Zitat von Omega;152833My impression is that he is not really a car enthusiast
My impression is that he is robbing a living.
We could accept this is a 'jolly' image of sorts - but even as a slightly weird kind of cartoon, and even as an E31 lover, for me this fails on every level. An undignified mess. He seems to have mixed it up with a 1 Series in his head.
Graham, it is no reflection on your wonderful 8 obviously -- but you specifically said 'opinions wanted'!
[FONT=proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif]It's democratic and she usually wins[/FONT]
Update: my wife, happily, insists our 8er days are not over, & she seems pretty confident and I'm not inclined to disagree.
Zitat von ENGL;152890wir auch : grin2:<br>
More fire, Thomas!
i love the colour
I like the 5 GT myself!
I like the way not a single crap was given about this other car I bought, (the unpopular subject of this thread).
Can I quickly add, in case it stimulates a tidal wave of responses, the F34 has a reassuringly familiar drag coefficient of... 0.29 
All we need concern ourselves with here though, is that an E31 looks (much) better and drives better and is generally much better than an F34. I still quite like it though.
Zitat von stevep840;95368Alpinas are for the more refined, my B10 was the very best car I've owned
No 151 of 151 B10 here:
Hey again G
The feeling I was getting when the search became more earnest was the kind of 'addiction' fuel that results in someone buying another 8 Series. A rising feeling of certainty mixed with exhilaration. I started to resist it, almost subconsciously - the 'obvious' candidate 8er was not apparent anyway - and then more consciously when I took a look in the 15k + bracket...the conversation I had with the part-time 8 dealer probably sealed my decision that right now wasn't going to work, and no point trying to force it.
I have left various email alerts active for the time being as I want to sample the market for a longer period, not just 1-2 months.
One thing has changed is, I've abandoned my very recent preference to buy/ run an E31 and use it again as a Daily Driver. Even if I did acquire another one, I probably should only do so with a view to using it in a more limited way. That means garage space etc, plus a slightly altered mindset to a future E31. While I was overjoyed to learn the news about ULEZ, I can't help feeling my pursuit of another E31 will re-start, & become more urgent if / when we move somewhere else, as my garage space is too useful as storage to easily consider repurposing it for a car again.
Other factors are at play and I am going to monitor the 8er market for some time yet even if my Daily Driver car problem has now been resolved.
Hi Graham
thanks for your reply which does make this thread slightly interesting.. previously it was just me droning on.
Re: posting times, this website is 2 hours ahead.. so when a post is timed at 3am, it is actually 1am. (this may have temporarily shifted last night due to clocks going forward)
First thing to say quickly is that while this is a public forum my words were more like thinking aloud. & not intended as a definitive statement of 'good' reasons, (or lack of reasons) to buy an E31. I speak here with very little authority, even if I'm clearly smitten by the E31.
Reading back my post it is clear 1-2 words or phrases are stated too strongly. For example, the word 'imminent' is clearly wrong - I meant 'possible' or even 'likely' (or somewhere in between) but 'imminent' just isn't right. Furthermore, the numbers I randomly used to illustrate my point - they are somewhat randomly chosen, there is no mythical "12k level" or 20k-level 8 Series.
What I mean by 'meaningful work' done.. relates to what the programme of upkeep has looked like over (say) last 10 years
Many E31 owners have maintained their cars faultlessly, and some lucky owners no doubt find their E31 carries on working flawlessly in some cases even without being fussed over unduly.
Was my general gist spurious? Well, I now feel that I should have used more careful language however IF we strip the numbers out of my post, really all I'm saying is: 1-2 of the cars in the higher price bracket had seemingly very little maintenance works carried out at all. Those are the cars I felt wary of during my recent search -ultimately I don't want to spend a higher sum and still be possibly looking at a required programme of Works needed.
I wasn't suggesting buying a tatty 10k car and spending 5-10k would magically create a good E31.
I was saying that IF i did buy now, there is a possibility I would select one in a lower price range, with the very high possibility further spending was necessary. I may try to avoid one which has the higher price tag but little documentary evidence of parts replaced etc.
The one thing I was *not* discussing (although maybe I should have, as it would have been my preferred route back into the fold) was the cherished collectors car such as one of those run by esteemed members of this forum.
I am aware there are no set rules. Mainly I was pointing out that the *current* available crop, from some quite indepth investigation on my part, was not yielding something which struck the correct balance (for me) between price > upkeep.
There are expensive E31 out there which I'm not sure earn that higher pricetag, but arguably they do, if the cosmetics are very good. To be clear I am NOT suggesting E31s are a ticking timebomb, personal experience taught me that isn't the case, but 7-8 more years have passed in the timeline so I think the service record of a vehicle becomes ever more important, if one is to source the right car at a fair price. Whether I'm able to afford to buy in - In short I felt I wasn't at present but I concede willingly my post was somewhat loosely worded.
8er.org/forum/index.php?attachment/46265/
Or I could trade in the 328 - it already seems a little tame?
PS Frameless windows
They aren't nearly as fantastic as the E31 windows obviously
Actually I tell a lie, the 6 Series Grand Coupe is the ideal pretend 8er, seems to me.
My 3er isn't far off that however & since the early 90s I never found any 3 Series I desired. They were always too small.
If anyone has any experience about whether the new 8-Series is the Truly Ideal Pretend E31, feel free to weigh in here, as the thread topic is partly now: Cars that might make up for a lost E31 that you still miss.
I am fighting the urge to join a 3 Series forum (the UK ones aren't great & the American-biased ones, are friendly but I can't relate much, I'm an old hippy) sooooooo
Just in case anyone wants to press me urgently sometime for the full low-down about this strangely appealing marque - let me know and I will prattle on happily here, more likely. Sandwich this is the ideal pretend 8er imvho
So to me, with slightly fading memories now admittedly but an instinctive feel for what my yellow 8er felt like to drive -- this piddly 2.0 petrol engine silently delivers something really quite similar feeling, in power terms, to my 4.4 V8.
My other plan is to hold out properly for the 5.7.
Hello 8ers
I hope you are all well. I've been making noises about getting back into an E31 but (as I think Reinhard might have predicted - in fact you could say he rather influenced my thinking) this has been decided against. Sad face. 
Reasoning: As we all know, we're looking at 14-15k GBP upwards to buy in, with a likely 5-10k restore bill soon after. With the best will that is a strong investment and I'm not quite in that league.
Quite a few I checked closely in the 20-25k range all had imminent likely issues. Notably, one at 19.99k I spoke at length with the vendor.. seemed to be a part time 8er dealer as he talked of selling quite a few E31s before. He seemed interested to hear my (honest) thoughts about his car, so I compared it unfavourably with one which was up at (I think) 12k which at least had some detailed repairs work listed with dates etc. His has very little meaningful work done in 15 years but was marketed at a high price because (as is the way with E31) cosmetically in the photos it looked great.
So, I have searched around a little and found a long wheelbase 3 Series Mutant-Coupe (I called it a 'luxury hearse') but the Auto gearbox is something special, the backseat passengers enjoy limo-level legroom and very practical for work boxes etc too ...a huge boot.
Basically I am brazenly, here, saying that I really like this 328i GT ...i'm urging Sandwich to dump the Volvo. and I don't mind what many BMW drivers /people etc say about it!
Please forgive the non-E31 photos on just 1 occasion here and my dramatic suggestion this car is a worthy modern BMW, but I like bigger cars and always have done.
happy motoring again 
I know this will be doubted but the eventual plan is to get another yellow 8er, come what may. I'll pay 10k for a fixer-upper and spend another 10k on it, I'm just not ready yet (quite.)
Cheers... and please holler if you see any yellow 8ers at a fair price..or any unusual colours..thanks
Look aside if you hate the GT 3 series, like I seen some crazy people talking.
8er.org/forum/index.php?attachment/46262/
8er.org/forum/index.php?attachment/46263/
Those vents
Zitat von Nifty50;152336It is great that ex 8ers still frequent this forum
The European sections of this site are the best! I often spend quite some time catching up on all manner of topics. not always just the cars.
ps: Forgot to ask, are those wheels are on your 8 yes?
Hi Graham & thanks for the reply. I'm really glad you're well.
A little surprisingly my wife is very receptive to the idea of another 8. I've mulled over other options. It has been a long time since I enjoyed driving around.
I saw one on Car & Classic that I really was tempted by, but it had sold. I've noticed I'm a maximalist when it comes to 8s these days, i mean colour/ interior wise I tend to favour bolder choices. At this moment I'm really hoping something comes up which might test the collective willpower. As time passed these last few years obviously I doubted more & more if a chance of a return will arise. Your comments are noted about your 8er and while I know how you feel, & wouldn't feel right making an approach I undoubtedly would be interested in such a beauty.
Personally speaking I feel more balanced these days and ready for whatever demands owning another 8 would make on me. It is a possibility but feels a bit odd even acknowledging the fact. I have a feeling it will happen I'm just not sure if it'll be this cycle or 1-2 years hence.
Having thoughts about living outside London at which time, an 8er would be a no-brainer.
thanks for reply and see you around i hope!!
