RE: Buying a 750iL

[LtWacko@xxxxxxx]

Owning one, I can say this...  Don't do it!!!  Okay, let me explain.  If you 
can get by my reasons, then by all means buy it.  The biggest reason not to 
buy one is maintenance cost.  If you thought the cost of upkeeping a MB 
S-Class were high....  The long-term upkeep of a 750 far exceeds purchase and 
resale value.  For your own sanity, price plugs, wires, cap"s", rotor"s", 
serpentine "BELTS", belt "TENSIONERS", waterpump and rear shocks.  Oh, try 
and find parts new at a decent price.  Very difficult unless old stock.  
Tensioners and waterpumps that are readily available are rebuilt now because 
low volume makes them very expensive to keep in production.  Nothing wrong 
with those parts and cheaper than new ones.  They didn't sell many V-12's 
stateside, worldwide for that matter.  The cost of doing it yourself seems 
like you just paid the MB dealer for service on an S-Class.

All that being said, why bother owning a V-12?  Have you seen the grin on my 
face?  The '88's have no speedlimiter!  Some may remember the story from 
Gateway Tech a few years back on a late night run.  (Yes, it was way over 155 
MPH)  The 750 also out pulls the 740 from 40 MPH+ (You should have seen my 
buddies face in his geared AND chipped 740i.  Another digest story from years 
past!)  It's fun to stare at Corvette owner's faces when you are side-byside 
at 150+ MPH.  They are fun to autocross!!!  I kept a "new" Kumho "R" 
autocross tire for memories.  It couldn't hold the torque in turns (the car 
also has a limited-slip diff.)  I completely "smoked" the rubber off in one 
day's worth of autocrossing.  750's are definitely more fun to "drive" than a 
MB S-Class, also a very capable car.

Right now I am in a dilemma with my 750.  Fix it or part it.  All it needs is 
an Inspection II and time/mileage parts.  The car has 170K miles on it.  If I 
repair it, I am sure it will provide me with many more miles of service.  The 
cost of just the parts howerver exceed CURRENT RETAIL value.  I will 
definitely get more for parting the car.  The front end is newer (telephone 
poll versus 750iL or "Rodney Ran out of Talent" - another digest story)

I am looking at an E38 750iL.  Any warnings about that car?  I would almost 
rather buy one of those and dump repair money in it.

Good luck..

Rodney
possibly parting black on black '88 750iL

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