BMW E31 840ci SPORT

SOLD

THIS CAR IS MAINTAINED WITH THE HELP OF:

http://www.the7seriesregister.co.uk

Full BMW Service History       1997 E31 840ci 8-Series        V8 4.4Ltr

This car has the usual E31 refinements plus:

Sports Seats       18" M-Parallel Alloys      Motorised steering-wheel    10-speaker 6-CD Hi-Fi

Servotronic Steering    Electrochromatic mirror    Ski hatch and bag    Heated seats    High-pressure headlight wash

 

This is my first 8-Series, I've had four 7-series BMW's and this is a darn-sight faster around the corners!. This car has been mollycoddled all its life, there are absolutely NO dents on the car, no car park scrapes and everything works as it should. The car is in exceptional condition inside and out, even the engine bay is spotless. The car has full BMW history, all at the same BMW Main Dealer.

The bodywork is really excellent, I've seen a few E31's with rusty arches but this has none at all, there are signs of a little starting on the sunroof. Nothing leaks, it doesn't use oil or coolant, no '50MPH shimmy', no tramlining or wander. It drives as straight as an arrow, without bonks or clonks. It doesn't suffer from any of the E31's common problems. It has been 100% reliable and has never let me down, it is an excellent example of what an E31 should be. Long-distance driving using this car has been effortless, the seats are so comfortable and the car is very quiet at motorway speeds.

This car is a Sport model which means that it has a front and rear splitter and updated wing-mirrors. It also has the later M62 4.4Ltr engine which utilises the Alusil rather than the Nikasil process to harden the cylinder surfaces, not that Nikasil problems bear any credence in 2012.

The 8-series 840ci is a fantastic car, when cruising  at 75MPH you will see a return of 30MPG-33MPG on standard unleaded petrol. At this speed the engine is effortlessly turning at 2,100 RPM, on the motorway you will be able to hear every nuance from the 10-speaker CD system. However, if needed, the 840ci will kick it's heels with a gentle prod on the throttle, 75MPH to 100MPH is achieved with no fluster and only a slight throb of the V8, brilliant for that quick overtaking move. And that is what is so great about this car, it is the best of two worlds. You can drive like a chauffeur, no jolts, no engine noise, just an effortless surge in speed. Or, you can tip the 'stick into Sports mode and hit the kick-down, the only thing that stops you leaving your tyres on the road is the super-quick Anti-Slip-Control (ASC) which electronically controls the throttle to a point where you accelerate blindingly quickly and still keep the tread on the tyres! All this achieved with the V8 roar which although subtle is pretty inspiring.

If you really want you can pretend to be driving a 5-speed manual (which you are!) by using the Steptronic box. From Sports mode just push the gear lever forward and backwards through the box but without the hassle of a clutch or the possibility of sticking it in 1st when still going 70MPH. To be honest, the Sports mode will do better changes without a human in the command chain.

The Engine and Gearbox are adaptive meaning that they will learn your driving style, if you are doing long motorway journeys at steady speed the computers will lean out the mixture so that economy is realised. If you are more interested in spirited driving the 'box will change up later and the engine will deliver the power in spades. The M62 engine is very advanced with 4-valves per cylinder (32 valves!), quad overhead chain-driven cams, 8 ignition coils and quad anti-knock sensors for squeezing every ounce of power from any octane petrol. Fortunately this power is tamed by the ASC, unless you want to go sideways everywhere, then you can switch the ASC off!

The centre console is a work of art, so German in design with its functional and ergonomic appearance. These often suffer from fading displays where a number of columns of pixels fail, fortunately there are no problems here. The design shows its lineage with the E32, the dual-climate control is almost identical except the wheels are below the buttons. The on-board-computer is closer to the design of the E38's MID, but looks can be deceptive as the E31's OBC is a self-contained unit whereas the E38's MID is a simple controller and display. As this car had the Becker Indianapolis GPS fitted, there is an antenna fitted below the dashboard ready to be connected to a GPS unit.

This car has the dual-level heated seats which is a 'must-have' in England, although the M62 reaches temperature pretty quickly there is nothing like the cosseting of heated leather in the morning. The ASC (anti-slip control) works so much better than it does on the E38, it seems to reduce power rather than just switch it off as the latter car does. This, combined with the better road-holding of the E31 gives a much more confident feel. When reaching the limits of adhesion the E31's rear end loses grip in a controlled way, unlike the E38 that sticks until it lets go in a big way, usually leading to a scary tank-slapper that stops you wanting to push it again!

 

What hasn't this car got? Well it doesn't have a lot of faults that many E31's have:

It hasn't got 'missing pixels' mine are all present and correct

It hasn't got front-end shake when accelerating or braking, no clonks, bonks or shimmy's

It hasn't got dull inadequate lighting, the refurbished Halogen projectors and mains are bright and sharp

It hasn't got a popped PCV valve, ticks over perfectly, no smoke and great power delivery

It hasn't got a Nikasil block with the associated leak-down problems, this is an Alusil engine

It hasn't got annoying 'Bongs', completely clear of Check Control fault messages

It hasn't got a grotty spare wheel, the spare is an original 17" Throwing Star

It hasn't got sparkplug wells full of oil - no leaky rocker-cover gaskets or Dowty seals

 

Work done on this car (as detailed on this website)

 

Water pump replaced (with metal impeller) - all parts used are OEM BMW

Ribbed belt, tensioners and pulleys replaced

Replaced lower spoiler - grilles

Coolant hoses (the famous 'exploding hose' included)

Radiator replaced

ABS block and pump

Steering wheel replaced with 3-spoke Sport wheel + airbag

Ignition barrel replaced due to the usual stickyness - special BMW order to retain correct keys

All four disks and pads

Repair of wiper linkages

Repair of washers (including intensive-wash and headlight washers)

A/C regassed - absolutely ice cold now

All door cards replaced with 2-tone cards

PCV valve replaced

Timing-chain tensioner replaced

CD changer replaced - cd magazine repaired

Transmission mounts replaced

Engine mounts replaced

Headlights refurbished and fitted with Osram Nightbreakers - exceptionally bright

Professional detailing - finished with Zaino 2 and 5 - polished every 2-weeks

 

 

 

 

The engine bay is clean with no fluid leaks

 

 

 

The panels have been replaced with two-tone cards, the original cards can be supplied FOC
Please note that the original BMW Professional RDS radio + 6 CD changer will be re-fitted, although the antenna will remain