I joined this forum after I left the E34 forum having bought my 740i about 7 or 8 years ago. I thought it would be wise to have access to a wide knowledge base in case the need arose.
In seven or eight years of ownership my E 38 never let me down. I didnt use it as a daily driver, but enjoyed everything from trips to the supermarket to long distance drives to other cities. It was great on the open road where the power and comfort made the journey a pleasure!
Recently the transmission was starting to be worrisome after about half an hours driving. I had replaced the filter with a genuine Filtran one, and religiously followed the steps and specs for fluid replacement.
My car wasnt pristine when I bought it,it had several small dents in the body, and I replaced the ABS module within the first few weeks of ownership, but the purchase price had reflected that, so I didnt mind.
I had toyed with the idea of selling it for a few years, but every time I drove it I was reminded that I really liked that car! Another year went by and I realised that the time had come to pass it on. I sold it with a new Warrant of Fitness (our safety check) and most of a years rego for $1500 to a guy that wanted a weekend driver that he could tinker with. He traveled about 200 miles to come and pick it up, and by all accounts had an enjoyable drive home.
He was aware of the potential problems but got a lot of car for the money, these sell for crazy cheap prices as people dont want to take the risk of a repair bill that could be as much as the cost of the car.
I sincerely hope he gets as much pleasure from it as I did.
I wont be replacing it with another 740 as the later models dont seem to be the driver's cars the E38's are.
I am currently thinking of replacing it with a 550i or similar if the right one for me comes along.
I just hope whatever the new car is, that it will be as pleasurable and memorable as my E38.
BMW1 20180329_144552.jpg
Last edited by Grantnz; 04-26-2018 at 02:14 AM.
Sounds like you had the perfect experience and are moving on at an ideal time for you. Many of us can't let go.. haha.. well honestly as die hard enthusiast we truly don't want to. What is really fun about the e38 now days is that there are so many directions people are going with mods; it is no longer necessary to remain stock and it is cool to see the fan loyalty and support of all those different ideas.
I have had mine for going on 14 years and look forward to many more years. the expense is part of the package and if you do your own wrenching it is part of the enjoyment/reward really. but if you don't wrench, you need a solid budget to keep up with everything.
But you had a great run with 7 years. Let us know what you replace it with.
Good luck.
1997 740iL; 5/96 build. Purchased 12/04. Off the road build project 2013 - 2021. back on road 3/2021. Became daily driver (only vehicle) 6/12/2021. Still not completed. Stay tuned as the adventure continues.
I'm getting close to your situation, but I may look for another garage find low mileage e38.
02 e39 540i Sport (Son), 01 DINAN 7 (Me), 12 e70 X5 x35i (Mrs), 95 e34 525i (Daughter 2), 01 e46 325Ci vert (Daughter 1)
great story! i was thinking of the same thing to let it go, but will see!
Just buy another one with low miles and continue the fun.
Cheers
2001 | DINAN 7 Sport | S62 Swapped 6-Speed
DINAN Springs & Exhaust | 750 Brakes | M-Pars | Monsoons | NBT Nav/Radio
Dual Pane Glass | Black & Sand Int.
2001 | 750iL | AlpineWeiss III
@scotthduke on Instagram
I too left the E34 scene years ago for my current E38 and currently have my E38 up for sale. I think I would love an F10 535i next.
Good luck with whatever you decide on.
Right on brother! I couldn't have expressed it better. Currently doing a VCG repair for first time, and then moving on to the timing chain guides. Couldn't do it without the many DIY threads that everyone shares. I was going to sell my 2001 740i, Black (almost 200,000 miles) but repairs kept occuring; I don't think of it as a pain, but enjoy the challenge and the learning experience I get out of it.
I purchased a restored 2001 740i recently and will someday need to use this knowledge when things go South. This one has just over 176,000 miles, Oriental Blue and is pristine. Maybe pictures will go out someday. Supposedly the "M" version, but I'm still not sure if that's true or not. Paid $6,500 for it and got a great value for the shape it's in. My wife tells me I have to get rid of one of the 740's so I'll probably list the Black one when I get done tinkering with it. I wouldn't want to have a mechanic do this work as it would have to be scrapped for parts due to the costs.
Re whether your car is the M version, you can check the build specs here: www.bmwvin.com
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