740i sport or 740il

[Sprun24]

I'm looking at picking up an e38 as a new daily driver. It seems like the 740i short wheelbase sport is the most popular, but is it worth the extra price? They are significantly more expensive than the long wheelbase 740il. On the list of features that the 740i sport has over the 740il, the only ones I'm concerned with missing out on are the seats, and the overall shorter length. I don't care about the steptronic or the shorter diff, if I want to drive something sporty I have a project e36.

For reference I've got a v6 6 speed 2008 accord coupe as my daily driver right now. It was fun for a while but it sucks on the highway and the handling is uninspired feeling. I've had it for 2 years now and I still can't tell how big it is when I'm in it, the way it curves down makes it feel like you're driving a bubble. Because of this I tend to think its massive when it really isn't. I'm looking for something more comfortable and better looking, power and three pedals are no longer important.

I'm comfortable working on cars and plan to do all the required/suggested maintenance as soon as I buy one. I'd like to have an lsd for driving in the snow, but is the traction control good enough to go without it for a little while? The options seem limited and expensive unless you have a 740i sport. I am fortunately in a situation where driving in the snow isn't an everyday thing, but I live in the north east so it'll have to happen sometimes.

At least in my area the price difference between a 740i sport and a 740il is enough to cover what I'd like to spend on maintenance(~3k, I am under no delusions that daily driving a 90s bmw will be a cheap endeavor), assuming none of it is already done.

Are the sport seats significantly better than the regular comfort seats?
Is the automatic trans in the non sport model awful?
Does the longer length of the 740il make the car feel unwieldy in tight spaces?

Thanks!

[rslifkin]

If you want the shorter length, you can get a 740i without the sport package. Transmission is the same between the sport and non-sport, only differences are shorter diff gears (3.15 instead of 2.93) and a higher stall torque converter in the sport models. The sport gearing is about a 2 mpg penalty at highway speeds compared to a non-sport.

I drive mine in the winter (with good snow tires). I'd love an LSD, but honestly, the open diff is not that bad in this car. DSC is helpful in some situations and not so helpful in others, but the car does a decent job of keeping weight on the inside rear tire, so it's only occasional moments where I'm left thinking "yep, this needs an LSD". The sport isn't any easier to swap an LSD into anyway.

[Sprun24]

Good point, I didn't really think about getting a non sport 740i. I've only been looking at the facelift models and it seems like everyone who didn't want a sport model got the long wheelbase. There is a few listed right now but they are more expensive than the 740il. I'll keep my eye out for sure, could possibly get a good deal.

Glad to hear the car is manageable in the snow, not having to buy a lsd right away makes this a more practical choice.

[Staszek]

If you can drive both. If you don't care about sporty, or the other attributes of the sport then its probably not worth the price of admission at this point. The iL will be more comfortable, it wont handle as well but definitely be smoother, the difference in suspension, as well as the longer wheelbase, will soak up the bumps. So if you want a really long-stretch highway cruiser its a better choice. Not that the sport is a bad choice, but the iL is better.

The steptronic is kind of gimic, its fun but I rarely use it. They are both the same trans, the programming is different and the sport has a high-stall torque converter which does help the car accelerate faster (coupled with the more aggressive diff). You can always change those later if you want, you don't need to add the steptronic to do so.

As for the seats, I LOVE the sport seats in the E38. The comfort ones are not bad, especially if you have an iL with activation (massage) but they are not as comfortable to me as the sport seats. That being said, you can find a lot of used ones on ebay and out of parts cars, its a really easy swap if you really wanted them.

I wouldn't say the iL is unwieldy, the E38s always drove a bit smaller then they were, but the Sport feels a lot smaller.

Personally, if you are not really into the "sport shorty" thing its probably not worth it for you to spend the extra money since iLs are way cheaper and you can use that money to make it nicer and keep it driving.

I daily drove an E38 sport for 7 years, sold it and had a G12 750i for 3 years, got rid of that and I am back in an E38 sport, that is how much I love them. Personally, if I was getting an iL I would get a 750 if you can. The engines are actually more reliable then the M62s and man are they smooth. Also the 750's would be very highly optioned. The only thing to look out for there is the self adjusting suspension, they are super expensive to fix, most people delete it and go with conventional shocks and struts. I believe that was an option on the 740il's as well so take a look at that.

An iL will definitely feel bigger than the Honda you have, but its not hard to judge its corners.

I think you really need to drive an iL, if you were local I would let you drive my sport for comparison.

The Sport doesn't have an LSD, and I drove it all winter with winter tires no problem

[Sprun24]

Thanks for your insight! I'm very surprised to hear that the v12 is more reliable, I wrote it off as soon as I read that it has two ecus lol. New shocks and springs are on my list of things to replace so that shouldn't be an issue. The sport seats are somewhat reasonably priced, even looking on ebay. Swapping those in later on wouldn't be a big deal.

I've driven a couple other automatic cars that let you pick the gears but it never felt natural. It didn't seem like the cars liked it and I'd rather just let the transmission do its job. If I really wanted to pick the gears I'd put a manual in it.

You're right that I need to drive one. Luckily this is a normal enough car that there are some used car dealerships that still have them. At this point the only aspect of an IL I'd really be worried about is the length. Big is fine as long as I can judge its corners, the length on the Honda is probably part of why I don't like going on road trips with it.

[E24man]

An E38 is never really going to be sporty at all - they are physically large - whether swb or lwb, pretty heavy - whether swb or lwb, so you might as well get the lwb to enjoy the luxury and space, and as many toys as it came with, or you can fit to it.

A 5 series is a big sports saloon if that's what you really want so get an 540i or M5 in that case.

[Sprun24]

Staszek - Very surprised that the v12 is more reliable, I wrote it off as soon as I read it has two dme's lol. I'll definitely keep an eye out for 750il. I've driven a couple non bmws with the option to pick the gears in an auto and it never felt worth using. It always did what I wanted but it didn't change gears very smoothly. Being unable to skip gears also made me not want to use it. Seems like a manual swap with e39 540i parts is somewhat easy, if I end wanting to pick my own gears that'd be the right way to go about it.

Good point on swapping seats, sport seats in good shape aren't insanely priced, doing that later on wouldn't be the end of the world. I was also reading about the adjustable suspension, swapping dampers and springs was on my list so that shouldn't be an issue.

I'm more than ok with big as long as I can tell how big. These large 90s luxury sedans are my favorite style of car, I'm willing to put up with a little inconvenience for that.

E24man - You're right about the weight, a 750il is almost twice as heavy as my e36. A m5 e39 is currently pretty out of my price range but I'd love to own one eventually. 540i and 740il are pretty much the same price and the e38 looks better imo. I think I can pretty safely get a fully luxury car, my e36 is very far from stock and will hopefully be going to the track a lot next summer. Don't really need another 'fun' car right now.

Thanks for the help, it seems like I was on the right track as far as getting a long wheelbase. These are a normal enough car I should be able to go for a test drive at a used car dealership, I think that'd be the only thing left.

[E24man]

I'd agree with getting a V12 - they have plenty more toys and leather as standard and just looking at 750iL's will having you looking at toy levels and luxury items rather than sporting prowess. Have some self-indulgent pictures of mine...

IMGP6361.jpg

B12 ALPINA 005.jpg

B12 glasses.jpg

[Btkeenan]

Get whatever speaks to you. Personally the LWB proportionally never looked right from the side profile compared to the SWB. Now if they did a v12 SWB that would have been cool but having the v8 I don’t feel like I am missing out like I would be if I had the v12 of the Mercedes of the same era. The sport will likely have better resale/retain its value better than a non sport but if you’re going to daily it, that likely doesn’t matter so go for something that doesn’t have a lot of deferred maintenance otherwise you’ll be spending all the time fixing it lol

[Staszek]

Get whatever speaks to you. Personally the LWB proportionally never looked right from the side profile compared to the SWB. Now if they did a v12 SWB that would have been cool but having the v8 I don’t feel like I am missing out like I would be if I had the v12 of the Mercedes of the same era. The sport will likely have better resale/retain its value better than a non sport but if you’re going to daily it, that likely doesn’t matter so go for something that doesn’t have a lot of deferred maintenance otherwise you’ll be spending all the time fixing it lol

If they sold a short 750 in the US I would be all over that lol!

[Sprun24]

Wow that's beautiful, love the trim on those seats.

I'd agree with getting a V12 - they have plenty more toys and leather as standard and just looking at 750iL's will having you looking at toy levels and luxury items rather than sporting prowess. Have some self-indulgent pictures of mine...

IMGP6361.jpg

B12 ALPINA 005.jpg

B12 glasses.jpg

I think both styles look good. Imo the swb looks better at stock(sport) ride height and the lwb looks better lowered a reasonable amount. Not sure why, I agree it doesn't look proportional at stock ride height but that goes away when its dropped a few inches. I'm not concerned about the power of the v8 being an issue, but a smoother engine and nicer features(gotta have that phone) is appealing. I'm sure that v12 devours gas but I'm getting 18mpg in my honda rn so its probably not going to be a lot worse.

Not super concerned with resale value, this is a car I'd like to own for as long as possible and the not rare ones I'd look at for a daily aren't particularly valuable. I think my target is going to be a 2001 ~150k mile completely stock down to the wheels 740il or 750il old man car.

[BikiniBeret]

As for me, you should look for better technical condition. Because the cars is pretty old and if you see "IL" with very good condition, get it instead of "I" with rust or engine with misfires.

I think you have more chances to be disappointed with car in bad condition.

[Btkeenan]

Not super concerned with resale value, this is a car I'd like to own for as long as possible and the not rare ones I'd look at for a daily aren't particularly valuable. I think my target is going to be a 2001 ~150k mile completely stock down to the wheels 740il or 750il old man car.

Probably a safe bet. Lots of valuable insight/information on this forum for fixes for these aging classics.

[GZilla]

Both are great! Both feel like a sports car when you drive it hard, and it’s something that you don’t feel with other luxury cars. Whichever one pops up that is in good condition as well as price should be the winner. If you buy an E38 you are a winner already! In terms of V8 vs V12, correct me if I’m wrong but the V8 provides more space to work on.