buying a '92 B12

Thinking of Buying one - ask your questions here.
Buying guides, Specific questions about a car, or about a particular model, ALPINA characteristics.

Moderators: Charles, neil, D4

Post Reply
Little Jo
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:06 pm

buying a '92 B12

Post by Little Jo » Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:34 pm

hi, i am planning to buy an alpina b12 from '92 - can anyone give me some information on what to look for when inspecting the car, possible questions i need to ask and what a fair price would be (with all xtras and between 100 and 150 th-miles)
i've never had a bmw and heard from my brother who owns a '94 740i that it is a too expensive hobby...
asking for help from you guys
thanks
jo

User avatar
Charles
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 8061
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2003 2:44 am
Location: Oxford

Post by Charles » Sat Sep 25, 2004 1:36 pm

Wish I could help but on this one I can't - sorry.

But I didn't want your posting to sit there without any replies :D

Good luck though and don't listen to your brother too much. I have had my B3S for 18 months (and 48k miles) and the costs are just for services and theye are very reasonable. Prior to that I ran a 3 series for 10 years and again the costs were perfectly acceptable.

You might want to check the service history against the chassis number at Sytners to see whether there have been any expensive warnings on the service history, though.
Charles
Teacher of Chemistry and driver of ALPINAs - not necessarily in that order ;)
B3S Touring (49/116) - been to the moon and now on the way back!
Renault Grand Espace - not mine but the wife's!

User avatar
b10liquid
ALPI
ALPI
Posts: 354
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 6:25 pm

Post by b10liquid » Sat Sep 25, 2004 3:15 pm

Theres not many of these cars about, so price will be a bit of a minefield.

They are similar to the E34's where suspension and breaks get tired easily, due to the performance and weight of the car.

They tend to develop strange electrical faults, so check that everything inside works as it should. I've seen a few with faulty exterior lights. This is normally the failure of the LKM (light/lamp control module) in the fusebox.

Just use your head, and look for normal signs of crash damage etc. They are fast cars, but not the type you thrash on the street, if you get me.

There was one for sale a few months ago, that had been featured in TotalBMW. I think it was up for £7-8k, which in my opinion, is heavy money.

As with all Alpinas, its down to how badly you want it.

Good luck
Current fleet:
1988 E34 Alpina B10 3.5
1998 E31 BMW 840Ci Sport Individual
2014 VW Passat Estate

Post Reply