So the story goes it has about 25,000mi. Manual. Granny owned and then granny died. The couple that inherited it put some work into it and now wants out of it and can’t seem to sell it on Craigslist. I haven’t asked how much yet, but wanted to roll it past the hive in case I could snag it or if I should abandon course.
Run away? Or offer how much? (Starting with the most insulting bids of course...)
1999 BMW boat with absurdly low miles and a stick shift?! Buy it immediately!!
it's 18 years old, I'd offer a grand for it.
Did BMW make a manual E38?
No. Not that they brought to the US, at least. They did bring manual 540is, though.
Badge said 740i so it must be an auto. I didn’t look. The couple are not car ppl so I shouldn’t expect accuracy.
Outside of the typical timing chain issue and autobox issues that every car gets, eventually, it should be stout. Only the early ones had block problems from what I can remember.
In reply to markwemple :
Block? As in engine block?
Yeah, engine block. More precisely alusil vs nikasil cylinder liners.
It has 25k miles. At least see what they're asking. It's probably the lowest mileage e38 in existence.
For the life of me I cannot understand this, but I've seen lots of non-car people conflate tiptronic style autos with real manuals 
This sounds full of win to me. One of the sexiest big sedan designs of all time.
Check out AngryCovair's thread. He tackled the timing chain guides with great success. The transmission is the next area of focus. BMW and their lifetime fluid fill killed a lot of ZF boxes. Mechanics recommend a fluid change (not a flush) and OE filter. If the transmission shudders in overdrive, Dr.Tranny Transmission Fix is known to help, otherwise a reman torque converter is needed. If the trans needs to be dropped, replace EVERYTHING on back of the engine and make sure the trans is properly filled (the pump will whine from sucking air). Finally the suspension is filled with ball joints.
There are other little niggly things like electric lock solenoids that fail in the lock position . . . .
As long as the coolant system, timing chain guides, and transmission are in order, the E38 will eat a lot of miles in comfort. For a 4k lb car, it is an awesome dance partner.
markwemple said:Yeah, engine block. More precisely alusil vs nikasil cylinder liners.
BMW switched from nikasil to alusil in 96. Even so, my nikasil M60 in the 530i is still plenty strong.
At 25K that is basically a new car that ahs set around for 18 years. It will need tires if they have not been changed and probably belts and hoses. I would consider doing the cooling system fix's just to get it done and then drive the wheels off that things. Use KBB and NADA and see what numbers they spit out and go from there.
Cooling system needs a once over (expansion tank, hoses, etc). Timing Chain Guides will be fine at that mileage (expect to change them out at 100-150k miles). If it's got the steptronic then it's a Sport, which means all sorts of goodies in '99. If it really has that mileage, and it isn't missing a zero, then look at all the rubber, typical of any car that has sat for that long. But mechanically it should be good. If there's a zero missing, then it'll need to have a few other things checked (TCGs, radiator, suspension bushings, etc). I'm on my second E38 daily driver and have 2 1/2 years on my current one (at 175k miles). If they have been abused, they can be needy, but if they have been well maintained, they can be completely reliable dailies, and fun back road cars that also eat up the miles like crazy.
Online parts sources can be a godsend for inexpensive maintenance. oembimmerparts.com is my favorite source, but FCP Euro, Autohaus AZ and a few others can come to the rescue if need be. Any questions when looking at it, let me know, as I've been involved with these big cars since 2009.
Oh, and yeah, the nikasil issue was just the '95 M60 4.0 liter and even then, the problem is overblown. in '96 they went to the M62 4.4 liter, and got the M62tu VANOS engine in '99.
I'd try to get the car at around $2k or so, though in reality, if it's a '99 Sport with 25k miles on it, it could fetch upwards of $8k+ in good shape. Not worth as much as the 01 Sport with the same miles (I've seen low mileage ones go for upwards of $20k in the last year), but a good car nonetheless (for example, I got a good deal on my well maintained '01 740i Sport with 150k on it when I got it, and I paid $7500. But I believe in paying a bit more up front for a well maintained example, to save money on the back end).
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