1991 BMW 850i. V12 madness...
Discussion
A childhood dream car. They still have BAGS of presence on the road - Ferrari like presence - as far as I'm concerned. Well done, I love it. Always found the 4.4 V8 a little underwhelming in the E39 and X5 so bravo on being ballsy enough to plump for the V12! There's only one BM I prefer, and that's the 635csi, so after much procrastination I bought an F plate Highline in January. Potential corrosion issues aside, I guess it's a tad more sensible choice than the big 8.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Bork moment averted!
Last night hazards flashing, car wouldn't start etc.
Thought the worst- massive electrical gremlins etc.
Turns out it has an alarm/immobiliser which I had inadvertently activated by a double twist of the key in the driver's door lock.
A quick panic, ten minutes on Google and I unlocked the car via the passenger door, a quick battery disconnect and its all sorted.
Thank the God of Bork for that!!
Last night hazards flashing, car wouldn't start etc.
Thought the worst- massive electrical gremlins etc.
Turns out it has an alarm/immobiliser which I had inadvertently activated by a double twist of the key in the driver's door lock.
A quick panic, ten minutes on Google and I unlocked the car via the passenger door, a quick battery disconnect and its all sorted.
Thank the God of Bork for that!!
Congratulations!
We've been running a V12 7 series for 18 months and when you speak to anyone with experience, consensus is that they are at least as reliable as the V8s or 6s. But there is no risk of you being top trumped.
We've spent a few quid, mainly refreshing consumables, but far less than the depreciation would have been on a newer eurobox.
We've been running a V12 7 series for 18 months and when you speak to anyone with experience, consensus is that they are at least as reliable as the V8s or 6s. But there is no risk of you being top trumped.
We've spent a few quid, mainly refreshing consumables, but far less than the depreciation would have been on a newer eurobox.
driver67 said:
Some excellent reading for you here OP :-
850 CSi - first steps
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Great find !
Thanks for that, you bd, I had things I was meant to be achieving this morning...850 CSi - first steps
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Great find !
Edited by driver67 on Wednesday 18th March 21:34
So, now had some time to assess full list of things that need sorting:
Looks like I have an issue with the electronics that run the high beam lights and the light pods - could be a £200 fix.
ABS not working - probably wheel speed sensors, but who knows! I'm guessing ££££.
No horns - probably a cheapish fix.
Bit of an issue with the rear washer tank - the 850 has a water tank in the boot that then pumps water up to the washer tank under the bonnet - not working.
Passenger mirror not adjusting at all. Might be switch - but driver side works fine, so I will guess motor in mirror has seized.
Bit of a noisy front caliper - sure I can sort that cheaply.
Boot needs new telescopic dampers for the boot to stay open - £18 each or so.
Other than that - nothing too much to panic about.
Looks like I have an issue with the electronics that run the high beam lights and the light pods - could be a £200 fix.
ABS not working - probably wheel speed sensors, but who knows! I'm guessing ££££.
No horns - probably a cheapish fix.
Bit of an issue with the rear washer tank - the 850 has a water tank in the boot that then pumps water up to the washer tank under the bonnet - not working.
Passenger mirror not adjusting at all. Might be switch - but driver side works fine, so I will guess motor in mirror has seized.
Bit of a noisy front caliper - sure I can sort that cheaply.
Boot needs new telescopic dampers for the boot to stay open - £18 each or so.
Other than that - nothing too much to panic about.
johnfm said:
Spent Friday afternoon in a pub in Cambridge, waiting for my son.
While there, saw this on eBay, did a deal, collected it on Saturday - drove it 200 miles home.
It survived.
V12 goodness.
Wish me luck...
At my gaff, it's not the car that required the cojones, it would be the story above!While there, saw this on eBay, did a deal, collected it on Saturday - drove it 200 miles home.
It survived.
V12 goodness.
Wish me luck...
Cracking motor car OP. Good work.
New tyres on today. Lovely to have fresh rubber.
New brake fluid too. A bit of a clean up of calipers etc and a check of the bushes and so on. All good.
So, off to the 850 guru next week to sort the few electrical niggles with high beam and ABS.
So far, very happy. I expect a manual would be more fun - and it needs more bark from the exhaust, but overall very very happy.
Looking forward to treating it to a proper bit of TLC on the paintwork. This will be an ace summer car.
New brake fluid too. A bit of a clean up of calipers etc and a check of the bushes and so on. All good.
So, off to the 850 guru next week to sort the few electrical niggles with high beam and ABS.
So far, very happy. I expect a manual would be more fun - and it needs more bark from the exhaust, but overall very very happy.
Looking forward to treating it to a proper bit of TLC on the paintwork. This will be an ace summer car.
johnfm said:
Plug #12
I'm not sure what's cooler, the photos or the realisation that even simple service jobs remind you just how much engine is under there.. Superb.
I see a manual 840i with a subtly louder exhaust on campus and around town pretty regularly. He is happy to give it some loud pedal when I give him the thumbs up from my E46.. probably knowing damn well that it costs me an hour drooling at classifieds every time!
Superb thing.
Friend of mine runs an 840ci and I had the pleasure of taking it for a spin this week, really enjoyed everything about it from the seating position to the way it wafted effortlessly up the road. He's done a few exhaust mods too and it sounded like an American muscle car in the underground car park.
Thread bookmarked, looking forward to see how you get on with it.
Friend of mine runs an 840ci and I had the pleasure of taking it for a spin this week, really enjoyed everything about it from the seating position to the way it wafted effortlessly up the road. He's done a few exhaust mods too and it sounded like an American muscle car in the underground car park.
Thread bookmarked, looking forward to see how you get on with it.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff