RE: Shed of the Week | BMW 728i (E38)
Discussion
Just sold mine after six years of ownership and missing it lots.
The 2.8 goes well with a few revs but can feel a little gutless, esp when regaining speed on the motorway.
Took ours several times to Europe and it felt in its element at 90-100, where the long gearing pays off. Surprisingly good mpg too.
Not Euro 4 which may be a nuisance.
Fuel tank issue is well documented but ECP were selling replacements a while ago for around £400.
Looked at E65s but they don't have the same appeal. Perfection would be a good low mileage 740 sport.
The 2.8 goes well with a few revs but can feel a little gutless, esp when regaining speed on the motorway.
Took ours several times to Europe and it felt in its element at 90-100, where the long gearing pays off. Surprisingly good mpg too.
Not Euro 4 which may be a nuisance.
Fuel tank issue is well documented but ECP were selling replacements a while ago for around £400.
Looked at E65s but they don't have the same appeal. Perfection would be a good low mileage 740 sport.
Sparky137 said:
The last good looking BMW ever made. These have an elegance that is completely missing from all BMW's since, now replaced with a look of aggression and absolutely no finesse. Lovely car. Shame its sold or it would be mine!!!
Agree completely. With the Alpina-type alloys and standard tyres and standard ride height; ideally dark blue with tan leather - forgotten eleganceI paid £550 for a 2001 728i mot failure some years ago.
Glacier green with dark green leather.
Was in superb condition with full bmw history apart from the most recent and 2 previous owners.
Intake hose, some bushes and drop links and some tyres and it was through.
Letting the battery run flat fried the factory immobiliser so I had to get another used module programmed which would have been ludicrously expensive if I hadn’t fault found and done most of the work myself.
Front spring broke while driving, that was a pain.
18 months of service and sold it for £1000
Glacier green with dark green leather.
Was in superb condition with full bmw history apart from the most recent and 2 previous owners.
Intake hose, some bushes and drop links and some tyres and it was through.
Letting the battery run flat fried the factory immobiliser so I had to get another used module programmed which would have been ludicrously expensive if I hadn’t fault found and done most of the work myself.
Front spring broke while driving, that was a pain.
18 months of service and sold it for £1000
soad said:
I fancy one of these, whilst they still exist. Would be silly to spend a few grand on one though.After all, £5k would get me into a V8 CLS etc.
All a matter of individual preferences... I'd have no problem to spend 5k on a good E38 but would never consider a CLS. Can't stand the looks and dislike the general direction Benz went from mid 90es on.I had an E38 740i a few years back and it was a lovely lovely car to drive. It had a balance between comfort but still an enjoyable steer. The 4.4 v8 is the perfect amount of power for the car. Enough to ensure swift progress. Mine was a bit chavved up and had a rude boy exhaust and yellow painted brake calipers courtesy of the previous owner, but hey it was only about a grand to buy.
What I would say is for gods sake, make sure the petrol tank has been changed or that the current one is ok! I had the 'pleasure' of mine dumping its contents in the Tesco car park after a bodge fix by the previous owner; my fault really for not buying a sorted E38. In the end after a lot of searching I sourced a second hand reconditioned tank bought/fitted for about £800.
After that it was plain sailing, for me anyway. I sold it to a friend who had it two years and he always seemed to be chasing sensor faults. He then sold it on and the buyer had a gearbox failure on the way home after purchase.
With the right wheels they look so so good. I would say these wheels don't do justice to the cars lines. I prefer the ones mine had ......
What I would say is for gods sake, make sure the petrol tank has been changed or that the current one is ok! I had the 'pleasure' of mine dumping its contents in the Tesco car park after a bodge fix by the previous owner; my fault really for not buying a sorted E38. In the end after a lot of searching I sourced a second hand reconditioned tank bought/fitted for about £800.
After that it was plain sailing, for me anyway. I sold it to a friend who had it two years and he always seemed to be chasing sensor faults. He then sold it on and the buyer had a gearbox failure on the way home after purchase.
With the right wheels they look so so good. I would say these wheels don't do justice to the cars lines. I prefer the ones mine had ......
Edited by strangehighways on Saturday 20th July 21:33
I’ve a 1998 pre-face lift 728i sport individual as my daily driver. 6 months down the line I’ve had a couple of things replaced but thankfully nothing major; starter motor, power steering pump, ignition switch and rear suspension components.
The 2.8 is decent enough balance between performance and economy, and I can’t see myself getting rid of it soon. I really would not like to run these on a shed budget as I imagine they can go wrong quite quick, but I echo what others have said about it’s whisper quiet cabin and general build quality.
There are quite a lot of E38’s still for sale in the country and it allows you to be picky about spec as there are lots of nice options available on these cars, with all modern gadgetry such as auto climate, auto lights and wipers, sat nag and tv etc
The 2.8 is decent enough balance between performance and economy, and I can’t see myself getting rid of it soon. I really would not like to run these on a shed budget as I imagine they can go wrong quite quick, but I echo what others have said about it’s whisper quiet cabin and general build quality.
There are quite a lot of E38’s still for sale in the country and it allows you to be picky about spec as there are lots of nice options available on these cars, with all modern gadgetry such as auto climate, auto lights and wipers, sat nag and tv etc
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