If there’s one absolute worst thing you can do to your car, that would be to leave it in storage, unmoved and unchecked, for extended periods of time. You’re better off selling it and getting a new model rather than leaving your car in the garage for years at a time. Sure, there are collectors out there who do that, but in those cases we’re talking about controlled environments, periodic checks and tune-ups. The BMW 850i we’re about to show you has seen none of that.

According to the video, this 30-year old BMW 850i has been sitting for the past 10 years and, since it was left in a garden, time hasn’t been kind on it. Sitting in a garage would’ve definitely been better, protected from rain and dust. Not all cars are lucky though and therefore, the state this car is in at the beginning of the video is something else. In order to get it to start, clutch pedal had to be fixed, as well as new brake fluid, coolant and oil. Basically, all the fluids were changed.

Image: BMW Group Classic

Then it was time to check the timing chain (pun, very much intended) and have the throttle bodies cleaned. Once all that was done, it was time to start it up and, lo and behold, the 30-year old BMW 850i comes to life. It’s quite touching to see cars simply revived after long periods of neglect. That V12 was running as smooth as you’d expect it once it got everything around it fixed. Getting there wasn’t easy though.

The video below is part four of a longer series revolving around this car. We recommend watching all of them as you can not only see how a car gets resurrected but you can also learn a thing or two about the maintenance such models need and what long sitting periods can do to your ride.

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