Can Anyone Tell Me About Alpinas?

[Life Saab Itch]

I'm thinking about getting an Alpina B10 V8. Can anyone tell me a bit more about them?

I get the feeling that they are a bit faster than the equivalent M, a bit more comfy and generally a nicer place to be to munch miles in, but if you chuck it at twistys it will take them in it's stride.

Am I ballpark with that assumption?


They do seem like an awful lot of car for the money...

[T16OLE]

Not sure they are quicker than an M equivalent

[Simon1397]

Have a look here http://www.thealpinaregister.com/ lots of advice and owners

[AMD87]

T16OLE said:

Not sure they are quicker than an M equivalent

Reviewers at the time said that it was quicker a-b than an M5 but deffo not quicker on paper or in a straight line.

I'm sure fluffnik will be along soon,he's had 2. Had a go in his B10T last week after 1.5 years and i've so missed kick that V8 gives you and that noise and thats comparing it to a friends 650BHP Evo Saloon race car

[Max M4X WW]

AMD87 said:

Reviewers at the time said that it was quicker a-b than an M5 but deffo not quicker on paper or in a straight line.

B10 V8S I presume?

[Life Saab Itch]

Good link to the Alpina register site.

Does anyone know what servicing costs are like? I take it BMW dealerships will service them?

Are parts ludicrously priced, or are they reasonable?

[Gee Whizz]

The B10 V8 is based on the 540i so most components are reasonably priced and can be sourced from GSF and the likes. BMW dealers will service them but you would probably best to find a specialist that deals with e39's of that vintage.

Actual Alpina parts can be expensive but the wait is probably the worst as they may have to be ordered directly from Germany (through the BMW dealer). I waited a month for a sticker...

[E24man]

Epic sounding engine and a fantastic car - I bought my 2001 B10 V8 Touring with 101k on it and it has been trouble free throughout.

Up to late 2000 the engines had a non-metallic head-gasket which has some anecdotal evidence of premature failure but after that the engine design was adopted by BMW for the X5 4.6iS and BMW developed (and gave back to Alpina) a metallic head-gasket that resolved any issues. It also means the 4.6 engine (unlike the 4.8 V8S engine) has parts off the shelf from BMW.

Additionally the 4.6 has the standard 540i braking system unlike the bespoke Brembo set-up on the 4.8 and hence the 4.6 is approx a sixth of the cost for pads and discs. Other equipment is standard 540i apart from the suspension and gearbox.

Cooling systems will need/should have had some attention by 100k miles and sometimes bushes all around the suspension links

The suspension and ride on a well sorted Alpina is something else; brilliantly firm without being at all crashy.

The ride, the engines, the drive train (most, nearly all, the gearboxes are modded by Alpina) and the bespoke/Individual interiors are the main reasons for Alpina ownership

HTH

E-mail me if you'd like to know more.

[roofer]

They are a fast B road cruiser, which is what they were designed for. Alpina suspension is fantastic combo of comfort/performance. Push them to hard mind, and they don't like it.

[Life Saab Itch]

Great info there, thanks.

It's certainly worth thinking about/ trying to persuade The Wife to agree to.