Finding the right one

Wayne, what a dilema you have

my car has the rear blind, but in 4yrs of ownership, i've used it not once ask yourself just how important this is.

Headlight washers ,nice but not essential. & as for heated seats ,the way our climate is going seat cooling should be order of the day.

Just get get a car with good history/ good bodywork then with what you have saved get some F*** off wheels & suspension fitted. wiith all this time going by your'e missing out on the joys of 8 driving.

take the plunge & start smiling

Adding extras will be tricky and potentially very expensive.
If your heart is really set on extras you do indeed have a dilemma.
Even if you don't end up using them when you have them, not having them can leave a niggle of dissatisfaction - which can eat away at your enjoyment way beyond their actual worth/usefulness - crazy, but that's human psychology for you.

There are cars out there with lots of extras, I'm surprised there aren't more than there are, but if you're patient....
Or, as Steve says, you may decide that you can live without all the toys.
If you like to be anonymous on the road, buy a Merc, because if you buy an Eight, heads will turn, whether you want them to or not.

Wayne,

What is your colour of choice? What is your budget?

I spent ages looking for the right one, but there are usually loads on Autotrader. The later ones 97, 98, 99 have all the toys and most are from the Individual range colours.

However, I agree with the above post that the most important thing is the condition of the bodywork. Probaby, you'll need to look seriously at about 10 cars before finding one with good bodywork, that hasn't been resprayed or patched-up at sometime. Most have many dents and dings from other car doors or supermarket trolleys etc. Also, make sure that the body is in good condition underneath, too. Trapped mud and salty roads make for rusty bits, even though generally the cars are quite rust-resistant.

The heated seats are not that important and the heating pads beneath the leather make them somewhat harder too. Most of the late models have rear blinds and washers almost as standard.

look for a car with good bodywork and unmarked interior as the first priority, then the colour and lastly the gadgets. Of course Mileage and mechanical condition must also be good.

14k sohould get you a prime example.

The colours you mentioned are relatively abundant, except maybe for the calypso, which was more of an 850 colour, and the yellow.

I agree about the black interior, but there are some nice combinations of lotus-white and black or light-tan and black. A blck dashboard will be less refecting on the widscreen on bright days.

BTW: I found that even very dirty light-coloured leather, as long as it has no scuff-marks, where the dye has rubbed off (driver's bolster usually), can be restored to look and feel like new with a liberal application of BMW leather care lotion. Best applied on a hot day and left to soak in for a few hours (with doors and windows shut) while it penetrates and brings the dirt to the surface. Three applications is enough to soften the leather, clean it thoughoughly and remove any existing creases.

My one has the headlight washers, but no cruise control, manual steering column adjustment, no heated seats and no rear blind.

I love it - it's very simple - I don't want the rear blind because I want to see out the back (and how often do you carry rear passengers in an E31?), the heated seats are an irrelevance unless you park the car outside in winter (shame on you if so!), I don't ever change the steering position because I don't generally let others drive it (just my wife, sometimes) - the only thing I've ever missed is the cruise control, but even that's not a really big deal (would be if I lived in the US).

Do see if the car has the more tinted rear window, with graduated tint towards the top - that can help reduce rear glare. Far more important to be rolling on the right rims (Alpina, ACS or Hartge only, thanks!) and with uprated brakes...

If you MUST drive a Merc SL (really, just because of a lack of rear blinds???), make sure it's a 48-valve SL600 - the full 400bhp beastie, not its wimpy successor. Better yet, find yourself an SL73 AMG. There's at least one in London.

Or if you fancy a really nice and well-sorted late-model 840Ci Sport, make me an offer! I'm still unsure of whether to keep mine or not...

Wayne, It took me three months of looking before I found my car . Even looking at "rough" cars can be beneficial as you get to see similar types of problems and can identify the things that wear out etc .

Keep looking you'll find something ....eventually .....I was near to the point of looking at other makes/models...

Wayne - I'm also planning to go to Gaydon.
Wasn't sure at first, but was gently persuaded and hope to be there with my car on display.
Pop along if your still looking and decide which extras, if any, you really want to hold out for. I think mine's got everything except the "phone prep" (which would be pretty much redundant now anyway).
The only things I don't use and wouldn't miss are the heated seats (my wife wouldn't agree, but hey).
I'd have thought £14k would buy you a superb example - I regard mine as very good (but of course every owner's the same!) and spent some £3k less than your budget - even taking into account all the work I've done since buying it and the fact that prices have fallen.
Nobody buys one of these for objective reasons (do they?), it's very much a subjective choice and a very personal one at that. Use your head most definitely, falling for a lemon would very definitely spoil your day and empty your bank account - but ultimately - go with your heart!

The R129 SL look kind of classic and pre 1998 cars still have traditional MB quality (I had an end of run, 2001 and it's full of C-class rubbish parts). The 8 looks better from the front, as does the SL from the rear. (I think the wide lights on the 8's rear date it somewhat.) But the 8 drives a whole lot better than the SL and you don't get any scuttle shakes when powering out of bends. The SL is good for cruising and it's nice to be able to drop the hood once or twice a year. However, the 8-series is probably the better car, and much rarer. Still, both offer equal appeal and the 4-valve 5-litre V8 SLs are pretty good.

Just a reminder re Gaydon

If you're planning on showing your car in the Coupe section, then you must have tickets in advance & have a Coupe section pass

See ya there

.... so where does one get these tickets and passes, then?

Now where on earth do you think

The BMW car club ,as it is their show after all

Really ?