I’m a habitual car“searcher”. Not much of a car finder, but that’s not for a lack of trying. Depending on the time of the year and what I happen to be looking for, I may have 30+ bookmarks in my browser’s“Car” folder. My daily ritual is to open all my car folder items into tabs, and peruse.
In April this year, I decided I wanted to get back into another E31. I had owned a’91 850i, a Canadian import with Sport Seats. I have regretted selling that car since the day it left. I sold it with M-parallel wheels and a full CSi kit … and sport seats. Not a great decision.
So April began with me setting up my typical searches for E31 cars - BF 8 For Sale, Cars.com, Hemmings, CarGurus, etc. Each day - or sometimes 10 times a day - I’d open my list. One random Monday afternoon I happened to come across an ad on CarGurus for an 850CSi in Monroe, Louisiana. No price. No pictures. If it were any other E31, I would have moved right past. But for a CSi at a BMW dealer, I had to know. Within an hour, I was texting back and forth with a salesperson at the BMW dealer. A longer version of the story can be found here. Within a week, I had my very own 850CSi, #126, in my garage.
Ownership and Maintenance History
The car has had one owner before me. He bought it, serviced it and ultimately traded it in at the same dealership I bought it from. So not only is it a one-owner car, it’s a one-dealer car. The owner is a doctor in the area and traded it in on a new BMW X5M.
When I bought it, the CarFax showed two owners, likely due to a clerical error at some point in its history.
I have 71 pages of service records I received from the dealership, dating back 16 years. They printed the records they had in their current service system. The car has received a number of high-dollar maintenance items, including a new clutch at 123k miles. Receipts dating just to 2010 show nearly $39k spent on the car.
What it needed when I bought it
It was clear from the moment that I received it that the previous owner had driven this car. It had tar residue on the fenders and rocker panels, indicating that it wasn’t a priority to be cleaned. The clear coat on the throwing star wheels had eroded over the years, revealing the black undercoating. The interior showed signs of wear and a few broken interior parts were being held together with black duct tape.
I love to rehab cars - almost more than actually owning and driving them. So this project was absolutely perfect for me. It needed some love to bring the aesthetics back in line with the money that had been spent on the mechanical bits over the years.
What I’ve done
Well, it’s a long list. I started with a focus on the exterior of the car. The wheels were completely shot from a finish perspective. I considered buying a set of M-parallels and boxing up the throwing stars - but the throwing starts are my single favorite BMW wheel ever made. So I decided I would refinish them myself and aim to achieve a polished lip look. I replaced the center stickers on the throwing star covers while I was at it.
Other exterior fixes:
Paintless dent removal to deal with a long line of garage door dings. It was clear the PO had something in the garage just a little too close to the car
Light paint correction, polishing and paint seal
Replaced the right outer brake light - previous was slightly cracked
Replaced both front running lights. The passenger side was cracked so I replaced it. Once I had the new one in, the driver side looked old - so I replaced it as well.
The left side of the front bumper had a set of scrapes deep enough to require a repair.
The rear bumper had clear coat peel on the top, so I repaired it.
Interior fixes:
Both front seats needed minor re-dye due to wear. Both look great now. I used ColourLock.
Replaced the driver’s side front/back seat motor. Was showing signs of future failure.
Replaced most of the lower plastic parts on both seats. Anything that wasn’t right, I replaced.
Replaced both sides of the upper seat trim(near the headrest) - expensive as those parts are NLA.
Replaced the passenger’s side seat back due to a crack in the upper portion.
The lower trim, beneath the steering wheel, had seen a previous repair attempt with glue. The glue residue drove me crazy so I bought a new trim panel($$$).
Removed both seats and steam cleaned the carpets.
The old center console had a custom knob of some sort installed, which created a hole near the front of the e-brake. That drove me crazy so I replaced the whole center console.
The wood CSi trim - where the radio and OBC sit - was cracked so I replaced it with a black plastic model. I have the original as well.
The PO had installed an aftermarket radio. I preferred the look of the business style radios so I bought a replacement and installed it.
The OBC was in good working order, but it had a few missing pixels. Sent it off for repair - works beautifully now and is bright.
Replaced various trim pieces as needed.
New Coco floor mats - and I have the originals which are in decent condition.
New 3-spoke steering wheel installed - I have the original
Mechanical fixes:
Replaced the prop-shaft CV joint - previous was cracked and dried out
Replaced the Guibo at the same time
Flushed the differential fluid and replaced with Redline and a magnetic drain plug
How I found the car
Ownership and Maintenance History
What it needed when I bought it
What I’ve done