BMWs that I have lusted for
 

Used £50,000 plus cars are always going to pose a certain risk.

The BMW 540 I had before was a dog and needed £200 a month throwing at it to keep it on the road on top of the other high cost's involved.

Then it blew a head gasket twice which was the last straw until due to the shot front suspension i rear ended a car on the motorway and it got wrote off.

Since then and owning the 8 for 7 months which is 3 years older than the 540 was and has more miles on it I have had to spend nothing on it except for service items.

Whatever you do stick with VAG I am on my 5th VAG car now and every other car I have had has had more problems than all the VAG cars put together.

Funny you should say that Mick, here's a picture of some of the family fleet parked outside my sisters house. All german, all V8.

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/v...8/15b6ec08.jpg

All the Audi's have issues, the S4 has suddenly stopped going into reverse! (6 speed manual). The other A8 is generally okay, had its fair share of control arms, air con not working and it has the usual clunky gearbox symptoms. That A8 does 5k miles a month so it will probably need a new box soon!

Anyway, point is the BMW has more then double the miles of all Audi's, its way over 200k but its never had a single issue, the gearbox is smoother then a freshley rebuilt S8 ZF box and is the comfiest car I've ever been in. I have a huge amount of respect for the E39 and that particular car is my favourite out of loads we have had, including the 335, S6 V8 quattro etc...



Anyway, I just want my green car back!

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/v...8/535ef251.jpg

Love this picture Tonupkid posted, I can forgive it for breaking an engine and gearbox within the space of three months. All it needs is a Milltek, slam, private plate :rolleyes:

E39's Rule.

I've had my E39 M5 for 4 years now. 156k on the clock, driven hard and it's superb!!

A8_Doc, pics and more info please! Have you had any vanos issues? I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about getting one. E39s do rule!

Can I make a confession - I too had an E39!!!! ...... I know, I know!
Mine wasn't an M5 but a 530d M-Sport in that stunning blue they did. It was buetiful to look at and drive, awful interior and stereo but lovely car. Could never get let out of junctions though and it made me consider a career selling drugs and organising prostitution rings..... :ROFL:

Cool car it was, and GREAT fun on roundabouts, you could hold a HUUUUUUGE slide with ease on the exit!

I did eventually see sence though and thats when I bought the A8 4.0TDi. +++

ok, seeing as we're having a confess-all session here, I do admit that although I (obvously) love all Audis unconditionally, and (being and Audi lover) I also hate BMW, I do have a bit of a soft spot for the E39 M5....

Give me one of those with the SMG box, and I might just struggle to hold back the grin....

Anyway, back to reliability.... The British are no better.

My range rover needed two new tyres a fortnight ago (£300), but I cant really blame it for that as they're wear and tear. So, I reluctantly forked out new wellies for her, and no sooner have I done that, the weather turns and changes the battery into a lump of cheese. Well, it might as well have been as it held charge about as effectively as dairy produce.

I spent a week avoiding using it for short journeys, and kept a battery in the back to jump start it should it go flat on a longer journey.

Anyway, come Wednesday night, tried to start it after being stood for 8 hours during the day, after having a 4 hour non stop run in the morning and it was dead. So, used the last remaining joules of power in the spare battery to crank it over and then found I had no LPG and a thimble full of petrol to get to the nearest battery place before I died in the middle of the road forever... Plus. it was now 6pm. Ggrrrrr..

So, googled for Halfords, drove gingerly across town, got out of the car, took my trousers down ready for the pricing, and sure enough got well and truely stuffed. £95 for a 70AH battery. :eek:

1 sore butt later and I have a new battery, and she starts every time.....

Now, theres just the faulty central locking, trip computer, rattly exhaust, torn boot trims, dint in the rear quarter, loose door trim... Oh wait, its a Landy... its supposed to be like that... +++

so it turns out British reliability is infact fine, it having limped on giving you a week to sort it out and get a battery but instead you left it until it was little more than a paper weight and had to emergency purchase it's replacement.........struggling to see the car's fault here :D

No problems with my '8' whatsoever, except the transfer box seal in my 18 months of ownership (rapidly grasping xylem!)

I too confess to once owning a beemer, a 328, too small, cramped, seats about as comfortable as a park bench (not too good with a knackered back), did have a couple of good points, the brakes, and being able to get rid of it quickly.

i cant believe you are all talking bmw on an audi forum :tuttut: you should be ashamed of yourselfs.http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1285364290
http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1285364290
http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1285364290
so here is a few photos of the company car i have had recently while out doing a spot of caravaning +++

We all turned out to be a bunch of closet BMW 5 series fan boys :ROFL:

I wasnt!! I resent that remark. . . . mine was a 7 series :o :p

The joys of owning a P38

That'll be the BMW parts letting it down:D, by 2002 thay had made all sorts of changes one of them i think even to take the V8 from the 7 series.

Now being owned by Tata i expect we will see a huge improvement in quality:ROFL:

I'm probably to young to remember but no Jag I have ever been in has been of quality, my mates dad owns a Jag specialist so I've had a sit in them all. XJR etc... Maybe I'm just spoilt by the interior on the D2 but I remember sitting in a 08 XJ facelift then straight into my 97 A8 with 220k on it and it felt better.
Tata are probably the best thing that happened go Jag, surprisingly. They now have an awesome 3.0D engine that can rival BMWs 35D unit (Audi don't!) and the new XF and XK look nice and are doing well, XF wining car of the year etc...
However, the quality still ain't near Audi standards.
When Audi flew me out to Munich They had an XF in their showroom to sit in and compare with and it just didn't compare at all. If you sit in one touch the door lock and unlock button. Feels like a Christmas tree decoration, some cheap plastic that's been painted silver to look metal! Anyway, time to get out of bed. Ain't washed the car in a month.

Just to be controversial in the vein of the original thread, The '8' is the only vehicle that I've owned that has come close to the build quality & overall feel of my 1968 P5B Rover Coupe.

OK that is ignoring the tin worm, and the 11 exploded gearboxes (Jag), this is a vehicle on which the doors can be shut with the little finger and minimal effort, giving a satisfying & smooth as silk muted clunk. Even the 8 cannot match the solidity of that. Performance wise......... well with the mods I've done to it, the P5 is virtually as quick to 100 as the 8, but a LOT more involving and makes a better noise. Oh, and the smell inside of course!

Cat planted amongst pigeons..... flak jacket & crash helmet donned.....


(If I can find it, I'll post a picture of it on the autobahn when I toured Yugoslavia in it, before having to cut short my planned trip due to it 'kicking off' out there.)

:D

I loved my 540. If it hadnt got written off and done the head gasket I probably would still have it.

RIP 540I

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50...e/DSC01195.jpg

Never owned a Beamer and never will+++
I have drove the previous 3 series and also the the current 5 series and not very impressed - plus all drove by ......:D

How can you not be impressed driving a BMW? 'the ultimate driving machine' isn't all marketing gaff, it's true. When I picked up my 3 series the journey was all motorway, got of onto a roundabout and I was amazed at how sharp and agile it was, just went exactly where you pointed it. I had to take the roundabout again twice as I couldn't believe how well the thing handled. Driving the 8 afterwards was like trying to turn the volume up on a remote with low battery.
I see plenty of guys in Audis, more so then BMW. Right up your bumper in a 2.0 TDi S Line driving crap. Of course 8 drivers are an exception and no Bimmer will ever take the place of my green S8 or the D2 model.

I found the 3 series very uncomfortable - felt squashed in the cabin and no real room in the pedal area even though I am only a size 7/8 shoe.

Seats that after 10 minutes, I just could not get comfortable in.

The steering felt 'dead' (it was a 320d), but yes, it did hold on in the corners, but I just felt cocooned in it, not part of it.

The 5 series felt 'cheap' inside and I didn't feel like I was sat in a £30K car - this was a 530d - although, I put my foot down and it did shift.
The interior (this goes for the latest A4/A6) also didn't feel like it belonged in a luxury barge too me.

To me, the only Beemer I would consider would be a 2002Tii or a MK1 M5 as they have that 'WOW' factor (a bit like the RS2 or original quattro UR), the rest, for me just do not 'float my boat'.

And yes, I agree that a lot of Audi drivers are very bad, I think this is being that most are now a favourite for the company car driver, like it was always the BMW as the first choice................

That's it for now:)

My vote is with Gninnam there, and with size 13 feet, I have no chance.....

There's also the 'image' problem with the beemers, the used ones around here are every 'baseball cap's' erotic dream...... 'nuff said, but I do confess to liking the 3.0csl 'batmobile', especially if its one of the ultra rare 4.5 litre V8's

Father had a '91 E34 535 followed by a '97 740iL. The build quality on the E34 is stunning. Interior is genuinely like new after 19 years and 185k miles. Would have a late E34 M5 in an instant. Shame I can't fit the family in...
Zip

The e39 BMW M5 in my humble opinion is another car I would have in my collection. I have already got the s8 and a manual 400bhp machine would do very nicely indeed! Also having the joy of driving and owning a e39 m5 whilst at university all i can say is that the s8 was and always will be the ultimate car for me but having the m5 was something special. Best thing was when the m3 drivers would see me in their rear view thinking i was just an ordinary 520 and then when they get overtaken they must wonder why they initially resisted! :ROFL:

had loads of BMW's but my three favourites were the two E30 M3's and the 840

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...oto/840CI2.jpg

Will get some pics of the collection shortly... The E46 M3 is in a right state with engine out at the moment. Cams fitted though :)

The M5 is another beasty to be honest. I love it, so understated yet not and the noise from the supersprint headers through to the Eisenmann backboxes is to DIE for....

Clutch is uprated and maybe supercharging next year :)

VANOS Issues - Yes, o rings were £6 from BMW, new gaskets and I rebuild them myself with bits from Maplins for a grand total of £3.50!! As new nice and quiet :)

A8_Doc, you have PM +++

Erm, can I please point out a huge issue - not only are we all talking about BMW's but Darren posted a pic of his BMW.....AND...a caravan!!!!
Surely there's some kind of punishment available for such disgraceful behaviour!!! :ROFL:

Well he does have to drive it

lmao!!! :rofl:

can i just say its not my bmw. its a company car that i only had for a week or so. was glad to give it back. my normal company car is german though( not bmw or audi but a merc):tuttut:
really sorry to say but yes the caravan is mine :(

E30 M3 :love:

newish if i had to have one prob be a M6 as its a bit diffrent from the billion M3's out there

Neil Artex had one, I'd have this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1989-BMW-M3-SP...ht_3096wt_1137

Here you go - I did find LHD incredibly frustrating though!

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...3&d=1286014779

:love:

Erm.......
 

I'm off to test a 57 plate 335i MSport later today.. You can shoot me, because I'm not only looking at another BMW, it's the convertible. The wife's X5 reminded me how good Beemers are (I've had three 3 series: petrol and diesel). The S8 gets a lot of "oohs" and "aahs", but it's time for a change.
Donning helmet and flak jacket....

It'll be the drugs! It's what happens when you stray from the righteous path. :tuttut:

People that dismiss BMW are just plain missing out, if it were Mercs or Jags that we were bashing I could understand.
There isn't a single front wheel drive Audi I would choose over its BMW rival. 1,3,5 heck even the new 7 series felt a lot nicer then the D4 inside. I don't even think Audi have a class leading model at the moment, well apart from the A1 that I had the privilege of driving against its main rivals.
The RS models however, rule and I will always pick them over an M.

Disagree - we all have our favourites and tastes - good job we do as it would be a very boring world (not that we know because...).

I have driven BMW's and also have been passengers in said cars and they just do not float my boat. Simples.

I am glad that you enjoy them and find them to your likeing+++

Your far to level headed Amar. When your as old as me you can be a grumpy bigot about cars no matter what you think really! ;)

Sorry!
 

I bought a 335i MSport coupe today. Terrible trade in for the S8, so I might put it on here and see if anyone wants to give some TLC to a 02 Special Edition S8. Gotta be worth more than 3K with 141K miles?

Garage PX's on large cars is always poor - my mate just bought a new car and was offered £1.5k for his 2000 Mercedes S320 with 145K on the clock and very good condition - ended up putting it on ebay and got £2800 cash!!!

Good look with shifting on the S8.

Ginnam, Ben from AVP drove 120 miles to give her a final clean bill of health and helped me get another grand in trade in.

So, I'm no longer an S8 owner, but I have to admit that the 335i coupe is a he'll of a machine.