New car for my dad (that I could steal)

[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.

[Restoman]

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

[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

[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??

[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.

[87e30]

buy a 5k honda. It will be nicer, it will last longer, it will be cheaper to own, and it will probably less annoying to drive than a broken bmw.

Alright, I don't have any personal experience with e38s but it just doesn't sound like a good idea to me with a budget of 5k.

[Vivek]

tl,dr

why not just keep a reliable honda as a dd? think your dad has it pretty well figured out imho

It looks ugly as shit with the peeling clear which isn't worth it to fix, and it's just boring. All of use choose to drive e30's because they're fun...it's definitely not for their amazing reliability.

[Julien]

tl,dr

why not just keep a reliable honda as a dd? think your dad has it pretty well figured out imho

[Vivek]

+1

Thats what we're about to do with this one: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1783151

However, OP if your interested my buddy doesnt turn down reasonable offers.

Linked car is for sale? Or "everything's for sale at the right price"?


I've been thinking, are e36 M3's less money pits than an e38? I know he doesn't like e36s, but I didn't either at some point and while they are still the ugliest 3-series (except f10), I don't hate them as much.

I REALLY want him to get an e38 though, and we can do some stuff ourselves, but we don't have any special tools or anything.

[TurboJake]

Just don't hit a deer with the car you "borrowed" from your "dad".

If you don't get it. http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...ighlight=gt500

[bmwstudent]

my pop has a 2001 e38. I maintain it for him. It's very expensive. He has owned it since 2008 and bought it off the original owner in perfect condition. If you cannot afford to drop money on it constantly it will quickly turn into a rolling piece of shit. They are awesome cars, i love driving my pops car. Its totally pimp. Having said that, my pop make a buttload of money and he can afford to pump money into it constantly because he loves the car. Last month we did both valve cover gaskets and timing chain cover gaskets, this takes special skill and tools. Also did the spark plugs and the water manifold under the intake manifold, a real bitch. All the seals and gaskets on the way out. On the test drive i noticed the thrust arms were making some noise. After another inspection i realized he needs the left side thrust arm, not just the rubber but the whole arm because the ball joint is bad too. Not being a one side type guy, i'll be replacing both. Bottom line, IF YOU DONT MAKE A LOT OF DOUGH YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO DRIVE AN E38. Sorry

[Vivek]

Quit leading your dad astray and tell him to keep the Honda.

Trust me, he knows exactly what he's getting himself into. That's the reason he didn't do this years ago.

On SFbay CL there's a ton of VERY nice looking sub 6k e38's. We'll probably start looking at some this weekend or when his honda sells. M pars and coil overs would be so hot on an e38.

[pureaudio]

I thought about an E38 but could never find one with lower mileage in decent condition, E39 is much easier to find. With a 5k budget though, I'm not sure I would touch either of those. If I had a 5k budget for a DD, it would probably go to a e46 323i with a manual.

[VANOS714]

get the e38, lower it but some nice wide wheels and youre set. they look mighty hot :) nice luxury car with some nice power to it.

[trackjunkie21]

Sounds like someone just wants their dad to get them a more powerful car to show off at school.

To get a good e38 you need to spend 20k plus. (740i/750i sport with low miles)

20k? Are you fucking serious? There isn't even on for sale around here for close to that price, There is one with 40k miles and the guy is asking 14,500 and the car is showroom condition. My dad bought his for 7,500 with some 22" ATS wheels which he immediately replaced for some stockers. Car was mechanically solid and ran beautiful.