E38 advice

Hi guys,

As you will know I recently came out of an F02 750Li. The plan is to go for something smaller in Sept/Oct time - probably a 2013-2014 118d/i of some description....

In the meantime I'd like to get an E38 for the summer. Having had no experience of the 728i, 735i or 740i variety, I'd appreciate any advice on which to go for. The MPG difference between all three isn't immense and I'm open to any experience of ownership / advice you can offer.

Thanks
Mega

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The chap on here who has the clean E39 which he is always tinkering with and the nice aftermarket wheels owned an E38 for a while. He'd be a good bet to ask but his username escapes me.

 

Thanks Neemz. From a bit of googling it seems there is a world of difference between the 2.8i 6cyl and the 4.4v8 which is to be expected. The 2001 4.4 is said to be the one to go for, so this is the focus of my search at present. They are rare though... may have to settle for a 735i.

I've got a little Honda Jazz for the Mrs to break in, you can imagine how it feels driving that after coming out of a 750!

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That'll be d_a_n1979.

 

@d_a_n1979

 

Sorry folks; just seen this!

The 740i is a great motor; but unfortunately they're generally on the road to an expensive repair bill which is either the gearbox (this is usually a fluid and filter change though; same with all the 'sealed lifetime' boxes for BMW, or the chain guides go in the engine (plastic; they get hard with the heat and then very brittle and fall apart in the engine and it's a £1k+ bill)!

I drove quite a few E38s before I bought my 728i; loved the 750iL but alas it was just a bit too big and was a bit rough inside; the 740i I drove over in Clitheroe was lovely, but his asking price was daft, plus it'd got some rust issues that I would have to have sorted! I'd leave the 725i as well and just get a 740i, they're all the same price really!

Settled on a 728i in Glasgow, went up to see it and drove it and it was lovely! Suffered from the rear upper arms wobble at 50mph, but overall in good condition, solid service history and all old MOTs. Just needed some TLC (small rust patch on boot lid and the NS sill needed a few patches sorting)

• Yes; ok the 740i is faster, but still the same top speed more or less and when are you going to do that?!
• The 740i is a V8, so it has that grumble, but they're so well muffled, you can barely tell its a V8!
• The 728i has the straight 6 engine, it's more than powerful enough for our roads, gets going VERY well with its auto box and even more so in S ;)
• The 728i has the 4 pot Brembo brakes up front, they're very good indeed and look great behind the alloys. The rest have the single pot ATC brakes!
• They've all got electric seats/memory seats etc...

You've just got to make sure it all works, but also the underside needs checking for rust and service history, or docs to show its been maintained are needed IMO. They're fabled for their 50/60mph shimmy (front upper and rear upper arms); rear brake discs can cause this as well. They're big cars, so their suspension needs looking after and they can break springs for the fun of it, so worth budgeting in for this (KYB/Boge are more than good enough and not that expensive either)!

Their cooling systems are chocolate based as well; so if work can't be shown to have been done recently, a budget for the rad, rad hoses, water pump and thermostat is needed and whilst all that's off, the power steering bottle and hoses may as well be replaced and a full oil/oil filter change (c£500 for the parts and whatever labour/or DIY)

Meeknet and Bimmerofurms.com are a welth of info; much better than the UK forums IMO:

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?274-1995-2001-(E38)
http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e38/

Just to show what you can achieve:











;)

 

going from a 750 to a 118d is going to be hard, after a few months i imagine i would be desperate for luxury again, if not the engine.


edit : your last post was added whilst i was typing.

Looks good and sits well.

edit again, sorry thought dans post was mega :confused:

 

Thanks d_a_n1979 - very useful advice and interesting to see the 728i promoted above the 740i. Useful point about the potential for high repair bills.

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I know tell me about it. Anything else pales in comparison, needs must unfortunately.

An E38 as a stop gap will satisfy me enough to consider the next step carefully.

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No worries

I loved my E38; everyone slates the 728i saying the engines too small etc... It's a bloody land barge, not a sports car! They're to be smooth and comfy, great for distance driving and making you feel a bit of luxury in their lovely interior!

The 728i shifts when it has too... But so does the fuel gauge haha

 

Official mpg figures are:

728i - 25.4mpg
740i - 22.1mpg

Interesting how such a jump in power only leads to a 3mpg drop... heavy barge of a car as you say though.

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Yeah; but also if you have a lead foot... ;)

Around town you'll see c18mpg, on a distance travel, around 32mpg IMO

 

The E38 is a fantastic car. I would think that finding a good one is going to be the biggest problem.

Past the timeless styling appeal, stately gait, the rock solid build quality and the feel good factor, there are downsides as outlined above.

From my 735 owning experiences the top bugs include:

Leaky rocker cover gaskets on the V8 which if disregarded will fry the coil packs when oil seeps into them.
Cooling on the V8, particularly the heat exchange pipe between the bulkhead and rear of engine.
Leaky fuel tank.
Fuel tank venting blockages.
Rust in boot lid seam and rear arches.
Wind noise and in some cases leaks from incorrectly fitted windscreens.
They have a tendency to eat their gearboxes.
Baggy steering - something you just have to get used to because it's a Flintstones era recirculating ball system.

Dogs abound. Most of them will be bangers by now, although there will be a cohort of well maintained ones at higher prices. The trick is finding one before someone runs it into the ground.

The V8 is the only engine to go for. The E38 is pointless without one. Happy hunting.

 

Harry thanks. I recall you mentioned owning one in the days of ole Land.

Yes the V8 is the one I want, but as you say finding one is proving very difficult indeed.

I saw something very 'left-field' - an old Jag XJ (X30 and an S Type (3.0 V6 or 4.0 V and have always had a hankering for the 3.2 V8 in the former... any thoughts on the old jags? They're no E38 but very well priced and perfect stopgap materials with plenty of luxury and waftability to my eye. Or am I just being blindsided by not being able to find a decent E38?

This is hard

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It's very hard isn't it?

As a stop gap I wouldn't mind a go in a big Jag. It's an unticked box for me. But the E38 is still a big pull. Like you, I am a huge fan of the E39 and always will be. The E38 really suits people like us down to the ground. Just sitting in one is an "oh yeah!" moment.

Even 11-12 years ago the market was awash with sheds. God knows what it's like now but the worst of them have probably gone.

Here's a thought. Apologies if I'm telling you something you already know. There was, and I hope still is, a forum called thesevenseriesregister (or something like that). You have to register to access it but it's an easy process and you don't need to own one. This used to be a deep and friendly pool of information and leads. They might have classifieds too.

 

I don't have any good pics to hand but here's a few I found on my HDD.

 

Thanks for that. I'm actually a member of the7seriesregister but unfortunately they don't appear to have a classifieds section (at least not on the tapatalk version).

I absolutely agree re the familiarity of the E38 to fans of the E39 like us. It seems a natural progression. As you say plenty of rough cars about.

The only decent one I've seen is (over) priced by 'oldcolonel', which at 8k is rich even for a prime example.

I've iust returned from viewing an XJ8, 4.0 in great condition and while it was smooth, refined and 'nice' enough it just didn't have that BMW driver focused appeal of driving that we have all become accustomed to.

Some pics anyway...




The search continues.

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I am a member of the seven series register and I find it a bit slow, not much new info on there at all.

I am also a big fan of the E39 and have owned 4 of them, the last one was a 2003 and that felt old, so it will be hard work finding a decent E38 of the same era.

 

That Jag looks good. But I'd still prefer a Seven. They seem to be a well kept secret - even among BMW fans. They're a lot better than many people would give them credit for. They're not at the top of the (non M) model range for nothing. Driving one usually settles the debate. I took an E65 out on a test drive to rule it out (coz I knew I didn't want one) and look what happened?!

Actually, I'd drive an E65 while you are about it. You never know....

And that Old Colonel, he is a bit of a wag.