Hello, new guy here...

Hello folks.
Today I put a deposit on a 840ci sport, 1997, 74k miles.
So I thought I'd say hi.
I'll hopefully be picking it up this weekend.

I have been trying to sell my Alfa Romeo Brera for a while now and a deal has finally been organised. I've been looking at Boxsters mostly, along with lots of other interesting options. I was even looking for a good Z4 but nothing came up that was as nice as my previous Z4.

The 8 series was a car I kept looking at, reading forums like this, looking at adds for cars for sale 200 miles away. Thinking most would be sheds that needs thousands spending on them.
Well, whilst out and about, yesterday I rang about an add that was not far off my route home. I'd failed to find a good Boxster whilst on my travels so I thought why not have a look at the 840.

The car supposedly belongs to some rich guy who didn't want to trade it in at BMW. I wasn't totally convinced by this over the phone, but the car seems to confirm it.
Paint in excellent condition apart from the sunroof having a spot of rust on the back edge (something to worry about?) Interior very nice aswell, the car has obviously been taken care of.
Lots of BMW dealer reciepts, with suspension, cat, tyres, all replaced in the last couple of years and each year it's done around 4k miles between main dealer services.
I took it for a quick drive, it seemed nice and tight, not like a 13 year old car at all. Only the brakes were juddering, probably from standing for a while.
The brakes are getting sorted, as is the sunroof. So it should be mint when ready.

With the sale of my car, I'll have a few k left over after buying the 840, ready for those potential bills. But seeing the history and condition of the car, it should be relativly trouble free for a while.

It's a good job I'm moving, instead of 40 miles each way to work, it will be more like 2 miles So I'll still be spending a lot less on fuel that I have been.
I can actually see my office across the river from my new flat... Luckily the flat has underground parking, I don't like leaving my cars outside.

As for myself, well I'm a youngster, 27 and obviously a bit of a petrol head. Although I often act like an old man and look a lot younger than 27. I've always recieved odd looks when getting out of my Z4 and Brera, god knows what people will think when I get out of the 840

I'll probably take a sunday drive to the parents house for a good feed and to give the car a run out. I'll still be doing a quarter of my current weekly milage.

Are the two batterys in the boot?

What is the recommended oil for the later 4.4 engine?
Thank god we don't have the Irish road tax system, it sounds crippling. Here it should fall under the old pricing, just £190 a year.

I saw an old post about fitting an original style cd headunit, replacing the tape one. Can these still be bought for a reasonable price? Is it a simple swap?
I could go down the route of a modern headunit, but I'd rather keep the car looking original. If I did go modern, I'd probably go for a double din satnav unit, if the other things could be rearranged.

I've just had a call from the guy selling the car. Aparently the brake juddering was something to do with the steering control arm, so a replacement is on order Seems odd since it felt so regular, but my mechanical knowledge is basic and theoretical more than practicle. Atleast it's not costing me anything and the problem will be solved before the sale.

Thanks, I think I'll stick with the cd changer in the boot, as long as it doesn't jam like my old Z4's one

I still haven't picked up the 8, the buyer of my Brera decided to dissapear and leave me up "the creek"
I have a couple of interested buyers though and hope to sort something in the next few days. Then I can go pickup the 8

Well it took a little longer to get my old car sold and I've spent a bit more than I planned on the 8 series, but it's all just about sorted now.

I've had it about 3 weeks and in that time I've had it serviced by BMW Fawdingtons. The oil service was suprisingly reasonable. But it did need a new rear spring, so I replaced both to be safe. Also had the tracking done since it didn't feel right at motorway speeds, too much toe out making the car too eager to change lanes and the steering wasn't quite straight.

The guy I bought it off, had had a couple of the front suspension parts replaced before I bought it and obviously not had the geometry realigned.

It's also had a new set of tyres.
Just ordered some wiper blades and a couple of other small items from bmminiparts.com

Expensive but it's given me piece of mind that the cars been looked over and should be good for a while now. Apart from maybe a couple of new batteries in the near future...

So far I'm loving the car, great to cruise around in and great to mash the throttle for some V8 goodness away from the traffic lights
I just love how solid it feels. I can see it being a keeper, I'll just have to have a two or three car garage(I'd love another Z4 parked next to the 8, then probably something sensible too)

It needs a wash (I spent another £50 on cleaning stuff last week) but here are the pics.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone
Still loving the car, even with the mpg in the low teens...

I'm suprised no ones pointed out the backwards throwing stars yet
I think it's the fronts that are on the wrong sides, but with directional tyres on, it would be a fuss to change them over.

Anyone know where I can get a good price on a pair of quality batteries? Most cheap online places seem to only sell no name rubbish and I'm sure Halfords prices can be beaten.

Ah, I though I'd posted this pic...



and one more for good measure



Thats the parents house in the background, unfortunatly I don't think I'll be able to use thier garage for working on or storing this car, the driveway you can just about see has quite a crest at the top. An S-Type Jag can only just get over it with a little scraping, the 8 seems a similar length but probably a touch lower
I'll probably visit them tomorrow so my father can see the 8 for the first time. Maybe I'll persuade him to get one instead of a new style XK that he's been looking at for years. Although I have got him half interested in a 6.