Well what a trip down memory lane this forum brings me... LOL!
I was on here for about 6 months 5 years ago! I was getting ready to buy a 01 740il but never ended up buying one... Some how i ended up with a e90. Well i had that for about 2 years and couldnt afford it the payment anymore so i sold it. 6months later i got cash together and bought a 99 323ci convertible (e36) 5 speed. Fun little car but it was my first stick and i hated Daily driving with a clutch ( yeah yeah make fun of me all you want!!!). I sold the e36 and bought a 01 330CI (e46) again convertible but auto this time. What a great car that was, well i totaled the car close to a year ago swerving off the road for a homeless man into a concrete wall... Car crushed but some how i walked away with minor bruising, worst part was glass in the eyes.
Finally got something (barely) from insurance and i was debating another e46. Then something caught my eye, a 01 740I sport. I totally forgot how in love i was with those sport contour seats and the e38 interior in whole. This got me really looking at some but im just astonished that the prices have not dropped at all and actually seem to be going back up!???
5 years ago i was going to buy a 01 740il loaded with 78K miles for $9500, and another one 01 740il with 82K for $9200. Now as i look at them the 01 740i sports with under 100k miles are going $9-11,000! A nice 01 740i sport in great condition with 121k sold for $7200!! The early e65's are actually CHEAPER than the late model e38s!
I really want a e38 but damn are they going back up in value or what!
Nice to see some of the same names still around 5 years later...!
Looks the price has gone down from $9k to $7k from your comparison. Remember it's been 5yrs so that same 78k mile car has had 5yrs of mileage put on it.... which would be a 7500 mile/yr car up to about 120k, which is really low mileage for a 17-18yr old car. You are also comparing the more common 740il (5yrs ago) to a more rare 740i sport (5yrs later).
id say these car are just about rock bottom price wise. The only ones that command any premium are the 2001's and more specifically low mileage 2001 short wheelbase sports.
My 1998 740il 1-owner low mileage car was $2K. Now that is rock bottom.
You're from before my time here, but welcome back to the allure! =D
There are deals from $1200 left right and center it seems, but I agree that the better-kept specimens are faring very well in the depreciation side of things.
|| 1995 740i || M60B40 || DUDMD || ̶o̶r̶i̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶b̶l̶u̶e̶ Mercedes Brilliant Blue Metallic || Style 168 Wheels 1" Spacers ||
From what I've seen on other BMW's (in Vancouver, BC), you're right.
I think it has to do the the scarcity of lower mileage cars when they get up there in age.
Even about two years ago, the post-face-lifted e39's were going for more money than early e60's (same mileage and condition)
I've seen the same thing with e38 and e65.
Personally, I consider the e38 and e39 to be genuinely good-looking cars with a strong following, whereas I just consider the e65 and e60 to look more modern, but are still objectively not good looking vehicles.
Good point about them being iLs 5 years ago. Now im more in the market for a 740i sport!!!
Yeah i know these m62tu's are prone to some disastrous failures so i know buying a little higher in mileage (120K) with reports of work being doen might be better than a low mileage one.
Your very right im really having a hard time finding late model good condition e38s....
We will see where this road leads me. Maybe i'll actually become a e38 owner???
At this point maintence history is key. The low mileage cars can be time bombs. An e38 with 150k perhaps has already had many of the big issues resolved already. I picked up my 98 740il with 138k miles with all service records since new from the original owner. Many of the common issues had already been addressed: Radiator, expansion tank, valley pan, OSV, valve covers, suspension, etc, had all been replaced between 100-130K miles. A sub 100K mile car will likely have avoided all of these repairs, and leave the new owner to deal with them. I'd place maintenance history and overall condition far more important than low mileage.
I'm going to be selling my '00 740i sport and' 01 740i sport together as a package for $6k. We'll see if the local Craigslist people have any interest. Both are Sahara Beige metallic (only like 1385 E38s world wide in this color). I got the 137k mile '01 for my dad but he's almost 80 and not ready for the' classic BMW' maintenance and refreshing costs so he's asked me to pass it on. I bought the 180k mile '00 just as a parts car (had transmission fail, but I've been able to make it driveable via flush and fill/filter and reduced it to just occasional slipping TFS error), but it's actually a pretty nice E38 (Canadian market car, loaded with just about every option I know of). I also had a nice Titanium silver '00 sport a few months ago too (since traded off), but these are such great cars I can't stop toying with them! Went to look at a 110k mile Slate Green 740i Sport a few weeks ago, but was in really rough shape cosmetically, and no service records so even at $4k I decided to do the right thing and pass. There are a ton of these cars on local Craig's and most of the time, the sellers don't even know the difference between a sport and non sport. Special colors rule the day here, in addition to low mileage and 2001 model year desirability. There's a local '01 Imola red sport for almost $10k, and that's with a salvage title!
Last edited by Chamberlin; 11-01-2017 at 01:23 AM.
2006 R53 JCW (British Racing Green) - 1994 E31 840Ci 6spd (AVUS Blue)
2021 F56 JCW (Rebel Green) - 2000 E38 740i Sport (Titanium Silver)
2017 F26 X4 M40i (Carbon Black) - 2007 E91 328iT (Deep Green)
2012 E82 135i M Sport (Marrakesh Brown) - 2015 E84 X1 (Cashmere Silver)
2005 E53 X5 3.0i Sport (Kalahari Beige) - 2000 E36/7 M Roadster (Oxford Green)
2000 E38 740i Sport (Oxford Green) - 1999 E36 M3 Coupe (Fern Green)
1995 E31 840Ci Canadian (Oxford Green) - 2000 E36/8 M Coupe (Oxford Green)
2004 E46 330Ci (Oxford Green) - 2001 E36/8 Z3 3.0i Coupe (Oxford Green)
2002 E39 525i Sport (Oxford Green) - 2002 E36/7 M Roadster (Oxford Green)
2001 E53 X5 3.0i Sport (Oxford Green) - 2007 E63 M6 (Silver Grey)
1995 E31 840Ci (Oxford Green) - 2006 E86 M Coupe (Sepang Bronze)
2001 E39 530i Sport (Aspen Silver) - 2009 E92 M3 (Space Grey)
2001 E38 740i Sport (Sahara Beige) - 2008 E92 M3 (Melbourne Red)
2000 E38 740i Sport Canadian (Sahara Beige) - 1997 E31 850Ci (Jet Black)
I hear you I bought mine for like $8000 5 years ago, 01 Sport with $100k on it, it had a lot of maintenance done but not the really big stuff because it was too early. Car has 130k on it now and since then I have done the guides, tensioners, OSV, suspension, a bunch of sensors and a few other things. Car drives like a champ and is pretty perfect inside and out except minor wear and tear. I was looking at it in the garage today and I am still in love no matter what the price goes up to!
There are so many awesome angles to see our car in person, but pictures just never seem to do it justice! The only way is to be so far away and optically zoom in to it, but my cellphone just. . . doesn't. So many times I've turned back to look at'r and saw a perfect shot, take the picture, THAT'S NOT IT AT ALL! RVA's recent pictures on his thread REALLY show off the beauty of these cars though.
|| 1995 740i || M60B40 || DUDMD || ̶o̶r̶i̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶b̶l̶u̶e̶ Mercedes Brilliant Blue Metallic || Style 168 Wheels 1" Spacers ||
The E38 is indeed one of the most gorgeous cars ever in production.
A lot of cars are like that - the wide angle lens on your cellphone doesn't capture the view you see with your eyes. Need a camera with a more "zoomed in" lens.
2006 R53 JCW (British Racing Green) - 1994 E31 840Ci 6spd (AVUS Blue)
2021 F56 JCW (Rebel Green) - 2000 E38 740i Sport (Titanium Silver)
2017 F26 X4 M40i (Carbon Black) - 2007 E91 328iT (Deep Green)
2012 E82 135i M Sport (Marrakesh Brown) - 2015 E84 X1 (Cashmere Silver)
2005 E53 X5 3.0i Sport (Kalahari Beige) - 2000 E36/7 M Roadster (Oxford Green)
2000 E38 740i Sport (Oxford Green) - 1999 E36 M3 Coupe (Fern Green)
1995 E31 840Ci Canadian (Oxford Green) - 2000 E36/8 M Coupe (Oxford Green)
2004 E46 330Ci (Oxford Green) - 2001 E36/8 Z3 3.0i Coupe (Oxford Green)
2002 E39 525i Sport (Oxford Green) - 2002 E36/7 M Roadster (Oxford Green)
2001 E53 X5 3.0i Sport (Oxford Green) - 2007 E63 M6 (Silver Grey)
1995 E31 840Ci (Oxford Green) - 2006 E86 M Coupe (Sepang Bronze)
2001 E39 530i Sport (Aspen Silver) - 2009 E92 M3 (Space Grey)
2001 E38 740i Sport (Sahara Beige) - 2008 E92 M3 (Melbourne Red)
2000 E38 740i Sport Canadian (Sahara Beige) - 1997 E31 850Ci (Jet Black)
Current
95 e31 840 Ci (Auto) Orient Blue 61k
11 e90 328i Space Gray
18 F15 X5 35i XDrive White
Past
00 e38 740 i (Auto) Titanium Silver
94 e31 840 Ci (6 speed conv.) Avus Blau (This car was Awesome!)
03 e46 325 Ci (Auto) Jet Black
91 e31 850i (Auto) Diamond Black, Yes, two!
91 e31 850i (Auto) Diamond Black
00 e39 528i (Auto) Jet Black
92 e36 325i (Auto) Laguna Green
Current
95 e31 840 Ci (Auto) Orient Blue 61k
11 e90 328i Space Gray
18 F15 X5 35i XDrive White
Past
00 e38 740 i (Auto) Titanium Silver
94 e31 840 Ci (6 speed conv.) Avus Blau (This car was Awesome!)
03 e46 325 Ci (Auto) Jet Black
91 e31 850i (Auto) Diamond Black, Yes, two!
91 e31 850i (Auto) Diamond Black
00 e39 528i (Auto) Jet Black
92 e36 325i (Auto) Laguna Green
BaT auction closed at $27,500 for the Stahlblau.
My buddy happened to be at our local indy shop yesterday where another low mile (<42k) Stahlblau sport shorty was in for some routine maintenance... I told him to find out if they wanted to sell it! I wonder if he showed them the auction as there's supposed to be another Stahlblau coming up on BaT soon... Lol
Last edited by Chamberlin; 11-11-2017 at 10:24 AM.
2006 R53 JCW (British Racing Green) - 1994 E31 840Ci 6spd (AVUS Blue)
2021 F56 JCW (Rebel Green) - 2000 E38 740i Sport (Titanium Silver)
2017 F26 X4 M40i (Carbon Black) - 2007 E91 328iT (Deep Green)
2012 E82 135i M Sport (Marrakesh Brown) - 2015 E84 X1 (Cashmere Silver)
2005 E53 X5 3.0i Sport (Kalahari Beige) - 2000 E36/7 M Roadster (Oxford Green)
2000 E38 740i Sport (Oxford Green) - 1999 E36 M3 Coupe (Fern Green)
1995 E31 840Ci Canadian (Oxford Green) - 2000 E36/8 M Coupe (Oxford Green)
2004 E46 330Ci (Oxford Green) - 2001 E36/8 Z3 3.0i Coupe (Oxford Green)
2002 E39 525i Sport (Oxford Green) - 2002 E36/7 M Roadster (Oxford Green)
2001 E53 X5 3.0i Sport (Oxford Green) - 2007 E63 M6 (Silver Grey)
1995 E31 840Ci (Oxford Green) - 2006 E86 M Coupe (Sepang Bronze)
2001 E39 530i Sport (Aspen Silver) - 2009 E92 M3 (Space Grey)
2001 E38 740i Sport (Sahara Beige) - 2008 E92 M3 (Melbourne Red)
2000 E38 740i Sport Canadian (Sahara Beige) - 1997 E31 850Ci (Jet Black)
I saw that...what is really interesting is that a '99 M-roadster with only 21K miles on it went for $10 grand less???
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1999-bmw-m-roadster-14/
My build-http://stingrayv12.com/home.html
I think there's a lot more low mileage Z3M Roadsters out there than low mileage sport shorties. I also think that the E36/7/8 market is down a bit right now too. I sold my super clean 2000 M Roadster a couple of weeks ago for only $12,500, and that took a few months to sell. It had 74k miles but still expected to get a bit more out of it.
2006 R53 JCW (British Racing Green) - 1994 E31 840Ci 6spd (AVUS Blue)
2021 F56 JCW (Rebel Green) - 2000 E38 740i Sport (Titanium Silver)
2017 F26 X4 M40i (Carbon Black) - 2007 E91 328iT (Deep Green)
2012 E82 135i M Sport (Marrakesh Brown) - 2015 E84 X1 (Cashmere Silver)
2005 E53 X5 3.0i Sport (Kalahari Beige) - 2000 E36/7 M Roadster (Oxford Green)
2000 E38 740i Sport (Oxford Green) - 1999 E36 M3 Coupe (Fern Green)
1995 E31 840Ci Canadian (Oxford Green) - 2000 E36/8 M Coupe (Oxford Green)
2004 E46 330Ci (Oxford Green) - 2001 E36/8 Z3 3.0i Coupe (Oxford Green)
2002 E39 525i Sport (Oxford Green) - 2002 E36/7 M Roadster (Oxford Green)
2001 E53 X5 3.0i Sport (Oxford Green) - 2007 E63 M6 (Silver Grey)
1995 E31 840Ci (Oxford Green) - 2006 E86 M Coupe (Sepang Bronze)
2001 E39 530i Sport (Aspen Silver) - 2009 E92 M3 (Space Grey)
2001 E38 740i Sport (Sahara Beige) - 2008 E92 M3 (Melbourne Red)
2000 E38 740i Sport Canadian (Sahara Beige) - 1997 E31 850Ci (Jet Black)
There was an E34 M5 Touring wagon that went for $120k on BAT a couple of months ago. Set the E34 net on fire. lol. I'd not say E38's are going up in value, more like the ones viewed as most desirable are holding their price point better than the others.
Some Places remain unknown because no one has ventured forth. Others remain so because no one has ever come back......
1998 BMW E38 740il - Vermont Grün Metallic, 150k miles, all stock. 11/98 build.
2011 Range Rover Supercharged - Rimini Red, Jet/Jet Interior.
2018 Mercedes GLE 350 - Diamond White, Soccer Mom kid-hauler.
1970 Chevy Chevelle - Pro-touring, 496ci BBC, custom everything.
...to add, there were only 20 Elektas built for the European market (Italian dealership) and there are probably only about 30 E34 Tourings total in the USA as it is.
To the E38 situation, I have to disagree. I think these cars have bottomed out some time ago, and values are on the rise. Thanks to the 'internet vortex' and auction sites like BaT, the trend for low mileage and rare color combination examples to fetch higher and higher dollars is becoming more common. There's a 'rising tide lifts all boats' mentality in there too, although I agree that the effect will be minimal for the E38 just due to the sheer quantity of high mileage drivers out there that can be had for $3000 on Craigslist Anytown USA. So maybe you're saying the same thing I am just in different terms, but I do feel that outstanding examples will become more and more rare, as 'cult' desire increases due to internet amplification, which can only cause hammer prices on these fine specimens to increase. Closed loop economics.
Last edited by Chamberlin; 11-14-2017 at 09:47 PM.
2006 R53 JCW (British Racing Green) - 1994 E31 840Ci 6spd (AVUS Blue)
2021 F56 JCW (Rebel Green) - 2000 E38 740i Sport (Titanium Silver)
2017 F26 X4 M40i (Carbon Black) - 2007 E91 328iT (Deep Green)
2012 E82 135i M Sport (Marrakesh Brown) - 2015 E84 X1 (Cashmere Silver)
2005 E53 X5 3.0i Sport (Kalahari Beige) - 2000 E36/7 M Roadster (Oxford Green)
2000 E38 740i Sport (Oxford Green) - 1999 E36 M3 Coupe (Fern Green)
1995 E31 840Ci Canadian (Oxford Green) - 2000 E36/8 M Coupe (Oxford Green)
2004 E46 330Ci (Oxford Green) - 2001 E36/8 Z3 3.0i Coupe (Oxford Green)
2002 E39 525i Sport (Oxford Green) - 2002 E36/7 M Roadster (Oxford Green)
2001 E53 X5 3.0i Sport (Oxford Green) - 2007 E63 M6 (Silver Grey)
1995 E31 840Ci (Oxford Green) - 2006 E86 M Coupe (Sepang Bronze)
2001 E39 530i Sport (Aspen Silver) - 2009 E92 M3 (Space Grey)
2001 E38 740i Sport (Sahara Beige) - 2008 E92 M3 (Melbourne Red)
2000 E38 740i Sport Canadian (Sahara Beige) - 1997 E31 850Ci (Jet Black)
I just picked up a '00 Orient Blau 740i Sport in Colorado for less than four bills (4K). It had excellent maintenance records and is in virtually pristine condition. I simply couldn't find a reason not to buy it. I wouldn't necessarily turn down a car with "higher" mileage, if this is an example: an 18 year old car with 200,000 miles on it averages about 11,000 a year, and that's less than what many people put on a car in a year., on average. Condition and maintenance records are everything.
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