What have I just done??

[Palmball]

5 weeks after buying this new(ish) M6 to replace my SLS, I've just done a deal to swap it.....for a 'new' new M6! My current car....

Now, I've been really very impressed with the M6, far more so than I expected to be and after a few weeks, I've definitely bonded with it more than I did my SLS (the lack of faults helps!). The performance is unhinged, being as fast as anything I've had (if not more) in a much bigger package. The drivetrain (and gearbox aspect in particular) is stonkingly good and the interior is simply the nicest driving environment of all the cars I've had - a very modern, interesting design and NO rattles It's so good that I've been eyeing up an M6 with the new Competition Package (not yet launched, this has a new steering rack, bushes, wheels and suspension and it promises to 'fix' one of the few aspects of the car that I don't rate, namely the artificial steering feel) and price is really the only barrier.

So, when my local dealer called me a couple of weeks ago to see if I'd attend a 'special discount' event, I cheekily said that I'd only be interested if they could offer 20%+ off an new M6. Knowing what a waste of time these 'special events' can be, I didn't expect much but after many back and forth conversations, they ended up offering £22k discount plus interest free PCP (worth around another £10k in saved interest). BMW are advertising a current offer of interest free PCP and around £9.5k discount - I thought I did well to double this!

The final price actually makes the brand new M6 a cheaper overall proposition than my current ex-demo car :bannana: This is despite the new one being much better spec'd with Competition Pack (which in addition to the steering/suspension upgrades, also has a higher output than the standard car, much like the Plus versions of AMG's...not that it needs more power in the slightest ), Carbon Ceramic brakes and B&O audio (which is thankfully much better than the same branded audio in the SLS...I don't want to go there again!). None of this spec exists on my current car but I'm under no illusion that this discount barely counters the hefty depreciation that these M5/6's are hit with but it's still a record deal for me!

Anyway, this thread is less about the M6 and more about what I'm doing right now. I find myself in unfamiliar territory as I embark on the purchase of....wait for it......an OLD car! Part of the new deal means my current M6 has go in a couple of weeks and the new one doesn't arrive until September

So, thats two months where I need something else. Where most people would do something sensible like rent a small car, use public transport or buy something cheap, reliable and, well, mainstream.....thats just not my style

I did consider this, having always craved the idea of one.

Two and a half grands worth of very rare Citroen XM 24v, which Dieselman can probably relate to and knows how much I like these! I know, most people find this quite bizarre but it's more of a nostalgia thing for me as my parents always had Citroens (including a couple of XM's) and the Series-1 24v was always the pinnacle.

Two things stopped me:

1. Despite me believing that these rare Series-1 24-valvers are in demand, two of the few cars that remain on the road in the UK are on eBay and haven't shifted in months.

2. Was the other car I was looking at....


....and with that said, I am wondering what the hell I've just done!?!?

Well, what I do know is that I've just won this on eBay

I always wanted one of these when I was younger and, as I'm not one to have more than one car at time, there's probably few other occasions that I'll have the opportunity to own one before they become too old for my liking.

I've not even seen it but the description makes it sound like a fantastic example....indeed, one of the best if (a big IF) it turns out to be as described.

It's an 850i (so my first V12, although at 300bhp it's barely more powerful than our E350CDi ), it's done 70k miles and the seller claims it has an unmarked body and an interior described as a 'time warp' and 'like it's just like it's rolled off the production line in 1991'. The seller has had it for the last 14 years (being just the third owner in it's 22 year history), he claims to have every receipt since it was new (including a full BMW history), it's just been serviced by BMW, it's got a new MOT and it's had some of the known 8-series problems sorted. Sound good so far?

Honestly, it looks like a perfect example and whilst 8-series prices range from about £3k to £16k, I 'won' this for just £5,999 (he car was concurrently advertised on Pistonheads for £6995) which is significantly less than other similar mileage cars, none of which claim to be in as 'perfect' condition (this car really was 'sold' on it's condition, which can't be said for most others). In fact, 840's and 850's at this price all look kind of ropey. The only negative aspect I can currently see is that, being a 1991 car, it's an early example (you can buy newer examples for similar money, even if the condition isn't promised to be as good).

Obviously I've not seen the car so this is all conditional of it being as described when I collect it. It's HPI'd fine (although that doesn't say a lot) but the key thing for me is how easy it'll be to sell in a couple of months. In this respect, I'm hopeful - there was a huge amount of interest throughout the week it was advertised, with 3-4 different bidders active right to the end (indeed, I was outbid with 10 seconds to go so I only just won it!). OK, these could be fake bids to artificially increase the price but with 27 bids from 13 different bidders, this is unlikely. If I can sell it with no more of a loss than it'd cost me to rent a car (around £800), then I'll be delighted!

It could end up being a costly mistake or it could end up being a good bit of retro fun....time will tell

 

[aquanaut]

Congrats on the deal and new car...flippin' heck you don't half go through the motors! lol!

 

[Dieselman]

I did consider this, having always craved the idea of one.

Two and a half grands worth of very rare Citroen XM 24v, which Dieselman can probably relate to and knows how much I like these! I know, most people find this quite bizarre but it's more of a nostalgia thing for me as my parents always had Citroens (including a couple of XM's) and the Series-1 24v was always the pinnacle.

Two things stopped me:

1. Despite me believing that these rare Series-1 24-valvers are in demand, two of the few cars that remain on the road in the UK are on eBay and haven't shifted in months.

That 850 should be a sound car and they are interesting.

The green XM has changed hands a few times and was then advertised for too much at £3750, so stuck, but it is a sound car.

The red one is another story and can only be considered a project car. I offered on it and the seller wants too much, but has now come down £500, but still too much for the amount of work involved.

Interestingly, both have been owned by the same family, the red one from new, the green one latterly.

 

[Palfrem]

What news on the 8 series yet please?

 

[Palmball]

Well, what a disaster (and eventual success) last weekend was!

I ended up not buying the 850i and you cannot imagine my disappointment when I saw just how badly advertised it was.

The seller totally failed to mention key things that were wrong. For instance, some functions of the electric seats didn't work (quite critical if you want to sit comfortably wouldn't you say?) but even more importantly, the windows didn't work properly And by that I mean they wouldn't open/close slightly when you opened the door so the only way to close the door without smashing the glass into the body was to open them yourself, however closing them was somewhat difficult if you're outside the car (where you could only properly close it by using the global close function). It was a nice day when I turned up so the seller had left all the windows open, probably in the hope that I wouldn't check them. He said it should easily be reset but couldn't do it whilst I was there and in any case, if it was so easy why didn't he do this beforehand?

Then there was the condition which looked fabulous at 10 yards, but decidedly average close up. It was lazily prepared and quite obviously a very neglected car with other smaller faults like the engine cover being loose (why not fix it in place before I get there?) and visible overspray. The final nail in the coffin was the sellers statement, mentioned in capitals in the advert claiming it had 'NO RUST'. Utter tosh....there were bubbles on both front wheel arches and on the leading edge of the bonnet, and there was visible rust on the sills and around the sunroof....so that statement was a blatant lie.

I was furious as I'd wasted half a day going to Rochdale to pick up what should have been an 'immaculate' car. The seller tried to claim I'd wasted his time and that my expectations were too high! Wasted his bloody time??? My expectations were set by the content of his advert which mentioned none of the faults and if the tw@t had advertised it right, I wouldn't have bid on it. Anyway, I'm just glad I walked away from it as I'm sure many wouldn't.


Rant over....what I did next I believe was much more successful. I bought an e39 M5 on Sunday! A car that is classed as an icon....or so everyone keeps telling me!!

It's a 2001 facelift model and is, frankly, a bit of an aesthetic wreck (compared to my usual chariots anyway). The difference is that the seller was very honest about it before I went to see it, and described it exactly how it was.

However, it drives superbly and it was CHEAP....after much negotiation and using the somewhat flaky (and poorly prepared) aesthetics to my advantage, I paid under £6k which I think is outrageously cheap for a facelift model of this car (the lure of cash and immediately ridding himself of a less-than-perfect car was too much for the home-trader to turn down ).

It has a few issues but nothing too serious given some of the below is me being über fussy....

- It has an oil leak from the rocker cover and needs new brake fluid, both of which have now been fixed

- The steering wheel leather is non existent so I've already ordered a re-trimmed wheel, with tri-colour stitching, costing me an outrageous £105

- The gear knob leather has similarly disintegrated so I've ordered a new one for the princely sum of £95 from BMW (not bad considering it's a genuine illuminated one-piece knob and gaiter)

- The wheels are a proper state so these need stripping back and painting again

- There's a few bubbles on the bodywork but nothing major (most not even showing visible rust yet) - a small area ahead of one of the rear wheel arches, another behind one of the front wheel arches and another on the back of the boot lid. It's no worse than the 850i was which claimed to have no rust!

- The headlining rattles, the interior drivers door handle is a bit floppy and the rear view mirror looks like it's imploded on itself (oddly enough, replacing the mirror looks like it'll be one of the more expensive jobs)


It does need a damn good machine polishing and a proper scrubbing inside as it's filthy but, apart from that lot (all of which is fixable for relatively little outlay), it seems a really nice car. It also passed it's MOT 6-months ago with no advisories (unlike the 850i which had a shed-load of advisories).

The car drives fabulously, it sounds great (there's no engine rattles, not that I'd know what the famous Vanos rattle was anyway!) and it pulls nice and solidly, especially at high speeds (this may be a little unfair given I've just stepped out of a new M6, but I wouldn't call it 'fast', although it delivers its performance in nice, smooth, linear fashion). The ride and handling is quite a surprise to me as I reckon that, on our broken roads, it's at least as good as the more modern cars that I'm used to (better even than some). I'd describe the ride as Jag-like, but combined with very responsive and controlled handling. Yes, I can definitely see why these are so highly regarded!

You can tell it's age with things like the high-set driving position, thin pillars, the volume of road / wind noise compared to a modern equivalent or when you see things like the Teletext-like nav screen (although I believe a later disc or upgrade to the V4 unit would improve that massively), or listen to the radio which is poor by modern standards. You most certainly can't tell the age by it's performance, sound or dynamics, all of which I'm thoroughly impressed with.

As I said, the seller of this car was really very honest about it's condition which I appreciated and respected so, for the right money (which I believe I achieved), I thought it was worth a punt. Here's a few pictures from the advert....

 

[davidjpowell]

Looks good. Your threads never disappoint

 

[HB]

Great stories man. E39 M5, one of the all time greats. Pm me before you sell it

 

[Palmball]

Great stories man. E39 M5, one of the all time greats. Pm me before you sell it

I posted very similar in the BMW M section of PH and unless you are one of the chaps on there, you're now the 3rd person to request being contacted before I sell it! Daymn....it must be desirable as I've never had that before

Just to set your expectations, I'm probably going to spend about £1.5k to get this car to a really good standard, at which point I'll be looking to get all my money back. And thats it! So, we'll be looking at about £7.5k for what should then be one of the better e39 M5's out there, and unless the market implodes in the next couple of months, it'll still be one of the cheapest (if not the cheapest) facelift e39 M5's out there.

 

[Abdul]

Lovely cars, the M6 looks spectacular.

Any reason other then price you didn't consider the new SL? Supposedly drives better but IMO not as good looking.

I'm disappointed that the SLS wasn't up to standards. It's a dream car for me so I imagine it as being GT perfection lol!

 

[HB]

I posted very similar in the BMW M section of PH and unless you are one of the chaps on there, you're now the 3rd person to request being contacted before I sell it! Daymn....it must be desirable as I've never had that before

Just to set your expectations, I'm probably going to spend about £1.5k to get this car to a really good standard, at which point I'll be looking to get all my money back. And thats it! So, we'll be looking at about £7.5k for what should then be one of the better e39 M5's out there, and unless the market implodes in the next couple of months, it'll still be one of the cheapest (if not the cheapest) facelift e39 M5's out there.

Not me on Ph. Just keep me in mind whenever.

 

[Palmball]

Lovely cars, the M6 looks spectacular.

Any reason other then price you didn't consider the new SL? Supposedly drives better but IMO not as good looking.

I'm disappointed that the SLS wasn't up to standards. It's a dream car for me so I imagine it as being GT perfection lol!

I think the 'drives better' opinion (depending which journalist has written it) is very subjective when you're comparing two unbelievably well developed cars - both the M6 and SL, being right at the top of their relative marques mass-produced ranges will probably be two of the best developed cars on sale currently and splitting them would be more based on personal preference than actual variances in ability. For all-rounded ability both are even better than the SLS and other similarly priced low-volume production stuff - indeed, the SLS was far from perfect probably as a direct result of it's low-volume and more focussed design.

The SL wasn't considered because I'm not a fan of convertibles and, as you suggested, the looks are rather challenging! I'm not spending £100+ large ones on a car that I don't like the look of

 

[Palfrem]

E39 still looking good.

Thanks for the write up - you won't lose a penny on that one.

 

[grober]

You did well to avoid the 850i From what I had heard over the years these cars were ticking time bombs just waiting to explode from engine block problems to faulty electrics. Windows and seats being frequently mentioned. The new M6 interior is a vast improvement on the last model with the previous ugly excrescence of the central display now in far more acceptable proportion to the rest of the dash.