2001 E38 728i - Anthing I should look for?

ToxicPaddy

I'm going to see a 2001 BMW E38 728i in the next few days and was wondering if there is anything that I should look out for?

Any known issues and if so how to spot them.

Its got fairly low mileage for its age, under 70k miles. What can I expect to have to do in the way of major work/maintenance over the next say 50k miles and what costs would be involved?

Tox

rebel.ranter

Look out for dead pixels in the radio display, i.e. some parts of numbers not lighting up, it's €750 for the part. The same goes for the instrument cluster, where the odometer is and the OBC, make sure all the digits light up as they should do.
Also make sure the heater fan switches off when you remove the ignition key, if it runs on afterwards it's probably down to a resistor pack located near your clutch foot (it's probably auto but you knwo what I mean), this part is €100.
Make sure the air con runs ice cold at it's lowest setting, at best if it doesn't it may need re-gassing. Also have a look under the bonnet to ensure that there is two drive belts there. A common trick on cars with aircon issues is to remove the belt to hide the problem. If it's gone then you knwo there is an issue.
Make sure everything electrical works, check the functionality of all the windows, including the one touch functions, central locking, lights, parking sensors, etc. What might seem like a small issue will have a fairly hefty price tag on it's associated fix. These are easy checks

Have a good nose around the sites below:

http://www.e38.org/

http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/e38.html


You'll need these guys help when something does go wrong:

http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e38/

Use the Search facility for checking the archived messages for peopl ewith similar issues, believe me someone has had any problem you are likely to experience.

michaelanthony

This is the last year of manufacture so most faults have been fixed. The costs are normal wear and tear items.

bazz26

Drop fellow boardie Unkel a pm. He has a 735i so should be able to give you plenty of pointers.

unkel

bazz26 wrote:

Drop fellow boardie Unkel a pm. He has a 735i so should be able to give you plenty of pointers.

Ah but I wasn't going to miss this thread now, was I?

rebel.ranter has some excellent points and links. The most important one imho is that if something goes wrong it will cost you. Mind, in my experience things rarely if ever go wrong

Time to do some homework! These guys the7seriesregister.co.uk are good and helpful too

A few quick points / questions:

1. Why a 728? A same condition V8 would cost you the same or less. Tax is only a fraction more, insurance probably about the same. Petrol will be more, but surely you're no longer doing a high mileage anyway, otherwise why going for a large 2.8 straight six petrol car in the first place? A V8 is much more powerful and it can come with all the goodies you can imagine and more, especially one that was first registered in the UK

2. Why an '01? This will still loose a lot of money in depreciation in the next two years. For half the price you can get a '99 in as good a condition

3. Have the car thoroughly checked by a specialist. If you don't know any, I'll pm you one or two. Might as well post this thread here and / or here of course

4. Don't be afraid of high mileage. My V8 has 134k miles now and the engine / tranny feel like new. The (lazy) V8s are generally thought to be good for about 400,000km without major issues

5. Selling it again will be very difficult. Keep your expectations well down

6. If you are going ahead, enjoy owning a superior car

Lord Nikon

Is maith liom beamer

www.bmwcarclubireland.com has loads of info and the likes with regards to BMW's of all types.

legs11

7 series bmw's eh.

so much for climate change.......:D

fine cars by all accounts tho, how much would you spend on a tank and what sorta milage would you get unkel?

magentis

A Petrol Tanker!!!!!

legs11

unkel, have you shares in statoil by any chance?!

unkel

legs11 wrote:

what sorta milage would you get unkel?

How long is a piece of string? I have the 3.5l V8 and in mainly Dublin city driving I get about 20MPG. On longer journeys outside of Dublin, 30MPG is entirely possible, even with a heavy overtaking foot

legs11 wrote:

how much would you spend on a tank

Didn't get much change from €100 a few hours ago...