36k Miles And Cheap V12: 1996 BMW 850Ci
I’m not afraid of high mile vehicles, particularly if they are from a known breed that survives into the triple digits without costing the owner his lunch each year in maintenance. The BMW 850 fits in that category of expensive to own, but not Ferrari ridiculous, andthe idea of scoring a deal on a low mile V12 powered BMW is compelling..but you have to wonder if a low mile V12 that hasn’t been driven is scarier than a high mile 850ci…I dunno, but the car collecting hobby has turned into stamp collecting these days and this will probably be worth more than the current ask if you just kept it in your garage for a decade and drove it once a week. Find this 1996 BMW 850Ci offered for $17,000 in San Rafael, CA via craigslist.
From the seller:
1996 bmw 850ci
condition: excellent
cylinders: 12 cylinders
fuel: gas
odometer: 36636
paint color: green
title status: salvage
transmission: automatic
We are selling our 1996 BMW 850ci. You will never find ‘96 in the model with 36,636 miles on it!!!
Car was inherited from father , we are a family of 4 with young children and have no use for vehicle and hate to see this beauty sit around and not get the use it deserves. See the details below…..
1996 lowest production year
850 ci
V12
36,636 miles
All original- including paint
Original owner
OEM EDS replaced a couple years ago
Mechanically well taken care of
New batteries
Rebuildable salaved title(never in an accident)
Minor damage to drivers seat
Cassette tape from BMW
Original Motorola cell phone
Original tool kit and first aid kit from BMW
See a better way to drive a V12? tips@dailyturismo.com
Original owner… Rebuildable salaved [sic]title(never in an accident)
So the original owner had *something* happen to the car, the insurance company totaled it, and the original owner bought the car back from the insurance company.
I’d really like to know what the *something* was and what was done to remediate the *something*, and not answering that obvious question in the ad is really discouraging.
Also, I have twice been able to get my insurance company to give me a cash settlement and let me keep the car without going through the whole total, buyback, salvage title, and get the car inspected by the state thing, when the damage was mostly cosmetic.
Replacement Eds?
Poor old Ed, 20 years as riding mechanic and they replace you like that.
The salvage title and maintenance required to keep a v12 happy should run off most people.
Anyone ever owned one of these? 36,000 miles in 24 years is pretty good, considering they spent so much time on the side of the road (or in the garage), broken down. Horrible reliability.
Nice to look at, though. Front end always reminds me of the BMW M1 super car. Buy it as a piece of automotive artwork. To look at.
Just don’t expect to drive it a whole lot.
-Stan (…who had a friend with a 850ci, and was ready to roll it off a cliff…. would rather have driven it off a cliff… but the car never ran…)