1991 BMW 850i

• Deep red metallic paint is glossy and even from nose to tail in the showroom photos, the pillarless sides are straight and the glass and trim sit flush — no paint or body budget from these photos.
• Cross-spoke wheels are bright and clean front and rear and the tyres look evenly worn — no wheel refurb budget from these photos.
• Cream leather shows light creasing on the seat cushion in the close-up, no tears or collapse, and the wider cockpit view shows tidy seats, dash and console — budget for leather feed, not a retrim from these photos.
• Headliner is tight, clean and unstained around the sunroof panel and visors — no headliner budget from these photos, a common E31 cost avoided in the pictures.
• Engine-bay strut tower is painted body colour and clean, with only a small surface-rusted bracket nearby — presentation is tidy, though photos cannot judge the V12 mechanically.
• Underside floor looks solid and dry in the lift photo, exhaust and catalysts tarnished but intact — no floor or exhaust budget from these photos.

Money: At $31,900, the top 850i result in this set, the photos back it — the glossiest paint, clean headliner and solid underside of the E31s here — while V12 running costs remain a mechanical question, not a photo one.