this car has been a dream of mine, so i think i will take the plunge into 850 ownership. i did a carfax report, which shows a clean history as far as wrecks. the owner told me he did have service records and the auto was maintained by a local BMW dealership(the biggest here in atlanta, ga). well, thx again for the info and this great board. any other suggestions would be very appreciated and i will keep you guys informed on this great journey.