New car for my dad (that I could steal)

[Stephen]

e38s are not anywhere near 20k. My dad got his with 140k, from a benz dealer, with awesome maintenance records and in FLAWLESS shape. It was a little under 6 out the door. Car ran like a tank for the first 20k miles, but then had some cooling issues, and blown struts. Kinda sucked, but not terrible. However, you will either need to pony up money here and there, or be willing to put lots of hours into it.

[DatUtahGuy]

Sorry OP, but your first post kinda confuses me. You say you(or he) would rather have luxury and not a mix of lux/sport then you post a slammed 7.

I would agree with the E38, however, to appreciate the total luxury/comfort get a clean one with no mods and keep it that way. Why would you want a BOSS car that will rattle and spill your morning grande machiatto??

[Dave McLaren]

For some reason the e39's are much more expensive on average than an e38, why is this (reliability?)?

I don't know where that came from, but it's not true. They're about the same if they're both V8s and automatics. Thing is, if he gets a 6-speed 540, the trans can live on for ages, not like the automatic.

I don't need to keep my '98 540 Sport 6-speed with 185k miles, but it's comfortable, still very nice to drive, and it just keeps going so I'll keep on using it as a commuter for... who knows how long. I've had it for like 12 years, so why get rid of it? Sure it takes its share of repairs, but it's ancillary stuff - the hard parts in the motor and MT are very durable.

Someone said he can get an E38 and swap in a manual trans. I went that route about 8 years ago with our old E38, and yeah, it was cool. You'd only do that if you're facing a dying slushbox, and even then, it's a lot cheaper just to fix the slushbox. An E39 with a manual trans won't make you go through that.

So, my vote: E39 540 6-speed. If he doesn't need a V8 which likes to have its gaskets replaced now and then, which is kind of expensive, he'd do fine with a 530 5-speed MT.

Dave

[Restoman]

Hmmmm, 5k? I'd say buy a 15 year old Honda Accord.

[Vivek]

Sorry OP, but your first post kinda confuses me. You say you(or he) would rather have luxury and not a mix of lux/sport then you post a slammed 7.

I would agree with the E38, however, to appreciate the total luxury/comfort get a clean one with no mods and keep it that way. Why would you want a BOSS car that will rattle and spill your morning grande machiatto??

Well a slammed e38 is still luxury to me. Having 50lb 22"s is not sporty in the slightest.

But I do have to admit this is sick. I'd love to pick that up for like 4k and fix the fender and door with junkyard parts painted by jessy for a few hundred total. I'd definitely love driving that around.