I purchased my 2000 E38 Sport Package in 2004. It had 44K miles on it and had just come off of lease. I had wanted one of these ever since the Sport Package was introduced, but I could not afford one new… or near new up until this point.

My car was lightly used and in fairly good condition. Good thing it was a certified pre-owned unit, because I immediately started having issues… my battery went down, the mass air flow sensor went bad, and some trunk latch sensor went bad, causing my alarm to go off and go into lock out (I could not turn the alarm off nor would the car start!) so I had to have it towed to the dealer.

Well… that was almost 7 years ago! I kept it, and apparently sorted out all of the quirks. The car now has 88K miles and is a JOY to drive and own. Yes… it is now a limited use car and only sees service during good weather. Did problems stop occurring? No… however, they were predictable and I actually accepted the challenge to address (fix) them myself! For instance, REPLACE your water pump at 60K mile intervals!!! Yeah… you might be able to get one or two thousand miles past 60K, but I swear… it will fail, and when it does… buckle up! The water pump becomes a projectile and will damage everything in front of it… and that's where the costs start adding up! BMW wanted around $3K to do a fix… and get this… they wouldn't even give me a firm quote! I told them to put it on a flatbed and send it to my house, and I would fix it! You should have seen the look on that guys face. He was probably thinking… yeah right. You'll be back! $750 later I was back on the road.

Since then I've replaced an alternator, valve cover gaskets and whilst at it, the plugs. Oh… and I restored the ugly finish on the valve covers while at it! Any time I work on my car, I clean so my car is in better condition now than when I purchased it in 2004! If you own or are thinking of owning one of these… the web is your friend! SAVE MONEY… use www.Autopartswarehouse.com and www.e38.org. These resources are invaluable! Oh… and don't think Amazon isn't a good resource as well! I've purchased BMW parts from the resources at a FRACTION of dealer wholesale cost! Plus the knowledge base out on these forums are life savers!!!

Maintenance is your key to success with not only this car, but ALL cars! The investment you make in maintenance pays dividends in avoiding material and costly replacements! Trust me! Also… DON'T PURCHASE CHEAP REPLACEMENT PARTS!!! You get what you pay for! Don't pay top dollar… look for bargains. You'll find them… like a mass air flow sensor. If you buy a Rover part number, you will SAVE!!! And it's the same part!!!

If you are reading this now and here, you aren't probably the normal BMW owner type, so you are lucky. This car is excellent and worth the trouble. I call it an ICON car, and predict it will be worth a great deal down the road, because it hasn't been eclipsed by the newer versions. The newer ones may have more electronic features, but they lack the one essential component that this e38 has… passion and style. You can't replace it with gadgets and options. When I drive my car today… here in New England… it still gets the looks and respect that it did when it was new. It's amazing… oh, and I don't pay the penalty for insurance and taxes!

Lastly…. stay away from this car if you can't afford it! I'm not saying it's overly expensive. I'm saying if you aren't willing to make the investment in time and preventative maintenance costs… then go buy a Toyota or something. I'm not saying it's a nightmare… I'm saying it is still a sophisticated high dollar machine that will kill your passion if you aren't willing to accept the realities.

If you want to follow up with me on this car or if you have questions, give me a holler. My email address is bmwbillr@hotmail.com. My name is Bill.