Anyone into classic cars

[Betsy]

Another 90's wagon... My old E30 which i sold 12yrs ago when my boy was born.. got something more sensible

 

[gtturbo]

This explains my choice of username. I really must stop mucking about with old push bikes and get this put back together . The bodywork has all been done and repainted inside and out, and even underneath I'm that sad, in the original pearl white colour so it literally is just a case of reassembly. I'm the 2nd owner of this and had it since 1997. It was my daily for about 10 years and I eventually took it off the road to restore. Nut and bolt rebuild is an over exagerated term in many instances but this trulely will be. New parts are crazy hard to source now but I started collecting up whatever I could over 10 years ago so literally have thousands of new genuine parts to fit.

 

[fearfactoryüberalles]

Not sure it qualifies as a classic, but already has a cult following: 2000 BMW E38, in 740d version:



Money pit indeed, but a sweet one at that.

 

[allenh]

Not sure it qualifies as a classic, but already has a cult following: 2000 BMW E38, in 740d version:

Money pit indeed, but a sweet one at that.

I see your E38 money pit and raise you an e66 one.

I'm a serial BMW owner (3 currently) and had an e32 750Li many years ago and loved it so bought this e66 745Li on a whim as a Sunday car. It was absolutely no money, I've learnt all the horror stories about them after I bought it and so far I've been very lucky with it, a few minor things, a big learning curve to understand all of its foibles and struggling to find someone to service the gearbox but baring that its been a joy to live with and is as rare as hens teeth, they made just over 300 RHD 745LI's, there's about half left and probably no more than 15 or 20 in this spec as this one had pretty much every box ticked on the extras list.

I call it Mariah, its s bit of a diva, very demanding, complains if it decides it doesn't like something (being a Wednesday is sufficient), and obviously costs a fortune in general upkeep, But what a ride and what do you expect for a car that cost well over £100,000 new in this spec. It is the most comfortable place I've ever been in any car and the most relaxing thing to drive I've ever owned, it also handles high speed corners vastly better than my Tesla model 3 Performance daily driver.

It's a bit on the large side so you berth it rather than park it and it knows it can go fast but it feels that's a bit beneath it, this is a car that doesn't have an eco mode after all as that would be a tad vulgar.

 

[fearfactoryüberalles]

I see your E38 money pit and raise you an e66 one.

I'm a serial BMW owner (3 currently) and had an e32 750Li many years ago and loved it so bought this e66 745Li on a whim as a Sunday car. It was absolutely no money, I've learnt all the horror stories about them after I bought it and so far I've been very lucky with it, a few minor things, a big learning curve to understand all of its foibles and struggling to find someone to service the gearbox but baring that its been a joy to live with and is as rare as hens teeth, they made just over 300 RHD 745LI's, there's about half left and probably no more than 15 or 20 in this spec as this one had pretty much every box ticked on the extras list.

I call it Mariah, its s bit of a diva, very demanding, complains if it decides it doesn't like something (being a Wednesday is sufficient), and obviously costs a fortune in general upkeep, But what a ride and what do you expect for a car that cost well over £100,000 new in this spec. It is the most comfortable place I've ever been in any car and the most relaxing thing to drive I've ever owned, it also handles high speed corners vastly better than my Tesla model 3 Performance daily driver.

It's a bit on the large side so you berth it rather than park it and it knows it can go fast but it feels that's a bit beneath it, this is a car that doesn't have an eco mode after all as that would be a tad vulgar.
View attachment 589667

Nice ride, demanding but rewarding at the same time. E65s are already run down in Hungary, where I'm trying to keep the faith in old luxy limos.
I doubt these cars are ever going to have a following which their predecessor already gained among BMW fans.

These cars suffer heavily from their er... quirky looks, bad dodgy gangster image, stupid electric nightmares, planned obsoletion and these features certainly helps when you are the buyer on the market. I chose the E38 mainly for 2 reasons: all (2) my brothers had one before, and wanted a V8 diesel before they go extinct/banned/etc. OK, the sexy, timeless limo shape is being a strong third one.

I was looking for an used 4.0 D SQ7 7 seater for a year or so, but prices are rather silly recently and i already got two off-road/towing capable rides in the stable (which the SQ7 is not really, sadly), a Navara & Jeep GC Trailhawk-for work & family, working as a farmer.

My local grease monkey have openly questioned my sanity when I asked him to help me with the general upkeep/wellbeing of my 740D. But he's also a car-nut, so I hope we'll be getting along this looong and burbling journey ahead of me&740d rather well.

 

[allenh]

Keep that e38 in that condition and it will pay you back in spades and I'd keep an eye on the e65/66's they're starting to get a lot more love over here and prices are rising accordingly. They are at that crossroads now where people buy them thinking they're cheap but having no understanding of just how much upkeep a car like this needs so they either get very well looked after or destroyed, which of course make the scarcity of good ones ever greater.

The 7 series has always been the rarest of BMW's range and subsequently they don't get as large a following as the 3's or 5's but they're still there and the prices follow suit, a good e23 now is a lot of money and a lot harder to find even than an e12 5 series, and as they get newer that seems to be happening to all of them even the e65/66 now. Yes the e65/66 has always been an odd one because of the divisive looks and the horror stories about ownership but I have to say those horror stories I find tend to come from people who aren't prepared to give these very very complex cars the care they need, or think they can run a very expensive limo on Honda money.

 

[fearfactoryüberalles]

Thanks for the encouraging words, I'm sure sometime they'll be much needed!
Next month the E38 goes to the bodyshop and will be treated to a full rustproofing/conservation. As my service staff said: If the body is OK, we'll take care of the rest! So if all goes well, my now 10 year old lad will make his first miles in it as a fresh driver (a spoiled brat, I know).

 

[Synthiaks]

My first car in 1987....65 Beetle.....pretty predictable in the 80's....my dads moss green Fiat 131 in the background.



maybe less predicatable....short lived £2k Roller in 1993..






Do motorbikes count? back garden dislay in 1985...Malaguti Monte & some bikes!




My 91 Saab I think 6 years ago when it snowed....

 

[fearfactoryüberalles]

My first car in 1987....65 Beetle.....pretty predictable in the 80's....my dads moss green Fiat 131 in the background.

View attachment 589962

maybe less predicatable....short lived £2k Roller in 1993..

View attachment 589964




Do motorbikes count? back garden dislay in 1985...Malaguti Monte & some bikes!

View attachment 589965


My 91 Saab I think 6 years ago when it snowed....


View attachment 589966

Well, you weren't exactly looking like a typical run-of-the mill RR owner back then-nice rides indeed!

 

[Sundayjumper]

Not sure it qualifies as a classic, but already has a cult following: 2000 BMW E38, in 740d version:

Oooh, nice, I had an E38 735i for a while. We never got the E38 740d here in the UK.

My two classics are a '66 Galaxie and a '67 Scimitar.