Just bought an E38 730i :-)

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John Burns - 26 Aug 2005 19:39 GMT

Well I sold my E28 525e, got a good price (still have my E30 318iS). And
the same evening I became the proud owner of a late '94 E38 730i V8 with
only 120k and full main delaer service history. I'm only the third
owner. Oxford green (Boston green to you Yanks) with cream leather. And
the best bit - she cost a mere 2100 GBP. Stunning value for a car that
was over 45k new!

Nice and quick, she's a Sunday cruiser so I didn't need the 4.0. Besides
which this one was fairly local, most of them seem to be in the south of
England! And on the way back from Perth with the cruise control on I
manged an amazing 30.3mpg average.

What a car, superb bit of engineering. One tiny bit of rust to take care
of and it's going to get a full "BMW nerd" valet this weekend.

Amazing what 2k can buy, there's loads of them on ebay in the UK for
silly money.

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Bear - 26 Aug 2005 20:37 GMT

john@unixnerd.demon.co.uk John Burns says...

> Amazing what 2k can buy, there's loads of them on ebay in the UK for
> silly money.

My 94 740iL E32 (88,000 miles, near-mint) was £1,775 (although I had to
haggle for three and a half hours to get that price, but the dealer was
a nice chap). And everything works.

Apparently, according to the dealer, people don't want cars like that
any more because they drink too much petrol. My 740iL averages 23 mpg,
and I drive in a manner best described as "spirited", yet my mate's
Vectra SRi tin-box manages 27 mpg. Somehow, I don't think most people
get it.

Plus, of course, if you're not doing huge miles, who cares?

I want a later 7-series 750 sport, in metallic dark green or black. Saw
the perfect one on eBay but it was too much. TBH I think there's every
chance I'd keep my 740 E32 too, coz it's just too much fun and too nice
to sell on, especially since I got the wobble sorted out with the wheel
centering rings.

Enjoy your purchase!

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Bear
"Gays don't vomit. They're a very clean people. And they have been ever
since they came to this country from France"

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John Burns - 26 Aug 2005 20:42 GMT

> My 94 740iL E32 (88,000 miles, near-mint) was £1,775 (although I had to
> haggle for three and a half hours to get that price, but the dealer was
> a nice chap). And everything works.

Wow, better bargain than mine :-)

> Apparently, according to the dealer, people don't want cars like that
> any more because they drink too much petrol. My 740iL averages 23 mpg,
> and I drive in a manner best described as "spirited", yet my mate's
> Vectra SRi tin-box manages 27 mpg. Somehow, I don't think most people
> get it.

Agreed. I asked my neighbour (not really a car guy) what he thougt I
paid. 12k :-)

> Plus, of course, if you're not doing huge miles, who cares?

Exactly.

> I want a later 7-series 750 sport, in metallic dark green or black. Saw
> the perfect one on eBay but it was too much. TBH I think there's every
> chance I'd keep my 740 E32 too, coz it's just too much fun and too nice
> to sell on, especially since I got the wobble sorted out with the wheel
> centering rings.

I had a set of those on the E28 I sold, it had E39 16" cross spokes. My
7 has the more boring 16" standard alloys. I'd love the 18" multi-spoke,
they look even better than Alpinas on an E38. That make the whole car
look sleeker.

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JB - 26 Aug 2005 20:58 GMT

>> My 94 740iL E32 (88,000 miles, near-mint) was £1,775 (although I had to
>> haggle for three and a half hours to get that price, but the dealer was
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
> they look even better than Alpinas on an E38. That make the whole car
> look sleeker.

*Right* you two! It's bad enough getting cracking deals on 2 really nice
7-series, but why oh why didn't they ever do an E23/32/38 Touring?
Then I could join the 'big boys club'.
I love working on 7-series and have owned several, but my daily commute of
over 100miles just gets me right where it hurts most: The wallet! So it's
still the e34 for me I'm afraid.
When you've done the usual 'Nerd Valet' please stick a couple of pics up on
your website John.
Take good care of those nasty, nasty nikasil V8s now boys :>).
JB

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Bear - 27 Aug 2005 01:32 GMT

JB@Nospam.co.uk JB says...

> Take good care of those nasty, nasty nikasil V8s now boys :>).

heh. I'm still waiting for it to go bang.

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Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says,
'Oooooo.'
Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.

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John Burns - 27 Aug 2005 11:03 GMT

> *Right* you two! It's bad enough getting cracking deals on 2 really nice
> 7-series, but why oh why didn't they ever do an E23/32/38 Touring?

I've seen pics of converted E28 tourings used a Merc tailgate. I'd love
one. My techie drives a 93 525iX touring.

> Then I could join the 'big boys club'.
> I love working on 7-series and have owned several, but my daily commute of
> over 100miles just gets me right where it hurts most: The wallet! So it's
> still the e34 for me I'm afraid.
> When you've done the usual 'Nerd Valet' please stick a couple of pics up on
> your website John.

Pre valet pics:
http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/e38_1.jpg
http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/e38_2.jpg
http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/e38_3.jpg

> Take good care of those nasty, nasty nikasil V8s now boys :>).

We will. Watch out for the exploding E34 water pumps now won't
you.......

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JB - 27 Aug 2005 13:37 GMT

>> *Right* you two! It's bad enough getting cracking deals on 2 really nice
>> 7-series, but why oh why didn't they ever do an E23/32/38 Touring?
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/e38_2.jpg
> http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/e38_3.jpg

Sweet, Very Sweet for the money.

>> Take good care of those nasty, nasty nikasil V8s now boys :>).
>
> We will. Watch out for the exploding E34 water pumps now won't
> you.......

Touche!

(First thing I changed when I bought mine at 303,000miles.. )

Enjoy the new beastie.

cheers,
JB

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Bear - 27 Aug 2005 01:32 GMT

john@unixnerd.demon.co.uk John Burns says...

> > My 94 740iL E32 (88,000 miles, near-mint) was £1,775 (although I had to
> > haggle for three and a half hours to get that price, but the dealer was
> > a nice chap). And everything works.
>
> Wow, better bargain than mine :-)

Not really, coz yours is the newer model. I'd have preferred a 535/540
(I have no real need for a car *that* big; a 5-series would be fine),
but I don't fixate on *one* model when buying, and this was too nice not
to buy. The dealer also had a nice 750 and a 735, but the 740 was 4
years newer, 50,000 miles lower mileage, and despite my worries over the
V8 issues, drove almost like new.

> > Apparently, according to the dealer, people don't want cars like that
> > any more because they drink too much petrol. My 740iL averages 23 mpg,
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Agreed. I asked my neighbour (not really a car guy) what he thougt I
> paid. 12k :-)

Exactly. At work they thought I was some kind of playboy until I pointed
out what I'd paid; a colleague said "what?! I paid £2,500 for my astra
and it's a pile of shite!"

> > Plus, of course, if you're not doing huge miles, who cares?
>
> Exactly.

I've been doing some pretty serious miles on it lately (7,000 in about
2.5 months), but tomorrow I move to a new place about 10 mins drive from
work, so much easier on the wallet.

Giving me more money to hand to JB in a quest to get the 740 as near
perfect as possible. His eldest lad said, last weekend "I really like
your car, Bear", to which I replied "you bloody should do; it's going to
put you through university".

> > I want a later 7-series 750 sport, in metallic dark green or black. Saw
> > the perfect one on eBay but it was too much. TBH I think there's every
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> they look even better than Alpinas on an E38. That make the whole car
> look sleeker.

This is the car JB posted about. It's wearing the E39 "turbines" (more
like thick spoke turbines to me) and is finally smooth thanks to Wheels
UK of Nuneaton, Warcs. Thoroughly recommended; smashing chaps. I'd
prefer AC Schnitzer wheels on it, mind.

I still want a later 7 sport or pref 5 though (E38/E39). One day, one
day ... I do know a garage chappie who's got a 540 E34 running on dual
fuel, and he's about to lob a supercharger into it ... I dare say that
will be a giggle.

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Bear
Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says,
'Oooooo.'
Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.

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Malt_Hound - 27 Aug 2005 12:33 GMT

> Well I sold my E28 525e, got a good price (still have my E30 318iS). And
> the same evening I became the proud owner of a late '94 E38 730i V8 with
> only 120k and full main delaer service history. I'm only the third
> owner.

Congrats. You'll be tooling around in high style now, my friend. ;-)

> Oxford green (Boston green to you Yanks) with cream leather.

No, we "Yanks" get both Boston Green (paint code 275) and Oxford Green
(code 324). Both are clearcoated metallic, but the oxford is a shade or
two darker. Are they really cream or are they tan? I really like the
tan interior, but cream seems like it would be a PITA to keep looking sharp.

> the best bit - she cost a mere 2100 GBP. Stunning value for a car that
> was over 45k new!

Value? I'll say. I suppose you checked the engine for leakdown
(Nikasil problem) or are you willing to take the risk because you are in
the UK with lower sulfer fuels?

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John Burns - 27 Aug 2005 13:56 GMT

> No, we "Yanks" get both Boston Green (paint code 275) and Oxford Green
> (code 324). Both are clearcoated metallic, but the oxford is a shade or
> two darker. Are they really cream or are they tan? I really like the
> tan interior, but cream seems like it would be a PITA to keep looking sharp.

Interesting didn't know that. They're cream. It's worn quite well.
Driver's side bolster has a little wear, I'll need to look into redying
a small part of the leather.

> Value? I'll say. I suppose you checked the engine for leakdown
> (Nikasil problem) or are you willing to take the risk because you are in
> the UK with lower sulfer fuels?

She idles really smoothly from cold and since roughly 97 we've had low
sulphur fuel here. There certainly have been replacements in the UK but
not a huge number, I think the US has had a lot more. I only plan to do
3 or 4k miles a year. My E30 will see most of the miles as it's better
on the wee twisty roads I have to use most often.

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