RE: SOTW: BMW 740i (E38)

[Helicopter123]

Now that's a proper SOTW isn't it!!!

[ITech]

SuperHangOn said:

With my own money, I would chicken out and buy an LS over either.

I actually think that the LS is a much more risky purchase than a 740, as well as being bland imo.

I accept that a good LS will probably not go wrong much, but parts prices are vastly more expensive than you can buy oem BMW parts for. A complete exhaust system for an LS for example is likely to be twice the price of the BM, as are many other parts. LS has a cambelt that will need replacing, the BM has a chain that does not, etc. I could go on..

SuperHangOn said:

There's something about the E38 though, they're just effortlessly cool and a little bit sinister. I've probably just watched the Transporter too many times

J4CKO is right, HAS to be original with amber indictors or it becomes a back street pimpmobile.

+1

Edited by ITech on Friday 29th July 15:26

[B'stard Child]

Great SOTW - shame about the wrong wheels (likely to be incorrect offset too and definately under sized profile tyre

I've had mine since 2006 - picked it up after the first owner part exchanged it for a Merc and experienced close to £60K of depreciation in 6 years.

Couple of pics of mine







Essential engine bay shot



Returned an average of 27 mpg from 2006-2010

best was 34 mpg on a run from Norfolk to Wales and back in a day

My gripe about the car will always be the slightly jiggly ride (worse on the original 18's which is why the car rides on 16's now - orginally basket weaves but they were a sod to keep clean so now on the easy clean E38 16's)

Huge amount of std kit easy to home maintain and BMW dealers give 10-15% discount on parts for older cars automatically so I can use Genuine parts without paying a huge premium

[dbdb]

ITech said:

pete5570 said:

I would take a Jaguar X300 over one of these all day long. Much better looking and far less to go wrong.

I would say the 740i feels a fair bit quicker and more eager than the x300 (i've had the 3.2 and 4.0 Jag), the BMW is also more sporty to drive and handles better. The 740 also feels more luxurious inside, more solidly built and more expensive. The quality of the leather is better, little things like that, make it feel like a more costly car. However, I loved my x300's and they are very reliable as you say, there is not much that goes wrong. Both are truly great cars, I think the 740i just has the edge for me, the looks are of course personal taste, I think both look great, in the right colour.

ETA. Although, there is less to go wrong with the Jag, as you rightly said. The Jag parts can be a lot more expensive. This is because you can get most parts for the BM from places like GSF or ECP, which you cannot for the Jag. You can often source 2nd hand bits off Ebay though, it's just a bit more work.

ITech said:

He's right imo, x300's don't go wrong. I had 3 and they were all totally reliable, the 6 cyl engine and autobox is considered to be bullet proof (I'm in the Jag club and never heard of any problems with them at all). There are loads around with over 200k on them, still going strong. It's a very reliable car, interested as to why you think otherwise?

Only problem with x300's is slight tendency to rust on rear arches, can't think of anything else really.

ETA: Perhaps your thinking of the x308 ? Early examples of which are certainly best avoided..

Styling is subjective and personal, but I prefer the look of the X300. The E38 is and feels a much more modern car than the X300 and I agree the BMW's interior is more luxurious, while the X300 can be a bit placsticy in places. The interior is one area where the earlier XJ40 betters the X300, with more leather and less plastic on the XJ40 Sovereign.

I believe the e38 has a pretty good record for reliablity, though I have no direct experience of them. The Jaguar X300 is an older design (it is basically a late XJ40) and are amongst the most reliable and robust big cars made. They really don't go wrong and can do huge mileages without incident. Both are great cars.

monthefish said:

I hate it when people continue to roll out the "Jaguar - old man's car" stereotype when talking about the current Jaguar range (it just demonstartes their ignorance IMO), but in the case of the X300 I think it is very much applicable, and I prefer the looks of the 7 series, and it is definitely the more spacious of the two (for luggage and passengers).

I think the only way I'd have the X300 over the e38 would be if it were a black XJR with the black wood interior.

The X300 was the first "retro styled" Jaguar, but it is still an attractive looking car and the "old man's stereotype" is just as daft when applied to them as it is on today's XJ.

Jaguars before the X300 look old fashioned now, but at the time of launch were designed to look contemporary. Until very recently it seemed Jaguar couldn't win: if they tried to style the XJ to look modern like the XJ40 in the 1980s then it doesn't look like a Jag. But if they make it "look Jaguar" as they did in the Ford era with the X300, X350 or X-Type, then they're old men's cars which look to the past, yet that very thing works for Porsche.

I'm glad Jaguar have finally managed to move on since if they did not the brand would be moribund, however good the cars are technically.

Anyway, I still think the E38 is a lovely thing (just not quite so nice as my Jag...)

[dbdb]

B'stard Child said:

Great SOTW - shame about the wrong wheels (likely to be incorrect offset too and definately under sized profile tyre

I've had mine since 2006 - picked it up after the first owner part exchanged it for a Merc and experienced close to £60K of depreciation in 6 years.

Couple of pics of mine







Essential engine bay shot



Returned an average of 27 mpg from 2006-2010

best was 34 mpg on a run from Norfolk to Wales and back in a day

My gripe about the car will always be the slightly jiggly ride (worse on the original 18's which is why the car rides on 16's now - orginally basket weaves but they were a sod to keep clean so now on the easy clean E38 16's)

Huge amount of std kit easy to home maintain and BMW dealers give 10-15% discount on parts for older cars automatically so I can use Genuine parts without paying a huge premium

Very nice. I like the wheels on it too.

[johnpeat]

B'stard Child said:

Great SOTW - shame about the wrong wheels (likely to be incorrect offset too and definately under sized profile tyre

I've had mine since 2006 - picked it up after the first owner part exchanged it for a Merc and experienced close to £60K of depreciation in 6 years.

Couple of pics of mine







Essential engine bay shot



Returned an average of 27 mpg from 2006-2010

best was 34 mpg on a run from Norfolk to Wales and back in a day

My gripe about the car will always be the slightly jiggly ride (worse on the original 18's which is why the car rides on 16's now - orginally basket weaves but they were a sod to keep clean so now on the easy clean E38 16's)

Huge amount of std kit easy to home maintain and BMW dealers give 10-15% discount on parts for older cars automatically so I can use Genuine parts without paying a huge premium

That EXUDES cool - good job there!

[pete5570]

These 7 series seem to find homes with Eastern Europeans who drive them like idiots, this hasn't helped the image much really. Nice motor though.

[ITech]

dbdb said:

I still think the E38 is a lovely thing (just not quite so nice as my Jag...)

Lol, you might be right. I can never make my mind up which is best out of the e38, w126, w140, xj40 and x300. Basically, they are all awesome cars.

Edited by ITech on Friday 29th July 15:47

[Martin 480 Turbo]

All of them 7series (or Beemers for that matter) go though
a phase of not so nice owners when they are around 7 years
old.

But they tend to come back into the nice parts of town when
they have matured to 25.

Martin 480 Turbo

[B'stard Child]

dbdb said:

B'stard Child said:

Very nice. I like the wheels on it too.

johnpeat said:

That EXUDES cool - good job there!

Thanks for the positive comments - the plate was originally on my 3.0 Senator CD and in no way should it indicate I am OCD - OK maybe just a little

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

IMHO it's still no where near as good as a Vauxhall Senator 24V :getmeoat: (seek out the SOTW thread on the Senator) - but as a comfy luxo barge that you can travel huge distances in comfort with reasonable economy it's not bad at all.

Still fancy a A8 or S8 sometime in the near future as it was one of the other alternatives on my list when I purchased the E38.

Edited by B'stard Child on Friday 29th July 15:58

[B'stard Child]

Martin 480 Turbo said:

All of them 7series (or Beemers for that matter) go though
a phase of not so nice owners when they are around 7 years
old.

But they tend to come back into the nice parts of town when
they have matured to 25.

Martin 480 Turbo

Thanks - I got mine early then

[monthefish]

dbdb said:

monthefish said:

I hate it when people continue to roll out the "Jaguar - old man's car" stereotype when talking about the current Jaguar range (it just demonstartes their ignorance IMO), but in the case of the X300 I think it is very much applicable, and I prefer the looks of the 7 series, and it is definitely the more spacious of the two (for luggage and passengers).

I think the only way I'd have the X300 over the e38 would be if it were a black XJR with the black wood interior.

The X300 was the first "retro styled" Jaguar, but it is still an attractive looking car and the "old man's stereotype" is just as daft when applied to them as it is on today's XJ.

Jaguars before the X300 look old fashioned now, but at the time of launch were designed to look contemporary. Until very recently it seemed Jaguar couldn't win: if they tried to style the XJ to look modern like the XJ40 in the 1980s then it doesn't look like a Jag. But if they make it "look Jaguar" as they did in the Ford era with the X300, X350 or X-Type, then they're old men's cars which look to the past, yet that very thing works for Porsche.

Until X351, the styling of the XJ did not change significantly over the years, nor did the interior.
Jaguar (mainly under Fords misguided direction/insistence) clung on to the 'look Jaguar' notion for too long (I saw some of the early design concepts for the X350 which the studio were pushing for, but Ford in their wisdom chose to go with the traditional design)


You cannot draw a parallel with Porsche (and I assume you are referring to the 911 when you do) as the 911 was always a (semi-)youthful sports car, whereas the XJ was a large 4-door saloon that wasn't aimed at the family market either. Who did that leave? The company M.D type.

Also, the 911 has managed to retain the basic design cues that made the model iconic, but have made the car look current (I personally think the revert back to round headlights for the 997 was a mistake in this respect). Jaguar never managed this.....until now.


I'm not having a dig at Jaguar - all of that market segment (A8, 7-series, S-Class) could be accused of being 'old mans' cars but it was especially true of the X300 due to its failed retro styling, and this is probably why their competitors products, and not theirs, have found themselves having some decent product placements, such as the Audi A8 in 'Ronin' and 'The Transporter 2', the 7-Series in 'Tommorrow Never Dies' and 'The Transporter'

[HON2A]

pete5570 said:

These 7 series seem to find homes with Eastern Europeans who drive them like idiots, this hasn't helped the image much really. Nice motor though.

Cheers, as an "Eastern European" PH I thank you for the stereotype...

An essential interior shot, phone's regularly used (love the cord and ring tone), the cassette player hides under the centre flap and the arrowed socket is for the fax and labelled as such!

Edited by HON2A on Friday 29th July 16:17

[ukzz4iroc]

pete5570 said:

These 7 series seem to find homes with Eastern Europeans who drive them like idiots, this hasn't helped the image much really. Nice motor though.

So do Passat's, A4's, A8's and many, many others.

[Frances The Mute]

HON2A said:

pete5570 said:

These 7 series seem to find homes with Eastern Europeans who drive them like idiots, this hasn't helped the image much really. Nice motor though.

Cheers, as an "Eastern European" PH I thank you for the stereotype...

The guy who bought my 740 (after pretty much zero interest in over a month of advertising) was based in London and from the Czech Republic. He bought it specifically to use as a drift car...

[angusc43]

Great shed. German & V8 - perfect.

And a reminder of how classy Bimmers's looked before Mr B came along.

[r1ch]

Thought it was cool since that movie Really like em.

[pete5570]

I don't think you can call the Jaguar X300 design a failure in any way. The X300 helped revive Jaguar and the design won over a lot of customers and a panel of Italian designers, who named it the most beautiful saloon car ever. Praise indeed.

[dbdb]

HON2A said:

pete5570 said:

These 7 series seem to find homes with Eastern Europeans who drive them like idiots, this hasn't helped the image much really. Nice motor though.

Cheers, as an "Eastern European" PH I thank you for the stereotype...

An essential interior shot, phone's regularly used (love the cord and ring tone), the cassette player hides under the centre flap and the arrowed socket is for the fax and labelled as such!

It's probably just me, but I can't quite work out where Central Europe ends and Eastern Europe begins. Do Czech people consider themselves Eastern European? If so, is that because they are a Slavic people who speak a Slavic language rather than a Germanic or Latin based one? It has puzzled me for a long time - the Czech republic seems to be in Central Europe geographically since the east-west centre point is in Belarus. Is this them moment when I get my coat...

I like the fax socket!

[slarnge]

Nice and cheap,looks like its got the wrong tyres fitted to those rims.