Buying guide · 1995–1999 · M60, M62
BMW 840Ci E31
Everything that decides whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
16-page guide, A4 and phone · 2-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included
In the guide
What the BMW 840Ci E31 guide covers
- 01Every fault this engine has, and how much work it is
- 02Why the number cast into the crankcase, and not the build year or the engine code, decides which car you are buying, and why a stored E31 is worse than a used one
- 03What an E31 shell and its two mechanisms do with age, and where to look first
- 04What is simply thirty years old — and can be left alone
- 05The inspection card: the whole viewing on paper, in order, to take with you
- 06What to say to the seller, and what to keep to yourself
From the guide itself
This is how it reads
This is what one of the eleven looks likeLast Real Engines
1 · The engine, and which one it is
A week or more · only on a Nikasil crankcase, and only if the bores have gone
Nikasil-coated bores broken down by sulphur-rich petrol; the usual cure is a new short block, not a repair. The 4.0 M60 and early 4.4 M62s were built with them, and neither the build year nor the engine code tells you which crankcase you are looking at — the number cast into it does.
Now: the engine code on the telephone, before you travel, and the crankcase number at the viewing.
And this is how the card readsLast Real Engines
- Standing, before you start it
- Running
- On the move
- Afterwards
What €24 buys, put next to what it saves
The 4.0 M60, and early 4.4 M62s, were built with Nikasil-coated bores that sulphur-rich petrol could break down, and once they have gone it is a week or more in the workshop for a new short block. It is also cheap to settle: the part number cast into the crankcase tells you whether it is Nikasil or Alusil. The guide is €24. It will not stop any of that from being needed — but it does tell you which of them you are looking at before you agree a price, and that is the whole of the difference between paying for a car and paying for someone else's postponed maintenance.
VAT included · sold by Lemon Squeezy as merchant of record · questions first? buyersguide@lastrealengines.com
Start with the free guide
The six questions that decide whether this car is a good buy
- What is the engine code — from the registration document or off the block?
- If it is a Nikasil engine, has anything been done about it?
- When was the cooling system last touched, and what was replaced?
- May I watch the temperature gauge while it idles?
- Has it ever overheated?
- How often is it driven, and when was it last out?
Start with the free guide: what this car is, and the questions that decide whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
Before you buy
Questions
What exactly do I get?
The full guide as a PDF, 16 pages in A4, plus a phone edition to read at the car; and the inspection card, 2 pages to print and take to the viewing. €24, VAT included.
How is it delivered?
Straight after payment you get a download link for the guide, the phone edition and the card. No subscription, no account.
Can I get a refund?
EU consumer law gives you fourteen days to change your mind. For digital content that right ends the moment delivery starts, provided you agreed to that at the checkout. If the file will not open, or you were sent the wrong car, write to us and we will fix it or refund it.
Who handles the payment?
Lemon Squeezy, who sell the guide to you as merchant of record. They charge the VAT at the rate of your country, send the invoice, and email you the download link. We never see your card.
Why are there no prices in it?
Because a price we cannot verify is worse than no price, and because a price would be wrong for most of the people reading it: workshop rates across Europe differ by a factor of two or three. What does not change is how much work a job is, so every point says whether it is an hour, half a day, a day, or a week in the workshop. Ask your own workshop for its hourly rate, and every hour in the guide becomes your own number.
Is this advice about a specific car?
No. A guide tells you what to look at; it is general information about the model and not advice about a specific car. Have every car inspected before you buy by someone who knows the engine.
More BMW guides
Going to look at a BMW 840Ci E31?
Take the guide and the card with you.
16-page guide, A4 and phone · 2-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included