The e38 is a great car, but don't be surprised on bills over 1k. For my brakes and rotors to be changed are $1,200. An oil change for this car is at least double than a normal car. This car requires high up keep. If we'll maintained, it's one hell of a machine. Just look for low miles, these cars are known for their timing chain guides to fail. If those fail, it's going to cost at least $2,000 to fix.

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Things like oil changes and brake pad/rotor replacement wouldn't be much of an issue for me. I train to work for Honda through it's PACT program at my school and many of the things I've learned can be applied to many different vehicles including our Bimmers. I also have access to many neat tools there like dial indicators to measure rotor runout and lathes to cut them if necessary and I always took my E39 to their bays for stuff like oil changes and basic part replacements (yay for having free oil disposal :rofl. I am glad the timing chain guides were brought up though, I've heard some "interesting" stories about those here and there so I'll be sure to factor that into my final decision. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

Exactly how DIY are you? How long did you have the E39 and what kind of repairs did you do on it?

When comparing an E39 540i to an E38 740i the only real difference is the size, so many of the parts are actually the same. Now comparing the V8 to the I6 you had, that's where a lot of differences are. For the rest of the car if you know the common issues on an E39 than you know most of them on an E38.

So your options are 740i, 740iL and 750iL. The first question is will an "L" fit in your garage and leave enough room for you to work on it? If it will then you have the choice between V8 and V12. A few of the old timer V12 owners on here have actually owned both and will tell you the V12 is the better engine, but that depends on what condition it is in when you purchase it and if you have the patience to solve the special issues when they happen. If you go for the V8, depending on the year there were 3 different engines used and they each have their own known problems. The early M60 has oil pump issues (typically just gets loose), the M62 has timing chain guide failures, and bump up to the M62TU and you have TCG & VANOS problems. All BMW's of this vintage have too much plastic in the cooling system so that's a weak point. Depending on availability when you need one the water cooled alternator can get pretty expensive, but often you will see them on eBay for about $200. As Nick said above, TCG repairs will be up to $2000 if you DIY (some of that is "while your in there" parts) and that can happen anywhere between 125K-250K miles depending on how the car has been driven and cared for. Whether you get a V8 or a V12 the brakes are not really as expensive as Nick posted unless you have a shop do them, you should be able to DIY for half that. If you get a Sport model with M-Pars the big tires are expensive. These are heavy cars so the suspension wears faster than other cars, count on $1000 for parts. And then there is the transmission, on the V12 is doesn't seem to be a problem or even the early V8's, but when they switched to the 5HP24 on the M62 it became a problem. There has been a couple recent members who've rebuilt the trans themselves so it isn't impossible, but being something most people are afraid to take apart the normal professional swap costs $2000-4000. Everything else is just nickel and dime stuff that will kill you if the PO didn't take care of it.

So if you find one, ask for records/receipts! Even if it looks good to you and drives well it is well worth the $100-150 to take it to a dealership for a PPI.

Welcome to the 'fest! And happy hunting.

 

Not sure how much DIY I have in me yet, I guess it's dependent on my progress in the Honda PACT classes I'm taking at school. I do have an A6 ASE certification so I know how to read diagrams and deal with electronics (which are a pain in the ass imo :rofl, I've torn apart a couple I4's and V6's before but not enough to say I'm a seasoned rebuilder, I'm almost done with Chassis and Suspension courses and I've already finished Brakes, my tools are limited to what I can use at my school until I save up enough to buy my own and, most importantly, most of my experience is limited to Acura's and Honda's. Overall I'm not bad, but I wouldn't jump into tearing apart a transmission or half the engine bay at this time. Hopefully that's a decent enough answer.

Also, in case anyone is wondering why a Honda student wants to get a BMW, I don't mind fixing Honda or other JDM stuff but I've never cared to drive them. German Engineering has and always will flow through my veins. :thumbup:

I had my E39 for a little bit over a year and I've mostly just been doing my own oil changes and other normal upkeep jobs, but I did replace the window regulator for the passenger rear door after it seized and nearly killed my window motor. I also did a wiring repair for the crappy angel eye kit the PO had installed on it (was planning on getting a good set of headlights to replace the modded ones, obviously I don't have to anymore... ). I am aware of BMW's love for ****ty plastic parts in these generations of cars as evident from our fantastic cup holders and these cars tendencies to overheat if the cooling system isn't properly looked after. I have a fair understanding of how VANOS works since that and V-TEC are very similar in regards to controlling the valve timing.

I think I'd prefer the 740i over the iL variants. The E38 already looks bigger than the E39 without the "L" in the badge and I'm not too concerned about passenger room at the moment. The V12 is highly tempting, but it's rare and sounds like it has too many unique qualities that I may have to diagnose down the road. The M62TU sounds alright from what you're saying, though having to deal with Timing Chain Guides sounds a bit intimidating for a DIY job so I'd have to hand that one over to a pro. Thanks for all the insight, I'll be sure to revisit this page when I start looking at E38's. Feel free to let me know anything else that comes to mind.