E31 840Ci - first ever BMW (and a daily!)
Discussion
ns38 said:
Enjoyed reading this thread, I am very local to you and in fact I remember seeing this car a few months ago in Richmond. It sounded great.
Thank you - very kind words. I work in Richmond and live close by so no doubt I’ve been seen dicking about! Somehow this little pocket of West London has become a hotbed of 8 series ownership, and I think there’s about six of us in the area.Swervin_Mervin said:
I'd definitely give a heads up on here as well, if you decide to sell.
Good shout - will do if the time comes. Hopefully the office doesn’t move and I can keep it a bit longer!Jhonno said:
I can't see how you could go from that to a TT and enjoy it.. A Megane I can understand.
Ideally I’d like to buy a classic Fiat 500 (or the dream is a Lancia Fulvia) but I have two elderly parents who sometimes travel with me and I don’t think they’ll enjoy that! I think the S3 and Megane are special and rareish enough (for different reasons!) to be a good ownership experience. You’re right on the TT but the two things in its favour are it is cheap and the parts also are cheap!
salmanorguk said:
I think the S3 and Megane are special and rareish enough (for different reasons!) to be a good ownership experience. You’re right on the TT but the two things in its favour are it is cheap and the parts also are cheap!
You know you won't get two adult passengers in a TT?Sticks. said:
You know you won't get two adult passengers in a TT?
Yes and it should be fine, I’ve very rarely travelled 3 up, normally it’s one parent or the other. Most likely I’ll stick to the coupe so I have the joke seats in the rear as an emergency option.carinaman said:
Yikes, that dash out heater matrix replacement was frightening. Hopefully the office won't move and you can keep it.
Thanks very much - very kind.The messages on the E31 WhatsApp group were amusing:
E31Shrew said:
Great to read your story!
I've had a couple of 840 Sports, the last I sold in around 2012 , as usual before the prices went through the ceiling. Stunning cars and missed to this day!
Heres a pic of the last one
That looks lovely - if it's any consolation prices have fallen (I think as much as £5k), so you're probably right back where you started!I've had a couple of 840 Sports, the last I sold in around 2012 , as usual before the prices went through the ceiling. Stunning cars and missed to this day!
Heres a pic of the last one
(Apologies for the late reply - I didn't want to spam the forum with replies and no meaningful updates)
Small update
Most of the buyers guides and owners state the two things that are a nightmare on this car are the cooling system and electrical system. Thankfully I've done a lot of preventative and repair work to get the cooling working fine and never had a serious issue.
I've also been in the fortunate situation of having no electrical issues, until two weeks ago when the Bong Of Dread sounded on the MID.
Thankfully it turned out the front indicator light had gone out. As there had been monsoonical weather there was an outside chance the wiring was damaged, and naturally being a BMW part the FTP is ridiculously priced at around £450. Happily it was just a blown bulb.
I celebrated this victory by using it extensively and it looked filthy:
Gave it a good wash today and it scrubs up nicely.
I've never posted a video, so here are two:
- Startup (its quite a bit louder in person)
- Idling/doing what it does best - wasting petrol (it had rained earlier and was -2c)
Also I think my work's office move (and resultant longer commute) is now more likely to happen, which will mean I'll be selling this in early 2024. Sad times but had an enjoyable 4 years (so far)!
Most of the buyers guides and owners state the two things that are a nightmare on this car are the cooling system and electrical system. Thankfully I've done a lot of preventative and repair work to get the cooling working fine and never had a serious issue.
I've also been in the fortunate situation of having no electrical issues, until two weeks ago when the Bong Of Dread sounded on the MID.
Thankfully it turned out the front indicator light had gone out. As there had been monsoonical weather there was an outside chance the wiring was damaged, and naturally being a BMW part the FTP is ridiculously priced at around £450. Happily it was just a blown bulb.
I celebrated this victory by using it extensively and it looked filthy:
Gave it a good wash today and it scrubs up nicely.
I've never posted a video, so here are two:
- Startup (its quite a bit louder in person)
- Idling/doing what it does best - wasting petrol (it had rained earlier and was -2c)
Also I think my work's office move (and resultant longer commute) is now more likely to happen, which will mean I'll be selling this in early 2024. Sad times but had an enjoyable 4 years (so far)!
Edited by salmanorguk on Sunday 17th December 19:50
E90_M3Ross said:
Such a lovely car. What do you anticipate getting for it?
Thanks - very kind of you 
Markets been very weird post COVID/cost of living so its hard to tell.
I've been told by my mechanic and a few of the E31 WhatsApp crew that it should be a high-£20s car (thanks to relatively low mileage, good maintenance, and high spec).
But with the current market I'd honestly be happy with mid-£20s.
Having said that, one sold this week for £22k! (It was two years newer but with slightly more miles and poorer spec than mine)
At least it wont be as bad as the CLK I owned, on which I lost a whopping 75% of what I originally paid
salmanorguk said:
That looks lovely - if it's any consolation prices have fallen (I think as much as £5k), so you're probably right back where you started!
(Apologies for the late reply - I didn't want to spam the forum with replies and no meaningful updates)
No problems at all! I seem to recall the Avus blue one fetched the princely sum of £7500 back in 2012! Good to see its still on the road but will regret selling it forever. Good luck with the sale of yours next year(Apologies for the late reply - I didn't want to spam the forum with replies and no meaningful updates)
Hi everyone – hope you’re all good. Been a few months so thought nows the time for an update.
The TL:DR version is that its still being used as a daily and I’ve had pain-free motoring so far *touch wood very quickly!*.
In fact it's been going so well, and with the need to sell it still on my mind, I’ve decided not to renew the warranty.
Since January 2024 the daily duties have crept up considerably, mainly as I had a cousin and his wife relocate here from New York. Cue many trips to DFS, B&Q, Ikea, Tesco, Aldi, etc all over London to get them settled. As their rental in un-furnished a lot of tat was needed to make a house a home, and the E31 has had a lot of Luggage Tetris played in it. For example (sadly no pics) they managed to spend close to £900 at Ikea on stuff (no sofas or beds) and fitting it all in the car was most amusing.
Other mundane stuff has included taking mum to her cancer treatment trips in it (one day spotted this lovely Supra – which to me seems much bigger in real life) and continued grocery shopping (met this nice E92, typically parked
).
I had a few long trips up north to my sisters (both near Nottingham) as one had a third child, and the other is hopefully due in June. Highlights of the trip being two lovely classic CSLs on the M6 Toll and a classic Vantage V8 on the M25 - all of whom gave a cheery wave.
I’ve also used it in the freak monsoonical weather London had in February (making sure to avoid standing water) and it hasn’t missed a beat.
Really the only annoying (but expected) thing has been the wildy varied MPG – upto 34mpg on motorways and as low as 9mpg stuck on the North Circular.
Last week it went in for its MOT. My yearly offerings to the God Of Speed were answered as it passed first time with no advisories yet again. Really pleased as it means in the 5 MOTs I’ve done, only one had an advisory and that was for worn rear tires (which were replaced soon after). Unfortunately only thought to take a pic after it passed, so no dangly bits image this time round.
Today I had an Inspection I service carried out at my garage in East London.
Amusingly last time I went there, they evidently cast their work net very wide, dabbling in Zafiras and E31 (see previous posts), but it seems in the time since they've honed in on E31s (or the labour rates have gone up!).
Pulled up to the garage and they were only working on an absolutely gorgeous Oxford Green 850CSi. Only around 1500 were made, 160 of which were RHD. It's 5.6 litres, 12 cylinders, manual, rear-wheel steering perfection.
Colour looked amazing, and thought it was black at first, only when you were about a metre away was the green apparent. Sort of looked like a very subtle Skyline Midnight Purple. The owner is apparently rich and ‘particular’ – for example he said he was “not being paid to advertise BMWs” so had both front and rear badges removed!
I keep banging on about the garage and I promise Im not getting a commission but they are really good. The CSi was actually sent to them direct by BMW themselves who couldn’t fix its issues.
Anyway my car had a simple service – it wasn’t due for another 2000 miles but it had been 13 months – and everything was within expectations. I also asked them to check for any fault codes and happily nothing came up.
Cruised back home with no issue and looking filthy. Hopefully more good times to come.
The TL:DR version is that its still being used as a daily and I’ve had pain-free motoring so far *touch wood very quickly!*.
In fact it's been going so well, and with the need to sell it still on my mind, I’ve decided not to renew the warranty.
Since January 2024 the daily duties have crept up considerably, mainly as I had a cousin and his wife relocate here from New York. Cue many trips to DFS, B&Q, Ikea, Tesco, Aldi, etc all over London to get them settled. As their rental in un-furnished a lot of tat was needed to make a house a home, and the E31 has had a lot of Luggage Tetris played in it. For example (sadly no pics) they managed to spend close to £900 at Ikea on stuff (no sofas or beds) and fitting it all in the car was most amusing.
Other mundane stuff has included taking mum to her cancer treatment trips in it (one day spotted this lovely Supra – which to me seems much bigger in real life) and continued grocery shopping (met this nice E92, typically parked
).I had a few long trips up north to my sisters (both near Nottingham) as one had a third child, and the other is hopefully due in June. Highlights of the trip being two lovely classic CSLs on the M6 Toll and a classic Vantage V8 on the M25 - all of whom gave a cheery wave.
I’ve also used it in the freak monsoonical weather London had in February (making sure to avoid standing water) and it hasn’t missed a beat.
Really the only annoying (but expected) thing has been the wildy varied MPG – upto 34mpg on motorways and as low as 9mpg stuck on the North Circular.
Last week it went in for its MOT. My yearly offerings to the God Of Speed were answered as it passed first time with no advisories yet again. Really pleased as it means in the 5 MOTs I’ve done, only one had an advisory and that was for worn rear tires (which were replaced soon after). Unfortunately only thought to take a pic after it passed, so no dangly bits image this time round.
Today I had an Inspection I service carried out at my garage in East London.
Amusingly last time I went there, they evidently cast their work net very wide, dabbling in Zafiras and E31 (see previous posts), but it seems in the time since they've honed in on E31s (or the labour rates have gone up!).
Pulled up to the garage and they were only working on an absolutely gorgeous Oxford Green 850CSi. Only around 1500 were made, 160 of which were RHD. It's 5.6 litres, 12 cylinders, manual, rear-wheel steering perfection.
Colour looked amazing, and thought it was black at first, only when you were about a metre away was the green apparent. Sort of looked like a very subtle Skyline Midnight Purple. The owner is apparently rich and ‘particular’ – for example he said he was “not being paid to advertise BMWs” so had both front and rear badges removed!
I keep banging on about the garage and I promise Im not getting a commission but they are really good. The CSi was actually sent to them direct by BMW themselves who couldn’t fix its issues.
Anyway my car had a simple service – it wasn’t due for another 2000 miles but it had been 13 months – and everything was within expectations. I also asked them to check for any fault codes and happily nothing came up.
Cruised back home with no issue and looking filthy. Hopefully more good times to come.
Nice read and congratulations on staying the course…..The e31 can certainly test your patience !!
My 850csi from a few years ago. I went on a similar journey fixing a myriad of niggles.
BTW your ‘stars’ allloys are handed and should always look like this..your fronts need swopping as front and rear should both face forward..
My 850csi from a few years ago. I went on a similar journey fixing a myriad of niggles.
BTW your ‘stars’ allloys are handed and should always look like this..your fronts need swopping as front and rear should both face forward..
Paddymcc said:
Love these they have aged very well, regret not buying one of these when they were cheap 
Further regret not buying the 850csi when I was buying an e34 from a guy that was emigrating too.
I think its a good looking design but there are better BMW designs out there. I guess compared to whats released now it automaticlaly becomes gorgeous!Further regret not buying the 850csi when I was buying an e34 from a guy that was emigrating too.
Also I still need to sell this so you could buy mine, which is relatively cheap compared to an 850CSi!
DKIE92 said:
Just came across this thread. Great read and lovely car.
Out of curiosity, what’s the name of the garage you use in East London? I’m not too far from Ilford so it would be nice to know another good garage in the area.
Also, what warranty company are you using? They seem pretty good.
Thanks very much.Out of curiosity, what’s the name of the garage you use in East London? I’m not too far from Ilford so it would be nice to know another good garage in the area.
Also, what warranty company are you using? They seem pretty good.
They guy is called Prit, and the garage is Bhogals Auto Spares Ltd, 746 Romford Rd, London E12 6BU. Really sound and knowledgable guy - has an 8 series himself, and has had numerous cars sent to him by BMW themselves.
Warranty was with Autoprotect Limited - one of the few options for cars of this age. The most they paid out was about 85% of the claim, and the least was about 40%.
hmg said:
Nice read and congratulations on staying the course…..The e31 can certainly test your patience !!
My 850csi from a few years ago. I went on a similar journey fixing a myriad of niggles.
BTW your ‘stars’ allloys are handed and should always look like this..your fronts need swopping as front and rear should both face forward..
Thank you for the kind words - yours looks fantastic. They really do test your patience and I've been told the CSi (apart from the engine) can be even more difficult. Thanks also on throwing stars heads up - Im just waiting to get the refurbed and will then sort it out.My 850csi from a few years ago. I went on a similar journey fixing a myriad of niggles.
BTW your ‘stars’ allloys are handed and should always look like this..your fronts need swopping as front and rear should both face forward..
d_a_n1979 said:
Still a fantastic looking car 
Thanks very much - appreciate it. I forgot to upload this image but its one of my favourites - a cheeky ass shot from the home of the aforementioned cousins:
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