E38 740I Sport - blind eBay purchase V8 content
Discussion
After finally getting shot of my PCP BMW M2 aka: the bank account drainer in long beach blue, and been stung for £3,500 in negative equity (my fault for getting out of a perfectly good M135i early to get into the M2!), I set forth to buy an interesting daily driver to replace the wallet drainers.
My (very) short list, consisted of:
1. A strange fascination with the Jaguar S Type R
2. An above budget longing for 4 Star Classics e34 535i, mainly inspired by that interior and it's upswept DTM exhaust, but at £9,000 and some visible rust spots, it was well-above budget: https://www.4starclassics.com/for-sale/bmw-e34-535...
3. A long term love of the beautiful e38 in Sport guise (guess which won out ...)
So there I was, Sunday before the bank holiday Monday just gone, with my eBay alerts in full effect and what should pop up but an e38 740i Sport (at least I hoped it was a genuine one), with just 95,000 miles on the clock. From the 12 low-res pictures it appeared in good nick, but the owner had only had it since December, but the MOT history checked out and the owner before had owned it for 7 years doing around 3,000 miles each year.
I made hasty contact and made the call to the guy, who sounded like a genuine fella and it was my plan to journey to Lincoln that week to see the car (I'd never even driven a 7, let alone sat in an e38 in any iteration). But apparently, someone was driving down from Middlesborough to see the car and the owner wouldn't accept a deposit subject to inspection because he felt bad for the guy who was making the long journey down. I asked for 15 minutes, called my mate in the motor trade, who told me that under no circumstances should I buy the car without seeing it and getting it inspected. I thanked him, phoned the owner back and bought it without haggling! What an idiot.
So off I set for Lincolnshire, a 4 hour train journey with 4 changes from Wiltshire, on bank holiday Monday arriving at 10am, as the train rolled in to the station, there she was parked up and gleaming.
A quick go over and look around confirmed a few bits that needed attention, then off to Cambridge to a friendly mechanic who got it up on his lift and proclaimed it a good one, with the following provisos:
Tyres: Landsails all round - they'd have to go.
Alloys: The stunning, staggered M Parallels had seen better days, not terrible, but none were perfect and I'm a pedant for wheels - off to Platinum alloys in Swindon for a £400 refurb at their earliest convenience.
Oil leaks: small from both rocker covers - a common weak spot and nothing too concerning, but something I felt I could do (and might well go with more regular driving).
Power steering: small leak from the pump and steering heavy - try new ATF fluid.
Air con: Not particularly cold - regas hopefully?
The good bits:
Interior is spotless
95,000 miles, mostly motorway
All electrics work - everything
V low emissions - 1.01 hydrocarbons
No vanos noise
Engine and gearbox sound and pull well.
New lower control arms
Had Inspection II last service at 91,000 miles
Body straight with few dings - it's had a bit of paint but was one original plates and panels by the looks of things.
Heading back from Cambridge, my first stop was of course, here:
She showed 23 mpg on the computer, which for a 4.4 V8, weighing in at 2 tonnes was only slightly worse than the M2 and a good deal better than my outgoing classic:
£80 later, and a full tank and I was off back home - What a lovely cruiser she is, so quiet and comfortable and effortlessly powerful when needed.
I will doing as much as I can by myself, and I plan to bore you with the oil service, and filters and planned brake upgrade to EBC Greenstuff (she's developed one hell of a morning squeal), plus tackling as much of the rust as I can myself, but until then here's what you all came for, pictures:
0-60 in 7.1 - she's still got it!
My (very) short list, consisted of:
1. A strange fascination with the Jaguar S Type R
2. An above budget longing for 4 Star Classics e34 535i, mainly inspired by that interior and it's upswept DTM exhaust, but at £9,000 and some visible rust spots, it was well-above budget: https://www.4starclassics.com/for-sale/bmw-e34-535...
3. A long term love of the beautiful e38 in Sport guise (guess which won out ...)
So there I was, Sunday before the bank holiday Monday just gone, with my eBay alerts in full effect and what should pop up but an e38 740i Sport (at least I hoped it was a genuine one), with just 95,000 miles on the clock. From the 12 low-res pictures it appeared in good nick, but the owner had only had it since December, but the MOT history checked out and the owner before had owned it for 7 years doing around 3,000 miles each year.
I made hasty contact and made the call to the guy, who sounded like a genuine fella and it was my plan to journey to Lincoln that week to see the car (I'd never even driven a 7, let alone sat in an e38 in any iteration). But apparently, someone was driving down from Middlesborough to see the car and the owner wouldn't accept a deposit subject to inspection because he felt bad for the guy who was making the long journey down. I asked for 15 minutes, called my mate in the motor trade, who told me that under no circumstances should I buy the car without seeing it and getting it inspected. I thanked him, phoned the owner back and bought it without haggling! What an idiot.
So off I set for Lincolnshire, a 4 hour train journey with 4 changes from Wiltshire, on bank holiday Monday arriving at 10am, as the train rolled in to the station, there she was parked up and gleaming.
A quick go over and look around confirmed a few bits that needed attention, then off to Cambridge to a friendly mechanic who got it up on his lift and proclaimed it a good one, with the following provisos:
Tyres: Landsails all round - they'd have to go.
Alloys: The stunning, staggered M Parallels had seen better days, not terrible, but none were perfect and I'm a pedant for wheels - off to Platinum alloys in Swindon for a £400 refurb at their earliest convenience.
Oil leaks: small from both rocker covers - a common weak spot and nothing too concerning, but something I felt I could do (and might well go with more regular driving).
Power steering: small leak from the pump and steering heavy - try new ATF fluid.
Air con: Not particularly cold - regas hopefully?
The good bits:
Interior is spotless
95,000 miles, mostly motorway
All electrics work - everything
V low emissions - 1.01 hydrocarbons
No vanos noise
Engine and gearbox sound and pull well.
New lower control arms
Had Inspection II last service at 91,000 miles
Body straight with few dings - it's had a bit of paint but was one original plates and panels by the looks of things.
Heading back from Cambridge, my first stop was of course, here:
She showed 23 mpg on the computer, which for a 4.4 V8, weighing in at 2 tonnes was only slightly worse than the M2 and a good deal better than my outgoing classic:
£80 later, and a full tank and I was off back home - What a lovely cruiser she is, so quiet and comfortable and effortlessly powerful when needed.
I will doing as much as I can by myself, and I plan to bore you with the oil service, and filters and planned brake upgrade to EBC Greenstuff (she's developed one hell of a morning squeal), plus tackling as much of the rust as I can myself, but until then here's what you all came for, pictures:
0-60 in 7.1 - she's still got it!
Edited by mudy on Tuesday 24th March 13:48
John is200sport said:
Aren't e38 fuel tanks supposed to badly rust? How is yours?
Looks an awesome car.
That's a bit unfair.. These cars are nearly 20 years old so some rust has to be expected on any car. To say 'badly' rust is a bit extreme. Looks an awesome car.
The E38 fuel tank replacement is about a £1.5k job to sort at a specialist. That's equivalent to 6 months PCP payment on a poverty spec 1 Series..
I love that. I have a list of things I’m working through (keep things for 6 months, move on to something else.)
One on the list was a “barge”, had thought about a bangle era 7 series but that looks so much more stylish. Very James Bond ( was it Goldeneye?) so I’ll follow this with interest to see what you think of it.
One on the list was a “barge”, had thought about a bangle era 7 series but that looks so much more stylish. Very James Bond ( was it Goldeneye?) so I’ll follow this with interest to see what you think of it.
John is200sport said:
Aren't e38 fuel tanks supposed to badly rust? How is yours?
Looks an awesome car.
I had mine done when in 2009 when it was 10 years old. Cost £800 from a specialist using a genuine BMW tank, the AA breakdown insurance kindly contributed £500. Looks an awesome car.
Pic of mine which I sold on @ over 200k miles.
M Parallels are wonderful.
The quality of the materials and build was superb. I went through 4 springs over 6 years and 120k miles. Still miss mine. Enjoy it.
Thanks all! Yes, fuel tank is metal and rusts I think underneath and sometimes at the neck. It looked ok underneath, it may not be original of course - hard to tell as I only have the last 7-8 years history, but it’s on my further investigation list.
Btw, I serviced her last weekend with 8 litres of castrol edge, new oil filter, air filter and cabin filters (although I still have to do the recirculation ones in the car cabin - hidden somewhere up under the dash).
The belts look good and I did a partial power steering fluid swap, but noticed a small weep from the smaller pipe under the reservoir, so my to do list has me taking off the reservoir, cleaning the in-built filter and seeing if I can reuse the pipe.
First and early second impressions are really good; it’s a lovely car to drive, you don’t notice it’s size until you have to park it - at 5 metres long it is, by 10 centimetres the biggest car I have ever owned - more than the 530d estate I had and the 335d x5, but it feels smaller than both by some margin.
I’m used to clumping and bumping through every pothole, groove and expansion joint in the tight and low M2 (very unforgiving), and the 930, so the Big 7 is lovely by comparison. I’m 6 foot 5 and the seats are wonderfully comfy, but what really strikes me is the quality of the thing: even the glass is thicker, the interior plastics are solid, with soft touch in lots of areas, nice wood trim, much better quality leather than modern bimmers, heavy switchgear that clicks satisfyingly into place; the whole thing really reminds you of the good old days when BMW and Mercedes were in a non-stop quality war; I can’t believe the car is 18 years old. One of my favourite ‘old’ car features which the e38 has is that vast expanse between the driver and passenger seat; no need for a iPhone holder, just rest your phone with Waze on next to the gear stick by the ashtray and look at the map. Fancy listening to a podcast or Spotify? No need to Bluetooth it through the stereo (not that I could anyway), the car is so quiet, you can just play it through the phone’s speakers.
Of course saying all of the above, the car could lunch itself at any given moment, or catch fire or just not start at all at a crucial juncture, but until then I plan to enjoy it and improve it with my own calloused hands.
Oh, and to that end £278 pounds worth of brake material arrived today! I shall post pictures as soon as I can repossess my lap top out of my teenage son’s room!
Btw, I serviced her last weekend with 8 litres of castrol edge, new oil filter, air filter and cabin filters (although I still have to do the recirculation ones in the car cabin - hidden somewhere up under the dash).
The belts look good and I did a partial power steering fluid swap, but noticed a small weep from the smaller pipe under the reservoir, so my to do list has me taking off the reservoir, cleaning the in-built filter and seeing if I can reuse the pipe.
First and early second impressions are really good; it’s a lovely car to drive, you don’t notice it’s size until you have to park it - at 5 metres long it is, by 10 centimetres the biggest car I have ever owned - more than the 530d estate I had and the 335d x5, but it feels smaller than both by some margin.
I’m used to clumping and bumping through every pothole, groove and expansion joint in the tight and low M2 (very unforgiving), and the 930, so the Big 7 is lovely by comparison. I’m 6 foot 5 and the seats are wonderfully comfy, but what really strikes me is the quality of the thing: even the glass is thicker, the interior plastics are solid, with soft touch in lots of areas, nice wood trim, much better quality leather than modern bimmers, heavy switchgear that clicks satisfyingly into place; the whole thing really reminds you of the good old days when BMW and Mercedes were in a non-stop quality war; I can’t believe the car is 18 years old. One of my favourite ‘old’ car features which the e38 has is that vast expanse between the driver and passenger seat; no need for a iPhone holder, just rest your phone with Waze on next to the gear stick by the ashtray and look at the map. Fancy listening to a podcast or Spotify? No need to Bluetooth it through the stereo (not that I could anyway), the car is so quiet, you can just play it through the phone’s speakers.
Of course saying all of the above, the car could lunch itself at any given moment, or catch fire or just not start at all at a crucial juncture, but until then I plan to enjoy it and improve it with my own calloused hands.
Oh, and to that end £278 pounds worth of brake material arrived today! I shall post pictures as soon as I can repossess my lap top out of my teenage son’s room!
gf15 said:
I had mine done when in 2009 when it was 10 years old. Cost £800 from a specialist using a genuine BMW tank, the AA breakdown insurance kindly contributed £500.
Pic of mine which I sold on @ over 200k miles.
M Parallels are wonderful.
The quality of the materials and build was superb. I went through 4 springs over 6 years and 120k miles. Still miss mine. Enjoy it.
Thanks gf15, that’s a lovely looking example Pic of mine which I sold on @ over 200k miles.
M Parallels are wonderful.
The quality of the materials and build was superb. I went through 4 springs over 6 years and 120k miles. Still miss mine. Enjoy it.
Stunning. Had two Silver E39 Sport's (one with M-Para's) and still have the other which sadly does not. Always wanted the bigger version but it has never happened for some reason.
Looks like yours has Xenon's too which seems fairly rare on these - I could be wrong on both suggestions though.
Looks like yours has Xenon's too which seems fairly rare on these - I could be wrong on both suggestions though.
Well done that man.
Mine’s Oxford Green like the one above and has M-spec parallel 5 spokes. I bought mine for £600, much higher mileage and some “issues” but still a bargain.
As you said, the comfort levels are so much better than almost anything else I’ve ever been in. The stereo is truly awesome, there’s speakers everywhere in it. I’ve heard of people upgrading them- gilding a lily?
Not surprised to hear the car has corrosion above the rear bumper on the boot lip – its common.
They aren’t that difficult to fix at all, until it comes to the electrics. At least there is room to function under the bonnet.
23 mpg – just like mine!
Brake callipers can stick- but cheap enough to replace online - £47 rings a bell.
Front springs break – but nothing that can’t be fixed cheaply - £29 each for mine.
Dashboard pixels can be fixed, although the best solution are the guys who have sourced a much better panel, rather than just a replacement ribbon. I’ll try and find the web page.
Transmission shimmy/shudder under certain load conditions isn’t unheard of either. Google “Lubeguard Automatic Transmission Instant Shudder Fixx” for the solution.
Power steering leaks are common, mine was the hose.
Fuel tanks do rust, it’s a W-reg like mine and it’s underneath the car, so it shouldn’t be a surprise. I think the problem for the fuel tank collapse is a vent line from the engine bay, which causes a vacuum in the tank.
This web page is full of priceless information http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e38/
Air con may just be a top up, you can buy these on eBay for £39.
A working Satnav is rare, it’s the DVD unit/player in the boot which normally fails and compared to a second-hand £10 TomTom off eBay is cost prohibitive to fix. I think it’s a £270+ fix.
Does your phone work?
Some parts area available from Rock Auto in the US cheaper than anyone else in Europe. BMW sold a lot of 740i's in the US.
My next job is the under-dash handbrake linkage which is keeping mine off the road now as it’s a MOT failure. Another relatively common problem.
Don’t let anyone jump start the car on the battery terminals in the boot, it must be done on terminals under the bonnet. This upsets one of the modules in the car, for reasons I don’t understand yet - and that’s a LOT of pennies to fix.
Mine’s Oxford Green like the one above and has M-spec parallel 5 spokes. I bought mine for £600, much higher mileage and some “issues” but still a bargain.
As you said, the comfort levels are so much better than almost anything else I’ve ever been in. The stereo is truly awesome, there’s speakers everywhere in it. I’ve heard of people upgrading them- gilding a lily?
Not surprised to hear the car has corrosion above the rear bumper on the boot lip – its common.
They aren’t that difficult to fix at all, until it comes to the electrics. At least there is room to function under the bonnet.
23 mpg – just like mine!
Brake callipers can stick- but cheap enough to replace online - £47 rings a bell.
Front springs break – but nothing that can’t be fixed cheaply - £29 each for mine.
Dashboard pixels can be fixed, although the best solution are the guys who have sourced a much better panel, rather than just a replacement ribbon. I’ll try and find the web page.
Transmission shimmy/shudder under certain load conditions isn’t unheard of either. Google “Lubeguard Automatic Transmission Instant Shudder Fixx” for the solution.
Power steering leaks are common, mine was the hose.
Fuel tanks do rust, it’s a W-reg like mine and it’s underneath the car, so it shouldn’t be a surprise. I think the problem for the fuel tank collapse is a vent line from the engine bay, which causes a vacuum in the tank.
This web page is full of priceless information http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e38/
Air con may just be a top up, you can buy these on eBay for £39.
A working Satnav is rare, it’s the DVD unit/player in the boot which normally fails and compared to a second-hand £10 TomTom off eBay is cost prohibitive to fix. I think it’s a £270+ fix.
Does your phone work?
Some parts area available from Rock Auto in the US cheaper than anyone else in Europe. BMW sold a lot of 740i's in the US.
My next job is the under-dash handbrake linkage which is keeping mine off the road now as it’s a MOT failure. Another relatively common problem.
Don’t let anyone jump start the car on the battery terminals in the boot, it must be done on terminals under the bonnet. This upsets one of the modules in the car, for reasons I don’t understand yet - and that’s a LOT of pennies to fix.
bucksmanuk said:
Well done that man.
Mine’s Oxford Green like the one above and has M-spec parallel 5 spokes. I bought mine for £600, much higher mileage and some “issues” but still a bargain.
As you said, the comfort levels are so much better than almost anything else I’ve ever been in. The stereo is truly awesome, there’s speakers everywhere in it. I’ve heard of people upgrading them- gilding a lily?
Not surprised to hear the car has corrosion above the rear bumper on the boot lip – its common.
They aren’t that difficult to fix at all, until it comes to the electrics. At least there is room to function under the bonnet.
23 mpg – just like mine!
Brake callipers can stick- but cheap enough to replace online - £47 rings a bell.
Front springs break – but nothing that can’t be fixed cheaply - £29 each for mine.
Dashboard pixels can be fixed, although the best solution are the guys who have sourced a much better panel, rather than just a replacement ribbon. I’ll try and find the web page.
Transmission shimmy/shudder under certain load conditions isn’t unheard of either. Google “Lubeguard Automatic Transmission Instant Shudder Fixx” for the solution.
Power steering leaks are common, mine was the hose.
Fuel tanks do rust, it’s a W-reg like mine and it’s underneath the car, so it shouldn’t be a surprise. I think the problem for the fuel tank collapse is a vent line from the engine bay, which causes a vacuum in the tank.
This web page is full of priceless information http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e38/
Air con may just be a top up, you can buy these on eBay for £39.
A working Satnav is rare, it’s the DVD unit/player in the boot which normally fails and compared to a second-hand £10 TomTom off eBay is cost prohibitive to fix. I think it’s a £270+ fix.
Does your phone work?
Some parts area available from Rock Auto in the US cheaper than anyone else in Europe. BMW sold a lot of 740i's in the US.
My next job is the under-dash handbrake linkage which is keeping mine off the road now as it’s a MOT failure. Another relatively common problem.
Don’t let anyone jump start the car on the battery terminals in the boot, it must be done on terminals under the bonnet. This upsets one of the modules in the car, for reasons I don’t understand yet - and that’s a LOT of pennies to fix.
Whoa! Bucksman, thank you!Mine’s Oxford Green like the one above and has M-spec parallel 5 spokes. I bought mine for £600, much higher mileage and some “issues” but still a bargain.
As you said, the comfort levels are so much better than almost anything else I’ve ever been in. The stereo is truly awesome, there’s speakers everywhere in it. I’ve heard of people upgrading them- gilding a lily?
Not surprised to hear the car has corrosion above the rear bumper on the boot lip – its common.
They aren’t that difficult to fix at all, until it comes to the electrics. At least there is room to function under the bonnet.
23 mpg – just like mine!
Brake callipers can stick- but cheap enough to replace online - £47 rings a bell.
Front springs break – but nothing that can’t be fixed cheaply - £29 each for mine.
Dashboard pixels can be fixed, although the best solution are the guys who have sourced a much better panel, rather than just a replacement ribbon. I’ll try and find the web page.
Transmission shimmy/shudder under certain load conditions isn’t unheard of either. Google “Lubeguard Automatic Transmission Instant Shudder Fixx” for the solution.
Power steering leaks are common, mine was the hose.
Fuel tanks do rust, it’s a W-reg like mine and it’s underneath the car, so it shouldn’t be a surprise. I think the problem for the fuel tank collapse is a vent line from the engine bay, which causes a vacuum in the tank.
This web page is full of priceless information http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e38/
Air con may just be a top up, you can buy these on eBay for £39.
A working Satnav is rare, it’s the DVD unit/player in the boot which normally fails and compared to a second-hand £10 TomTom off eBay is cost prohibitive to fix. I think it’s a £270+ fix.
Does your phone work?
Some parts area available from Rock Auto in the US cheaper than anyone else in Europe. BMW sold a lot of 740i's in the US.
My next job is the under-dash handbrake linkage which is keeping mine off the road now as it’s a MOT failure. Another relatively common problem.
Don’t let anyone jump start the car on the battery terminals in the boot, it must be done on terminals under the bonnet. This upsets one of the modules in the car, for reasons I don’t understand yet - and that’s a LOT of pennies to fix.
I have been reading Tim Meek's amazing site for months, what a resource it's been.
You are correct, the aircon was 'just' a regas, and even though these cars are on the cheaper gas, it was still £99! They take 680g and she had just 68g when I took her in - however, no leaks and now it's icy cold with the centre vent set to max cold if need be.
The sat nav does work, but I think it's mkII and it's utterly hilarious; like a child with a poor attention span is drawing you your route in crayon!
I agree, the speakers are v good - there's a guy on bimmerforums in the US who has developed a board that transplants the CD changer in the boot, connecting directly through the same cables to the iBus software; allowing you to stream music from your phone, use the car screen and steering wheel controls. If you install a mic, you can make handsfree calls too! It's going to be close to $200 with postage, but it will leave the car wanting nothing over a modern car - I'm vert tempted - here's the link to the thread in the original m3 forum where it all started: http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=59...
Got 2 jobs done - one minor, the other minorish:
The car was on her slightly ratty original plates:
It's such a beautiful rear, I thought she could benefit from some new ones, so off to platesforcars.co.uk, where you can go for a number of options and not just settle for the legal bumpf along the bottom. Sadly, choice isn't always a good idea - a 1990s font and BMW logo do not a classy plate make ...
Luckily, they were 'only' £23, and I was able to correct my own wrongs:
Other job and gratuitous brake shots to follow!
Thanks all - I never knew that e38s in spired such love - my 930, a far more iconic car never did; I just think there's something about these cars: despite their size, they are just so beautiful:
What a lovely haunch:
The other job I have (half) tackled in my endless quest to avoid work was popping off the door bottom trims to check the state of the doors underneath - they can be traps for water and grime, so I was naturally worried about rust.
It's a very easy job, as they are held on with a sort of tongue and groove fitting and with a little persuasion off they all pop:
2 out of 4 are fine, and the other 2 have the very beginnings of some small bubbling, as evidenced by the inside of this one:
Caught just in time - the trick is not to do what I often do, which is half-finish a job and just drive around without the door trim on for months - it is a simple job of sand back, por 15, prime and paint - it doesn't even have to be done to any exacting standard as these bits will be covered up - I just have to dodge the showers/downpours and do it.
Slight problem in that some of the trims have to be replaced, although I think I may be able to do a better repair job that this:
Finally, boring as it may be to others - here are the new EBC Greenstuff rear discs and pads, and front pads that will, I hope, cure the early morning squealing, lipped and rusted rear discs and not overly impressive stopping power: £278 all in and next day delivery - I'm hopeful it won't take me longer than a couple of hours - I will also be renewing things like the calliper slider pins, dust caps and retaining springs, but I hear the hex bolt that holds the discs to to hub can be a pig to remove it it's been over-tightened.
What a lovely haunch:
The other job I have (half) tackled in my endless quest to avoid work was popping off the door bottom trims to check the state of the doors underneath - they can be traps for water and grime, so I was naturally worried about rust.
It's a very easy job, as they are held on with a sort of tongue and groove fitting and with a little persuasion off they all pop:
2 out of 4 are fine, and the other 2 have the very beginnings of some small bubbling, as evidenced by the inside of this one:
Caught just in time - the trick is not to do what I often do, which is half-finish a job and just drive around without the door trim on for months - it is a simple job of sand back, por 15, prime and paint - it doesn't even have to be done to any exacting standard as these bits will be covered up - I just have to dodge the showers/downpours and do it.
Slight problem in that some of the trims have to be replaced, although I think I may be able to do a better repair job that this:
Finally, boring as it may be to others - here are the new EBC Greenstuff rear discs and pads, and front pads that will, I hope, cure the early morning squealing, lipped and rusted rear discs and not overly impressive stopping power: £278 all in and next day delivery - I'm hopeful it won't take me longer than a couple of hours - I will also be renewing things like the calliper slider pins, dust caps and retaining springs, but I hear the hex bolt that holds the discs to to hub can be a pig to remove it it's been over-tightened.
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