728i Sport or yet another 330i Sport ?
Discussion
Currently looking to purchase a new barge for the sole purpose of transporting me 90 miles a day up & down the M3 to work. Having previously owned 2 x manual 330ci Sports, & more recently an auto 330ci Sport, i know that i love the e46 ... although i didnt love the constant worry of my other 320d Sport blowing up, or the auto box on the last 330 imploding on the side of the motorway, probably in the rain.
Now i find myself looking at yet another 330, purely as i know them inside out & back to front.
HOWEVER, i could spend £2.5k and get a really nice 728i Sport with less than 100k miles on it.
Would that be a silly idea? Im mostly worried about the autobox needing a rebuild, but would the mpg also take a big hit compared to the 35mpg i used to get in my 328i Sport? I tend to cruise at 80-85 leptons, which gives roughly 29-33 mpg depending on whether it was a 5/6sp manual 330.
Your help/advice is much appreciated.
Now i find myself looking at yet another 330, purely as i know them inside out & back to front.
HOWEVER, i could spend £2.5k and get a really nice 728i Sport with less than 100k miles on it.
Would that be a silly idea? Im mostly worried about the autobox needing a rebuild, but would the mpg also take a big hit compared to the 35mpg i used to get in my 328i Sport? I tend to cruise at 80-85 leptons, which gives roughly 29-33 mpg depending on whether it was a 5/6sp manual 330.
Your help/advice is much appreciated.
someone called? 
regards economy, at 85mph i can get that sort of mpg without any real issues, much quicker and it soon drops though, it does around 27-28mpg at 100mph on cruise. bare in mind the economy on the motorway isn't bad as it's doing just 2500rpm at indicated 85mph. around town they are pretty poor (ish) though, expect low to mid 20's. if doing mostly motorway you should be averaging 30+mpg.
it certainly won't feel as sharp to drive as a 330ci nor as fast but having been in a few 330ci's, rest assured the 728i is in another league for long trips and general build quality.
but, there are LOTS of things to go wrong, most of them pretty simple. suspension issues being the main concern.....check for a wheel wobble around 55-60mph or so, especially under heavy braking. usually cheap to fix but not always caused by the same thing and diagnosing it can be a case of "replace this part and see if it goes away".
the engines are pretty reliable if given regular oil changes and should be smooth as silk. gearboxes on the 728is seem to be pretty good in general but can go, mine is now approaching 120k miles and is smooth as silk, other than changes in revs you can't really feel the changes much. i recommend getting the oil changed (properly) for peace of mind, i did in mine but didn't make any real noticeable difference....i took that as a positive thing.
other weak spots are the cooling system, radiators, water pumps and thermostats are all weak points but not that expensive to change, just make sure it's not overheating or running cold (needle should hit 1/2 way mark after just a few miles) but if you want to be really anal you can get a digital read out of the coolant temp at any given time, even when the needle is 1/2 way it's still not fully up to temp.
the major E38 pitfall is a leaky fuel tank. they can go and often write the car off as to get it done and replace with a new one is around £1k. just have a good poke and sniff around making sure you see no real rust/fuel around there. i'm quite fortunate, mine is absolutely fine, having looked at it from under a ramp.
not the best design layout in the world but loads of useful info here
http://www.meeknet.co.uk/E38/
their slow 0-60 times make them look a lot slower than they are, largely because they're slow moving off the line (auto box) but once they get going they're reasonably brisk.
any more questions just ask.
regards economy, at 85mph i can get that sort of mpg without any real issues, much quicker and it soon drops though, it does around 27-28mpg at 100mph on cruise. bare in mind the economy on the motorway isn't bad as it's doing just 2500rpm at indicated 85mph. around town they are pretty poor (ish) though, expect low to mid 20's. if doing mostly motorway you should be averaging 30+mpg.
it certainly won't feel as sharp to drive as a 330ci nor as fast but having been in a few 330ci's, rest assured the 728i is in another league for long trips and general build quality.
but, there are LOTS of things to go wrong, most of them pretty simple. suspension issues being the main concern.....check for a wheel wobble around 55-60mph or so, especially under heavy braking. usually cheap to fix but not always caused by the same thing and diagnosing it can be a case of "replace this part and see if it goes away".
the engines are pretty reliable if given regular oil changes and should be smooth as silk. gearboxes on the 728is seem to be pretty good in general but can go, mine is now approaching 120k miles and is smooth as silk, other than changes in revs you can't really feel the changes much. i recommend getting the oil changed (properly) for peace of mind, i did in mine but didn't make any real noticeable difference....i took that as a positive thing.
other weak spots are the cooling system, radiators, water pumps and thermostats are all weak points but not that expensive to change, just make sure it's not overheating or running cold (needle should hit 1/2 way mark after just a few miles) but if you want to be really anal you can get a digital read out of the coolant temp at any given time, even when the needle is 1/2 way it's still not fully up to temp.
the major E38 pitfall is a leaky fuel tank. they can go and often write the car off as to get it done and replace with a new one is around £1k. just have a good poke and sniff around making sure you see no real rust/fuel around there. i'm quite fortunate, mine is absolutely fine, having looked at it from under a ramp.
not the best design layout in the world but loads of useful info here
http://www.meeknet.co.uk/E38/
their slow 0-60 times make them look a lot slower than they are, largely because they're slow moving off the line (auto box) but once they get going they're reasonably brisk.
any more questions just ask.
This link is almost at the top of my favourites...
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I spend too much time wishing I had parking...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?Manufacturer=BMW&...
I spend too much time wishing I had parking...
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