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I've always loved the 850csi 6-speed M/T. Maintenance on them is horrendous. Beautiful car though. Would I take one over my SC300 M/T, an SC400 VVT-i, an SC400 with a manual swap or a 1JZGTE Soarer manual? No. In addition to it as an occasionally driven car... maybe... but not in place of my SC.
That was actually one of the cars i was looking at when i ended up getting my first SC. I probably wouldn't get it instead of my SC but i would definitely get it as a second or third car. I'm pretty much convinced that as long as its possible to own an SC i will probably own one. Those bmws' are nice cars but they are even bigger money pits than these things are so if i ever end up owning one it would be when i could afford 3 of them haha.
Early 2000s , I had every damn series of BMW from the BMW 02 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 series to the 750 & 850 on my driveway all at the same time , lol . That was when I was crazy about Bimmers . I doubt someone will ever prefer a stock SC300 / SC400 over those V12 guzzlers if one has driven a V12 Bimmer. They are torque monsters and simply enjoyable to drive but be ready to spend high dollars for maintenance and no space at all on the engine bay. Too much work just to get into an inner part.
Early 2000s , I had every damn series of BMW from the BMW 02 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 series to the 750 & 850 on my driveway all at the same time , lol . That was when I was crazy about Bimmers . I doubt someone will ever prefer a stock SC300 / SC400 over those V12 guzzlers if one has driven a V12 Bimmer. They are torque monsters and simply enjoyable to drive but be ready to spend high dollars for maintenance and no space at all on the engine bay. Too much work just to get into an inner part.
sorry gerrb.. I know nothing can replace my dream car, the 5-spd SC300!!! also wow any pics of that collection ?!
Early 2000s , I had every damn series of BMW from the BMW 02 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 series to the 750 & 850 on my driveway all at the same time , lol . That was when I was crazy about Bimmers . I doubt someone will ever prefer a stock SC300 / SC400 over those V12 guzzlers if one has driven a V12 Bimmer. They are torque monsters and simply enjoyable to drive but be ready to spend high dollars for maintenance and no space at all on the engine bay. Too much work just to get into an inner part.
That's right-- Gerry you once had an 850csi 6-speed (and many other 90's BMW's) if I recall correctly. They are timeless in looks and appeal and I agree that they will always be revered-- especially the V12 models. They will NEVER go out of style.
I remember you told me the same thing to confirm what I had read: notoriously difficult and expensive to work on but much loved when they are maintained and running correctly. Even without the top line performance the 840i automatics are still the same beautiful lines to appreciate. The V12's in the 850's and 750's having two ECU's (one for each bank of six cylinders) always struck me as a crazy engineering choice though.
Aside, has anyone here seen the new 8-Series show car BMW teased at this year's Frankfurt auto show? It does not visually compare one bit to the E31 8-Series design.
@Ezroni - you are now a die hard SC300 fan , huh . You are young. That is always the case .. our likes and dislikes changes. I was never fan of taking pictures of my cars till I had the Supra MKIVs . In fact , I never joined any car forum till I had them .
@Craig - yeah, all my bimmer collection were the old ones. I used to have a German Friend who has a European auto shop here in GA . It was actually because of him that I got hooked up starting with the 535 / 635 (3.5 L inline six) that were indesctructible if probably maintained. The V12s were nice but I hated working on them .Got to remove tons of stuff to reach a part. I had fun with them though ... smooth driving vehicles , till maintenance cost was becoming a nightmare . Getting 12 - 14 mpg in the city wasn't exactly fun either.
All things considered , provided both are all stock , the 850 will trump the SC300 / SC400 any time .
@Ezroni - you are now a die hard SC300 fan , huh . You are young. That is always the case .. our likes and dislikes changes. I was never fan of taking pictures of my cars till I had the Supra MKIVs . In fact , I never joined any car forum till I had them .
All things considered , provided both are all stock , the 850 will trump the SC300 / SC400 any time .
now I would absolutely love an 850CSi 6spd, don't get me wrong.. I've even got it saved as a search on Autotrader.. but I've loved the SC since I was a kid (I was born in '94 so I saw some new/near new ones when I was old enough to remember) and this was even before I got to sit in one let alone drive/own one.
Now you're right in the fact that not much compares to a V12 and if I had the money I would no doubt buy an 850CSi, but not before getting a good daily 5spd SC. One cannot simply own one SC.. I love these cars so much that I still don't know if I want to turbo my '97.. I just love the comfort and sexiness of the car more than any need for extra power, plus I like knowing i own one of the last W58 transmissions ever made (Idk how many 5spd NA Supras were produced for '97/'98). Wouldn't feel right swapping it for a V160.. Idk maybe my mind will change but I do want at least one turboed manual SC for sure
^^ The 850's were MUCH more expensive than SC's. Probably the equivalent of $100k cars originally if adjusted for inflation. The SC's were around $50kish cars adjusted for inflation. The only slightly fair comparison spec-for-spec was to the Z30 Soarer 1JZGTE 5-speeds back in 1990 and possibly in 1996 when 1JZGTE VVT-i models were introduced with the improved low down torque. In the USA, even by 1997/1998 (the year, not model year) when SC400 VVT-i's came out, I never got the impression that SC300/400's and BMW 840i's let alone 850i's were being thrown into writeup comparisons. Different price points and different customer bases.
Gerry, you did say you liked that 3.5L I-6 found in the early M5's from 1988-89. The E39 540i 6-speed and E39 M5 5-speed are nice too but of course still some trouble to work on. Just not quite as much as the 850i!!
Ezroni, the last model year for Supra MKIV 5-speed M/T's was also 1997. Just as with SC300's, 1998 Supra NA's were automatic only and the 1998 Supra Turbos were the only models to still get a manual transmission option.
The high end BMWs will make your knees quiver when you see some of the maintenance costs. I know someone who recently dropped a full grand on an alternator for his supercharged M5, and that was just the parts cost. He did the work himself. Nothing special about it, either. That's just what was needed to fit the space.
I can appreciate the M cars for what they are but I would never consider them a DIY friendly chassis. Even the older cars are a pain in the *** to work on compared to anything Japanese although E30s are quite nice. And anything 2000+ is a complete nightmare.
That's why the "new" BMW crowd, and there are plenty of those are the kind that do not own a single screw driver in their house or garage, have the dealership or shop do everything on those cars. No emotional connection whatsoever besides bragging rights, etc. The old school BMW crowd is VERY different and actually work on the cars themselves.
I was in this boat too. I saw 840's as i was growing up and the pop-up headlights were so cool. I was actually looking for one before i got my 99 400. I even looked at the bmw videos on youtube read all about them on forums and saw it would cost me alot to maintain at 22 years old. Then one day i came across the SC's gone wild video and my whole life changed.
09-19-17, 12:33 PM
Is the Lexus SC 400 Better Than a Bargain BMW 850 You Just Found Online?
also wow any pics of that collection ?!
. You are young. That is always the case .. our likes and dislikes changes. I was never fan of taking pictures of my cars till I had the Supra MKIVs . In fact , I never joined any car forum till I had them 
(Idk how many 5spd NA Supras were produced for '97/'98). Wouldn't feel right swapping it for a V160.. Idk maybe my mind will change but I do want at least one turboed manual SC for sure
