7 series

[marcus]

Have packed the Spitty away for the winter, and am now looking for some interesting shite for the cold weather. Seems you can pick up an old-ish BMW 7 series for very cheap, was wondering if anyone on here has any experience, or knows of any pitfalls. Had a 5 series for a couple of years, couldn't fault it for £450 apart from the huge doink on the passenger side.I realise mpg is gonna be crap, but it's only going to do low mileage, as I have a very boring work van for the big miles.And I need something big, cos er indoors is getting too fat to slide in and out of the Peugeot Expert.

[254575]

i had a 750il for 6 months last year. it was great until someone crashed into the back of me. it totally destroyed their 08 plate vectra, but the 750 barely had a scratch.

 

ignore the haters.

im sure you are aware that anything is expensive to replace. luckily i didnt have to spend a penny on maintenance. just the 105 litre fuel tank to fill up!

 

unless you want to be a girl and go for the lesser models.

 

 

edited - this is what happens when 21st century plastic collided with 1980s steel at less than 20mph (sorry if its thread creep, i'll remove it if you want)

 

[marcus]

Not at all. Need to know my family is well protected!How many miles did you get out of that huge tank? My 5 series was appalling- about 300miles round town (80 litres).Mind you, it did go like stink. And make little tarted-up Saxo drivers cry.

[254575]

similar sort of mileage. around 300. but i wasnt careful at all and it was a lot of town miles, i mean what do you expect from a 5 litre v12!. you can get good MPG on motorways. (low 30's)the IL models are extended versions, with full size doors at the rear, picnic trays and rear foot rests. great for family.

[HillmanImp]

edited - this is what happens when 21st century plastic collided with 1980s steel at less than 20mph (sorry if its thread creep, i'll remove it if you want)

 

Thats crumple zones for you. Great if you are in a big accident, but a bit of a pain if you have a prang and your car is written off.

[254575]

edited - this is what happens when 21st century plastic collided with 1980s steel at less than 20mph (sorry if its thread creep, i'll remove it if you want)

 

Thats crumple zones for you. Great if you are in a big accident, but a bit of a pain if you have a prang and your car is written off.

yes, noone can doubt their effectiveness as a safety feauture, but as you say, writing off a car because of an extremely low speed collision can be quite annoying.

[Station]

Seem to remember seeing them go for around 500 quid, which is crazy for what they are. I think I'd rather have a 5-series, they're quite common (for parts if something goes wrong) and not as chavvy 'Look at me, I'm loaded' as a second hand 2 grand 3-series.

[Owain-328i]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1990-BMW-750I-AUTO-SILVER_W0QQitemZ260478585940

 

the only e32 shaped one i could find on the bay!

 

But late e32 730i's are V8's with enough grunt, and so are the 740i's.

[pogweasel]

I have just been offered a late E32, L-reg so I am assuming that would be a V8? Unfortunately it is registry-office then buffet-in-a-church-hall white.

[Owain-328i]

I have just been offered a late E32, L-reg so I am assuming that would be a V8? Unfortunately it is registry-office then buffet-in-a-church-hall white.

Yeah if its a L reg it will have the M60 V8 i belive. Anything 1993 onwards became V8, the 24v straight six was never fitted to the e32.White is alright go for it if its cheap. GR8 4 DRIFTIN (even with the Douglas Bader box)

[marcus]

I have just been offered a late E32, L-reg so I am assuming that would be a V8? Unfortunately it is registry-office then buffet-in-a-church-hall white.

I dunno, I think the BMW in white has a certain charm, trouble is the missus is up the duff so it wouldn't get a wash. If you don't want it I might be interested (under £1000).I quite like this one:http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1134123.htm

[Pete-M]

Just check the top hat bushes on the rear suspension and all the bushes at the pointy end. E32 7's do tend to mullah suspension bushes and brakes.I ran a 730i for a while, still not sure if I liked it. I've got a liking for the 750iL.

[Guest]

I dunno, I think the BMW in white has a certain charm, trouble is the missus is up the duff so it wouldn't get a wash.

If it wouldn't be getting a wash on account of that, you're as much to blame as she is - put the effort in, man!Compromise and tell her she only needs to do it once a week. A good incentive would be to offer to take it to the Jet Wash yourself on the week when the baby is due, provided she covers costs (the costs of the wash itself, petrol, your time - a twenty should cover it).

[mk1_4dr]

I could be sorely tempted by an oldish 7 now that the escRot is geting an off street home.Although the giffa next door has a gorgeous low miles shark nose 528 that hardly ever driven, just gets started and polished weekly. I wonder.....

[r.welfare]

That Pistonheads 730 is lovely. Sod the fact it has cloth - a breaker will come up with a full leather interior for swapping - it's more than outweighed by the low number of owners and a full history. Must have been a mad old dear with pots of cash to keep taking a 19-year 7-series to a main agent, mind.

[marcus]

My old 5 series has a fsh right up to 158k, previous owner quite rightly switched from dealer to specialist quite early on. That 730 is probably worth less than a main dealer full service costs!Don't mind the cloth too much, as long as no-one has dropped a vindaloo on it at some point. (Or the old dear became incontinent).

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I have just been offered a late E32, L-reg so I am assuming that would be a V8? Unfortunately it is registry-office then buffet-in-a-church-hall white.

Yeah if its a L reg it will have the M60 V8 i belive. Anything 1993 onwards became V8, the 24v straight six was never fitted to the e32.

Not so - they kept the straight six 730i going until the bitter end alongside the V8 model - I've seen an M plate E32 730i/6 and a few L's.IIRC the six pot was about 5-10 grand less, came with cloth, no air con. It was for the airport run basically. Deffo go for an E32 over the later E38. E38's are nice but you STILL don't see them in scrapyards in big enough numbers for bits to be almost free.E34 5's are great cars, but the E32 is more metal for the £££ and deliciously council.

[shite_meister]

Do it do it do it, I so want an E32 right now.I bought a set of genuine 17" Alpina Alloys off a chap dirt cheap and he has a 735i for sale much cheapness, being a total old BMW perv I took it out for a spin and was quite impressed although it was in a wanky pale gold colour and the front was wandering all over the road like a pissed whale but I just I love the build quality of the E34 and E32 and the interiors I find especially well screwed together, it was only the fact I have seven cars and no parking left that stops me right now.I think that BMWs are one of the few cars that can pull white off, alot of older Mercs look quite smart in white too.

[pandaselecta]

Make sure the heater/aircon works, as thats supposed to be a pig of a job to fix (dash off job )

[ChinaTom]

Mega cheap 730, 735 and 740 may have Nikosil issues. Something to watch. OK, it's girly, but don't discount the 728. 28-30mpg is achievable without wearing a ballet pump even on a >200k miler. A replacement cam sensor (~£40 + DIY) will probably give any pre'99 '7' 10% better mpg from more appropriate slushbox instructions. it'll transform 3rd gear acceleration below 3k rpm too.Find a "bought it for my retiremement but need to spend the Autoglym budget on winter fuel" 730 in blue or green. Or a 740 as that's the one you really want.Good luck.

[marcus]

Thanks for advice so far. Keep it coming.

[shite_meister]

A replacement cam sensor (~£40 + DIY) will probably give any pre'99 '7' 10% better mpg from more appropriate slushbox instructions. it'll transform 3rd gear acceleration below 3k rpm

Where did you read that? I've never heard of this I'm just interested in where you found this out? is this common with other BMWs/other cars?I agree that the 740 sounds like the ideal solution, 750i sounds like a great car and I'm sure it would be just as reliable as a 740 but I suppose you should consider how much harder it a 5.0 will be over a 4.0 due to any potential purchasers preconceptions about a V12.As already stated the V8s did have Nikasil issues but alot were replaced under warranty, do some research because there is a way to tell if you're unsure, I think the replacement Alusil blocks had a pear shaped metal plate somewhere or vice-versa. M30 motors (6-cylinder 730 and 735i) are as tough as old boots, only real vice I am aware of is the oil supply pipe for the camshaft-the banjo bolts can work loose and starve the cam of oil but its neither expensive nor difficult to replace the pipe-as long as its not too late and already done some damage.Interestly BMW sold the 730i in both straight-six and vee-eight configurations at the same time for a short period.

[ChinaTom]

I heard this from two independent sources - one from a specialist that services my 528t, and a chap in my local village garage who is ex BMW. The sensor fault is often intermittent and does not show up as a fault code every time it is checked. He drove mine after an MOT and work on the brakes and immediately noticed it was holding onto 2nd gear for too long under gentle acceleration, and then not giving much power when manually shifting it to 3rd forcing him to press harder on the pedal kicking down to 2nd again if transferring back to auto-mode. He also noticed my average mpg was 27.9 (over 3,000 miles) which he thought was way too low for the life my car leads. With a new cam sensor, I averaged 33.7mpg on a 161 mile run from Horsham to Attleborough last night and acceleration is much better under 3k rpm. The biggest change I noticed was the regularity of the autobox shifts. It just felt better. All for £40. 10% of the cost of the new brake pipes he did the previous week! To replace the rear brake pipes, the whole rear suspension/axle has to be dropped, propshaft out, along with the fuel tank. 15 hours labour.I would only have a 750 if I was looking specifically for a 12 cylinder car, not merely a luxobarge. I have V12 (Jag, not BMW) and the cost of ownership is horrendous. Embarrasingly so. Actually, the Jag will cost less than both BMW and Merc equivalents at the pumps - surprising for a 6.0 engine. The best all rounder is the 735 in my opinion. I have driven a few 728's over the years and was very surprised by the performance.

[Station]

I think I'd prefer leather in a car like this. I'm not one for luxury options, but it just looks right, even though I actually think cloth is better and holds you more.

[Pete-M]

I think I'd prefer leather in a car like this. I'm not one for luxury options, but it just looks right, even though I actually think cloth is better and holds you more.

Ooooh. I try to have leather in every car I buy.In fact, other than the Escort, everything I own has leather seats

[Guest]

Velour - the thinking man's leather.

[Pete-M]

Oooooh, I do like a bit of velour. Enjoy wearing fluffy cardigans and then driving to lighting shops and walking around causing luminary mayhem.Mmm. Velour. Only any good in old Renaults and Granada Ghias.

[pandaselecta]

Shame you cant get leatherette. It looks like leather but has none of the quality

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

A replacement cam sensor (~£40 + DIY) will probably give any pre'99 '7' 10% better mpg from more appropriate slushbox instructions. it'll transform 3rd gear acceleration below 3k rpm too.

100% true about the cam sensor....but always buy a genuine BMW/Bosch/Siemens job. The £40 cheapo ones are rubbish and you'll be lucky to get a months out of it.