Bargain V12: 1991 BMW 850i E31
When BMW launched the E31 8 Series in 1990, the 850i was less a grand tourer and more a rolling engineering demonstration of dominance. Its 5.0 liter M70 V12 fused two inline sixes on a common crank, complete with dual ECUs, dual mass airflow sensors, dual throttles, and a drive by wire system that was years ahead of most competitors. Add a multi link rear suspension, electronic damping control, pop up headlights, and one of the most complex wiring harnesses of its era, and you get a flagship coupe that showcased BMW’s technical ambition at full stretch. Find this 1991 BMW 850i offered for $8500 in Thousand Oaks, CA via facetwelve whitebook.
From the seller:
1991 BMW 850i
$8,500
Listed 17 hours ago in Thousand Oaks, CA
About this vehicle
Driven 200,000 miles
Automatic transmission
Exterior color: White · Interior color: Grey
Fuel type: Gasoline
Very good condition
Clean title
This vehicle has no significant damage or problems.Seller’s description
5 litre v12 engine Performance chipped, Alpina 20″wheels, coilovers, $800 vintage Nardi rosewood steering wheel, Comes with original set of 16″ BBS wheels 5 of them and new Falkin tires. recent all 4 wheel alignment plus new tires, rebuilt power steering pump complete flush with new pentosin 11s fluid. I have stack of service work receipts to look at. and lots of recent service work done on car. runs excellent drives like a sports car.
See a better way to drive something white? tips@dailyturismo.com
Man, a bargain compared to Jag rebuilt V12 in-crate sitting on my local CL at the moment for $7500.
I remember a Road and Track feature years ago comparing one of these with a V12 Jag and the Merc SL600. Reliability, as a comparative factor, was not something they could evaluate with any kind of authority. The 850 was their top pick.
850’s were legendary for their ability to become paperweights. They had so many reliability issues most had many, many owners…each would discover how unreliable a car it was, and then pass it on to another hapless schmuck.
This is the very first 850 I’ve ever seen with 200,000 miles on it. Not kidding. Look online. This car is 35 years old…at least half of those listed for sale have about 65K miles on them.
That’s less than 2,000 miles a YEAR.
Hey. Wait a minute. Maybe they moved the odometer UP on this one… just to trick people into thinking it ran well?
Stan (who can’t help over-thinking these things…)
A 200,000 mile BMW is a bomb waiting to go off.
ducandy… given that 99% of all 850s NEVER come close to 200K miles, I would argue that what we have here is the equivalent of a cure for cancer.
Might be worth looking into.
More of a need for BMW’s forensic team to determine what, indeed, went RIGHT with this car.
Maybe if they figured it out, they’d have answers for all of their other problems?
Or maybe they’d be on track to have more of these, but out on roads, instead of in a laboratory:
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DQ9vMq1Cqq0/
-Stan (who can’t help but feel a 200,000 mile 850 is one of the most amazing automotive unicorns on planet earth)