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I have inherited one from my father who shipped it to me from Boston (to St Louis) because the trade in value of it was not so good. He figured I could use it or have fun with it.

Its a 740iL black on black in beautiful shape and is the pre-Banglized design that was made between 1995 and 2001.

Ive been reading a bit on these cars and seems that they are like tanks but nitpicky things go wrong that are not inexpensive to repair. Good thing it will be my weekend car lol.

A friend of mine owns a BMW over here in the UK, and if something does go wrong its generally the BMW dealer's labour charge that's the big thing... somewhere like

After my own personal experiences with my 318i some years ago I'd not buy another and if I posted what I thought I'd have to ban myself!

generally reliable well built cars, comfortable and fun to drive...but....you do get the odd lemon, and once they get to a certain age they can be troublesome, and expensive, unless your good with spanners.
having said that though, enjoy it!  :)

It only has just over 100k miles on it, and everything works. My father is notorious for maintenance, BUT what hasnt been fixed that wasnt broken may break lol

http://photobucket.com/albums/e208/BimmerSaVas/

Those are some pics I took of it last week. I am getting ready to clay bar the paint surface then rewax it.

old sevens aren't that bad, they are a bit of a gas guzzler, but not that bad.

A friend of mine had a 2000 (i think) 750il. nice car. . . except the v12 only gets 11 mpg highway

I've got a 15yr old 5 series - my mum & dads car however (a Mitsubishi) is 10 years younger - having driven both - i'd take the BMW anyday, for any journey.

I did 700 miles in it last weekend & was still amazed at how well it eats up the long journeys - it was effortless, a real joy.

I've had a few things that have needed doing, but most of the parts (direct from BMW) have been suprisingly cheap, but like Charlie said, labour is the expensive thing - although it is still serviced by the local BMW dealer, as the service costs there aren't huge & I get a brand spanking new courtesy car

That 7 series you got there SaVas looks like a real gem, the 4ltr engine may guzzle the fuel, but i'm sure it will be one sweet ride.

basically, your options are:

A) Keep it.

B) Give it to me.



Cheers,

TSC.

Surprisingly on the highway it gets quite good gas mileage. I was averaging about 26 to 28 mpg doing 70 mph. Now city driving is a different story. Then it sucks down gas like a guy in a desert that just found an oasis

they look good, but tend to attract anti-social drivers.
Reliability is getting worse the last years

they look good, but tend to attract anti-social drivers.

You could say that about most cars It's not just the BM drivers.

Although, having said that, there are a number of times whilst I've been driving mine that i've mentioned the words "I F***ing hate BM drivers!!" after being cut up by another BMW.



TSC.

In holland the following is said about the three top class carmakers

Mercedes: driven by slightly older businessmen that already made a career. Most drive normally but if it has blue plates (taxi) give him plenty of room.

Audi: driven by middle level managers. Driving style depends on type. All with S prefix tend to fly at 130+

BMW: Driven by the people that want a classy and sporty vehicle. drives faster than any of the others except the 'S' audis. And if you are from the mediterranean or middle east you don't exist if you don't have one...

Honestly when I drive it, I notice people being more aggressive around me like I am some kind of target. Hell I even had an 18 wheeler move over into the lane to the right of me when I put my turn signal on to move over, then when I went infront of of him, he flashed his brights at me. Go figure.

I do get a lot of compliments on it and have even had a few thumbs up from folks but I do notice people using me as a target lol

I've had my e38 728i Sport since August last year, its a superb car.

If yours is a weekend driver, your laughing, you can enjoy it without the day to day running costs!

That said, my 728i is good on fuel, excellent to drive (it has a semi-automatic gearbox which I like)

I'd definately have another.

www.e38.org is an excellent resource on all things related to the e38 7 Series.

Honestly when I drive it, I notice people being more aggressive around me like I am some kind of target. Hell I even had an 18 wheeler move over into the lane to the right of me when I put my turn signal on to move over, then when I went infront of of him, he flashed his brights at me. Go figure.

I do get a lot of compliments on it and have even had a few thumbs up from folks but I do notice people using me as a target lol

I've noticed the "Target" thing also SaVas, I put it down to jealous types who like my car too much!

Ironic that I drive articulated trucks over here in the UK! I'm happy to say UK truckers seem to leave me & my 7 alone...

Theres something very "Gangster / Drug dealer" about a Black BMW 7 series in many peoples eyes, I try to maintain the image....  ;)

Thats a great looking sport version!

And I would have to agree there is a gangster/mafia appeal to the black E38. Once I get the windows tinted on it, even moreso, but really for a car that weighs in over 4200 lbs, it will get up and go like no ones business.

Me behind the wheel yesterday, I was wearing a black shirt with bright red lense sunglasses, and my earrings.

Whats even more fun is to wear one of my not so politically correct black t-shirts a pair of ratty jeans and my Converse All Star Chuck Taylors then getting out of a big black BMW *grins*