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

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jez
  • Start date Start date
Jez said:
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. :)
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Having Fox around means that we're all capable of passing our BMW exams, but for the terminally lazy, any chance of a break down of all the Merc Ws?
 
Kingy said:
Having Fox around means that we're all capable of passing our BMW exams, but for the terminally lazy, any chance of a break down of all the Merc Ws?
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W140 is the 2 generation old s-class, which is possibly one of the best cars ever made. They are disgustingly cheap now as they fall in no-mans land much like the E38 does.

W203 is the 2000-2007 C-class, which i regularly see go for this budget, the only "modern" Mercedes which this money would buy, and to many, they still look good.
 
I love the E38. Probably my all-time favorite BMW.
Unfortunately they don't drive as well as they look. The chassis is largely the same as the E32 and they suffer from the same numb steering.

I would certainly buy one if I needed a car and was strapped for cash.
 
Rilot said:
I love the E38. Probably my all-time favorite BMW.
Unfortunately they don't drive as well as they look. The chassis is largely the same as the E32 and they suffer from the same numb steering.

I would certainly buy one if I needed a car and was strapped for cash.
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I found that the drive depended very much on the wheel / tyre combination, part of the reason I bought my 728i ultimately, it had 18's and firmer suspension & really drove like a car half its size.

735's & 740's that I'd looked at were positively ship like by comparison.

I'm just so very glad I did not throw £8k at another one as I very nearly did only a few months back! :eek:
 
Rilot said:
I love the E38. Probably my all-time favorite BMW.
Unfortunately they don't drive as well as they look. The chassis is largely the same as the E32 and they suffer from the same numb steering.

I would certainly buy one if I needed a car and was strapped for cash.
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I really do not think the "drive" is at all important, its main rival, the W140 and later the W220's both drive literally like ships. Surprised you feel that "numb steering" has had any impact on their sales.

Ultimately its the badge, its not quite good enough when new, so you dont get as many new ones (W220/221 must outnumber E38/E65 5-1 at least?), and then this same badge actually accelerates them down the market as a lot of buyers further down aspire to own them.
 
Jez said:
I really do not think the "drive" is at all important, its main rival, the W140 and later the W220's both drive literally like ships.
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The drive is very important. The BMW is the drivers choice - if steering feedback, handling etc are of no concern to you then you simply buy the S Class. The S class was and still is the worlds finest luxury saloon. It's the default choice unless you wanted sharp handling or something.

With the 7 not offernig it.... the default choice applied. So nobody bought a 7.
 
[TW]Fox;13027986 said:
I'd never have shut up about it had you spent £8k on an E38 :p
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I actually considered this as I was viewing the car! :o

Still, not so many weeks back, £7995 seemed a good price for a 51 reg 740i with under 60k on the clock, today it seems bonkers, even to me!
 
Had my M Reg 740 over a year now and what a year it's been! Bought it off eBay (1st clue - but £1500 cheaper than list) and blew the fuel pump 10miles after picking it up! Looked like it'd been left off the road for a long time (previous owner had died and daughter was selling it on) so after the fuel pump was replaced I had to replace the following too :-

Fuel Pump (blown up after 10miles)
Fuel Filter (blocked at same time as pump)
Water Pump (seized up after 500miles)
Thermostat (seized closed after 500miles)
Fuel Tank (dried out after 1 year with no fuel in it and cracked a seam - replaced at 750miles)
Front Brakes (less than 1.5mm of material left on the pads and replaced after 1300miles)
Front Upper/Lower Control Arms (massive wobble at 60 so replaced at 1500miles)

It handles like a barge (steering feels like you're on ice all the time), drinks petrol like a supertanker and is a nightmare to park due to the length BUT I wouldn't change it for anything. It's a great car as it's big, powerful and comfortable making it an ideal motorway cruiser (28mpg) and even with my very heavy foot I still get 20mpg around town.

Pity it looks soooo dated next to the Merc's etc :(
 
ianh said:
Fuel Pump (blown up after 10miles)
Fuel Filter (blocked at same time as pump)
Water Pump (seized up after 500miles)
Thermostat (seized closed after 500miles)
Fuel Tank (dried out after 1 year with no fuel in it and cracked a seam - replaced at 750miles)
Front Brakes (less than 1.5mm of material left on the pads and replaced after 1300miles)
Front Upper/Lower Control Arms (massive wobble at 60 so replaced at 1500miles)
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That reads like the list of potential jobs I was given just prior to me selling my e38 - The Front Upper/Lower Control Arms had been replaced only 10,000miles previously!

Just out of interest, how much did the fuel tank job cost you? - Its very common for an e38 to split its tank, and therefore I expect the same issue on any further e38 I saddle myself with!

Cheers. :)
 
[TW]Fox;13029894 said:
If I had one I'd have to chuck facelift lights, a dechrome and set of Style 37's at it.
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And then leave it on the drive as an ornament. Isn't that what you said last time :p
 
[TW]Fox;13029422 said:
The drive is very important. ...........................So nobody bought a 7.
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Surely you have just proven my point, no-one cares what this class of car drives like :) Its irrelevant, and i dont understand why BMW bothered getting hung up on it.
 
The 7 series wasn't meant to be driven by the owner as much as ferry fat people about (see the 740iL/750iL). That or for people who wanted an exceptionally smooth and comfy car, no consideration to acceleration and wanted the largest motor in the golf club car park. If you wanted an exec motor to actually drive, the 5 series was the one to go for if you wanted a BMW. The 7 series is nothing to do with the drive of he car, it's all about being in a great place and arriving at one's destination in comfort and style.
 
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