V8 daily hack

[thebullettrain]

I’d an order-in for an EV, but I’ve cancelled it as I want a last chance at having a big engine car. I’m looking at a v8 4.4 . It’ll be the regular family car, with driving shared between us adults. We won’t have any other cars. Any views on buying a pretty expensive v8 and what I can expect to face?

The car would be a BMW Grand Coupe M850i.

Edited by thebullettrain on Wednesday 1st June 22:59

[Pistonheader101]

Depreciation would be the only factor

[Glenn63]

Buy it and enjoy life

[interstellar]

I did the same and bought a F90 M5 as the last V8 for me.

It’s a weapon!

[LeeM135i]

Lovely car, rapid, pretty and a nice big powerful V8.

Other than the running costs for a car like this (I have a C63S AMG) beyond fuel it’s £1,200 for a set of tyres and far more for brakes and other consumables.

Check it’s a big enough car for the family the large 4 door coupe’s are small on the inside and boot. Might be worth looking at a Mercedes GT63 or Audi RS7 if you want that style as they are bigger on the inside and a hatch or Mercedes E63 or Audi RS6 estate if you need something bigger.

Enjoy the search, time to buy cars like this is coming to an end.

[donkmeister]

BMW carried out drastic weight saving on their V8 models by making some parts out of cheese and knicker elastic...

Great during the warranty period (or if you live in America where car manufacturers aren't allowed to shaft their customers) but not a good proposition for a keeper unless you keep a five figure Bork fund. With BMWs you are better off buying the six cylinder.

If you want a V8, you would be better off with a Mercedes or Lexus TBH... Even a JLR product is less likely to break your heart than a V8 BMW.

[PomBstard]

Heartily agree with having a V8 as a daily, but...

It doesn't have to be expensive
It needn't cost a fortune to run or maintain
It doesn't have to depreciate a great deal, or even at all
It doesn't have to be German.

Some of these items may be related...

I'm reckoning on my 6yo V8 wagon having costed around 38p/mile over the last two years/15000 miles. Man Maths, ftw...

[DSLiverpool]

PomBstard said:

Heartily agree with having a V8 as a daily, but...

It doesn't have to be expensive
It needn't cost a fortune to run or maintain
It doesn't have to depreciate a great deal, or even at all
It doesn't have to be German.

Some of these items may be related...

I'm reckoning on my 6yo V8 wagon having costed around 38p/mile over the last two years/15000 miles. Man Maths, ftw...

Absolutely agree - bought a jeep 5.7 Hemi as a daily, 40p a mile but I’m not bothered it was cheap as chips and sounds wonderful.

[thebullettrain]

interstellar said:

I did the same and bought a F90 M5 as the last V8 for me.

It’s a weapon!

I did test drive one and they are mighty cars.

What model year and colour do you have and how long do you plan to keep it? I’d like to keep mine at least 3 years but am worried about out of warranty repairs on a box engine.

[Phil Dicky]

thebullettrain said:

interstellar said:

I did the same and bought a F90 M5 as the last V8 for me.

It’s a weapon!

I did test drive one and they are mighty cars.

What model year and colour do you have and how long do you plan to keep it? I’d like to keep mine at least 3 years but am worried about out of warranty repairs on a box engine.

Just extend the warranty.

[thebullettrain]

LeeM135i said:

Lovely car, rapid, pretty and a nice big powerful V8.

Other than the running costs for a car like this (I have a C63S AMG) beyond fuel it’s £1,200 for a set of tyres and far more for brakes and other consumables.

Check it’s a big enough car for the family the large 4 door coupe’s are small on the inside and boot. Might be worth looking at a Mercedes GT63 or Audi RS7 if you want that style as they are bigger on the inside and a hatch or Mercedes E63 or Audi RS6 estate if you need something bigger.

Enjoy the search, time to buy cars like this is coming to an end.

Thank you: all really good advice. For some reason I’ve never taken to Mercedes, I don’t why. However, I do like the AMG GT but that’s out of budget, including most Porsches that I like.

The 850 would just about work and I momentary looked at Audis. However the S models come in diesel and the RS variants are a bit too much for me visually (dare I say the same with the full fat M models).

Do you have any thoughts on the longevity/reliability of these new v8s?

[thebullettrain]

donkmeister said:

BMW carried out drastic weight saving on their V8 models by making some parts out of cheese and knicker elastic...

Great during the warranty period (or if you live in America where car manufacturers aren't allowed to shaft their customers) but not a good proposition for a keeper unless you keep a five figure Bork fund. With BMWs you are better off buying the six cylinder.

If you want a V8, you would be better off with a Mercedes or Lexus TBH... Even a JLR product is less likely to break your heart than a V8 BMW.

Thanks, food for thought as I’m a big BMW fan. I’ve had good motoring with their v6 before. Unfortunately, I’ve never really taken to Mercedes and whilst I like looking at them I’m unsure I really want one. I’ll look at the Jags and Lexus.

Maybe on the plus side, I would try to get at least a 2 or 3 year warranty at the point of purchase (hoping that would help).

[thebullettrain]

Phil Dicky said:

thebullettrain said:

interstellar said:

I did the same and bought a F90 M5 as the last V8 for me.

It’s a weapon!

I did test drive one and they are mighty cars.

What model year and colour do you have and how long do you plan to keep it? I’d like to keep mine at least 3 years but am worried about out of warranty repairs on a box engine.

Just extend the warranty.

That’s the plan with s tubing I purchase, I’d want 2/3 years at that very point.

[ZX10R NIN]

thebullettrain said:

I did test drive one and they are mighty cars.

What model year and colour do you have and how long do you plan to keep it? I’d like to keep mine at least 3 years but am worried about out of warranty repairs on a box engine.

If you liked the M5 just extend the warranty it's pretty hassle free & the warranty is pretty comprehensive, it'll also depreciate less the the 850i GC.

[BlueJ]

ZX10R NIN said:

If you liked the M5 just extend the warranty it's pretty hassle free & the warranty is pretty comprehensive, it'll also depreciate less the the 850i GC.

+1. Treated myself to a AUC F90 (non-comp) back in Jan and am loving it after 5,000 miles. Plan to keep it under extended warranty. It's an absolute weapon when in the mood, but eats up motorway miles quietly and in luxury. Huge torque means it's "real world" fast without effort, and there's a lovely V8 rumble in the background.

Plus it's an icon - the original super-saloon so nice to own one. A sleeper compared to the 8 series which is great looking, but also very noticeable - I like to go below the radar where possible.

[samjlevy]

I also have an F90 M5, had it for around 18 months now, done 9000 miles in it, it has an Evolve Stage 2 tune on it. It’s had some abuse in those 9000 miles including a couple of trackdays and has been faultless. The F10 did have a few issues but these have mostly been resolved in the F90, there is people on the M5 forums with 100k+ on the cars. It’s around 780bhp and it really does shift, but also makes a great daily and can crack 38mpg on a long motorway run. Highly recommended, if you buy from a BMW main dealer you get 12 months of warranty anyway. Mines a 2018 car so an early one. If you can afford it I’d go for an LCI model, so late 2020 onwards as you get the M8 suspension which is more compliant for UK roads, you also get the nicer interior and the updated gearbox which is rated to handle more torque.

Edited by samjlevy on Thursday 2nd June 10:08

[thebullettrain]

BlueJ said:

ZX10R NIN said:

If you liked the M5 just extend the warranty it's pretty hassle free & the warranty is pretty comprehensive, it'll also depreciate less the the 850i GC.

+1. Treated myself to a AUC F90 (non-comp) back in Jan and am loving it after 5,000 miles. Plan to keep it under extended warranty. It's an absolute weapon when in the mood, but eats up motorway miles quietly and in luxury. Huge torque means it's "real world" fast without effort, and there's a lovely V8 rumble in the background.

Plus it's an icon - the original super-saloon so nice to own one. A sleeper compared to the 8 series which is great looking, but also very noticeable - I like to go below the radar where possible.

Sounds so true. I did test drive one and found the Competition a bit too aggressive - rather my partner did. However, slightly more discreet versions are available (possibly a non comp). Having sat in the 850, I do find it a more agreeable car to sit in.

I fear mentioning the M5 to the misses, may get her putting the X5 (albeit M50) back up for discussion.

[samjlevy]

thebullettrain said:

BlueJ said:

ZX10R NIN said:

If you liked the M5 just extend the warranty it's pretty hassle free & the warranty is pretty comprehensive, it'll also depreciate less the the 850i GC.

+1. Treated myself to a AUC F90 (non-comp) back in Jan and am loving it after 5,000 miles. Plan to keep it under extended warranty. It's an absolute weapon when in the mood, but eats up motorway miles quietly and in luxury. Huge torque means it's "real world" fast without effort, and there's a lovely V8 rumble in the background.

Plus it's an icon - the original super-saloon so nice to own one. A sleeper compared to the 8 series which is great looking, but also very noticeable - I like to go below the radar where possible.

Sounds so true. I did test drive one and found the Competition a bit too aggressive - rather my partner did. However, slightly more discreet versions are available (possibly a non comp). Having sat in the 850, I do find it a more agreeable car to sit in.

I fear mentioning the M5 to the misses, may get her putting the X5 (albeit M50) back up for discussion.

Try an LCI M5, the suspension is much better suited to UK roads, they use the M8 dampers on an LCI.

[sidewinder500]

Simply go for it, can only recommend that.
The bigger the better.

Sod all these miserable economist or motherly types, bonus points for noise.

[LeeM135i]

thebullettrain said:

LeeM135i said:

Lovely car, rapid, pretty and a nice big powerful V8.

Other than the running costs for a car like this (I have a C63S AMG) beyond fuel it’s £1,200 for a set of tyres and far more for brakes and other consumables.

Check it’s a big enough car for the family the large 4 door coupe’s are small on the inside and boot. Might be worth looking at a Mercedes GT63 or Audi RS7 if you want that style as they are bigger on the inside and a hatch or Mercedes E63 or Audi RS6 estate if you need something bigger.

Enjoy the search, time to buy cars like this is coming to an end.

Thank you: all really good advice. For some reason I’ve never taken to Mercedes, I don’t why. However, I do like the AMG GT but that’s out of budget, including most Porsches that I like.

The 850 would just about work and I momentary looked at Audis. However the S models come in diesel and the RS variants are a bit too much for me visually (dare I say the same with the full fat M models).

Do you have any thoughts on the longevity/reliability of these new v8s?

I’ve had the c63s for 12-18 months and it’s only had 1x coil pack in that time, so it really hasn’t cost anything in terms of reliability. Before the c63 I ran a BMW M135i for over 5 years and it didn’t have a single visit to the garage other than the usual maintenance and upkeep, it was the most reliable car I’ve ever owned. It was serviced regularly, had a set of tyres and a set of front brake discs and pads.

Planning to keep the c63s for around 5 or so years or maybe longer as the V8’s die out. I will put some money aside and buy an electric or hybrid at some point to daily and keep the c63s for the weekends and holidays, keep the burble going as the world goes quiet.