E38 BMW - Still Acceptable? (and where have they all gone?)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jez
  • Start date Start date
I can't afford to spend £30-60k on a car either but you can always buy these cars at 3-5 years old when they are just as nice as they were when new yet not quite in the world of bangers :)
 
A genuine E38 Sport - pretty rare cars, those. Whether its a money pit or not is a matter of perception. They are hugely unreliable cars but you should expect running costs roughly in line with what you'd expect for a £60,000 executive saloon. What you gain by virtue of it being older and thus able to be taken outside the dealer network you lose in terms of its increased tendancy to break. And remember, it'll always need £500 a set tyres etc.

Interior looks a state in that one, though. I'd imagine its been a family car at some stage in its life.
 
Jez said:
I'd put them at the bottom of the class for running costs, so no, not really :)
Click to expand...

What Jez means by this is that its cheaper to run than a Mercedes S Class. Which is a bit like jumping into a vat of boiling oil being a bit less dangerous than skydiving without a parachute. Have you ever had a bill from Merc for less than a grand Jez? :p
 
[TW]Fox;13019427 said:
A genuine E38 Sport - pretty rare cars, those. Whether its a money pit or not is a matter of perception. They are hugely unreliable cars but you should expect running costs roughly in line with what you'd expect for a £60,000 executive saloon. What you gain by virtue of it being older and thus able to be taken outside the dealer network you lose in terms of its increased tendancy to break. And remember, it'll always need £500 a set tyres etc.

Interior looks a state in that one, though. I'd imagine its been a family car at some stage in its life.
Click to expand...

I cant see any of the E38's being genuine company director owned cars any more tbh, its still easy to find 1 owner Benz's on fairly low mileages due to the use they get, but as demonstrated in London today, no-one owns an E38 any more. This reflects in the pricing though, its STILL around £8000 for a nice W220, even after all this credit crunch nonsense.
 
They aren't *THAT* expensive to run - £150 for a service 1, £250 for a service 2 from a specialist Indy iirc. Tyres are tyres - costing me £320 for 4 Eagles on mine so not bad really. If you run anything out of the ordinary, it will cost you money - you either accept it or buy a Saxo tbh.

1bmwpsf.jpg


Mine btw
 
We have a facelift 5 series in our square in silver and I must say it still looks very smart. I think its a sport, which helps, the SE models look a bit pap when they first came out, in some ways they look more solid than the e60.
I remember when my dad got a e39 and I thought yeh i want one when I grow up, I can't say the same about the current generation, much prefer the e92 as far as looks go.
 
Jez said:
I have been working in Mayfair today
Click to expand...
I think its against the local Mayfair law to drive a BMW 7 Series thats 3 generations old now tbh. ;)
Spamalot said:
I've changed my mind....

Hardly seems worth it when you can get one of these for about double the cash.
Click to expand...

Many things seem not worth it once you consider what double the budget will get!

I see e38's every day, mainly, running up & down the motorways.

Still very much acceptable imo, even in non-facelift guise like mine below, (especially given what they go for these days!) but it does depend a lot on colour & spec - you get an awful lot of car for the money and, a car that can still cut it with much more modern opposition imo.

Whilst hardly a cheap car to run, I'd certainly not look back on my e38 ownership with any regret - the car was ultra relaible whilst I owned it and is still going strong today (it recently changed hands for sub £1500!) - I see it regularly, it still has my old "Private" plate on it, makes me think "Oi! Thats mine! give it back!" :D
P6020030-1.jpg

P6020029.jpg

P5280021.jpg


I miss it. :(

I'd happily have another, and intend to quite soon (famous last words!) :D
 
Last edited:
I think they look great and would not mind having one as a second run around .....

All i can think about when i see one is driving it with my phone :D
 
I've noticed this, i was doing quite a lot of work for a company who has an office in Pall Mall and it was rare an E38 would drive past, in the few months i must have seen 2 at the most.
 
I think E38s are lovely looking, and the one in the OP looks very classy. I'd love one if I could stomach the running costs
 
R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
I think its against the local Mayfair law to drive a BMW 7 Series thats 3 generations old now tbh. ;)
Click to expand...

I think it shows the demographic that they attract now if you consider that W140's are still very much in use and still kept beautiful though, the age clearly doesn't come into it as these go back further than the E38.

My opinion is that they are still nice cars, they would be near the top of my list if buying on a budget now :)
 
Spamalot said:
Out of interest what else would be on your "£3K" budget?
Click to expand...

In no order and what springs instantly to mind;

E38's, E39's, E46's, W140's, possibly a W203 if i wanted "newer looks" for the budget.

It would depend on the mood on the day, to be honest its not really a budget i would imagine ever working to. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom