Opinions Wanted - BMW Fans a Gurus Especially - E38 740i Sport

[Dexter Morgan]

Looking for a very second car (as in driving once or twice per week) and am trying to solicit opinions from those who have experience or can share their thoughts.

I know the diversity of people and their rides on this site goes far beyond 4Runners, so I wanted to throw this out there...thoughts on these cars - E38 740i M Sport...potential ownership costs aside, I just love the styling and think this would be an excellent weekend/once a week/boulevard cruiser. What presence...the essence of BMW and full size cars:

BMW 7 Series Base Sedan 4 Door | eBay

 

[02SE]

I had a 740iL. It was a nice car to drive, but it was also nice to own it while under warranty, as there were occasional issues. In my case, none that prevented the car from being driven, though.

There was a more serious issue with the Nikasil coating on the cylinder bores. But any car that is still driving around today, has likely had that issue addressed. A 2001 was built after that issue was resolved, so that shouldn't be a problem.

If you can't or don't want to service it yourself, maintaining one can be expensive. A neighbor still has a 740iL. He likes to complain about the cost of keeping it running in good condition. I usually laugh and tell him it's still much cheaper than buying a new one.

 

[LittleCaesar]

As 02se points out, a BMW, especially this one is fantastic to own. That is own under warranty unless your aptitude for being a shade tree mechanic is quite high. Nonetheless the parts are available but expensive, thus living up to the "Break My Wallet" one liner joke so commonly expressed.

In all regards I am always leery of ads selling nice luxury autos with atrocious grammatical errors. But since you are in CT, contact the seller and see if they will give a test drive. Few cars drive like a BMW.

 

[mxer]

You might as well try to find a 03+ E55 AMG....about that price and will smoke most anything and could be slightly more reliable.

 

[slides]

I had a 03 330ci for 4 years and i miss it. Plan on getting a e46 m3 when i have the means again, anyhow like all BMW's do your research on issues with the models.

Mine had a few items that i had to fix, yes it was more expensive for parts but if you know where to get the parts ECS tuning, rockford auto, pelican auto parts you can get decent deals.

Toyota parts seem almost free something compaird to the cost of BMW's but i have to say audi's are the worst. I had 2 and those f%^#% almost killed me on the repair bills it was insane.

 

[Dexter Morgan]

You might as well try to find a 03+ E55 AMG....about that price and will smoke most anything and could be slightly more reliable.

They are impressive cars but I am not a Merc fan. I feel the handling is terrible compared to the performance. For me, BMW is a balance of both.

 

[Dexter Morgan]

In all regards I am always leery of ads selling nice luxury autos with atrocious grammatical errors. But since you are in CT, contact the seller and see if they will give a test drive. Few cars drive like a BMW.

I'm with you, that car is actually more of a representation of the chassis. I am ideally looking for a black on black sport.

 

[Millerad1651]

I'm with you, that car is actually more of a representation of the chassis. I am ideally looking for a black on black sport.

I thought you drove a Ford Escape? You selling your boat to get this BMW?


Thats all I have to ad, nothing useful...moving on...

 

[clemson4r]

If you're looking at E38's be wary of the back glass fogging rendering the door windows useless, as well as the timing chain guides that are prone to breaking. Additionally, vc gaskets are a common problem. Otherwise, fantastic cars, I love the styling especially with M-Parallels that the M sports came with. Best of luck finding one, post pics if you do.

Max

 

[NewguyNY]

I've owned many BMWs and I love them deeply. I would, however, be very careful on picking an older one out of warranty. While they are, without a doubt, the best balance of sport, luxury and handling of any car on the road, you pay dearly for those things.
If you simply must have one, I'd suggest finding one with the least amount of options available. Particularly, I'd seek out a manual. A clutch is much cheaper and easier to replace than their auto trannys are for example.
I'm personally a fan of 3 series the most. The parts are more prevalent I've found and relatively cheaper.
I've owned everything from an E30 M3 to an E70 X5M with several other M3s and an X3 (wife's). My last was an E90 M3. That was a BRILLIANT car, but incredibly expensive to maintain and drive. If I were to look for another Bimmer now, it would almost certainly be an E46 330ci. Not crazy expensive, cheaper to maintain than M cars, a ton of fun but not ludicrously fast.
Whatever you decide good luck!

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I've owned many BMWs and I love them deeply. I would, however, be very careful on picking an older one out of warranty. While they are, without a doubt, the best balance of sport, luxury and handling of any car on the road, you pay dearly for those things.
If you simply must have one, I'd suggest finding one with the least amount of options available. Particularly, I'd seek out a manual. A clutch is much cheaper and easier to replace than their auto trannys are for example.
I'm personally a fan of 3 series the most. The parts are more prevalent I've found and relatively cheaper.
I've owned everything from an E30 M3 to an E70 X5M with several other M3s and an X3 (wife's). My last was an E90 M3. That was a BRILLIANT car, but incredibly expensive to maintain and drive. If I were to look for another Bimmer now, it would almost certainly be an E46 330ci. Not crazy expensive, cheaper to maintain than M cars, a ton of fun but not ludicrously fast.
Whatever you decide good luck!

That's pretty much my experience with BMW, they hold up to their "Ultimate Driving Machine" mantra as they are consistently one of the better brands in terms of packaging a comfortable, luxurious, and fun to drive vehicle. Unfortunately they are no where near the Ultimate Reliability Machine.

I had to repair a fiber optic cable on one of those older 7-series before... it is not a fun thing to do. Basically BMWs are great under warranty, if its out of the shop for you to drive, but when they're older/out of warranty they are not cheap to maintain (though most European brands aren't to be fair, I just hold BMW at the top of the pile in that respect based on my experience and BMW techs I know.)

 

[T4R2014]

Fantastic car. Do watch out for timing chain issues which is a common problem on the M62 V8. Keep them maintained and they keep going and going and going.

 

[02SE]

I've owned many BMWs and I love them deeply. I would, however, be very careful on picking an older one out of warranty. While they are, without a doubt, the best balance of sport, luxury and handling of any car on the road, you pay dearly for those things.
If you simply must have one, I'd suggest finding one with the least amount of options available. Particularly, I'd seek out a manual. A clutch is much cheaper and easier to replace than their auto trannys are for example.
I'm personally a fan of 3 series the most. The parts are more prevalent I've found and relatively cheaper.
I've owned everything from an E30 M3 to an E70 X5M with several other M3s and an X3 (wife's). My last was an E90 M3. That was a BRILLIANT car, but incredibly expensive to maintain and drive. If I were to look for another Bimmer now, it would almost certainly be an E46 330ci. Not crazy expensive, cheaper to maintain than M cars, a ton of fun but not ludicrously fast.
Whatever you decide good luck!

I've owned several other BMW's as well. I still own one (two if you count the new bike) currently. They live up to the phrase "The Ultimate Driving Machine". But you will pay for it.

 

[Supra725]

get an E55 or an E63 bro..

I'm in also in the market for one.. for the price of less than an brand new Corolla.. I will take an e55 or an e63 over an BMW any day of the week.. the amg's are an great looking car.. plenty of power to play with.. my mechanic told me not to get an bmw unless it is under warranty.. other wise, have fun fixing it half the time.. BMW over heat like a mother****

 

[02SE]

BMW over heat like a mother****

That has not been my experience. Even when used in extreme conditions, like lapping a local road racing track in hot summertime temperatures.

Any vehicle that has been poorly designed, or neglected maintenance wise, can have overheating issues. Most modern cars are tested in extreme conditions, to ensure they will perform fine for customers under any conceivable use.

By far, overheating issues I've seen from any make of car, were due to poor/no owner maintenance.

BMW's like most more expensive brands, tend to be neglected more than the average grocery getter. People tend to buy/lease a vehicle they can't really afford, and then neglect it's maintenance because that would cost them even more money.

Another example of neglect were the Toyota's that were deemed "Sludgers". That was mostly a problem of maintenance neglect. Toyota had a reputation of impeccable reliability. So people would buy them, and then NEVER CHANGE THE OIL. Eventually the car would develop a problem related to the lack of maintenance, and it would show up at a repair garage, with the original sludged oil, and factory installed oil filter..

 

[Dexter Morgan]

Fantastic car. Do watch out for timing chain issues which is a common problem on the M62 V8. Keep them maintained and they keep going and going and going.

I've put a deposit on an '01 740i Sport black on black with 138k miles, it should be here within a week or so as its being shipped from out of state. The valve cover and timing cover gaskets have been done, no sign of the valley pan gasket leaking. The current owner is a BMW mechanic and has inspected the timing chain guides and said they were not worn or damaged. Also said there is no rattle noise on start up. I am purchasing sight unseen, but it is a cheap cost to entry and I am getting a very good price on it. While I know there are some maintenance items to be concerned about and perhaps costs down the road, I feel I've done my homework to know this would be a great second car.

And as far as Mercedes goes, I'm not a fan. Insane power but zero handling and a bit soulless if you ask me. I will post pics as she arrives.

 

[NewguyNY]

I've put a deposit on an '01 740i Sport black on black with 138k miles, it should be here within a week or so as its being shipped from out of state. The valve cover and timing cover gaskets have been done, no sign of the valley pan gasket leaking. The current owner is a BMW mechanic and has inspected the timing chain guides and said they were not worn or damaged. Also said there is no rattle noise on start up. I am purchasing sight unseen, but it is a cheap cost to entry and I am getting a very good price on it. While I know there are some maintenance items to be concerned about and perhaps costs down the road, I feel I've done my homework to know this would be a great second car.



And as far as Mercedes goes, I'm not a fan. Insane power but zero handling and a bit soulless if you ask me. I will post pics as she arrives.

Congrats! Sounds like a good choice. Hopefully you're very happy with it!