e38's with higher km?

[dirtydoogle 383]

What would one be scared of with buying this?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-261904200.htm

Or this?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-263236631.htm

Quite tempting, but, I see both as potential trouble makers

Opinions please?

Cheers guys and gals

Buy my Hyundai too.

[[email protected] 0]

I wouldn't buy either, they just don't seem feasible being the lower end models with little power for their weight.

Engines would be pretty tired, having to be trashed to get anywhere, and well being around two tones having done those sort of k's the suspension is going to be pretty knackered all around.

My guess with those two cars you will find small vibrations all over the place and they wont go away until you do everything, fixing some suspension bits usually cause other issues to become more noticeable, so they are expensive cars to buy if you want to run them properly.

Then theres the electrical issues that can appear.

I just think its better to save more and get a decent 4.4L V8 model with well under 200ks.

Thats just me though.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Mike-E34

[3series 0]

Tbh - you dont need to thrash them to get anywhere, the 730i we had was great. Got good mileage too despite being a V8.

To be honest, both being singapore imports with high km's, i would certainly steer clear.

Edited January 4, 2010 by bmw3

[tcbaurpower 5]

I like the floor mat in the second one .

I think if you are not worried about the ride as stated above and kept the maintenance up on the engine then maybe it is worth it. They dont seem happy to explain what might be wrong so i would definatly take them for a test drive.

Offer $2000 for the red one since thats probably what the previous owner got off with trade in.

[dirtydoogle 383]

I wouldn't be buying an e38 to go anywhere fast...don't be silly! That's why I have a bike.

I'm just wanting to know common problems with them as they look like a lot of car for the money.

The 3.0 would be a scungy NikASil wouldn't it?

I may go take that 730i for a drive

[39KiwiTouring 2]

The nikasil problem is virtually non existant in NZ as we had less than 1.0 millionth whatever it was in our fuel, it was mainly northern England that was effected and it was mostly 97-April 98 M52 single vanos engines.

I checked all that out before buying mine as my engine was directly affected.

That green one in PN has been for sale a while and it's on hold so has all the maintenance I would suspect I woudn't be afraid of the higher K's on either really.

[Docile 64]

my e38 is around 245km... 740i only major prob i had was:

rear engine vacuum cracked. caused misfiring. -fixed

front shocks leaked. failed warrant. bought a whole new set drives like a dream now.

coolant reservoir needs replacing.

front rotors need replacing soon.

have got the mysterious battery discharge syndrome atm..

apart from those its mint

dont buy a 7 series if you cant afford its maintenance. it will just empty your pocket and ruin the car: front shocks ea. $630 for non DSC...

Edited January 4, 2010 by Docile

[dirtydoogle 383]

The nikasil problem is virtually non existant in NZ as we had less than 1.0 millionth whatever it was in our fuel, it was mainly northern England that was effected and it was mostly 97-April 98 M52 single vanos engines.

I checked all that out before buying mine as my engine was directly affected.

That green one in PN has been for sale a while and it's on hold so has all the maintenance I would suspect I woudn't be afraid of the higher K's on either really.

If I do go to check it out what should I have a look for? [apart from the usual tests]

I would be asking about service history ofcourse. It's good to know we don't really have a NikASil problem

my e38 is around 245km... 740i only major prob i had was:

rear engine vacuum cracked. caused misfiring. -fixed

front shocks leaked. failed warrant. bought a whole new set drives like a dream now.

coolant reservoir needs replacing.

front rotors need replacing soon.

have got the mysterious battery discharge syndrome atm..

apart from those its mint

dont buy a 7 series if you cant afford its maintenance. it will just empty your pocket and ruin the car: front shocks ea. $630 for non DSC...

To be honest all that doesn't sound too bad to me! I'm glad you are enjoying yours

[Docile 64]

yep. then by all means get one!! its really a nice car to drive. tidy looking if you get the right setup.

only thing i hate about it is trying to park and squeeze it in tight parking spaces !! grrr.. its big and fat assed lol. if you are going to be driving mostly in urban areas. get a 730i.. the 740i just rapes the gas tank any lower than the 730i and the engine will struggle.

[dirtydoogle 383]

yep. then by all means get one!! its really a nice car to drive. tidy looking if you get the right setup.

only thing i hate about it is trying to park and squeeze it in tight parking spaces !! grrr.. its big and fat assed lol. if you are going to be driving mostly in urban areas. get a 730i.. the 740i just rapes the gas tank any lower than the 730i and the engine will struggle.

I live out in the country so parking generally isn't a problem....

I'll be traveling a few km each day during this year which is why I've been looking at the 7's. Also why reliability and lack of boring bland yet ideal hyundai is important.

Or just buy another bike

[tonylauno1 7]

Just some basic info on e38.

http://www.windigoauto.com/E38CommonProblems.html

http://www.meeknet.co.uk/E38/bmw_e38_buying_guide.htm

If you have had the car for a long time and had a lot of use out of it then you would not mind spending money on fixing the car. But when you have only spent $2.5k buying and later finding that you need to spend $3k on fixing it then you might not be so keen.

I would test out all the electrical stuff in the car, seat, window, each button for a/c, radio, and anything else on the centre console. check the transmission shift smoothly in cold, bewary of auto box with such high kms, chances are no previous owner would have flush the oil.

Need to also watch out for worn suspension bushing. I'm sure the shocks for e39 & e46 are not $630 each on front, probably only half of that. maybe 7 Series parts are more expensive too. Might want to find out how much a set of brake pads & rotor would cost for an idea of general maintenance.

[Docile 64]

yup as tony said, and check those links.

also check roof lining, instrument cluster pixel, last trans service. check front rotors. if it has a lip [like mine] time to be replaced. check brake lines if you can get under the car with a flashlight. these are heavy cars and at those k's they prob will need replacing like mine.

shocks: even though its heavy, the car should not be waving around and bouncing around. it should be firm.

also ask when was the battery last replaced/ how long has it been in the car. those batteries are hefty on the pocket.

the boot should have 2 luggage straps, and a mesh near the boot lock.

check the speakers if they play alright on semi loud.

press all the buttons to see if they work

fuses are: above glove box, driver side, and rear right above battery.

oh and when driving turn off radio and blower. the 7 series should not have any sort of banging, clinging or vibration. it should be quiet and olny road noise and a bit of the engine should be heard

Edited January 4, 2010 by Docile

[laadeelaa 0]

Personally I'd stay away from most cars with high kms altogether! (unless I knew the previous owner had looked after it, and had given it a service regularily, etc or it was an e30 or e28 ).

I can't imagine many who would be willing to buy a lemon e38 for 3k only to find it needs an engine swap. Or tonnes of work done on it.

Edited January 4, 2010 by MS BM

[39KiwiTouring 2]

Double your budget and buy this, it looks nice.

Failing that I would take the green E38 for a "long walk with uncle tony", being serious now, take it and get it checked over for electrics and bushes and joints underneath, shocks and the like, I'd offer him $2200 for it.

Link for E34 540i

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-262615343.htm

[3series 0]

In all honesty, having owned a high km' E38, I would probably look at an E34 as suggested above. Same engine, slightly smaller car, I would have thought far easier to sell and they're bit more common in terms of getting bits for.

Something like: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-263724430.htm

but maybe its the shape that does it for ya, the e38's do look very nice.

Edited January 4, 2010 by bmw3

[dirtydoogle 383]

Thanks heaps guys! Some great info and tips there

RE buying an e34, I've already had an E34 [or two...] and wouldn't mind an e38 for a change. I suppose it would be a spur of the moment thing to buy a delapidated e38. I've also been thinking about an e26, I've driven about 9000000000 of them and really like how they feel [in good non jap condition]

I think I may just keep looking around

[dirtydoogle 383]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-259421842.htm

Shame about the km...I'd happily buy it otherwise. Thought's on this?

[zenetti 0]

how much are you looking at spending?

[39KiwiTouring 2]

Woudn't hesistate with those k's even though it has done over 350k, I think he's about $1400 to dear looks like $1500 worth to me considering k's and comparitive e34's, even though it's a kiwi 535i, obviously a good one to get that high in the k's.

Just had a bit spent on it as well, but considering the amount of time you will own it for you may be the last owner once it gets close to 400k in 18 months time and needs a grands plus worth of maintenance you will find yourself in the situation you are now looking for another cars as the 535i won't be worth fixing.

[kiwi535 538]

Woudn't hesistate with those k's even though it has done over 350k, I think he's about $1400 to dear looks like $1500 worth to me considering k's and comparitive e34's, even though it's a kiwi 535i, obviously a good one to get that high in the k's.

Just had a bit spent on it as well, but considering the amount of time you will own it for you may be the last owner once it gets close to 400k in 18 months time and needs a grands plus worth of maintenance you will find yourself in the situation you are now looking for another cars as the 535i won't be worth fixing.

1500 for a 535 is????.the engine clutch gearbox and lsd aloneare worth that surely.Biut to the OP....you get what you pay for.All the cars you are looking at are getting on and or have high mileage.A seven series isa hell of a lot of car for the money,much much nicer cars than say a falcadore,but they are high end cars so maintenance and repairs will cost more than say a 2000 or 4000 dollar commodore....whatever you buy get them checked by someone who knows what they are lookin at.The 728 or 730 are prolly very good buys because just about everyone says buy a 740.The 535 looks as tho it might still have the original metric wheels n tyres

[rxsumo 33]

I'd look at it cautiously. At face value I would agree with the $1500 as being a realistic price, unless there are receipts for the work that has been done on the car.

At the mileage it has currently done, I would expect to see some work - bearings in the gearbox - maybe a radiator and/or a headgasket, and potentially some headwork- camshaft etc. If none of this has been done to date, then within the next 50K km, I'd be expecting some big bills.

I'd also be asking questions around the usual E34 stuff, front control arms, state of the display screens, state of the heating system etc. Also its had new shocks - genuine BMW? These cars had M-Tech Suspension, so I would expect genuine to put back in - or at least Bilsteins - depending on this answer, it might give an indication of the level of maintenance that the car has had in the past.

[Silver Fox 43]

Woudn't hesistate with those k's even though it has done over 350k, I think he's about $1400 to dear looks like $1500 worth to me considering k's and comparitive e34's, even though it's a kiwi 535i, obviously a good one to get that high in the k's.

Just had a bit spent on it as well, but considering the amount of time you will own it for you may be the last owner once it gets close to 400k in 18 months time and needs a grands plus worth of maintenance you will find yourself in the situation you are now looking for another cars as the 535i won't be worth fixing.

I reckon you're about right. I bought one last year for $1400, and have a mate who got one off Tme in September for $1000.

Seems they get to a certain age and state and aren't worth fixing to Average Joe.

[dirtydoogle 383]

how much are you looking at spending?

That all depends on the car and how generous I'm feeling.

Woudn't hesistate with those k's even though it has done over 350k, I think he's about $1400 to dear looks like $1500 worth to me considering k's and comparitive e34's, even though it's a kiwi 535i, obviously a good one to get that high in the k's.

Just had a bit spent on it as well, but considering the amount of time you will own it for you may be the last owner once it gets close to 400k in 18 months time and needs a grands plus worth of maintenance you will find yourself in the situation you are now looking for another cars as the 535i won't be worth fixing.

I think the 535is are worth fixing, I personally think they will have classic status one day.

1500 for a 535 is????.the engine clutch gearbox and lsd aloneare worth that surely.Biut to the OP....you get what you pay for.All the cars you are looking at are getting on and or have high mileage.A seven series isa hell of a lot of car for the money,much much nicer cars than say a falcadore,but they are high end cars so maintenance and repairs will cost more than say a 2000 or 4000 dollar commodore....whatever you buy get them checked by someone who knows what they are lookin at.The 728 or 730 are prolly very good buys because just about everyone says buy a 740.The 535 looks as tho it might still have the original metric wheels n tyres

Metric wheels isn't too much of a worry. Wheels are cheap =D

I have to agree, I would much rather own an e38/4/6 etc over a falcodore. Build quality and the amount of joy driving one out weighs the not too high service costs.

I'd look at it cautiously. At face value I would agree with the $1500 as being a realistic price, unless there are receipts for the work that has been done on the car.

At the mileage it has currently done, I would expect to see some work - bearings in the gearbox - maybe a radiator and/or a headgasket, and potentially some headwork- camshaft etc. If none of this has been done to date, then within the next 50K km, I'd be expecting some big bills.

I'd also be asking questions around the usual E34 stuff, front control arms, state of the display screens, state of the heating system etc. Also its had new shocks - genuine BMW? These cars had M-Tech Suspension, so I would expect genuine to put back in - or at least Bilsteins - depending on this answer, it might give an indication of the level of maintenance that the car has had in the past.

Yes, I would certainly be asking for receipts and we all know how a poorly maintained m30 can destroy and rape a wallet. My last two e34s decided to do the control arm bushes but they are cheap to do and just a simple job.

I reckon you're about right. I bought one last year for $1400, and have a mate who got one off Tme in September for $1000.

Seems they get to a certain age and state and aren't worth fixing to Average Joe.

You must show me where to get them this cheap =)

I'm not too joe average. I just want to ask the community who have had plenty of experience with these as I haven't had too much except with serviceing and repairing accident damage.

[Wom 0]

lol my mate is selling his manual 535i e34 for $5k

not even an is model

[zenetti 0]

I was asking because I have a 735 and a 740 that should really be moved on. The 735 has 120km and the 740 about 115