840 4.4 gearbox...auto or step?

[Scho]

Hi there,

I've been looking into the 8 series recently, seems like there a quite a few 4.4 ci's around at very reasonable prices. however the auto box puts me off. i've driven a few auto's but not sporty models and never in anger!

at the risk of sounding clueless, i have a couple of Q's:

1: how does the 4.4 auto box actually work??? at what rev's does it change gear ect?

2: how does the steptronic box in the sport work?...is it just like using manual with no clutch??

3 :How do the two 4.4 8's compare? seems like there is a lot of 4.4 auto's in my budget (5k ish) and not so many 840 sports (with higher miles ect) tempted by the lower miles car so i can get one in better condition IF there is not much in it.

thanks in advance,

rick.

[wayneblackwell]

Rick,

The 8 is not a sports car, it's a GT for cruising, but to try to answer your questions,

1, The auto box work extremely well with very smooth gear changes, if you boot it then it will change gears at around 6k rpm, if you have it in Sport then it will change at a slightly higher rate.

2, Just a flick to the left and your in sport but then step up or down for different gears, it does make for a bit more involved drive but it has its limitations and will not change if the car thinks the revs will be to high, but it is a very good setup and you can have fun with it.

3, If your budget in around the 5k I would imagine you are looking at the 840ci, this model is not the sport and has the 4.0 ltr engine with the associated nikasil problems, don't let that put you off, if they have been well looked after they would normally be fine, but its something to just think about when choosing the one you want, an easy way to tell if it is the later sport model, it would have the later steptronic box and have the m-tec front and rear bumpers as well as the wing mirrors.

If I were you I would add more cash to the budget, these cars are very expensive to maintain and run and parts can be more expensive than the new 6 series, after all these cars are still a 60k plus car to maintain.

Hope this helps you a bit, I'm sure other people will come along shortly to add more.

[Scho]

cheers for the info, very helpful.

seen quite a few 100k ish 4.4 auto's in budget, i did come across a sport here for 5k:

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...

but, if you're right about all sports having m mirrors etc it must be a listing mistake :-(

anyone else got anything to add?

[wayneblackwell]

I've just done a search on autotrader with a max budget of 5k, there are no sport models on here, they're only the 4.0ltr CI models. As well as the mirrors, bumpers etc another easy way to tell if its a sport is by the seats, they will have a thigh support at the front of the seats which can be electronically adjusted in or out.
If you take a look here, you will see what I mean in regards to the different styling, seats & step box
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/452615.htm

Hope this helps.