Considering a barge...

[2 Wycked]

Ecurie Ecosse said:

Go for a Jag X300. Timeless and bulletproof.

Sshh. If people stop buying BMWs and Mercs in favour of the (superior) straight six Jags I'll end up being priced out of getting another as a daily.

[edo]

monthefish said:

edo said:

mmmmmmm.

2001 BMW 7 SERIES 740i V8 Sport 4dr Auto Saloon
Private Seller

59,900 miles, STUNNING& IMMACULATE 740, Black, Automatic, TV,SatNav, M sport steering wheel, M sport suspension,new front Michelin Pilot tyres,tinted rear windows, (21/26/33mpg, 0-62= 6.2s), heated electric seats, electric sunroof, 3 months warranty, cruise control, soft close boot, full BMW service history,18" M-Tech parallel spoke alloys, etc. 2 previous owners-LOADS OF RECEIPTS incl. 1st SALE ONE. Very rare car to buy in the best possible condition for its age. One of the very last E38 produced. Very clean and looked after car in &out.

£6,250.

That is lovely, but you could get an almost identical car for half that.

Sure you could With twice the mileage, loads of owners, worse condition, not a 4.0, not a sport etc etc etc.

[B'stard Child]

edo said:

Sure you could With twice the mileage, loads of owners, worse condition, not a 4.0, not a sport etc etc etc.

It seems a little over priced but as correctly pointed out it's a sport and it's got much lower than average miles* with all the nice bits associated with being a sport like more supportive seats, blacked out chrome (not sure the front grill is OE but that's not a surprise as the clips get brittle and OE ones are bloody dear) oh and a buzzier gear ratio in top.

• subect to verification and TBH I'd take a higher mileage and a cheaper purchase price everytime (as 100K plus mileage doesn't bother me much)

I paid £5K for this about 5 years ago with just under 100K miles - MY99 98 registered on an S plate, 2 owners, non sport but "Black on Black" 4.4 FBMWSH and everything electrical worked as it should - To me it's value is about £2.5K now but unless I found a rust free Senator 24V (unlikely) it's not getting sold anytime soon.......

[hornetrider]

Loving that OCD plate!

[B'stard Child]

hornetrider said:

Loving that OCD plate!

It should be on a Senator 3.0 24V

A 3.0 CD

That's where it was before the last one died of terminal rust (and non disclosed accident damage found during the start of the rust rectification meant I lost the heart to deal with the rust)

[monthefish]

edo said:

Sure you could With twice the mileage, loads of owners, worse condition, not a 4.0, not a sport etc etc etc.

Twice the mileage? Perhaps, but really not an issue for these cars.
Loads of owners? Not necesarily, but what difference does that make?
Worse condition? Maybe, but the above example looks to be mint.
Not a 4.0? Well, I would hope not. Every "740i" after 1997 was a 4.4.
Not a sport? Why not?

My point is, the car posted is not twice the car of something like this for example (after a brief search - these cars are a minimum of 9 years old now, and so less and less appear in the classifieds. I'm sure a better example of my point will appear soon.).

[edo]

monthefish said:

Twice the mileage? Perhaps, but really not an issue for these cars.
Loads of owners? Not necesarily, but what difference does that make?
Worse condition? Maybe, but the above example looks to be mint.
Not a 4.0? Well, I would hope not. Every "740i" after 1997 was a 4.4.
Not a sport? Why not?

My point is, the car posted is not twice the car of something like this for example (after a brief search - these cars are a minimum of 9 years old now, and so less and less appear in the classifieds. I'm sure a better example of my point will appear soon.).

Well that is a 735i for starters, and 2 years older, and nearly double the miles.

You can always find a car a bit cheaper, and I guess until you go and check them out, you cant be sure what is a good buy - however, if the car I posted is as good as it looks, then I think would be worth the small premium.

I have personally always stood by the idea that a little more in the budget to start with reduces spend later on. Just my modus operandi, and I am sure plenty wont agree. It has however always worked for me. /touch wood/

[edo]

This one looks nice too.

1998 BMW 7 SERIES 740i L V8 4dr Auto Saloon
Private Seller

76,021 miles, 4 Door Saloon, Petrol, Automatic, very rare Orient Blue model with cream leather interior, Double glazed windows, 19' Alpina Alloy Wheels, Alpina front splitter, cruise control, electric sunroof, front and rear parking sensors, remote central locking, air conditioning, dual zone climate control, memory driver seat, PAS, ABS, TCS, 2 telephones (front and rear), 6 CD changer, Television, electronic seat adjust front and rear, auto dim rearview mirror, all round electric windows, electric door mirrors, rear privacy blinds, rear passenger footrests, complete original tool kit, full size spare wheel. MOT 09/2011, Tax until 28/02/2011. Absolutely superb condition inside and out, meticulously maintained, lovely low miles. £4,000 ONO.

[cyprinis]

I have considered an E39, it's one of the two for me now.

I can't believe how little money it is for so much car.

[Seeker UK]

If you're getting an E32, go for the 735i.

If you're going for an E38, avoid the 730i and the 4.0 740i.

Apart from the risk of Nikasil-related woes, I had an E32 740i (ie the 4.0 V8) and the PCV valve had seized and sucked in various gaskets etc - cost £700 to replace all the gaskets, HT stub leads (cooked by oil being sucked into the plug wells). Apparently, the later 4.4 didn't suffer the same problem.

750i are lovely, if you can live with the fuel consumption.

My choice would be to get a 728 with a duff engine and transplant an M54 3.0 engine, like they had Europe. As quick as a 735i and probbaly much better on fuel.

[B'stard Child]

Seeker UK said:

Apart from the risk of Nikasil-related woes, I had an E32 740i (ie the 4.0 V8) and the PCV valve had seized and sucked in various gaskets etc - cost £700 to replace all the gaskets, HT stub leads (cooked by oil being sucked into the plug wells). Apparently, the later 4.4 didn't suffer the same problem.

4.4's have the same PCV issues (it's frequently assumed to be nikasil issues so can be a handy bargaining point when buying a lumpy running 4.4 from an owner who doesn't know the 4.4's have alusil bores

BTW The Nikasil issue is a bit overdone as it's pretty unlikely a car will be affected - ones that were affected got replacement engines and if they haven't been affected and are still running now I think it's highly unlikely that they will suffer all of a sudden

Also 4.4's are affected by the plug well oil ingress problem - leave it too long and the plug wells fill up and as a result the individual plug coils cook in the oil - I found the problem when I changed the plugs on mine - cleaned all the wells out as a temporary fix and on the next service changed the rocker cover gaskets resolving the issue. (the rocker cover gaskets were shot to bits (PS the centre (plug well) gasket doesn't come with the outer one and it's the centre one that causes oil in the plug wells so worth knowing when you order the parts)

Seeker UK said:

750i are lovely, if you can live with the fuel consumption.

And the double consumables like dizzy caps and rotor arms as well as the fact the engine management is 2 6 pot ECU's talking to each other......

Plus it's a lot harder to find a 750i in SWB where it's very easy to find SWB 740's

Seeker UK said:

My choice would be to get a 728 with a duff engine and transplant an M54 3.0 engine, like they had Europe. As quick as a 735i and probbaly much better on fuel.

Not seen many 728's with duff engines advertised - they seem fairly robust and a lot of work when the 740 driven with a sensible head will easily break 30 on a run at Motorway speeds and the purchase price differential is pretty much nothing.

Buying an E38 best to buy on condition, history and a view of the current owner.

One other thing that affects both E38 and E39 the wipers are the wrong way for UK cars - another small irritation