97 BMW 840Ci Coupe

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These did not sell very well at the time, which means (inevitably) people tend to want them now. (See: Volkswagen Corrado)

I love the 8 series (for its oddness), but could never justify $13,000 on a 160,000 mile car. Usually one or two pop up a year and are more reasonable priced or have unusually low mileage (and therefor I can justify the price).

-I've owned a 5 BMWs, ranging from mid 1990s to as new as the 2005. I tend to like the pure drivers' cars and I gravitate towards the 90s -BMW seems to get a little softer with each new generation. (having said that, I am drooling at the new 3 series!)
 
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Ha, I know that dealership. Almost bought an STI from them.

Well Top Gear coincidentally just did a bit on the old 8-series versus the old CL series. While they agreed they're relative bargains for the performance and luxury, they proved how horrifically expensive they were to maintain and how unreliable they are.

Remember, that's a 15 year old German car. And I wouldn't say that the Germans were known for being reliable in that period of time.
 
I love the 8-series coupes...sweet car. Pretty rare.

You don't buy that car for practicality...that is a toy for those with $$$, and if I was rich, I'd probably buy it.
 
Neat. $13k isnt a lot, and if one did a lot of highway cruising, it might be a fun vehicle that is comfortable and sporty.

My 4 and 5 cyl gas and diesel Euro cars have been no less or more to keep than any other vehicle... But my impression is that the high-cylinder count cars do really jack up the maintenance cost proportionately...
 
I think you are better off finding a private owner.

They pop up a few times a year-

160k and 13 grand is not a bargain in my eyes.

It may take a little time, but it will be worth it to get some history with the owner -and again, you may bet lucky and find a low mileage one.
 
Thanks for the input. I was concerned about future maintenance and things like that. I've always wanted a luxury BMW but no way could afford the 50-70K price for a new one these days. Thought I may have found a gem. It looks good. Interior looked good. So, what I'm hearing is that these things are maintenance nightmares, huh? Not really a long term maintenance free car? Mechanical problems? Electrical? I surely don't want to get strapped down huge maintenance cost. Thanks again. I know totally nothing about these models.
 
Great cars, go for it.

I think BMW V8's from that vintage suffered from the usual cylinder liner problems. But at 160k I'd imagine that was long ago sorted.
 
i would check Ebay - sometimes reputable buyers/dealerships have 840s with lower mileage and lower prices..

One of the best looking coupes ever, IMO. The steering wheel design looks dated now, but otherwise, it's a timeless design.
 
Been researching and getting quite an education on Beemers. I was assuming that a Beemer at this age and being the flagship during that time would have been highly well engineered to the point that all the "bugs" would have been worked out by now. Find one that had been taken care off and serviced correctly, I'd found the deluxe luxury car with a timeless design, German engineered, and would be low maintenance. I said low, not maintenance free. But the more I dug around, this model is not the case. How butt-load of problems that may be forth coming. Guess I need to keep looking, but that design is so beautiful. It just bleeds sport, but with class and luxury.
 
Originally Posted By: Schmoe
Been researching and getting quite an education on Beemers. I was assuming that a Beemer at this age and being the flagship during that time would have been highly well engineered to the point that all the "bugs" would have been worked out by now. Find one that had been taken care off and serviced correctly, I'd found the deluxe luxury car with a timeless design, German engineered, and would be low maintenance. I said low, not maintenance free. But the more I dug around, this model is not the case. How butt-load of problems that may be forth coming. Guess I need to keep looking, but that design is so beautiful. It just bleeds sport, but with class and luxury.


It's not a "Beemer"
 
Originally Posted By: Spazdog


It's not a "Beemer"


I gave up long ago. No one seems to care anymore.

Beemer = 2 wheels
Bimmer = 4 wheels
 
Originally Posted By: Schmoe
Been researching and getting quite an education on Beemers. I was assuming that a Beemer at this age and being the flagship during that time would have been highly well engineered to the point that all the "bugs" would have been worked out by now. Find one that had been taken care off and serviced correctly, I'd found the deluxe luxury car with a timeless design, German engineered, and would be low maintenance. I said low, not maintenance free. But the more I dug around, this model is not the case. How butt-load of problems that may be forth coming. Guess I need to keep looking, but that design is so beautiful. It just bleeds sport, but with class and luxury.


Bleeding edge technology doesn't mean $19.99 oil change special upkeep costs. If that were the case Ferrari wouldn't sell a single car.

They are fantastic cars, engineered to a very high standard.

But that comes with a price, pay it and enjoy the car, or don't and drive a Camry.
 
Yeah it's a flagship car for BMW, expect high maintenance costs.

As these cars age the repairs can get expensive, especially if you're not a DIY guy.
 
One of my dad's friends has a 92 (I think) 850i. It's not his DD, but it's had very few problems since he's owned it. No idea how many miles it's got though.
 
Those were beautiful cars, but the price of entry is only a small piece of the price of ownership. I knew a couple guys with 850's back when they were new, they had a fair number of issues back then. This was around '90 - '91, they may have worked out some of the bugs.

The more mainstream models tend to be better reliability and maintenance wise, but they don't look like an 8 series.
 
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