressions of it over those 6 months were fairly mixed. It was a fantastic car,but wasn't really suitable for my use. Around town it felt even bigger then it looks... Don't get me wrong, handling on B roads was OK for a car of its size, but a commute to and from work was hard work after a while.

This car only comes into its element at 80mph+. It is so smooth and comfortable and will sit there all day eating up motorways. At 70mph its barely ticking over at 2k rpm. Being a gran tourer what more can you ask for? But for cruising round town, the coolness of the thing wore off after a while for me.

[shielsy]

Also, they are fairly reliable things and don't deserve the reputation they seem to have. The later 840Ci has the M62 V8 which was used extensively across the BMW range, as well as a few other marques. It is a reliable unit and parts are easy to come by.

[STW2010]

300bhp/ton said:

Curious but how would an 840 really cost more than say a 540 or 740 to run and maintain? Assuming you aren't buying new body parts every week for it.

Just because the engines are similar doesn't mean that everything but the body is too. The suspension components are different and these are heavy cars, so will lunch suspension bushes/springs more regularly.

Much rarer than the 540 and 740 and so parts will be more expensive. Being far more high-tech, there are more electronics to go wrong.

Don't get me wrong, I don't believe that they would be eye-watering to maintain, but they will have the potential for some shocking bills. If I had one then I would do all maintenance myself, which would certainly make living with one easier.

OP- I absolutely love these cars and, after coming close to buying one before, I will quite possibly buy one in the near future. Quite possibly as a project, so spend no more than £4k on one and tidy it up.