I like your choice in boats. Here's my 2 cents: I own a Bavaria 40 Ocean CC which appears very similar to the 38 Ocean. We're going into our 3rd season with Valkyrie and I'm still a very happy owner. I could easily move aboard this boat full time (my wish) and be comfortable for many years. Build quality: It's a well fitted boat with some quirks. The boat is well made and has a strong hull. The level of finish of the interior is above average. I actually like the fake teak/holly screwed down floor. It makes getting access to all the area's of the floor pan simple. And everyone that comes aboard complements us on how great the floor looks. I mention the floor and ease of access for a reason. I owned an island packet for 10 years and I loved the top quality and overbuilt nature of the boat. The weakness of the IP's was the same as it's strengths...access. I would constantly hear of people spending $10-20K to replace tanks under the beautiful real teak/holly floors (ouch). The bavaria oceans have easy access to all tanks. They have clean outs so you can gain access to the inside of the tanks. Even the holding tank is only a half dozen screws away behind the shower panel. The deck is well outfitted and works really well. The teak decks are great but do require maintenance. I still love them. Now the center cockpit is a huge asset. You get the huge aft master cabin, an engine room with access on 3 sides that you can step into. We put two great captains chairs on the back deck and it's my favorite place on the boat. Having a back deck changes the feel of the boat. We have a fully enclosed cockpit so without being a transformer if we want sun we sit in the captains chairs, if we want shade we sit in the cockpit. Another beni of a center cockpit is when you have a lot of people many times it hard to actually sail....so with the CC you just walk out the back and work the winch from the outside deck. We sail with company often so the first time I figured that trick out life became much easier.
Sailing ability: The boat has a in mast furling main and a 130 genny. She sails great and has the weight to stay on her feet in a blow. Our avg day is in 10-20kts and the boat is in it's sweet spot. I've sailed in 35kts and felt very comfortable and safe under a partial main only. We had a blast. She heeled a bit but really had a good feel and was responsive. The spade rudder has it's cons but it provides very responsive steering. In the past couple years I'd had a few moments of excitement usually due to being over canvased and not reefing before a front came blowing in. Easily rectified with the furling main. It took a while to learn how to effectively use the furler. I have a complaint about the winch setup. There are locations for 2 winches per side but only one winch is present. When the wind is high and I need to reef it's a pain in the butt. There is no way I can see to lock off the sheet and switch out to furl the genny in. I've been thinking about adding a second smaller winch next to the existing ones. I hate the stanchion design - I have no idea what the designer was thinking about. If you have the rutgerson hatches on the deck be aware they will most likely leak and require rebedding. I saw them as a weak link and replaced 3 of them with Lewmar 60's. I still have the 2 side opening Rutgerson hatches next to the mast since they are 1 inch larger in width and length than the custom lewmar hatches I bought from Bavaria over a year ago and didn't fit. Bavaria didn't realize they are different sizes. In contrast I owned a 25 year old Island Packet and when I called they could tell me more measurements about my boat then I could give. I guess that's a difference between a mass production boat building and a more customer service oriented builder. Bavaria was of little help resolving my problem. Customer service is not their strength. Rutgersen never returned my emails, calls, inquiries. I even tried in multiple languages. I will say the Rutgersen ports on are high quality and work great (unlike their hatch line).
If you search the forums you'll see a love or hate relationship with the Volvo engine and saildrive. I think much of your experience will be how well the engine/sail drive was maintained. I haven't had any major issues yet but I'm not naive enough to believe I will continue that streak of luck. (but I'm hoping).
I rambled for a while. If there is anything in particular you want to know about let me know either on or off forum. There's only about 40 of the B40 Oceans out there, not sure how many 38 Ocean CC's were made.
Bottom line: would I buy the same boat again? Without hesitation...YES. I love the boat, it's abilities, and want to step aboard and toss the dock lines away for the last time to head south.