Beiträge von IMBATMAN

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. To Arnie's observation, I think I had made the decision by the time I finished my post, but it wasn't until I laid the options out on paper (computer screen) and saw the logic behind each that my choice became obvious.

Unfortunately I will not be able to part the car out myself, as my current living situation only allows for one car per person, so I have nowhere to store the BMW long-term in order to do so. I'm going to keep it at my parent's house short-term until I find a buyer to salvage, but I don't want to impose upon their space for long.

Does anyone have recommendations for how I should find a buyer to part out the car? Should I try private buyers or just call around to different salvage yards?

To address the point about insurance - I also had a motorcycle right out of college and went through a very stupid "speed racer" period. My rates for comprehensive were astronomical, so I had to ensure my car as liability-only to afford keeping it. This was a powerful lesson. My rates are now returning to normal and I have comprehensive on the Xterra. Unfortunately I won't be able to make a claim with the BMW, as the deer did not have liability also.

While I truly hate to see my 8 series go, I'm glad to see agreement from those who love the 8 just as much as I do. I have too many important priorities in my life to assume more debt to own a spare luxury car. While it sounds ludicrous to even consider that option, I guess I just had difficulty putting The 8 to rest in my mind. My lovely girlfriend, my new puppy, and my future will be better for the wise decision to cut my losses. Owning this car has been a wonderful, though often trying, experience. I loved the sleek lines of my 8 and the feeling that I had a unique place on the road. So many people showed interest in the car while I drove around town, and many had never seen or heard of the 8. The other day I parked my new Xterra at the Petsmart and as I walked in, I passed 2 Xterras in the same parking row! This never happened with the 8, in fact, every time i passed another owner (maybe 4 times over 4 years), we pulled over to talk all things 8. I wish I'd taken more pictures... but I will never lose the memories I had owning this beautiful machine, which was my dream car from a young age.

Please let me know if you have any advice on selling my 8 to someone who would appreciate it for the value it still holds (if only in parts). I will be sure to stay a member of the club, as this has been a great experience. Also let me know if you have any additional advice or words of encouragement in this situation, it certainly helped to read your responses.

Cheers and keep the 8 alive!
Bill

Hello 8ers,
This may be a little long-winded, but I am trying to make a very difficult decision and I’d really appreciate any advice you could give me, whether based on experience or just intuition.
I recently hit a deer which did some serious damage to the front end of my 1997 BMW 840ci (136K miles). I’m now trying to figure out what to do with the car.
I estimate that the damage from the deer will cost about $5K to fix (new hood, passenger side headlight assembly, passenger side FTP light, nose cone, grills, and paint). In addition to these costs, I will need to replace the exhaust system before next April, which I think will cost around $2K if done economically. If all that were done, the car would still have a few cosmetic issues to make it “right”, as I have a dent on the passenger door and a dent on one of the front fenders which will cost about $1700 total to get fixed. Then my headliner is sagging and that’d be about $800 to have replaced.
So to summarize, in order to get it through emissions and safety inspection within the next year, I’d be looking at around $7k. The cosmetic stuff could wait, but to make the car “right” again, it’d be a total investment of about $9500.
I needed a car in the meantime, so I bought a 2008 Nissan Xterra through a loan. I am now torn with what to do with the BMW.
I am 26 years old and I’m already stretched fairly thin from a budget perspective, and I would need another loan to fix the BMW. I also have a serious girlfriend and I I’ll be needing money to take care of our relationship the way I should.
I am considering the following options and related concerns:
1) Take out a loan and fix the car for myself to keep:
a. Would the car be a profitable investment 15 years down the line?
2) Take out a loan and fix the car to sell it:
a. To sell the car at a good price, I’d likely need to get all the issues noted above fixed. After putting in $9500, would it be possible to turn any kind of profit in today’s market? Would it be worth the hassle?
3) Sell the car to a salvage yard or a private buyer who wants the parts:
a. What would be the best venue to sell the car? Is anyone interested in a parts car located in Virginia, USA?
b. How much could I expect to get for the car with this amount of damage? The engine, transmission, electronics, and most of the body panels are solid…
Again, I know this is a lot to bite off, but if you’d like to provide any advice, I am all ears. The more I write about my situation, the more I realize it is probably not economically wise for me to keep the car. Emotionally I am very attached though, as this was my dream car growing up and the first car I purchased for myself.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration,
Bill Hatcher

Car is a 1997 840ci

Howdy all,

My car's previous owner welded a flowmaster cat-back exhaust system to my car some years ago. I was happy with the system until yesterday. I came out to my car and one of my mufflers was hanging at a precarious angle. Upon further inspection, the system has been rusting badly at the weld points, and will need to be replaced. It just so happens that my catalytic converters are also completely dead, so I'd like to replace these as well (due to the emissions nazis here in the US).

Does anyone have advice regarding catback exhaust systems? Sources? Brands? prices? Has anyone gone through a replacement themselves?

I'm going to do some googling to see what I find, but any input for this wise bunch is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Bill

Quite a well-maintained engine bay!

I spoke with my mechanic and he has experienced issues installing the wear sensors on aftermarket brake pads; so he recommended I go with BMW parts to avoid the risk of forever getting dinged by a 'brake lining' warning light. I took his advice, $300 in parts for front and rear with sensors.

This is after last week's $1500 - my driver side door handle stopped working and needed replacement (due to the cheap pop metal issue), and I had to get the passenger seat airbag sensor replaced to get the SRS light to go away (quite a complex nervous system buried in your seat).

So now I need to square away one final issue, my ABS and Traction Control are currently out. I had the ABS pump switch replaced, as the connection appeared to be corroded/leaking; but alas, this didnt solve the problem. I suppose the problem is either related to wheel sensors or the pump; where to start?

Oh, I also need new front tires. These things just don't stop!

Awesome; thanks for the feedback! I'll check these out, need to put them on soon!

P.S.
My car is a 97' 840ci.

Hi Guys,

I've been a member and reader for the past few years, but don't post as much as I should. Thanks to everyone for the great input on the 8.

I need to replace my brake pads, and wanted to know - does anyone have suggestions regarding good brands/models? Currently, my only frame of reference on quality is the price I find on the internet. I don't mind spending more, but I don't want to get tricked into buying poor brakes just because the price was high. Any thoughts?

Thank you,
Bill
Northern Virginia (USA)

Zitat von TerryY;48520

Some of the keys have slightly too large of head to use to push the mechanical open button up as far as it needs to go.

Try turning the key and then removing it and pushing the button up with a finger.

This solved the problem for me!! Thanks so much!! $$ in my pocket and stress off the mind.

How Silly that the keys would be designed too large!!

That is very kind of you Argonaut... I especially like that you will "clean it up"..... as if it hasn't been getting daily use I love the attitude on this forum.

I have a 3 year old nephew and it is really fun to see him take on a new "obsession". This past weekend it was a ferrari enzo remote control car I gave him (originally purchased for myself, similarly accompanied by severe introspection regarding my adulthood).... Im sure tomorrow it will be something completely different! Being a parent must get damned expensive.....

Hey guys,

I had an interesting experience with my 8 yesterday. My horn had been "dying" and making some rather amusing noises lately. I pressed the horn yesterday, and rather than getting a noise, a "F/ Fog light failure" OBC reading came up. Got out of the car.. . fog lights aren't working! The failure occured just as I pressed the horn (OBC chime of death confirmed this). So my horn is dead and my fog lights are out....

A likely related issue: Earlier that day my SRS light came on, this has never happened before, may or may not have been after I pressed the horn, I didnt notice the light until after it was lit.

Please help!! My car's dash is lighting up like a Christmas tree! Any ideas on whether these issues are related? How to fix any/all of these issues?

My car chimes at me on every entry and exit, I can't help but think she is in pain....

Cheers! (I don't get to use that enough in the states) It seems like there are a lot of new/prospective 8 series owners out there lately.... Congratulations to you. As stated above, there is not a better place on the web to come with your passion for the 8. I don't post often, but I have read much of the archive and seen innards of my car that would not have been possible without it...

Thanks to everyone who keeps this site alive. Long live the 8!

Lloyd- I haven't called them yet. Right now the 8 is my daily driver but I am going to buy a cheap commuter car soon and I wanted to find a nice cover for the 8. I will likely be purchasing the cover in a month or so.

Well I think I took out a few birds with one stone.... and the wobble seems to be gone for now (knock on wood).

The outer edge of my front tires was very worn, the inner edge was almost like new. My front throwing star rims were also on backwards and I had been meaning to change them, but the tires needed to be reversed and re-balanced because of rain tread. So I had the rims swapped, tires reversed and re-balanced. Now I have plenty of tread on the outside edge (where I apparently need it), the wobble appears to be gone, and my throwing stars are pointed the right direction. Ahhhh..... satisfaction.....

I am going to order camber plates from phoenix motorsports as I don't want my next set of tires to experience the same uneven wear, and I hear the handling is amazing Gerry at Phoneix motorsports has been very responsive and seems like a great guy. Has a beauty of an 850CSi as well.

Great, thanks Goose. I think I will go with the lightweight cover as that is what you have pictured and it looks spot on... I love the way the muscular fenders stand out through the cover. Thanks again for your replies.

Sprucegoose-

Thanks so much for the information, I went to the website and noticed there is an option for a custom lightweight outdoor cover, but not for custom heavy duty. Did you buy the lightweight version? If so, what qualities make it "lightweight"?

I want a cover that makes me feel like the car is garaged, because I currently lack that capacity. Almost makes me wonder if I should have custom lightweight, or standard heavy....

Careful with those pictures.... I thought this was a family site

I am curious to know where you found that car cover, looks like a perfect fit, and I think my beauty has similar proportions to yours....

Sama-

Please keep me posted if your mechanic finds the problem. I saw all of your contributions to TTony's threads so I have no doubt you;ll figure this one out! Have a great one!

Thanks a lot schnitz,

I saw the other post but thought I would describe my particular symptoms (under braking, wheel straight). It seems to be getting worse so I will be getting it checked out soon. Any other suggestions/confirmations are greatly appreciated. Thanks again to everyone for your help.