Did BMW make any 8 Series with a manual box?

[MitchT]

burriana said:

MitchT said:

Something I noticed about the 8 when one of Talkwrench's examples was parked outside my house

aaah, he's taken you for a spin has he ... which one, the silver one or, "the Black one"!

No, we didn't go for a spin at the time. It was a while ago when he came round to look at my E36 which had a leaking cam cover gasket and 'slightly corroded rear brake pipes' according to the MOT advisory issued by my local BMW main dealer... they turned out to be totally fecked rear brake pipes when Talkwrench got to work replacing them! Anyway... it was the Silver one... and it looked fabulous. I haven't seen the black one... yet!

[Apache]

MitchT said:

Something I noticed about the 8 when one of Talkwrench's examples was parked outside my house is that it really doesn't look all that big. It's wider than many cars, granted, but it didn't appear exceptionally long and appeared very low, even compared to my E36 coupe. That really does make me wonder how it manages to be so heavy, re derin100's comments about it being heavier than an E38 7 series! I guess it's all the over-engineered bits in the drivetrain... not that over-engineering was ever a bad thing... quite the opposite in fact!

Apparently the gearbox weighs as much as a black hole

[Job38]

nah, nah, nah, nah, nah..............not listening.

Only good stuff about 850CSis is allowed to be posted for the next couple of days!

[Mustard]

Job38 said:

nah, nah, nah, nah, nah..............not listening.

Only good stuff about 850CSis is allowed to be posted for the next couple of days!

Sounds like someones bought the Green one that quickly sold in the classifieds!?

[Job38]

[julian64]

I have a question for the afficionardos of the marque.

When did they dispense with the loverly square tailpipes and start poking conventional round ones out the back.

Its a shame cos the square ones set the car off nicely.

[Talkwrench]

Broadly speaking, round and black on the 840's, square & chrome on the 850's.
Round, stainless steel and much larger on the 850CSi.
Quite a few have after market rear boxes fitted so these rules don't always apply!

[julian64]

Talkwrench said:

Broadly speaking, round and black on the 840's, square & chrome on the 850's.
Round, stainless steel and much larger on the 850CSi.
Quite a few have after market rear boxes fitted so these rules don't always apply!

Strange, both my 850i and CSI had square black ones.

[burriana]

that's why he said "broadly". There's doesn't seem to be a stricy rule of thumb. I personally prefer the square ones, but mine has round, mainly as it is a custom built jobby ... apparently it lost quite a bit of feline fur last week too

[burriana]

Apache said:

MitchT said:

Something I noticed about the 8 when one of Talkwrench's examples was parked outside my house is that it really doesn't look all that big. It's wider than many cars, granted, but it didn't appear exceptionally long and appeared very low, even compared to my E36 coupe. That really does make me wonder how it manages to be so heavy, re derin100's comments about it being heavier than an E38 7 series! I guess it's all the over-engineered bits in the drivetrain... not that over-engineering was ever a bad thing... quite the opposite in fact!

Apparently the gearbox weighs as much as a black hole

Aye ... but it'll take 1000 bhp all day long and still be as fresh as a daisy.

[julian64]

I understood what he meant . Its just that both mine were stainless and from the factory. One car I had for nine years and the other for one and a half. Neither seemed to deteriorate in the slightest. Although I did replace the holders a few times.

I had always assumed when I saw an eight that if it didn't have square then the owner had changed them for a noise preference thing as the car was always quite quiet.

I'm not sure I believe they varied it willynilly on a make of car as BMW seemed to be sticklers for quality control. But now can't remember seeing an 840 with square as talkwrench says

It sounds like talkwrench is probably right and I've been thinking aftermarket, when the cars were actually standard.

All this talk of 8's is making me feel like I want another one

[MitchT]

Does anyone know how 840s compare on insurance? Someone was saying in another part of the BMW section that M3 Evos attract very high insurance premiums and this was another of the cars on my list. I wondered how an 840Ci Sport would compare, based on me being 33, never had points, full NCB and unlikely to do more than 3,000 miles per year. I currently pay just over £500 for a 318is but that's based on calculations made before my work relocated to within walking distance, thus allows for a much higher annual mileage. I know I should ask an insurance company this but I could do with priming for the blow first!

[derin100]

I have mine insured on what's called a 'Future Classic' policy. I think it limits me to 5000 miles a year. I'm not sure it was absolutely the best deal but I'm pretty sure it's under 500-quid a year.

[Talkwrench]

I have my 850Ci insured with AutoTrader for £260 fully comp and my 850CSi with Sainsburys for £290 fully comp.
I know....
I was amazed too....!
Direct Line wanted £880 (and I was an existing customer!)

[derin100]

Talkwrench...how old are your cars? (and you...if you don't mind me asking? ) And are those classic car policies? Those prices are so good I'll have to get a quote myself from those two companies. Thanks

[Talkwrench]

derin100 said:

Talkwrench...how old are your cars? (and you...if you don't mind me asking? ) And are those classic car policies? Those prices are so good I'll have to get a quote myself from those two companies. Thanks

The 850Ci is a 1992 and the 850CSi is a 1994
I have full no claims for both policies and I'm a mere child of 49....

Autotrader is the best kept secret. They have quoted me less for the CSi than Sainsburys so I'll be changing when renewal comes round.

[derin100]

Thanks for that! I'm going to get on to them. I'm 44 (if I recall correctly...LOL) but that's a significant difference on a car I drive so rarely that my only major expense is the insurance premium!

Cheers!

[julian64]

Adrain flux always used to insure mine, don't think my quotes were that low, but they always insured as a current rather than future classic so lower than most.

[burriana]

My premium has not changed from the Griff 500 at £525. I suspect it should be lower but Cos are not usually keen on given money back half way through a policy.

I am staying put until Jan as I can then get protected no claims ... providing I keep it on the tarmac that is!

[MitchT]

Cheapest quote I've been able to get from Autotrader for an 840Ci Sport was just over £1,000. Bugger. They also quoted over £1,200 for an Elise and over £1,500 for an E36 M3 Evo. Not best pleased.

Edited to say: Been playing some more. Bizarrely the lowest price I've been quoted so far was for my ultimate dream car - a Ferrari 328GTS!

Edited by MitchT on Friday 5th October 20:38