2001 740il Simply opinions.

[christian9040]

This is my first major post so sorry if it's in the wrong place!!!


My dad bought me a 2001 740iL as my first car for about 4,400 (crazy.) on eBay, (yea, IK, I'm spoiled, blah blah. I try to take care of it and keep it nice, though. I'll give it to my kid when he starts driving :P) seems everyone has told me I got a gem. My mechanic has told me that there is practically no rust on the entire vehicle, and he was hysterical about it hehe. That is not surprising however, as it spent most of it's life in FL. Now in the garage in Ohio whenever it's not being driven . At about 122k miles, We needed to do timing chain work because one of the guides snapped off, but it was not far away from having to do it because of the chain itself, (thing was so slack once they pulled it out; you'd be surprised it ran!)
Of course every car its age has little quirks, one of the nubs on the headlight washer is missing, causing this really funny noise and equally as funny spray of liquid whenever it's activated, Rear left C pillar cover is coming down from epoxy failure(?), passenger ashtray is broken, and vents in the rear were smashed but after I popped them back into place if you face them downwards nobody notices :3. Has all the original parts PLUS an entire full spare that smells and looks brand new, with the same rim and everything. BMW doesn't give you a cheapo donut. I like that. Roadside tool kit is complete, including the radio.


I got an aftermarket Pioneer AVH 3800BHS. Also installed a backup camera that activates and shows on the touchscreen when in reverse, in-case my mother ever would want to drive it. I wanted to be able to play my music from my phone as well, so :P

So, at 4,400 buying price, and about 8,000 and repairs and singular interior mod, here she is. I tried using the built in HTML formatting for the images, but my iPhone X takes images in 4k. They ended up being MASSIVE in the preview and I had already uploaded them all, so I'll just post as links.

https://puu.sh/BpbQj/33d139c305.jpg
a bit dirty in this one, not same day as first pic.
https://puu.sh/BpbRe/2640e79d8f.jpg
https://puu.sh/BpbS4/f7e9e6be56.jpg
falling headliner, broken rear vent and ashtray, push in the ashtray and it looks fine so.
https://puu.sh/BpbX2/cf5f576af3.JPG
https://puu.sh/BpbUA/9f0c8b6799.jpg
https://puu.sh/BpbUG/6081280fcf.JPG
and of course the funny part. Really oughta fix that...

the fancy spare.
https://puu.sh/Bpc4M/5da0aa3e85.jpg
amazing radio by the way, recommend it if you can get a housing professionally measured and cut for the car.
https://puu.sh/Bpc7v/9543ce6fc2.jpg
and finally the engine.
https://puu.sh/BpcaO/909ca88b51.JPG

Had a couple bad days though:

battery was 7 years old, LOL. One day was just done with my crap I guess haha.

I'm hoping once I get enough money to repaint the whole car, has some chips in the front from stones hitting it on the highway. I drive about 20 minutes every Monday as I play trombone in our local Youth symphony. Once I go to college I'm parking it. I would rather not go through the pain of university kids ruining it out of jealousy for the amazing E38 body style. (My one friend says it's ugly, but I call her crazy! )

I really love my car, and hope you do too! Soon it'll be a historical vehicle, as crazy as that sounds. At 17 years at the time of writing, It's as old as I am. Made in February of 2001, only a month before I was born.


Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment any suggestions what I should do with it!

[MauiM3Mania]

Moved from BMW General Discussion sub-forum.

[georgebest]

Lol, that headlight washer is quite funny!

Good luck with the car, with the timing chain guides done it should last long.

[Mayorchuck]

Welcome to the forum. Just enjoy the ride. You have the biggie out of the way with the guides being done. That is the C-pillar by the way. There is probably as much online about the E38 as there is any car ever made. If you come across an issue you can't find an answer for on the forum or elsewhere, feel free to seek assistance here. Here are just a few sites you want to bookmark.

https://www.meeknet.co.uk/E38/
http://e38.org/

[christian9040]

That is the C-pillar by the way.

Whoops! My bad hehe.
I sure will! Next thing on the list, front right grill broke off, plastic got old. Can't figure out how to remove the other old one without breaking clips. Any suggestions?
Looked on meeknet. Found info about it, still doesn't make sense.
- - - Updated - - -

Lol, that headlight washer is quite funny!

Good luck with the car, with the timing chain guides done it should last long.

I know right :P
Thank you for the response! I was really appreciative of my dad stepping in, that would have been a lot of money for me.

[georgebest]

Whoops! My bad hehe.
I sure will! Next thing on the list, front right grill broke off, plastic got old. Can't figure out how to remove the other old one without breaking clips. Any suggestions?
Looked on meeknet. Found info about it, still doesn't make sense.
- - - Updated - - -



I know right :P
Thank you for the response! I was really appreciative of my dad stepping in, that would have been a lot of money for me.

Be nice to your dad... cause parts are crazy expensive

[christian9040]

Be nice to your dad... cause parts are crazy expensive

Aye, Indeed.