My friend ('94 850 and '93 850) and I ('89 740T and '86 740 GLE) were having a debate recently that I'd like concerning this very issue of computer/sensor controlled timing vs. semi-manual timing control. We actually both ended up agreeing that the semi-manual control of timing, like on the early 700s, was more durable and fool-proof than the late model automatic style. My feeling is that when you have essentially a complex logic circuit controlling the timing, all it takes is for one element of that circuit to go out and you are screwed. This has basically been his experience with his 850s, with an array of "3-2-1... 3-2-2-, etc.- which are Greek to me!" codes that are ever-present. He replaces one electronic component after another (knock sensor, O2 sensor, RPM sensor, etc.), trying to get the timing right and the idle smooth to no avail. With my '89 740T, it seems to be able to be much more durable- I manually check/adjust the timing and air/fuel ratio at each oil change interval- it almost seems like "fuzzy logic". Any opinions?