My choice would be the V8 over the 3.0 ... once you drive and compare it's a no brainer. Plus the resale value if you would ever want to sell or trade up. Maintenence is always going to be an issue with any BMW... drive a Lexus, Acura or Infiniti if you want the vanilla driving experience. BMW is cutting edge... you just need to maintain them but the reward is ULTIMATE.

I own a 4.6is, a '98 740i and a '97 540i.