1989 BMW 8 Series

Hello and welcome to the reluctant sale of my pride of joy after more than 13 years of ownership.

Previous owner 1993-2010.

Glacier Blue with Ultramarine leather.

Registered October 1992, however it was manufactured November 1989, making it the current oldest known surviving E31 worldwide.

It was kept in storage by BMW in Germany for over two years, and shipped to the UK on 22nd July 1992, stored for a further four months and registered later that year to BMW UK Head Office in Bracknell.

It is likely that it may have been some kind of early ‘test car’, or a press/ media vehicle prior to registration.

Before my 850i became known, the only other known example produced in 1989 was number 57, built 12th December 1989. That one was never on the road and was dismantled as a pre-production test mule. Prior to mine surfacing, the other oldest known examples around the world included one in Australia (built May 1990) and one in USA (also May 1990). The previous oldest known E31 in the UK was built nearly a year after mine, in October 1990, this was when right hand drive production officially started.

During a large 8 Series meeting in Munich back in 2007, it was actually excluded by the Public Relations Managers of the BMW Dingofing plant that any pre-series cars would have been released to the public and there ought to be no hope that they’d ever see a 1989 specimen in person, since they’d ‘all been scrapped’ (BMWs own words!).

Cost options were Electronic Damper Control, electric rear blind, automatic air recirculation, auto-dip rear view mirror and heated front seats, all of which were cost optional extras on top of the £61, 495 list price at the time.

All original handbooks are present in their original BMW wallet, as are the original two keys and aftermarket remote fob fitted in the early 1990s (working!). There’s a stack of receipts and BMW Main Dealer paperwork from as early as 1993. The previous long term owner kept everything, as I have too! There’s even a copy of a fax from Autohaus BMW of Aylesbury in 1993 to the first private owner confirming the cars list price including extras (£65, 094. 65!).

The car was under genuine BMW Extended Warranty until 2004, some time ago now but only around 4000 miles ago.

The car is totally original, no nasty aftermarket modifications. Original 'style 8' 16" wheels, original factory fitted radio head unit (pixels on LCD gone, but still works), original tool kit and even the original BMW branded yellow duster! I’ve got some aftermarket rubber floor mats fitted, but only to protect the original dark blue velour mats.

It has a genuine BMW breathable outdoor car cover specifically for the E31, which I had to source from a Main Dealer in the USA a few years back as BMW UK discontinued them a long time before that and wouldn’t source one for me! I only use this during the summer months as the car has been dry stored from October - May every year during my ownership and the previous owner had it in a garage from 1993-2010.

Parts recently replaced (end of 2023):

- Brake accumulator (difficult to find part!)

- 2 x new front brake hoses

- 2 x new rear brake hoses

- Brake pipes throughout

- Brake fluid (the fluid for the power steering / brake booster was replaced with CHF11S in 2021 but I couldn't source an accumulator at the time due to being out of stock everywhere!).

The sunroof fabric was replaced in July 2023 with some very good quality grey fabric. I sourced this from a reputable firm (A S Trim in Ipswich) who have been in the business for many years. The reason for replacement is that the old fabric became loose due to the foam behind it having seen better days. Since having the sunroof fabric replaced I have noticed the headlining dropping in a couple of areas. I have taken delivery of a full headlining kit from A S Trim and will have this replaced as soon as possible.

The tyres are all premium Goodyear (replaced 23/ 06/ 20, 62, 971 miles). The wheels for their age are in good condition, but if I was keeping the car I’d have them refurbished in a nice fresh silver. The original centre caps are ok but I bought a set of brand new centre caps including BMW logos a few years back just in case they discontinued them, they've never been fitted.

If you’re in the market for a low mileage unmolested 850i with a fascinating history and paperwork from 30 years ago to present day, here’s a very good example for your collection!

Private registration not included, car will go back onto a ‘K’ registration.

Many thanks for looking.