Discussion
If you have the money, the 850CSi is a fantastic car. The 840 is as well but get a later one with the 4.4 V8 and steptronic gearbox which is far better than the earlier slushmatic 'box.
There's some talk about the V12 being problematic - that's not been my experience, I've owned my 850Ci 5.4 V12 for over 5 years now and it's never let me down. I do recommend preventative maintenance and get yourself informed before buying - definitely make sure you familiarise yourself with a buyer's guide before you view a car. There are a number of problem areas, most can be easily fixed but there are enough decent cars out there so you should be able to find a good one.
Having said that, the CSi is a fairly rare beast, there were only 160 imported into the UK so finding a good one at the right price might take a while. If you have a look at www.8er.org there's a CSi for sale being discussed right now.
bear in mind it's a big GT car, not a sports car. There are many things you can do to tighten up the handling and improve the power but the car weighs two tonnes, it's never going to be that agile. If you regularly drive long distance you will love it, the 8 series was built to cross continents and it does that suprememly well, very relaxed, to drive a long distance, reasonable fuel economy (provided you don't boot it that much). Not much use for more than two people though, my two kids used to sit in the back happily enough but now they can't fit, and as for adults in the back? Well Douglas Bader would've been alright but otherwise there's not much leg room.
There's some talk about the V12 being problematic - that's not been my experience, I've owned my 850Ci 5.4 V12 for over 5 years now and it's never let me down. I do recommend preventative maintenance and get yourself informed before buying - definitely make sure you familiarise yourself with a buyer's guide before you view a car. There are a number of problem areas, most can be easily fixed but there are enough decent cars out there so you should be able to find a good one.
Having said that, the CSi is a fairly rare beast, there were only 160 imported into the UK so finding a good one at the right price might take a while. If you have a look at www.8er.org there's a CSi for sale being discussed right now.
bear in mind it's a big GT car, not a sports car. There are many things you can do to tighten up the handling and improve the power but the car weighs two tonnes, it's never going to be that agile. If you regularly drive long distance you will love it, the 8 series was built to cross continents and it does that suprememly well, very relaxed, to drive a long distance, reasonable fuel economy (provided you don't boot it that much). Not much use for more than two people though, my two kids used to sit in the back happily enough but now they can't fit, and as for adults in the back? Well Douglas Bader would've been alright but otherwise there's not much leg room.
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