Asking for expertise on a 1997 e38 740i.Please.

[PE_in_the_market]

Good Evening BMW Fanatics.

I have recently sold my 9n 96kw polo sportline and would like to return to the bmw world.

The car in question is a 1997 e38 740i Auto with 140470km on it.

I am unsure of the hidden emcumbances which the car may have ( was owned by a bmw manager and has now been in the hands of somewhat rough looking people for two months.)

I went for a very brief drive in it (he drove). It looks neat and the service history looks complete up until 128000km. Like I said this was very brief, I didnt get to see much detail.

Interestingly the car has recently been fitted with yellow bilstein shocks all round- ( not sure if coilovers or not ).

Other things which I noticed were that the rear passenger door seal was perished and the left hand mirror didn't fold in when the right one did.

Those are the least of my worries.

Having heard all the horror stories of prices on headgasket/gearbox repair I would like to know what to watch out for and what could happen. I dont look to own the car for more than 40 000km, I just want to own a classic bmw v8 before the fuel price skyrockets.

One more thing- I asked him to show me the 'tiptronic' mode- when he tapped it up from 1st to 2nd it took its time and then went into 2nd.

All your e38 experience and expertise will be gladly appreciated.

Thank You.

 

[naushad]

I was also in the market for one, stay away, repair costs will make you buy the car over again, its a beautiful car but its old now, look for something newer and more efficient:thumbs:

 

[Peter@AEW]

http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e38/

Trully informative I would buy it for the correct money.

 

[Ralf*]

I just want to own a classic bmw v8 before the fuel price skyrockets.

Thats the reason I bought mine, paid R65000 for a 2000 model with 260000 on the clock, and also not 100% in condition either anymore, spent a few rands to make it useable as a daily runner, have now owned it for almost 2 years, and no new issues have appeared from the original issues.

My cars issues were/are that the petrol tank has cracks and seeps fuel at anything over 1/3 full, due to the air not getting in to the taqnk to replace fuel used, thus the tank was "tin-canning"...temporarily work around
other issue is my steering pump leaves its mark wherever I go, like a male dog.....I bottle of ATF a month
another issue on my car is a strange miss when idling and when cruising along at low RPM, suspect oil leaking from the tappet cover into the rearmost spark plug casuing a bit of spark short.
last issue at one stage the car kept on cutting out whenever it came to a stop at a robot, temporarily resolved by unplugging the MAF and making the ECU revert to a very basic mapping of throttle angle only

even with all its minor (or not so minor) faults, it starts every day, and I feel like a "king" every day I drive to the office and back, its only about 6km's to work, so I dont care about the fuel consumption....at the moment the computor says 18.5L/100km.

on the folding side mirror...mine don't ever "AUTO" fold, I don't think they were meant to on these models...I might be wrong...they do however fold back with hand preasure.

I am differing with the previous post, If you really want one, then no amount of "horror" stories will put you off....so it was in my case.

 

[PE_in_the_market]

Thank you Alexander and Romeo for your replies.

Are there places apart from the dealer where parts are available from ?

I am Mechanically inclined- I saw A1exander's rebuild- I hope not to have to do that. How are things with the motor now Alexander?

Regards

 

[Peter@AEW]

Waiting for Victor Reinz head gaskets from ALERT who tell me they will be in stock on Monday.

Once I have them I guess I shall be able to start assembly although I need to get a few more things for it.

 

[PE_in_the_market]

I finally got this car.
141k km on the clock and am very happy with it-
A quick question- it has been fitted with bilstein shocks and complementing coils- out with the standard air suspension. Does this make the EDC redundant ? because I am at the moment trying to figure out why the whole left hand side of the car is 20mm higher than the right. Any suggestions ?

Regards

 

[sclass]

I thought only the 750 had EDC?Unless yours is a 740il?