I kinda like that blue Mark IV. Do they have to do any suspension mods to get those monstrous wheels on the car? Or could you just take 'em off and put the stock ones back on, without having to undo any modifications?
Actually - I doubt if I have enough nerve to try to buy either one right now, since money in the Lokki household is tighter than it should be when buying new toys (Japan Vacation coming up in a couple of weeks) but I've been working to convince her that all work and no play makes Lokki annoying to have around the house. However, all play and no money in the bank makes Mrs. Lokki very annoying to have around the house.
Which one is the better hobby car. I know that the more expensive is usually the better buy, but it's a lot easier to get half the money from her -
no contest. If that paint on the first one is nice up close and in person, you've made up WAY more than the $1500 price difference.
If it is really all there and all as solid as described, that $3k roadster seems like a bargain to me. Which makes me think it is not as nice as described or pictured. But worth looking into.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I'm starting to warm up to those little Jag hardtop coupes, although I still know enough to stay away from them!
I think it's interesting how the Europeans often make their 4-doors look better than their 2-door counterparts, while the Domestics would usually make their 2-doors look better than their 4-doors.
Andre, for whatever reason I really like those coupe versions as well (even inspite of that one's color) but I do suffer from an admitted bias for Jags though.
However British cars in Pennsylvania sounds like a certain tin worm infestation. I still remember what an old Mustang I had looked like when I first purchased (it was an old PA car as well). *hint - it had really big "sunroofs" in the floor boards. Driving down a dirt road was fun!
you forgot one very important detail ... WHY did it need a new engine??!
It did say woman owner or something, didn't it? Okay I'm totally kidding, but at the same time, why is that in there? I don't care who owned it, if it has all those mods (short shifter w/solid bushings like that one, etc) that sacrifice comfort, the person was likely pretty hard core, male or female.
Fintail - nice lookin' car, but what do they mean "no paperwork"? Surely they have "some" paperwork. Some work had to be done over the years. It's not a Pinto for heaven's sake. That No Paperwork bit raises a red flag to me.
Being a Euro model, god knows where it came from and who had it. It probably has no documentation and no way to verify that mileage (which is obviously not correct anyway). There's always a huge risk of getting a rustbucket on a Euro W113 - the worst 113s I have seen have all been Euros.
If you get a chance, take a look at the NY Times article about the guy who bought a new XJ8 in '98, spent thousands on maintenance over the years, then got offered $1000 at trade in time - at the Jag dealer! They know what they're dealing with, I guess.
This brings up another good side to the XJ/XJC - they are both great-looking cars. It always made me wonder where BMW went wrong with the 1st gen. 635/735 pair - beautiful coupe, so-so sedan.
I always liked the looks of the classic XJ sedans as well. Because I'm more of a design/visual kind of person I get attracted to cars more by their looks rather than their practicality.
That's why I always wanted to pick one up, until I heard all the stories here including Shifty's advice. I still like the looks and might get one for a couple of $2k for fun
As for the first gen 7 series BMW, I always thought it looked kinda odd as well. Odd proportions
Bumpy, that was more of a 1998-2002 2.5L non-turbo engine thing. My guess is he cranked the boost and popped the thing, especially given the mods list.
Funny, because my Grandpop had a gold 1967 Chevrolet BelAir sedan with a black cloth/vinyl interior. There was a car at the Carlisle GM show that was a dead-ringer for his old ride.
My mother had the exact same model also, except it was a 2-door sedan. That exterior color is NOT original. Ours was turquoise, but darker and greener than that one. (The interior appears right however.) I learned to drive in that car, 3-on-the-tree, no power steering or brakes!
There was also a powder blue color and a "mountain" (light) green.
about the exterior color on that '67 Bel Air. Just looks a little TOO pale to be original. My grandparents had a '68 Impala hardtop sedan that was turquoise. My Mom got it in '72 as a hand-me-down, and drove it until 1975 when she got a new LeMans.
The blue on that '67 makes me think of the color that they used on some special edition Firebird around 1977. I think they called it a "Skybird" or something like that? Real pale, powdery blue that had a slight radioactive looking glow to it in certain lights, with rally wheels (either snowflake or honeycomb, can't remember which) painted to match.
To me, it seems more like a luxury car color, and I don't think it looks quite right on a '67 Bel Air. Or a '77 Firebird!
no, no....the Kelley Blue Book value for a RUNNING S500 WITHOUT body work, and without the air of mystery about it, is "over $30,000."
Dear Seller: That is not "your" car...that is a Kelley Blue Book fantasy car..YOUR car is a hallowed out shell of what's in Kelley Blue Book.
Now you know....
BMW 840 Coupe: The "white elephant" (well okay red elephant) BMW that nobody wants. $24,000? Are you mad, sir? Try $17.K, take $16,000 gratefully. Or enjoy your large flower pot.
I know Ebay bids are low, but the highest bid any '94 840 got was about $12,000. A '95 got one bid $22,000 (highest of any '95), "reserve not met", then relisted and never got a minimum bid of $17,500 - OOOPS! Shouda taken the money and run.
8 series was the biggest pre-Bangle BMW disappointment IMO, guess they choked when trying to follow up the 6 series.
Trouble is, that's one of the ugliest post-WWII cars ever made. Not as bad as the '58 Edsel or AMC's finest, but still somewhere near the bottom of the barrel, IMO. And then it's brown to add even more to the "yuck" factor.
Even that august publication Motor Trend once called that generation of T-Bird "aesthetically forlorn." (Not when the car was new, of course.)
Shifty, not sure what you mean by "...2 door coupe with chocolate pudding for cylinder bores?" I've always admired the styling of these BMW coupes, and can understand why the 12 cylinder version was a money pit, but I don't understand why the 8 cylinder version would have been more of a money pit than the sedans with the same engine. Maybe the sedans are money pits too, but then shouldn't people expect large BMWs to be rather expensive to maintain? What problems were associated with the cylinder bores?
Defective engines. Cylinder bores were too soft. The engines are so expensive to replace (can't really be fixed) that the car is essentially totalled when the engine fails.
If someone is rash enough to replace the engine, he/she is so buried in the car that they can't sell it without taking a big loss.
It's a "no-win" car. It's not even that interesting to drive. It's a big mistake I guess you'd say, from BMW down to the original buyer down to the poor person who buys it second-hand.
At a certain price, it's worth the risk...that price is whatever you are willing to lose.
I always liked the styling of the 8 series BMWs. One of my all time favourites. But I also heard that if anything goes in that car, it will be multiples of thousands, not hundreds of dollars to fix.
That's why I was shoicked when a customer wanted to trade a red 840 in to us (I think it was early 90s), and the book value on it was between $2500/$5000/$7500 (rough/avg/mint).
Yikes for a car that cost around $100k new. :surprise:
As for the MB S class with the saggy rear, one of my coworkers was telling me about a client of his who needed to fix or replace the air suspension in a modern Benz. It cost him about $12k. :surprise: Yikes again.
You can also see in the listing where it talks about the engine having been replaced because of the Nikasil problem (BMW said the problem was caused by high sulfur in US gas). Someone else has taken that big $$$ hit, so that 840 might be worth a look, at less $.
Comments
Price is right
Which one is the better hobby car. I know that the more expensive is usually the better buy, but it's a lot easier to get half the money from her -
Newer, nicer, and twice the money
Older, uglier but half the price
Is older and cheaper more than twice the work?
If it is really all there and all as solid as described, that $3k roadster seems like a bargain to me. Which makes me think it is not as nice as described or pictured. But worth looking into.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
'68 Galaxy
'55 2-door
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Hey, look shifty! It is a collectors car! ;b
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Hahaha... notice it says "runs and moves" not "runs and drives." So, the engine will run, and you can push it..... :P
I think it's interesting how the Europeans often make their 4-doors look better than their 2-door counterparts, while the Domestics would usually make their 2-doors look better than their 4-doors.
Andre, for whatever reason I really like those coupe versions as well (even inspite of that one's color) but I do suffer from an admitted bias for Jags though.
However British cars in Pennsylvania sounds like a certain tin worm infestation. I still remember what an old Mustang I had looked like when I first purchased (it was an old PA car as well). *hint - it had really big "sunroofs" in the floor boards. Driving down a dirt road was fun!
It did say woman owner or something, didn't it? Okay I'm totally kidding, but at the same time, why is that in there? I don't care who owned it, if it has all those mods (short shifter w/solid bushings like that one, etc) that sacrifice comfort, the person was likely pretty hard core, male or female.
Can you spell depreciation?
ps - I'd still like a coupe (that works)
He sold his soul.
Don't believe me? Do two Google Searches:
1. Beautiful Jaguar
2. Beautiful Lexus
Look at the first picture you see on each search. Look at pages of them.
Then tell me which car he'll dream about when he's 90.
But, hey, I'm an aging Alfisti - I understand about the beauties of foolish love.
Google Search: Beautiful Alfa
That's why I always wanted to pick one up, until I heard all the stories here including Shifty's advice. I still like the looks and might get one for a couple of $2k for fun
As for the first gen 7 series BMW, I always thought it looked kinda odd as well. Odd proportions
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
There was also a powder blue color and a "mountain" (light) green.
The blue on that '67 makes me think of the color that they used on some special edition Firebird around 1977. I think they called it a "Skybird" or something like that? Real pale, powdery blue that had a slight radioactive looking glow to it in certain lights, with rally wheels (either snowflake or honeycomb, can't remember which) painted to match.
To me, it seems more like a luxury car color, and I don't think it looks quite right on a '67 Bel Air. Or a '77 Firebird!
Looks like the airmatic has crapped out...that's probably the least of the problems.
Yet the mileage is "actual." Sure, 22K (or is it 21K miles?) on a 6-year-old car!
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
http://home.comcast.net/~drenglishe/8/8.htm
Dear Seller: That is not "your" car...that is a Kelley Blue Book fantasy car..YOUR car is a hallowed out shell of what's in Kelley Blue Book.
Now you know....
BMW 840 Coupe: The "white elephant" (well okay red elephant) BMW that nobody wants. $24,000? Are you mad, sir? Try $17.K, take $16,000 gratefully. Or enjoy your large flower pot.
8 series was the biggest pre-Bangle BMW disappointment IMO, guess they choked when trying to follow up the 6 series.
Not me, bro.
Fairly priced, go for it!
Even that august publication Motor Trend once called that generation of T-Bird "aesthetically forlorn." (Not when the car was new, of course.)
If someone is rash enough to replace the engine, he/she is so buried in the car that they can't sell it without taking a big loss.
It's a "no-win" car. It's not even that interesting to drive. It's a big mistake I guess you'd say, from BMW down to the original buyer down to the poor person who buys it second-hand.
At a certain price, it's worth the risk...that price is whatever you are willing to lose.
That's why I was shoicked when a customer wanted to trade a red 840 in to us (I think it was early 90s), and the book value on it was between $2500/$5000/$7500 (rough/avg/mint).
Yikes for a car that cost around $100k new. :surprise:
As for the MB S class with the saggy rear, one of my coworkers was telling me about a client of his who needed to fix or replace the air suspension in a modern Benz. It cost him about $12k. :surprise: Yikes again.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Didn't Porsche also use Nikasil on some engines as well? Not sure about that, but ringing a faint bell.
What other manufacturers/models had the Nikasil problem?