It's said size doesn't matter, but you know that's not true. And while you might expect too small to be the issue, has a BMW for which the seller's wife claimed the opposite.

A halo car must have a presence, whether it be in its dramatic countenance or commanding proportions. The BMW E-31 8-series had both these factors playing in its favor when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1989. With a nose reminiscent of the original BMW turbo, pillar-less coupe body and originally the M7B50 V12 engine, it was positioned above the older 6-series coupe, and against the competing Mercedes S-class coupes.

Despite having so much going for it, the 850 was somewhat unloved, and sales reflected that. In an attempt to provide a broader price range - and greater sales - for the coupe, V8-engined versions were introduced to supplement the big twelves. And while sales never really took off, the lighter, and less thirsty V8s proved to overcome the 850s reputation as a ponderous handler, which was due to the engine weight and despite being their first car with the now ubiquitous multilink rear end.

Today's candidate is a , dubbed the 840Ci. This is one of 7,232 8-series cars sold in the U.S., and sports the M60B40 4 litre eight, which is good for a healthy 280-bhp. That's backed up by the 5-speed automatic, and pretty much everything else on the car is automatic as well.

The seller is asking $10,995, and while he claims KBB retail of $13,070. Fair market for private party comes up $10,700. The funny thing is his reason for selling it. He's big into BMWs, but apparently his wife isn't into big BMWs! The seller claims that he bought it for her - even dumping $3,000 into maintenance - only to have her complain that it was too big, and that- in her best goldilocks voice - a Z4 would be juuuuust right.

One hundred and eighty-five thousand on the clock don't seem to have taken too great a toll on the car, and as these are pretty sturdy beasts it wouldn't be untoward to expect another hundred thou before something serious goes tits up.

So, is this V8-series desirable enough that you might find that $10,999 price tag to be just right? Or does that price give you size issues as well?

You decide!

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