Friday 29th July 2011

SOTW: BMW 740i (E38)

Has Shed found seventh heaven?

---

Given that the humble barge is a staple of Shed's diet, it's odd that the E38 BMW 7-series has never been granted the honour of Shed of the Week.

It's even more odd when you consider that Shed has featured a full 20 BMWs since the beginning of recorded Shed time (mind you that only goes back to late 2006 - we didn't keep an SOTW archive before then) and that your humble scribbler here is more than partial to a Bee-Em. We've done a few Sevens, but never the 1994-2001 E38.

That changes today, for we present you with 4.0 litres and 282bhp of creamy BMW V8 in the form of this 1995 N-plate 740i. And a car that a certain J Bond sped around in duringTomorrow Never Dies (yes, we know that was a 750iL, but this is close enough, surely?).

What's particularly tempting about this car is that it comes from a dealer forecourt rather than a private drive, so you'd (probably) have some comeback if things went all pear-shaped - which is a fine idea when you pick out a barge - this might have a £1k price, but it still has the running costs of a much more expensive motor...

...which brings us to the slightly odd wording of the advert. The dealer's ad describes it as a 'cheap runner'. Now, a V8 BMW 7-series may be many things, but cheap to run it will not be. Heck, even the advert admits to the group 19 insurance. Must have been the work experience lad who wrote the ad for that one...

Even so, 995 notes for all that power, leather and prestige, plus a full 12 months MOT, seems pretty good value for us. The sticker price in the first image also tells an intriguing tale - this car has already been reduced from £1295, so you could probably twist the salesman's arm* and knock a few quid further off that.

*Metaphorically of course - PistonHeads does not condone physical violence on car traders

Advert is reproduced below

BMW 7 SERIES 740i V8 Auto 1995
130,000 miles £995

BLUE 4 Door Saloon

3982cc

Insurance Group 19, THIS CAR WILL COME WITH A 12 MONTHS MOT DRIVES WELL, CHEAP RUNNER Electric Mirrors, Electric Sunroof, Electric Windows, Remote Central Locking, ABS, Climate Control, Power Steering, Drivers Airbag, Passenger Airbag, Alloy Wheels, Full Leather Interior, Immobiliser, Alarm, Please Call 01925 820222 For Further Details

 

 

[johnpeat]

Proper shed but WTF is going on with the wheels/arch space

Is it running on airbags?

[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!

[johnpeat]

AL V8 said:

I rarely get to drive it these days as I have a company car (diesel X1 of all things) forced upon me, already been told off for using the e38 for work... Considering the road tax for it here in Ireland is €1600 per year and I'm paying twice that in company car tax I should really sell it, but the thought of that breaks my heart. Here it is:

Lovely car - why not just sell it to yourself - surely that would be WAY cheaper for everyone!?

[johnpeat]

J4CKO said:

There are a lot out there but I don't know why people saw the brochure and thought "Yes, Baby Poo beige interior, that will look great", though PHers seem to have all got the nice colour/trim/wheel combos judging by the photos.

Black leather isn't for everyone - it makes for a darker/less welcoming interior and it shows-up damage sooner too.

I don't mind the darker shades (oatmeal - or baby poo if you prefer), the only thing which makes me run a mile are the lighter 'beige' shades or GOD FORBID, WHITE!!

[johnpeat]

Merle said:

Buy this car for 1000 quid, then part it out. The seats alone might fetch that. Think of all the bazillion outrageously priced bits on a beemer and you could make a small fortune with a little ambition and patience. Use a sawzall to cut up the hulk and dumpster it.

I tackle this one on a weekly basis but once again - selling a car as 'parts' is far, far, far harder than you think.

Yes, there are people who need various parts from any given car - but the hurdles in connecting your bits with their needs are nor inconsiderable.

Listing stuff on eBay costs money and attracts 50 idiots and freeloaders for every genuine buyer. Using freeads etc. reduces the total without affecting the idiot:buyer ratio

Then there's the scammers who will claim your parts were faulty and get their money back through PayPal (and keep the parts usually).

Then there's the people who expect stuff to magically travel the length and breadth of the country 'free of charge' and be in their garage yesterday...

Frankly, in 99% of cases, it's not worth the effort...

[johnpeat]

BountyHunter said:

£1500 wouldnt be a bad idea.

I was browsing some old SOTW posts and noticed a general shift from £500 cars to more expensive ones around 2007ish - and certainly things have gone-up in price since then (not the least of which, the value of the fuel in the tank!)

Given that we've had a spate of 'less than sheddy', 'tatty' or even 'outright broken' sheds, I think some increase might be sensible.

£1000 is still a line to cross when you're selling a car - some people will cling onto £1100/1200 if, for no other reason, to suggest they're selling a solid/decent car (and may even dip below the £1000 when haggling kicks-in)???