New buyer of 1995 840Ci

[Hyper]

...'95 840ci...113,000 miles...“mid $ 20k’s”...tell me if this is worth investing in!

IMO, and because I've got nothing else to do (?).

High teens, to minimize remorse, allow for deferred maintenance.
I'd prepare to tap the brakes and turn the scanner on.
In this economy, other local candidates will show up.

[Hyper]

...In this economy...

Sidebar...
Today Elon Musk, a car guy, basically agreed with banking analysts that 2023 will see a crash in the used car market via mechanisms similar to that which created the housing market crash in 2008.
At issue is new used cars (one or two years old) but the effect could ripple down to old used cars.
Details:
1) New car prices were inflated during covid supply-chain disruption.
2) Demented bankers wrote inflated loans, more than the true value of the underlying car asset.
3) Car buyers, lots of them, are loan defaulting in a down economy.
4) Banks repossess the cars, lots of them, but hold them to delay their actual loss until...
5) Bank regulators tell them to move the non-performing (junk) asset off the books and report the loss.
6) Banks then attempt to sell the cars, lots of them, crashing the price.

So, yeh, don't buy that '95 840 just yet.

[TexaZ3]

Sidebar...
Today Elon Musk, a car guy, basically agreed with banking analysts that 2023 will see a crash in the used car market via mechanisms similar to that which created the housing market crash in 2008.
At issue is new used cars (one or two years old) but the effect could ripple down to old used cars.
Details:
1) New car prices were inflated during covid supply-chain disruption.
2) Demented bankers wrote inflated loans, more than the true value of the underlying car asset.
3) Car buyers, lots of them, are loan defaulting in a down economy.
4) Banks repossess the cars, lots of them, but hold them to delay their actual loss until...
5) Bank regulators tell them to move the non-performing (junk) asset off the books and report the loss.
6) Banks then attempt to sell the cars, lots of them, crashing the price.

So, yeh, don't buy that '95 840 just yet.

Sure, this might be true, but I don't see how this affects a 25+ yo classic BMW. There aren't many around, and demand is not going to drop off for E31s when supply of used civics and camrys increases. Its like saying that 250GTO is gonna loose its value with the market.

[Hyper]

...civics and camrys...

That is what's called a Straw Man.
How about old 8-series V new 8-series at a fire sale?

[Arnie65]

These cars will, sadly, see prices fall, as legislation will make their daily use more difficult. Perhaps in the USA, not for a while yet, but in countries like the UK, low-emission-zones are killing-off the ICE. If they were 40-years old, they would have 'classic-car' status and be exempt, but paying $20 in emissions charges every time you move the car off your front drive will put people off. And that's already on top of gas prices of over $10 a gallon, in a car where you can see the fuel gauge move as you watch.

[LappingLuke]

Europe will remember how much they love sweet sweet fossil fuels after half of them freeze solid this winter.

[Timm]

In the UK, the 840ci with the M62 engine is ULEZ compliant - no charge!

These cars will, sadly, see prices fall, as legislation will make their daily use more difficult. Perhaps in the USA, not for a while yet, but in countries like the UK, low-emission-zones are killing-off the ICE. If they were 40-years old, they would have 'classic-car' status and be exempt, but paying $20 in emissions charges every time you move the car off your front drive will put people off. And that's already on top of gas prices of over $10 a gallon, in a car where you can see the fuel gauge move as you watch.

[olinjohnston]

If they were 40-years old, they would have 'classic-car' status and be exempt

The E31 is almost there, as the very first ones rolled off the line over 33 years ago.

In most, if not all places in the USA, these vehicles can be registered as collector cars.

[Arnie65]

In the UK, the 840ci with the M62 engine is ULEZ compliant - no charge!

Hello, Timm,

really? that would be great, as I have one of those (1999 model).

Does it require a letter from BMW, as the registration document has no emissions data?

I understand the magic number needs to be less than 0.080 g NOx per km

[Arnie65]

The E31 is almost there, as the very first ones rolled off the line over 33 years ago.

In most, if not all places in the USA, these vehicles can be registered as collector cars.

Yes, most of Europe only requires 30 years. In the UK it used to be 25 years, but scheme was stopped in 1997 for 15 years and when it restarted, the age requirement had rolled-up to 40 years.

[Arnie65]

Hello, Timm,

really? that would be great, as I have one of those (1999 model).

Does it require a letter from BMW, as the registration document has no emissions data?

I understand the magic number needs to be less than 0.080 g NOx per km

I figured it out and have written to BMW's UK Homologation department.

It's interesting that large swept-volume engines can meet the NOx requirements by basically being less efficient (lots of cylinder surface area, leading to lower combustion temperatures). The arguably more modern, 6-cyl, M52TU, with VANOS in my 728i doesn't.

The London Mayor's office has already determined that in the Greater-London Area, domestic heating boilers (furnaces) already account for more NOx than all vehicle traffic, but cars are obviously a softer target.