Looking for a B10 V8S

Naz · Post by **Naz** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 2:33 pm

Hi everyone!

Just joined the forum as I'm looking for a high spec, late V8S. Interested in the following car, currently advertised on Autotrader:

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/ww ... x_mileage=

This car was recently p/xd by a fellow member and is listed as car no.132 in the register. The 55K mileage and car history have been confirmed by previous owner. The car was recently serviced including new front discs and pads.

At 22k, it's probably overpriced but bearing in mind I'm looking for a mint V8S, do you think I should snap this one up or bide my time and look again in the new year? Am I likely to find another low mileage V8S in similar condition?

Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

thomas v8 · Post by **thomas v8** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 7:44 pm

hello there naz and wecome. There does never seem to be alot of v8s knocking about so at the price they are asking i wouldnt say its over priced. Its the v8s so its the upgraded version of the v8. engine; bhp brakes and the odd thing here and there. At 22k it would be a good buy but haggle with him you could get it for Â£21,500 being this time of year he could well give a bit off.

Chas · Post by **Chas** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:30 pm

I'd say anything around the Â£20k mark for an '03 with 55k miles would be reasonable but I'd not be so keen on a black car with a black interior.

Naz · Post by **Naz** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 12:55 pm

Yes, the market for these types of cars is difficult to gauge. I'd like to pay Â£20K for the car but I know the previous owner p/xd it for Â£19K, so I donâ€™t fancy my chances! Planning to go and see it this weekend and if it's as good as they say it is, I might be persuaded to pay a little more.

As for the black on black, it does look a bit dour, I suppose. However, I really don't like the poplar wood inserts, especially not on the steering wheel. Each to their own, I guess!

If I can't secure a good deal on the car, another option would be a near new 335i saloon for Â£30K. I know they're 2 different cars but how do you think the B10 would compare to the 335i? Anyone driven both?

markbannister · Post by **markbannister** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 3:10 pm

Certainly is a matter of taste. Black & black was one of the things that attracted me to mine.

seenthelight · Post by **seenthelight** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 12:20 am

Hi Naz

Searched for one myself before buying mine last August for just under Â£20k. It's a 2002 52 plate and had 60k on the clock. Certainly was not immaculate at the time, although history stacked up well.

Could have bought higher mileage examples in Japan red (not for me) or black (nice but 20k miles more than mine.)

Five weeks off the road and about Â£2k later she is immaculate. So that adds up to about what the dealer wants for that one, so she needs to be near-perfect for that.

On mine, I did paintwork, wheels re-furbed, new badges, nav and phone upgrades etc. The car you are looking at appears to be 2003 spec, so should have a Mk 4 Navigation computer (DVD based) and a Bluetooth connection rather than a hard-wired phone in the centre arm-rest. I took care of both of these upgrades for my car and it cost me about Â£600, so you should bear that in mind versus an 02 spec car.

Looking at the photos the car looks to be very similar spec to mine, but check to see if it has the extra leather (hand-stitched full leather door cards, handles, finish around console and all of the underside of the dash). This was about Â£3500 extra when the car was new and really adds to the feeling of bespoke quality. If it has this, you will really smell the leather as soon as you open the door!

As Tom says, rare cars indeed as so few were made before the E60 arrived, but they are incredibly quick and surprisingly nimble. I believe there are just over 40 RHD models only and we only have about half that on this register.

Front discs and pads are cÂ£1000 plus from BMW as they are four pot Brembos. Yours are done, as mine were at 57k so that stacks up for you too.

Not driven a 335i but I certainly would not swap mine for anything anywhere near this price.

If you can buy this car for closer to Â£20k than it is currently priced, then like mine, it will never be called cheap, but if you want a good one to cherish, as I did, it will be worth it.

If you aren't that bothered, buy a 540 Sport and save yourself nearly ten grand. You will smile when you drive it, but the ALPINA will have you waaay happier!

Good luck and let us all know if you take the plunge!

Peter

Naz · Post by **Naz** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 12:20 pm

Thanks for the advice, seenthelight and others - all useful stuff to look out for.

The 540i Sport can be picked for peanuts and is also an option. On paper, a B10, at twice the price of a 540i arguably doesn't stack up, but from what I keep hearing from others, the B10 is worth the extra. Good to hear you share this opinion!

The E60 and E90, despite offering some impressive engines, just don't do it for me. From some angles, the exterior styling borders on the ugly and the interior quality isn't up to scratch for cars of this class.

Out of interest, how thirsty is your V8S around town? The official figure is 12mpg and I'm hoping this isn't optimistic.

Will keep you all posted on how I get on at the weekend.

GrahamP · Post by **GrahamP** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 12:45 pm

Welcome to the forum, Naz.

It obviously depends how slow you are going and how bad the traffic is but I think 12mpg or maybe a bit more is probably a realistic figure for town driving.

For one extremely slow stop start nose to tail 5 mile trip to work I reset the trip computer and it did 7mpg but that was really bad traffic and probably not representative of most town driving. Thankfully the traffic is not normally quite that bad.

Using switchtronic in town means that you can get into a higher gear at lower speed than in auto, which helps a bit.

Simonal · Post by **Simonal** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 6:44 am

Hi Naz

Like you I am pretty new to the forum but not to high-performance BMW's.

I have a V8s Touring, which I love and find extremerly useful as well as being so much fun. MPG I think may be the last thing to think about when buying a 4.8ltr 375BHP 1.8 ton supercar but fuel economy is not too bad I have had worse from other cars. For driving mainly in town I am getting an indicated 16 - 17mpg and getting just under 200 miles from a tank. I hasten to add this goes up dramtically on a long run.

The car looks pretty tidy from the pictures so I hope it matches up to that in the metal.

As for the comparison with the 335i I think there is none apart from the fact that they are both BMW based.

For me the Alpina is far more appealing than getting any newer less sporting BMW. So mine has been down to Tesco's and to the Nurburgring! Both journeys made special by the car.

Many others in this post have given good advice the main thing being the brakes.

Good luck with the purchase and keep us informed.

Regards

Simon

Naz · Post by **Naz** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 2:11 pm

Thanks Simonal.

The B10 V8S will drink fuel and plenty of it, I know that. It's useful to know exactly how bad it can get around town, so I know what I'm letting myself in for. If you're getting just under 200 miles per tank (a 70 litre tank, I think), then your averaging around 12mpg, which supports the official figure from Alpina.

If someone only gets 12mpg yet still speaks highly of his car, there must be something right about the car, IMO!

GrahamP · Post by **GrahamP** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 2:28 pm

Naz wrote:If someone only gets 12mpg yet still speaks highly of his car, there must be something right about the car, IMO!

Yep, that sums it up nicely

The fuel consumption issue is obviously relative to the amount of miles you do. I worked out what the difference in fuel consumption would cost me per year in comparison with a more economical car and decided that the benefits of the B10 V8 are worth the extra cost.

Naz · Post by **Naz** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 4:20 pm

GrahamP wrote:
Naz wrote:If someone only gets 12mpg yet still speaks highly of his car, there must be something right about the car, IMO!
Yep, that sums it up nicely

The fuel consumption issue is obviously relative to the amount of miles you do. I worked out what the difference in fuel consumption would cost me per year in comparison with a more economical car and decided that the benefits of the B10 V8 are worth the extra cost.

That's my line of thinking too.

I only do around 6000 miles a year which, at todays prices, equates to Â£1500 on fuel. A BMW 540i would offer only a Â£250 saving in fuel, a 335i Â£500 and a 535d Â£800. Hardly figures to lose sleep over!

Of course, extra insurance, servicing and repair costs should also be factored in, but even then the argument in favour of a V8S is a persuasive one.

Who knows if generations to come will have the opportunity to enjoy the burble of petrol V8. I've never driven a V8, let alone owned one so it'd be silly not to take this opportunity up, wouldn't it!?

GrahamP · Post by **GrahamP** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 6:28 pm

Naz wrote:Who knows if generations to come will have the opportunity to enjoy the burble of petrol V8. I've never driven a V8, let alone owned one so it'd be silly not to take this opportunity up, wouldn't it!?

Sadly, that's a very relevant point the way things are going

B10BRW · Post by **B10BRW** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 9:41 pm

Hi Naz,

Why don't you look for a late B10 V8 rather than the S.
The main differences between the two are Brembo brakes (expensive) and 28 BHP. Plus of course a price premium

I have had my B10 V8 for 4 years now and have averaged over 25 MPG,
which includes very very fast tours in Germany

.
More than once I have squeezed more than 400 miles out of tankful

and I still enjoy driving it, very large grin factor

It is a totally different beast from the 540.

I can not recommend one highly enough

seenthelight · Post by **seenthelight** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:02 am

Naz, I have had a better experience than some with fuel economy, even when mine is a lot of town driving (6 miles to my work in Leeds is mostly nose to tail rush hour) I manage no worse than 19 or 20 on the computer.

I brought her back from Eastbourne to Yorkshire when I bought her and averaged 26mpg and there was some strong right foot in that too

I had prepared myself for far worse following similar logic to you and have been very pleasantly surprised. Agree with B10BRW about good value V8, but don't drive the S if you want to do that...I promise you'll be hooked!

It's all relative, really. Drive a 540 then the S and I'll lay money you'll pay the premium if you can