Reposted: Bought this 1998 740i Individual. It was the personal car of a dealer in Somerset. The car is in great condition and has only done 1k miles in the last year. Very lucky to have found it. A very different beast to my 750i and sounds much better. Averaged 29.7mpg on the 4hr drive home to Yorkshire - allowing for a 10% error I was impressed with this. Its the pre vanos version without the dreaded plastic timing chain guides. Amazingly everything works incl the old wired phone and no pixels are out. New suspension and brakes all round makes for a tight, refined V8. The interior is the highlight and in unmarked condition. These cars really are special and I feel privileged to own her.
A little update - the 740i is going well. It gets comments and appreciation wherever I take it. The colour combination looked good to my eye and was one of the main reasons for buying. Odd thing happened past week ago. Parked up in the drive, alarm on and the intensive headlight cleaners turn on by themselves - and don't go off. As some of you will know, these washers are pretty powerful and this resulted in concentrated washer fluid all over the front end. The motor kept going until the fluid ran empty and I detected a slight burning smell while I quickly tried to figure out which relay to unplug. It was the 12v blue relay, which once unplugged stopped the motor. Turns out the plastic casing housing the main fuses/relays had come apart slightly and allowed moisture in over time and had corroded the (original) relay and it was stuck open. The cost new from BMW? £91 + VAT ð² So I've ordered a used one from ebay (for £5). I have my bodyshop sourcing the inidividual Orinocco Met paint to get the bonnet resprayed due to lacquer peel. I'm told it will be hard to track down as apparently BMW re use the paint codes as models progress so some bodyshop laptops simply don't reference older Individual paints. I paid a trip to JCT600 BMW last week for a 1.5l bottle of BMW coolant, which was £8 as they have a 25% discount on atm (cheaper than the Wilco aftermarket I usually get). Otherwise enjoying spending weekends in the E38 - makes anything I've ever owned (or on the roads for that matter) else look uncomfortable and built to an accountant's specification and the material build quality is evident every time you close a door or touch a surface. Spending weekdays in a 2008 Mini Cooper S JCW R56 I am selling (I got into the motor trade 3 months ago), a great little car with bags of character (and speed!). Pic of the busted relay, the fun Mini and my chesterfield with a V8: Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
Coming home from a local shopping trip a few days ago around 50 yds from my driveway and white smoke from under the bonnet ð® No loss of power and a trail of unknown liquid as I parked up in my driveway. The engine was not particularly hot, temp needle dead centre and no other sign of anything wrong other than billowing steam. Stopped the car straight away and called for assistance. The AA man turned up an impressive 10 mins later and diagnosed a worn S hose at the rear of the engine. Apparently the hise is known to fail and the replacement OEM part was redesigned to guard against premature filure. The coolant spilled right onto the manifold, hence much smoke that looked much worse than it was. So recovered to the Indy and new S hose ordered from Lloyd Colne BMW. Coolant refresh and brake fluid service also done. I also ordered a reconditioned alternator as the battery indicator on the cluster has been illuminating on start up intermittently and it turns out the (original) alternator has developed a fault. The battery was initially reading 14.5V but dropped to 10V while at the Indy. I was shown a voltmeter reading to confirm. So I collected the V8 yesterday. In the meantime I was given a new Toyota Aygo (courtesy of the AA) ð· which illustrated how badly made modern super minis can be. Swapped it for a new Qashqai, which is actually quite nice. I can see the appeal of such motors for family use. Its no E38 though! Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
@megae39fan Good to see she's still on the go - I thought you'd got rid, or am I having an aberration? :confused:
Thanks gents. @slim_boy_fat - I sold the E38 750i Individual last year and got this one a few months back. It was probably the black 750i that you kindly located for me! you recall. @Verbarthe yes definitely - the quality of each bit of trim, the smooth drive coupled with the roaring V8 and just how well put together it feels put most newer cars to shame. Being in the motor trade now I get to try out many different cars, old & new and I rarely experience something that feels as special. You have to spend ££££ to get a premium feel nowadays I feel. I had the pleasure of a virtually new RR Vogue SE worth £100k for a couple of days last month - that was very special indeed.
I've completed a few trips to London in the 740i Individual recently, and she certainly makes for a comfortable way to eat up the miles. The chrome surround on the grill is starting to come away, with a broken clip the suspect. Temporarily re-attached with some double sided adhesive pads until I find a replacement. I was passing a parked the bus the other day and didn't appreciate how close I was to the parked cars on the left. Next thing I hear a clunk and the side mirror is pushed in having clipped the mirror of a parked car. Not a mark on the mirror cap. The glass simply vanished, and even pulling over I couldn't locate it or any smashed fragments Called BMW to enquire as to a replacement... that will be £320 incl VAT (for just the glass!) So a good quality eBay replacement sourced for a grand total of £10 and fitted. Also noticed the coolant warning light coming on a couple of times, despite topping up with coolant over the last fortnight. An inspection revealed a hairline crack in the radiator, with the element looking quite aged now. So ordered a new rad from Euro CP and picking up today to be fitted asap. The only other issue is the sunroof, hasn't worked since I got the car and I haven't had the time to sort it. So it's on the list. Either re-initialisation or fuse replacement by the looks of it. The lack of an aux/Bluetooth is becoming noticeable, so a GROM audio solution is in the pipeline. Exploring any other way to get an aux into it without removing the CD changer, which I quite like. Otherwise the car is going well, obviously it's a 20 year old car and maintaining it well it part of the ownership process, which I don't mind at all. The E38 attracts positive comments and admiring looks. Most importantly I still feel good every time I'm out in the V8, it's a bit special
I did the same with my wing mirror on my old GT when it was one 2 years old. The replacement would have been £300 odd for the glass so I got one from a scrapper for £70, still too much but better. I'm old skool too and like a CD changer, I too would want to keep it.
Yes to both - although the auto dip is done by the holder behind so doesn't affect the glass. The replacement I bought is also photochromic.
Last pics of the 740i Individual- sold the car a couple of days ago. In a weird coincidence the buyer turned out to be the same guy who bought my black 750i last year. The 740i was a pleasure to own, the V8 a comfortable brute which oozed class and was complimented regularly. The only downside was the 18mpg I averaged over 8 months. Im in a Jag S Type at the moment, whuch is an interesting car and I'm enjoying my first Jag. It was a bit of an impulse buy earlier this week and caught my eye as something special. Its already sold through the business so nice to enjoy it for a few days. Hope you're all well! Sent from my Note8 using Tapatalk
You could fit an aftermarket head unit such as Dynavin that looks like the mark 4 oem nav? That way you get Bluetooth streaming and your CD changer. Or simply upgrade to the mark 4 nav with Bluetooth.
@kleynie if you mean the BMW I sold it a couple of days ago as per my post, but thanks! Sent from my Note8 using Tapatalk
Ah, yes, sorry I was reading on the tube and the last post had not loaded due to the pictures. Good luck with it.
Looks like you have a regular customer/buyer there. He's clearly very satisfied with your car(s) and the presentation. Do you have an online presence for the Sales?
Well thanks Slim, but actually I sold the 750i before I got into the motor trade and I advertised this 740i as a private sale - he didn't know until he came to view this time around that I now buy/sell. Still hopefully the next time he or his friends/family are looking for a car he will pick the phone up. No online presence for the business just yet - I have the domain just haven't found the time to get a website designed. Mostly relying in word of mouth and various popular online sites to sell. Currently enjoying wafting (if you can ever waft in a diesel ) around in the S Type. Its a very comfortable and economical cruiser with plenty of toys - I can see the appeal. Sent from my Note8 using Tapatalk
