BMW 7 E38 - good idea?

All I am hearing is good news.... Off to buy another in my steel blue metallic if i can find a good one and put alpinas or maybe back to the 126s

 

"Finding a good one" is the trick... these things are worth so little and cost so much to maintain that it's really tough to find one that has actually been taken care of. In some ways, I think they are worse than Rolls Royce Silver Shadows-- while the Shadow might cost more to maintain, they were never truly disposable like the E38s.

I don't even want to figure out how much I just put into making all the windows work correctly on mine... and they will all either have that work done by now, or need it.

 

Don't shoot the messenger but it sounds like you either started with a tough specimen or are being taking advantage of by your mechanic. How many miles were on that car when you bought it?

Window regulators arent that expensive. 100 dollars a regulator (brand new). Rear ones are a pain to replace but the front ones are very easy to do.

 

Nice!! See if you can find a white one also, that color really pops on the E38. Go high mileage and 99-01

 

No, actually, mine is excellent. It had about 54,000 miles when I bought it, and about 60,000 now. I don't do my own work, which is why it costs me more, but I have an excellent (although not cheap) mechanic. I maintain it to a high standard, though. It doesn't leak a drop of oil or coolant, it has proper Michelin tires on it, all the windows work correctly, the power seats work correctly, it doesn't shudder when coming to a stop and turning the steering wheel... etc.

It has been kept inside all it's life and the (original) paint looks brand new. So does the interior.

 

That's the problem. Low mileage means you're going to sort out that entire car, there are a ton of things to address between 50-100k miles.

IT's a double edge sword.