I hope you didn’t do this!
But, just as a warning to others, there is a REASON why older 7 and 8 series BMWs are so cheap. You see them all the time on Craigslist for a few thousand dollars, they look pretty good, and you have to be thinking…what’s wrong with this picture?
Well, here’s what’s wrong: the REASON they are for sale so cheap is that the first time you take it in for service, the bill is going to be ASTRONOMICAL! These were and are expensive, complex, system and gizmo filled cars that are very expensive to maintain, both in labor hours and parts costs. There are no aftermarket sources for any of the parts, so BMW can and does charge what the market will bear. In our area, a good BMW mechanic gets $120 per hour and up (never mind what the dealer would charge you) and these cars take a LONG time to work on.
Plenty of folks have bought what looked like a good one for $3-4K and discovered it was going to cost them twice that just to get it into shape.
They were and are fine cars, but you really need to know what you are getting into. Many owners just drive them until the upkeep gets too high, and then sell them cheap. Now you know why.
Regards,
Bob in San Francisco