SeCsTaC

My cousin has an older 740i... I believe its mid 90s? That thing drinks fuel like a mofo, and it's got a big ass tank too. Cost him 83 bucks to fill up the other day.

Just a heads up...

dnd2984

iTrader: (6)

Actually come to think of it. My dads friend in Cali has a 1998 740il with 300k miles on it. He is the original owner to.

chungkopi

DON'T FUCKING LISTEN TO THEM!!

last gen 7 series are beautiful cars but they need your attention. you have to be a meticulous person who can take care of these high maintenance beauty.

i think it worth it because it's the sexiest flagship ever made and you can get a decent one under 15k. if you are worried sick then get something under 80k and buy 2 years of warranty. get 740L instead of IL because it's much more fun to drive.

go to any bimmer 7series forum and learn more about them. people generally love their 7series.

chungkopi

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...ce=&cardist=43


or get one of these jags. and buy a warranty. should be available if it is under 90k miles.

Costco

^^that looks so sexy.... I really don't know how BMW botched up their new models so badly. The E46, E39 and Ewhatever 7-series will always have timeless designs in my mind.

Scrib

'nuff said

fahoumh

My family leased a '99 Vanden Plas for back in 2000 and for the 3 years we had it, we had 1 minor problem which was fixed under warranty. I can't remember exactly what was replaced but it gave a "low coolant" warning on the gauge cluster, but the engine never overheated and I never noticed any leaks. Just my 2 cents but then it's usually a different matter with used cars with more miles.

chungkopi

must be a lemon



seriously i see plenty of people drive last gen 7 series all the time. my best buddy has one and it's a pimp ass ride. just need to to love it like it's your baby.

Stapler

This week I get to take the intake manifold off my dad's car and fix a vacuum leak! Joy of joys.

Again though, for 183k miles the car is very solid. It just isn't my neverneedsmaintenece 2.2cl.

FiveLiterCheater

They're probably driving them to the shop You can take care of it all you want, it just gets annoying having such an expensive (new) car have so many little things go wrong. You buy a luxury car to have a peace of mind, but it gets stressfull taking it into the shop every month. I'm all for pampering cars, however, when you pay so much for a car you expect the damn thing to be pretty well built.

SSMTL01

At your age you want the lexus- nobody likes to take their car in over and over for repairs

mclarenf3387

I love threads like this. You want real advice ask this question on bimmerforums for some people with actual experience with these cars.

First off, don't touch an early E65 (02-03 745s). You can't afford to maintain one period. The car may be cheap, but the control modules are not and those cars have 50+ modules (Space shuttle eat your heart out).

Later E38s aren't terrible, but if your looking for something that is maintenance free look somewhere else. If you can deal with spending some money on the car every so often, then they are great cars. Plus if you learn how to do some of the work yourself you can save a lot of money. The common stuff to go on this car is the cooling system (german plastic sucks), the bushings in the front end wear out, the oil seperators go bad, window regulators break, clusters lose pixels but BMW helps out with those sometimes and the rear ball joints (bushing in the rear knuckle that connects to the lower control arm) wear out. Also valve covers leak and power steering hoses. I know that sounds like a lot, but it all won't break at once and if you take care off them, they shouldn't be a problem again for awhile.

Like I said, it seems like a big list, but if you can deal with the repairs they are great cars to drive.

DarkSithCL

iTrader: (1)

.....Suspension system serviced... that showed up a bunch of times...FTL

.....Miscellaneous service performed... just scary...

DarkSithCL

iTrader: (1)

I have a friend who swears by his older 7 series... but he does most of the work on it himself (he used to race cars) and has buddies who know cars... Another friend who is a doctor will not drive anything but older 7's... he also tinkers with his too... I really think they are great looking cars and run like scalded dogs... depends on your level of competence with a wrench... IMVHO

TheMirror

Let's summarize. The common theme here is that if you can do heavy wrenching on the thing yourself, then go for it. If not, run away like a cat on fire.

All set then.

Wisc Badger

I still say CONSIDER a 5 series instead... easier to maintain and will probably be just a touch more fun to drive.

GSI

I saw that too and wondered if they were Dukes of Hazarding the car with that many suspension services.

mrmako

I would say a 540i six speed...... It can run like hell, and you shouldn't have big issues like the 7 series.

260 HP

iTrader: (3)

I have a 2001 740i with Sport package and it has 47k miles today. It's been good to me although these cars do need more attention than regular Hondas. However, it does reward you more with the perfect blend of luxury and sportiness.

If you're buying one, look for the last year of 740i (2001). The short chassis (not iL) with sport package has the real sport package (lowered suspension, 3 spoke M steering wheel, steptronic transmission, sport seats, higher final drive ratio, etc). They tend to hold their value better than the non sport 740i/iL and the sport 740iL.

In model year 2001, 740i/iL also painted the lower cladding in body color, instead of black like those on 99-00 model years.

The cars built after 11/00 (I believe) have wide screen navigation, instead of the old 4:3 one.

These cars have crappy plastics and rubbers, so look for cars with new cooling system. They will fail every 6 years or 50k miles, whichever comes first.

These cars also suffer dead pixels in the instument cluster and the AC controller. However, BMW NA will likely cover the cost of a new remanufactured cluster if you pay labor (usually 1 hour at any dealership). You can contact BMW NA for this.

Find a car that has been serviced regularly with receipts to prove it. The more things that have been replaced, the better for you, generally.

A friend of mine had 2 E38s, one 1998, the other 1999. They were very reliable.

e38.org has very valuable information about these cars. Bimmerboard.com and Roadfly.org are also good sources of info. Good luck!

260 HP

iTrader: (3)

By the way, an 01 740iS with less than 60k miles is worth around $20k in Socal, if you can find a decent one. 01 740iL with sport package with similar mileage is worth slightly less.

You don't want to buy 02-03 745i/Li because they have so many electrical issues. Besides, they're butt ugly IMO.

By the way, 2001 740iL Sport comes with EDC (Electronic Damping Control). When this breaks, usually it means high $$ item. You can remove the entire thing and replace it with regular shocks and springs though. Bavauto.com sells the kit for this.

doopstr

I know someone with a 02 740. Very nice looking, well handling, fun to drive car. Very expensive to maintain. It had lots of problems that you would never accept on a Civic, yet alone a 740. Once it gets out of warranty it will suck on your wallet for repairs even more than its thirst for fuel. I'll just stick to borrowing it from time to time. BTW the built in navi is garbage.

stright-(paint)balling

what would you think of a 2000-2002 E or S class (not AMG)

subinf

Dad had a 98 that he put 120k on. Never had any problem. Awesome car. Don't think they will all have that luck though.

DarkSithCL

iTrader: (1)

...unless ur off-roading on the regular, it just shouldn't be that serious...

nokiaman

I've always loved the E38 7 series sedan. Timeless design and pure class. Would not want to own one but they sure look very nice. Manual is the way to go.

Statham FTW! : http://youtube.com/watch?v=OQv-9bnPM3Y


My all time 90's german luxury sedan was the S600 though.