Hi

I have owned 3, 5, 6, and 7 series as well as a couple of M's and am looking at an 91, 850 with 60,000 miles on it. It reminds me of my old 635 csi, but more powerful and a little smaller in the interior and trunk. Very comfortable and handles extremely well.

Since I have absolutely no knowledge about this car, are there any items that I need to be concerned about or check?

Thanks for any information whatsoever.

Maintenance is key, otherwise you better have deeps pockets. Get the vehicle's history and records.

welcome!:D

There is a buyers guide and a lot of good DIY information here http://www.e31faq.com/overview.htm

Required reading for all prospective E31 owners :)

Check out this video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rcOttE3tt8&feature=related

Old Video but still good! Look how strudy the car is at that speed.

I said the same thing last year at this time..Lol.. I Got it , no regrets , lovin it , haven't looked back yet....JUMP.... I did..........:)

..Come on in!
The water's fine. No regrets, (even after all the money)

I'm asking myself the same question
looking at a 95 Black on Black 850csi with 35K miles, quite tempting... but it is wrecked but my friends got a 94 840i his parting out....
don't know the guy wants 10K for it plus the 3K my friend wants for his car... should I?

Yes, Do it!!!

Mr Craigs car?

Alright 8th... called him now, he'll be back in town by monday... wish me luck :)

whose craig?

He had a accident in a SUPER CLEAN Blk on Blk CSi recently, What' the last three Vin numbers? Is the car from Florida? If so, Other than the accident, The cars is very healthy!
Good luck.

hell don't tell me you know the guy????
the guy is in miami... don't have the whole vin except this WBSEG9326SC
shoot tell me more :P

The Mileage looks familiar, With todays housing market, I'd bet the house--) He took great care of that car, Everything was mint, Need the rest of the vent to be sure, Or just the last 3#'s

Ho ho ho ... he wrecked it pretty bad though needs both front and back now as well as a cut he had some 18's or 19' on it

Chrome, Sounds like the same car! Your still getting it a great price, It's a rare car and worth more in parts, I think the last 3 are 206? I will check to be sure.

(((Just checked))) 206 it is!

The accident wasn't the owners fault though, Just being nice, You said he wrecked it in the front and back.

sorry about my wording... i was just saying that the car got hit from the front and back not saying that it was his fault :)

It's Mr Craig's. Are you getting it from auction? I thought it was still tied up with insurance co.

...looks like alot of work!

...looks like alot of work!

yeah thats it Tx! I know a guy who has the auction account he said he could get it for 10K ...

It is ALOT of work i got to probably cut half the car and weld an new cut on it together...
probably around 5K worth of parts and 5K worth of labor :S.... not to forget god knows if it will ever be the same with all those sensors and crap these bmw are filled with
yet again how much is the motor & tranny worth? the M5 motor is worth around 7-10K
and tranny around 3K :S

After the right quater panel, That car is easy to fix! Will it retain a clean title? If so, I'll have a shot at it if you pass. If you've got a dealers license, You should be able to get some better pics of the damage, If one wheel was up in the air makes things more complicated, Looks like the core support is good also, The cow looks straight, It was hit so hard the windows didn't break, Please pM me if you pass!

Thanks for the pics, I use to do that for a living, Copart, Iaa, AAA etc... Squarring up this car looks far easier than some i've done.

((Pretty much looks like a car that somehow spun out, Can anyone see where the accident started?)) The rear looks like whrere the accident ended against a guard rail and the front was just tapped in the right corner, But where's the impact?

I doubt this one will go for less than 12k. I know that the insurance company actually has the last word as to whether or not they accept the high bid on this car. The problem with "putting this car back together" is that you will have a salvage/rebuild title for it and now the car is worth almost nothing as far as CSi's go. If you keep it, you will have a CSi'ish car for sure, but what isd your final objective. On the other hand, if you part this car out, you will eventually get your money back (not a sure thing - I know from first hand exxperience), but it will take a while to accomplish that. The engine and transmission might fetch $10,000, but who knows. There was a CSi engine for sale (for the last 2 years) for $16,000 if I recall, and it hasn't sold yet.
At 35,000 miles it is definately in good shape. Car is definately worth more in parts!

We are looking at this car also - for parts only!

Not something to fix IMHO, unless you plan to keep it forever.
There are a couple of CSIs like that floating around - periodically they show up for sale around 25-30k with no takers.
If it were my 10k, sadly I'd just cut it up for parts and pocket the $7500 profit-no matter what you do, she'll never be 100% again...

Unlikely that it's an easy fix - here's (http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e31/8810485-2.html) the post on the accident-
bottom line-if the insurance company valued it at 65k, paid out close to that amount, and didn't think it was worth fixing - there are some major issues there-

...that's the plan

I agree TX. Everyone always says how much they want these items-(interior,motor/trans,etc), but I have rarely seen anyone step up to the plate and pay the money. This is a beautiful car, I saw it in FL last year. It's heart-breaking to see the pics. I agree with 8eights that it looks like it would go back together ok, but I'll bet there's a few gremlins waiting to come out from the impact. The net worth of it fixed would only be worth it if you keep it. If it parts out, who is going to put a 10k motor in a normal i or ci? Not me! At those prices, I would be looking at forcing some air in mine instead.
The transplant i or ci is not going to bring 10k more on resale either. Whoever gets it could sit on some $$$ for some time.

TX, I remember someone paying just 19K For a Red CSI with a bullent woon title on the other fourm, That car was complete and had took pics with this car. You can get them out of auctions in California by knowing someone, But if several dealers request info about that cars auction date, You might have a problem getting it under the table, Sorry to say but coming here with a car you want for personal use is not a good idea until you secure the deal, IMHO!

In California, This car wouldn't get 7k unless somene flew over here to buy it, They want honda, Lexus and high end cars to sale today, Space is to important in the salvage yards over here now days.

I think I missed something here... I wasn't talking about personal use, and I wasn't talking about "getting it under the table". I have access to a COPART Account - allows me to bid just like anyone else. This would be for parts only. At this point it is too late for anyone to get it "under the table" - Bidding is already under way.

I was talking about the original 10K offer.

...gotcha! A little slow this morning, haven't had the coffee yet... :)

yeah your right tex, but besides the M tuned V12 and the 6 spd there is not much more specific to the 850csi (except suspension) and some body parts (front bumper) which this car doesnt even have...
I mean even then you gotta find someone who wants to spend 7G-10G on a 850csi motor when they could get a M5 motor probably for the same price with even more horses :S

The intereior including the "Real" wood kit should fetch a good $!

any more pictures of the car eight?

If you are parting it. I want the interior wood trim.

Faisal, Your too quick!--)

Here ya go Favardeen-http://www.ridesafely.com/Inventory.asp?InventoryID=802139810

Looks like they laid some of the broken parts on top of that Mint interior!

update on the 850csi... called the guy 10 minutes ago, he said the car brought 20K at the auction :S...

$23,500 grand total

guess those parts won't be cheap...

That car will not be parted at that price.

i wonder how much the interior would fetch?

If it had sports seats, The price would be through the roof!

$23,500 grand total

Wow....anyone else think that this salvage was over-priced? :eek:

Faisal, Your too quick!--)

Here ya go Favardeen-http://www.ridesafely.com/Inventory.asp?InventoryID=802139810

Looks like they laid some of the broken parts on top of that Mint interior! I'm still trying to figure out where the headlights went??

I'm still trying to figure out where the headlights went??

they probably just threw in the trunk possibly with the airboxes , from the pictures thats what i'm assuming

I have met Mr.Craig in person and actually got the opportunity to ride in that CSI and I will tell you that it hauled A$$ what a great clean car...Good luck to whoever purchased it and I was sad to see it in that condition. Here are some pics of when I drove down from NJ to Miami last summer. Sorry for the crappy pics..