£4K hike?
- Thread starter derin100
- Start date
By the seaside...
derin100
Active member
Thanks Perry!
I was indeed set on getting an Alpina but then several things conspired against me. Firstly, we bought another house as a rental property so that all my saved up money immediately went into that and put me heavily back into debt such that I felt I couldn't do anything on the car front that could be construed as a luxury/toy buy. I sold the red Mercedes 230CE that I was in that day on the Wales trip which was actually my daily driver at the time (believe it or not!) and replaced it with a very nice, low mileage E38 728i Sport but that really was just for practical purposes as I did need a car I could drive every day.
I've since felt that I've worked really hard over this year and whittled my debts down to a level where I can see light at the end of the tunnel again and so felt I deserved a "treat" but not really to the level of an Alpina or M. Although I did make an offer on an M Coupe in hindsight this probably would have been unwise in terms of pushing my debt backwards too far.
I started looking at and researching pre-facelift 3.0 cars and was amazed that it seemed I could maybe get one for not too much money and they seemed to offer pretty good "real world" performance with reasonable running/ownership costs. My memories of owning the CSL were that realistically I just couldn't use or personally just didn't need that kind of performance again. I was also always living in fear of a calamitous and expensive mechanical "BANG" happening!
As often happens though, "Mission Creep" sets in once one starts researching things :lol: So I then started seeing that the N52 3.0Si did offer a bit more in terms of performance over the 3.0L so one then starts looking at those. But then the prices start going up and up. TBH having looked fairly closely and extensively over the last few weeks the prices on good, low mileage 3.0Si aren't actually as low as I had initially thought. Indeed, there seem to be only two others currently for sale with relatively comparable mileages and both are more expensive (one private and one with a dealer). There is another (a long, long way from here) but enquiries showed me that it is in need of such extensive work as to completely undermine the relatively low asking price.
Given that this one is in a colour combo that I really like...and that matches the 840Ci Sport and 728i Sport :lol: ....has low miles and low owners (2), I decided to bite the bullet and just get on and buy it! I'm just hoping that tomorrow lives up to expectations. I just hope I actually fit inside the car....that would be a start! :lol:
P.S might have to put a drastic price reduction on the Mercedes C124 300CE now with a more genuine intent to sell which I've lacked so far.
I was indeed set on getting an Alpina but then several things conspired against me. Firstly, we bought another house as a rental property so that all my saved up money immediately went into that and put me heavily back into debt such that I felt I couldn't do anything on the car front that could be construed as a luxury/toy buy. I sold the red Mercedes 230CE that I was in that day on the Wales trip which was actually my daily driver at the time (believe it or not!) and replaced it with a very nice, low mileage E38 728i Sport but that really was just for practical purposes as I did need a car I could drive every day.
I've since felt that I've worked really hard over this year and whittled my debts down to a level where I can see light at the end of the tunnel again and so felt I deserved a "treat" but not really to the level of an Alpina or M. Although I did make an offer on an M Coupe in hindsight this probably would have been unwise in terms of pushing my debt backwards too far.
I started looking at and researching pre-facelift 3.0 cars and was amazed that it seemed I could maybe get one for not too much money and they seemed to offer pretty good "real world" performance with reasonable running/ownership costs. My memories of owning the CSL were that realistically I just couldn't use or personally just didn't need that kind of performance again. I was also always living in fear of a calamitous and expensive mechanical "BANG" happening!
As often happens though, "Mission Creep" sets in once one starts researching things :lol: So I then started seeing that the N52 3.0Si did offer a bit more in terms of performance over the 3.0L so one then starts looking at those. But then the prices start going up and up. TBH having looked fairly closely and extensively over the last few weeks the prices on good, low mileage 3.0Si aren't actually as low as I had initially thought. Indeed, there seem to be only two others currently for sale with relatively comparable mileages and both are more expensive (one private and one with a dealer). There is another (a long, long way from here) but enquiries showed me that it is in need of such extensive work as to completely undermine the relatively low asking price.
Given that this one is in a colour combo that I really like...and that matches the 840Ci Sport and 728i Sport :lol: ....has low miles and low owners (2), I decided to bite the bullet and just get on and buy it! I'm just hoping that tomorrow lives up to expectations. I just hope I actually fit inside the car....that would be a start! :lol:
P.S might have to put a drastic price reduction on the Mercedes C124 300CE now with a more genuine intent to sell which I've lacked so far.
Mad Professor
Active member
Well I think you've made a rather sensible decision there because I doubt most folk who own an alpina or M ever really use the performance in public roads , which are congested and full of obstacles like tractors , bikes , and other such random events . Ok for its great for bragging rights if you into playing top trumps in the pub to have an uber amount of brakes and torques ,but in the real world I can't see how an M out performs a 3,0 . That is unless you intend to thrash it on a track which is a waste of a decent car . There are many cheaper cars to kill to kill on a track which will leave any M for dead ,my Caterham would be an example of that . Ok so why bother with an M at all then - well I guess it's like having a Rolex watch or a Combie cashmere coat , it's nice to own I suppose.
derin100
Active member
Yes, for me, I think it's the right decision.
The reality is that I'm never going to take this car on a track and even if I had an 'M', I wouldn't either because I simply couldn't afford the potential consequences!
It was the same when I owned the CSL. That car was costing me circa £2.5K per year before I'd even turned a wheel at all! To me, it just wasn't worth it in the end to be forking out that kind of money and holding back that kind of capital in a car, simply for a few short seconds of full-out blast on a public road (because that's all it could ever be....I'd just run out of road very quickly!). Yes, it was a stunning car for those few seconds. I don't regret it and the noise, above all things, was fantastic but the reality was/is that I'm not rich enough to justify and be comfortable with such a car again.
Ultimately, I think that's probably what it comes down to... simple money. :lol:
I guess I'm going to find out in a few hours time but I shouldn't imagine this 3.0Si is going to feel exactly 'slow', on a public road, by any stretch?
The reality is that I'm never going to take this car on a track and even if I had an 'M', I wouldn't either because I simply couldn't afford the potential consequences!
It was the same when I owned the CSL. That car was costing me circa £2.5K per year before I'd even turned a wheel at all! To me, it just wasn't worth it in the end to be forking out that kind of money and holding back that kind of capital in a car, simply for a few short seconds of full-out blast on a public road (because that's all it could ever be....I'd just run out of road very quickly!). Yes, it was a stunning car for those few seconds. I don't regret it and the noise, above all things, was fantastic but the reality was/is that I'm not rich enough to justify and be comfortable with such a car again.
Ultimately, I think that's probably what it comes down to... simple money. :lol:
I guess I'm going to find out in a few hours time but I shouldn't imagine this 3.0Si is going to feel exactly 'slow', on a public road, by any stretch?
It's not going to feel slow derin but I prefer the Sports button down to enjoy the full urgency and more sensitive throttle response.
Given your car history you'll understand this - today the roads were a little iffy in the North East and so the Sports button stayed off - still had traction control blinking away unexpectedly and the Zed squirming left and right in the last third of an uphill straight approach lane to the Western bypass necessitating a little throttle modulation - just wet, no snow or ice.
It's more than enough for the road and enough to get into problems yet can be driven easily and in a relaxed manner for a long trip - should be ideal for your intended purpose. (I've found that the higher side wall of the ///M tyre fitment adds to ride refinement).
Be interested to hear your thoughts after tomorrow - all the best with your purchase - it's certainly an impressive Zed.
Given your car history you'll understand this - today the roads were a little iffy in the North East and so the Sports button stayed off - still had traction control blinking away unexpectedly and the Zed squirming left and right in the last third of an uphill straight approach lane to the Western bypass necessitating a little throttle modulation - just wet, no snow or ice.
It's more than enough for the road and enough to get into problems yet can be driven easily and in a relaxed manner for a long trip - should be ideal for your intended purpose. (I've found that the higher side wall of the ///M tyre fitment adds to ride refinement).
Be interested to hear your thoughts after tomorrow - all the best with your purchase - it's certainly an impressive Zed.
derin100
Active member
hopz121 said:
Not exactly! Going again in a few hours.
Set off this morning before dawn only to develop a brake fluid leak in the car we were travelling down in (our French registered E39 Touring) ...just about exactly halfway there! Ended up having to be towed back by the AA to my local BMW Indie and then home by which time it was really too late to go back down again in another car.
Leaving again in a few hours in another car.
Fingers crossed this time!
derin100 said:Thanks Perry!
I was indeed set on getting an Alpina but then several things conspired against me. Firstly, we bought another house as a rental property so that all my saved up money immediately went into that and put me heavily back into debt such that I felt I couldn't do anything on the car front that could be construed as a luxury/toy buy. I sold the red Mercedes 230CE that I was in that day on the Wales trip which was actually my daily driver at the time (believe it or not!) and replaced it with a very nice, low mileage E38 728i Sport but that really was just for practical purposes as I did need a car I could drive every day.
I've since felt that I've worked really hard over this year and whittled my debts down to a level where I can see light at the end of the tunnel again and so felt I deserved a "treat" but not really to the level of an Alpina or M. Although I did make an offer on an M Coupe in hindsight this probably would have been unwise in terms of pushing my debt backwards too far.
I started looking at and researching pre-facelift 3.0 cars and was amazed that it seemed I could maybe get one for not too much money and they seemed to offer pretty good "real world" performance with reasonable running/ownership costs. My memories of owning the CSL were that realistically I just couldn't use or personally just didn't need that kind of performance again. I was also always living in fear of a calamitous and expensive mechanical "BANG" happening!
As often happens though, "Mission Creep" sets in once one starts researching things :lol: So I then started seeing that the N52 3.0Si did offer a bit more in terms of performance over the 3.0L so one then starts looking at those. But then the prices start going up and up. TBH having looked fairly closely and extensively over the last few weeks the prices on good, low mileage 3.0Si aren't actually as low as I had initially thought. Indeed, there seem to be only two others currently for sale with relatively comparable mileages and both are more expensive (one private and one with a dealer). There is another (a long, long way from here) but enquiries showed me that it is in need of such extensive work as to completely undermine the relatively low asking price.
Given that this one is in a colour combo that I really like...and that matches the 840Ci Sport and 728i Sport :lol: ....has low miles and low owners (2), I decided to bite the bullet and just get on and buy it! I'm just hoping that tomorrow lives up to expectations. I just hope I actually fit inside the car....that would be a start! :lol:
P.S might have to put a drastic price reduction on the Mercedes C124 300CE now with a more genuine intent to sell which I've lacked so far.
Have you sold your E38? I'm a sucker for a nice 728i sport..
derin100
Active member
bluestreak56 said:derin100 said:Thanks Perry!
I was indeed set on getting an Alpina but then several things conspired against me. Firstly, we bought another house as a rental property so that all my saved up money immediately went into that and put me heavily back into debt such that I felt I couldn't do anything on the car front that could be construed as a luxury/toy buy. I sold the red Mercedes 230CE that I was in that day on the Wales trip which was actually my daily driver at the time (believe it or not!) and replaced it with a very nice, low mileage E38 728i Sport but that really was just for practical purposes as I did need a car I could drive every day.
I've since felt that I've worked really hard over this year and whittled my debts down to a level where I can see light at the end of the tunnel again and so felt I deserved a "treat" but not really to the level of an Alpina or M. Although I did make an offer on an M Coupe in hindsight this probably would have been unwise in terms of pushing my debt backwards too far.
I started looking at and researching pre-facelift 3.0 cars and was amazed that it seemed I could maybe get one for not too much money and they seemed to offer pretty good "real world" performance with reasonable running/ownership costs. My memories of owning the CSL were that realistically I just couldn't use or personally just didn't need that kind of performance again. I was also always living in fear of a calamitous and expensive mechanical "BANG" happening!
As often happens though, "Mission Creep" sets in once one starts researching things :lol: So I then started seeing that the N52 3.0Si did offer a bit more in terms of performance over the 3.0L so one then starts looking at those. But then the prices start going up and up. TBH having looked fairly closely and extensively over the last few weeks the prices on good, low mileage 3.0Si aren't actually as low as I had initially thought. Indeed, there seem to be only two others currently for sale with relatively comparable mileages and both are more expensive (one private and one with a dealer). There is another (a long, long way from here) but enquiries showed me that it is in need of such extensive work as to completely undermine the relatively low asking price.
Given that this one is in a colour combo that I really like...and that matches the 840Ci Sport and 728i Sport :lol: ....has low miles and low owners (2), I decided to bite the bullet and just get on and buy it! I'm just hoping that tomorrow lives up to expectations. I just hope I actually fit inside the car....that would be a start! :lol:
P.S might have to put a drastic price reduction on the Mercedes C124 300CE now with a more genuine intent to sell which I've lacked so far.
Have you sold your E38? I'm a sucker for a nice 728i sport..
No, I'm keeping that at the moment as it's my daily driver. Bought last year with only 48K miles on the clock and now 63K miles. I can't figure out how to post pics on here otherwise I would.
If you can find a good one I'd highly recommended one. Just before I bought it someone on PH, who had owned one, reckoned it would do 38pmg on a 70mph-ish run....to which I scoffed. He wasn't lying! It'll do that and more! On cruise and up and running at that speed it'll do in excess of 40 mpg!
Again, I paid top dollar for mine but it's worth it.
728s are beautiful, I'm tempted to get one in as well, they just look fab.
Stevo
Stevo
There's a local 728i sport for sale for 850 in below average condition and no service history from 30k onwards. Dent in rear pass door, small rust on broth driver side arches and digital displays all going. I think it's best to fork out 2.5k for a good one as you have..
derin100
Active member
I got my wife to upload a dozen pics of my 728i Sport on to my website here:
http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/gallery/index.php?spgmGal=E38_728i_Sport&spgmPic=9&spgmFilters=#pic
I had a couple of 740s in the past ( about 9 and 10 years ago respectively):
http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/blue740i/index.html
http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/740i/index.html
It's true to say that the 728i Sport isn't a 740i (which always felt like a quick car to me) but it certainly isn't a complete slouch either. The best bit is though the fuel economy! As I said above, when I first bought it a chap on Pistonheads who had claimed he got 38 mpg in his on a run...and I was extremely skeptical. However, it's true! If I set my cruise control to 70 mph it will actually do 39-40 mpg. I once set it to below 60 mph and it was doing something crazy like 46 mpg....trouble is the sheer boredom of that speed makes the claim an irrelevance! :lol:
The 740s aren't hugely thirsty either and about 30 mpg is achievable under similar cruising conditions. Under my day-to-day driving conditions I used to get low-ish to mid-20s to the gallon in the 740s; in the 728i I get high-ish 20s to low-ish 30s. So, it makes a little bit of difference to running costs. Other running costs are also less.
However, I didn't really set out to buy a 728i. In fact, I wasn't intending to buy anything at all! I just happened to see it one afternoon whilst browsing. It wasn't too far away, sounded good, had very low mileage and so I decided to go and have a look. I was half hoping I'd find it was a dog or had a leaking fuel tank (as many of the older, high mileage ones develop) and be able to walk away with my money still in my pocket. Unfortunately....it was pristine including underneath. I just couldn't find an excuse not to buy it!
At the time, I really only bought it on miles, history and condition. If a similar 740 had presented itself in a similar manner I probably would have bought that in just the same way. But...I'm actually glad I didn't. I think I would have just felt guilty every time I went to the petrol station in the knowledge that I was driving a big 4.4L V8 as my daily driver.
Anyway, success.....I finally got the Z4 3.0Si today !
http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/gallery/index.php?spgmGal=E38_728i_Sport&spgmPic=9&spgmFilters=#pic
I had a couple of 740s in the past ( about 9 and 10 years ago respectively):
http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/blue740i/index.html
http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/740i/index.html
It's true to say that the 728i Sport isn't a 740i (which always felt like a quick car to me) but it certainly isn't a complete slouch either. The best bit is though the fuel economy! As I said above, when I first bought it a chap on Pistonheads who had claimed he got 38 mpg in his on a run...and I was extremely skeptical. However, it's true! If I set my cruise control to 70 mph it will actually do 39-40 mpg. I once set it to below 60 mph and it was doing something crazy like 46 mpg....trouble is the sheer boredom of that speed makes the claim an irrelevance! :lol:
The 740s aren't hugely thirsty either and about 30 mpg is achievable under similar cruising conditions. Under my day-to-day driving conditions I used to get low-ish to mid-20s to the gallon in the 740s; in the 728i I get high-ish 20s to low-ish 30s. So, it makes a little bit of difference to running costs. Other running costs are also less.
However, I didn't really set out to buy a 728i. In fact, I wasn't intending to buy anything at all! I just happened to see it one afternoon whilst browsing. It wasn't too far away, sounded good, had very low mileage and so I decided to go and have a look. I was half hoping I'd find it was a dog or had a leaking fuel tank (as many of the older, high mileage ones develop) and be able to walk away with my money still in my pocket. Unfortunately....it was pristine including underneath. I just couldn't find an excuse not to buy it!
At the time, I really only bought it on miles, history and condition. If a similar 740 had presented itself in a similar manner I probably would have bought that in just the same way. But...I'm actually glad I didn't. I think I would have just felt guilty every time I went to the petrol station in the knowledge that I was driving a big 4.4L V8 as my daily driver.
Anyway, success.....I finally got the Z4 3.0Si today !
To me, the E38 was the most beautiful 7 series ever made, the ones afterwards I thought were plain ugly so I never bought another one (went to the X5s after the 7s).
You sure had a couple of nice 7 series there, beautiful. I did have the comfort seats but to be honest, I was forever fiddling with the back blow up cushions as I could never really find the perfect position. Sometimes less is easier
Now where are the Z4 pictures then? 8)
You sure had a couple of nice 7 series there, beautiful. I did have the comfort seats but to be honest, I was forever fiddling with the back blow up cushions as I could never really find the perfect position. Sometimes less is easier
Now where are the Z4 pictures then? 8)
derin100
Active member
pvr said:To me, the E38 was the most beautiful 7 series ever made, the ones afterwards I thought were plain ugly so I never bought another one (went to the X5s after the 7s).
You sure had a couple of nice 7 series there, beautiful. I did have the comfort seats but to be honest, I was forever fiddling with the back blow up cushions as I could never really find the perfect position. Sometimes less is easier
Now where are the Z4 pictures then? 8)
I agree! But it was also the scale and degree of ugliness that followed on immediately that was so shocking! It was breath-taking.
I don't actually know how to upload pics to this forum? I took a couple of snaps immediately when I got back this afternoon.
I'll see if I can figure it out.
I have to say, I was very impressed with the dealership place that I bought it from. They'd really put many BMW Dealerships to shame. They really had a lot of very nice stock there too. All beautifully prepped. They were polite and very helpful all the way through the whole transaction.
I've got a low mileage, 2 owner car, in truly stunning, stunning condition. They did an Insp 2 type service in their on-site workshop, fresh 12 months MOT, 1 Year No Quibble Warranty...and I bought a further 2 years on top of that (I've seen 'shitty' warranties in the past and this doesn't look like one)... plus 5 days drive-away insurance for £12.50. They organised my Road Tax for me within minutes. I may have paid a bit of a premium but I actually think it was well worth it.
Coming to the 3.0Si itself and very early first impressions...
Firstly, I was concerned at 6' 2" that I might not fit! Absolutely no problems there. I'd read on various internet forums about problems from other people my height but I have to say they must be adopting some very inappropriately laid-back and distant driving positions? There's plenty of scope from my normal driving position to go quite a bit further back. There's also plenty of headroom with the roof up. This was all a relief.
Secondly, I'm very, very impressed the 3.0Si performance. I was driving home thinking: "Maybe I would have been better off with a 2.5 because I seem to be running out of road and 'bottle' too quickly and too easily in this? This has got way more performance than I need or can use on a public road."
Love the style and clean, simple ambience of the interior. Not too many fussy or complicated buttons, dials etc that I wouldn't need.
Now the bit that's not so good (but can be remedied). The tyres!
It's on Bridgestone Potenza Runflats. Obviously, I had read stuff about these but didn't really appreciate what people were griping about until today. The word I never actually saw written but should have...so I'll use it now...is "painful"! I can also already see how even once I become more familiar with the car than these tyres and their lack of compliance are a major problem. Not only do they cause discomfort but also unless on an absolutely smooth road surface the make the car skip and step out of line and really do remove feel and confidence.
I'd like to ditch them but unfortunately the ones on the car appear to have plenty of tread; I won't be doing big mileages in this car; I'm a miser and so won't just ditch them for something else....and so I may have to suffer them for quite a while yet!
derin100
Active member
Well derin, I am pleased that you are impressed with your Zed. Your reactions aren't very far removed from my initial response regarding performance - however - you do get used to it over time and believe it or not feel that more performance would be useful in certain cases, especially the response in third gear - but I'll leave you to explore your new Zed for now.
The tyres can seriously spoil your enjoyment of the Zed, so I would consider changing them for non runflats and selling your runflats to balance the cost a little. If you decide to do this then there are a few recommendations. At present many (including myself) are using Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 2s. They can be purchased at reasonable cost given their performance; Falken 453s are also a reasonably costed alternative.
The difference such a change makes is well worth the investment (as you can gather from the forum) and I would say pretty essential if you want to get the best out of your new Zed.
For now, I'd keep two hands on the steering wheel, especially on a bend where camber, wear or works, disturb the surface - both hands for security and control . . . you'll see what I mean when the Zed darts to the edge of the road. . .
Where are you situated? Perhaps there is a forum member that can take you out in their Zed with non runflats for you to experience the difference. If you are anywhere near the North East you are welcome to try my 3.0si.
Glad you eventually got to collect your new Zed and I hope you get your other car sorted soon.
The tyres can seriously spoil your enjoyment of the Zed, so I would consider changing them for non runflats and selling your runflats to balance the cost a little. If you decide to do this then there are a few recommendations. At present many (including myself) are using Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 2s. They can be purchased at reasonable cost given their performance; Falken 453s are also a reasonably costed alternative.
The difference such a change makes is well worth the investment (as you can gather from the forum) and I would say pretty essential if you want to get the best out of your new Zed.
For now, I'd keep two hands on the steering wheel, especially on a bend where camber, wear or works, disturb the surface - both hands for security and control . . . you'll see what I mean when the Zed darts to the edge of the road. . .
Where are you situated? Perhaps there is a forum member that can take you out in their Zed with non runflats for you to experience the difference. If you are anywhere near the North East you are welcome to try my 3.0si.
Glad you eventually got to collect your new Zed and I hope you get your other car sorted soon.