Discussion
Just thought I'd share this image of my beloved daughter and my old beloved E38 750iL. This picture was taken en route to Lake Garda Italy via France and Switzerland way back in 2007. We covered well over 1700 miles from our home in Scotland to Lake Garda and Back. We averaged wallet wilting 17mpg. But it was a far nicer way to travel than Easyjet. My daughter still asks me what ever happened to Dad's "long" car! But it was sold a couple of years after and never seen again. I was a paragon of reliability in my ownership and never let me down. I would sit a 140 mph with nothing more than a reminder from the fuel gauge that things weren't good. Things have moved on significantly in the world of BMW's in the last few years but I would still have an old E38 750iL in a heartbeat.
Stevie.
I have an E38 750iL, bought sight unseen on eBay in September 2011. Cost £1,100 and a KFC for my mate who gave me a lift down the M40 to pick it up. Yes, it's a pain in the arse to park. Yes, the Exxon Valdez lost less fuel than i've used (a 3mi commute doesn't help matters). Yes, compared to a 2013 enterprise jobby it's a pretty basic spec.
But.
For the longer runs into London or when we're going away for a few days it is absolutely outstanding. I've done 4-5hr drives without a stop (Max journey limited to about 5hrs as you have to stop for fuel) and never have I thought A) got to get back in and keep going B) my back/legs/arms/ears hurt. It is absolutely peerless. It's better built than my bosses E60, on a recent airport run with 4 people's ski kit for a week (one pair of skis) it was only just beginning to feel loaded out - but still pulled like a train. Tax is £220 per year which is fantastic for annoying people with their brand new cars with smaller engines that run up to north of £450.
It's not been completely faultless - I smashed a pheasant and had to replace the headlight and indicator assembly (£50). I've had to replace the fuel tank as it was becoming incontinent on the street outside N188 towers (£200 using a tank from a scrapper which i've now waxoiled). It's too heavy to legally tow my trailer. And the door handle fell off (climbing into an E38 drivers seat from the passenger side makes you look like a t*at - £25). It's had a new battery, a service, and 2 new front tyres (They do appear to eat them - £125 a corner). The "SPORT" mode is a bit like putting condom dispensers in the vatican - it doesn't get used often but it's not a machine for back road hustling.
I'll be genuinely sad to see it go but the relentless increase in fuel costs (Driven sensibly on a motorway it returns about 28mpg, I normally average 20 combined) combined with little bits that keep breaking that i'm running out of patience to fix, added to the fact that Mrs. N188 struggles to park it anywhere and I live in a county with parking bays that aren't big enough for push bikes and more speed bumps than i've ever thought imagineable mean her days are numbered. The problem is what to replace it with...i've been thoroughly spoiled and i'd have to spend a lot of money to get the same level of comfort...
Everyone should own a luxo barge at some point. Fact.
But.
For the longer runs into London or when we're going away for a few days it is absolutely outstanding. I've done 4-5hr drives without a stop (Max journey limited to about 5hrs as you have to stop for fuel) and never have I thought A) got to get back in and keep going B) my back/legs/arms/ears hurt. It is absolutely peerless. It's better built than my bosses E60, on a recent airport run with 4 people's ski kit for a week (one pair of skis) it was only just beginning to feel loaded out - but still pulled like a train. Tax is £220 per year which is fantastic for annoying people with their brand new cars with smaller engines that run up to north of £450.
It's not been completely faultless - I smashed a pheasant and had to replace the headlight and indicator assembly (£50). I've had to replace the fuel tank as it was becoming incontinent on the street outside N188 towers (£200 using a tank from a scrapper which i've now waxoiled). It's too heavy to legally tow my trailer. And the door handle fell off (climbing into an E38 drivers seat from the passenger side makes you look like a t*at - £25). It's had a new battery, a service, and 2 new front tyres (They do appear to eat them - £125 a corner). The "SPORT" mode is a bit like putting condom dispensers in the vatican - it doesn't get used often but it's not a machine for back road hustling.
I'll be genuinely sad to see it go but the relentless increase in fuel costs (Driven sensibly on a motorway it returns about 28mpg, I normally average 20 combined) combined with little bits that keep breaking that i'm running out of patience to fix, added to the fact that Mrs. N188 struggles to park it anywhere and I live in a county with parking bays that aren't big enough for push bikes and more speed bumps than i've ever thought imagineable mean her days are numbered. The problem is what to replace it with...i've been thoroughly spoiled and i'd have to spend a lot of money to get the same level of comfort...
Everyone should own a luxo barge at some point. Fact.
Lovely car! Funnily enough a friend of mine recently bought one, for peanuts, also green (although I doubt it's your old car? His is a P reg), such an awesome bit of kit though.
I love the extra phone/radio controls and the ability to move the front seat around from the back! Any other secret bits to these cars he may not have found yet that I can impress him with?
(Hopefully going to do a lap of the 'ring when we go there in May with him in a chauffeur suit and two of us in the back reading broadsheets..
)
I love the extra phone/radio controls and the ability to move the front seat around from the back! Any other secret bits to these cars he may not have found yet that I can impress him with?
(Hopefully going to do a lap of the 'ring when we go there in May with him in a chauffeur suit and two of us in the back reading broadsheets..
)Oh, wonderful wonderful cars 
I totally love the V12 badge on the C-pillar too, lovely touch. I think I'm gonna have to own one of these for a while.. I might settle for a 740i but a 750iL is the one I really want.
Read your whole thread, Trace, entertaining - and heart-wrenching in places! - and it hasn't put me off
I totally love the V12 badge on the C-pillar too, lovely touch. I think I'm gonna have to own one of these for a while.. I might settle for a 740i but a 750iL is the one I really want.
Read your whole thread, Trace, entertaining - and heart-wrenching in places! - and it hasn't put me off
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff