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BMW 7-Series 2006 and earlier
1317 messages, Last post on Sep 16, 2012 at 11:07 AM
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What is this discussion about? BMW 7 Series
#995 of 1317 745i by 92735i
Jan 13, 2004 (1:44 pm)
Ok...I'm bitting the bullet...ordered my new 2004, black on black 745i. Gonna do the BMW Performance Center delivery in S. Carolina.I am leasing so if this baby bugs out...no problem, they get the car back.
Giving my trusty 1992 735i , beautiful white/tan, 174k miles, running like brand new, to my son.
It was between a nice 2001 740i w sport package for $35k with 35,000 miles or a new 745i.
The payment over 36 months is about equal...no brainer.
I was totally impressed by the 740i...I got to test drive it alone...no salesman...the car is now deemed 'broken in', heheheheh!.
Great car....have not driven the 745...first time I buy a car without a test drive. All I hear is how much better it is than the 740....hard to believe, can't wait.
#996 of 1317 New product launch bugs... by lovemyclk
Jan 13, 2004 (3:12 pm)
A major challenge faced by the luxury makes such as BMW, MB, Audi, Jag, etc. is and will be achieving quality goals in year 1 of production. Remarkable complexity is the name of the game today... and getting unit 1 off the production line with the quality expected at unit 10,000 can only be achieved with a passion for perfection.At this time, Lexus(Toyota) is the only luxury marque with the relentless pursuit of excellence as a corporate "mantra". "Getting it right" the 1st time is part of their corporate being.
Their challenge has been a lack of design and performance passion, not a manufacturing passion. This all stems from their lean manufacturing orientation that has driven them for decades... and still drives them.
My personal experience with lean manufacturing tells me that it can make a dramatic impact... witness the dramatically improved J.D. Power scores for Jaguar! They have made substantive improvements in their manufacturing and product launch processes by applying elements of lean mfg. Still not at the level of Lexus, but certainly a world apart from where they were 5-10 years ago.
The Germans have focused on design and engineering excellence, which often translates into complexity. If they figure out how to marry the best of lean mfg with their ability to engineer the finest performance vehicles on the planet, look out!
Without a major dissertation on lean... just consider that each generation of Toyota passes approx 70 percent of its content to the next generation. Camry's today have feature content from prior Lexus models. Corolla's today have panel fits and feature content from prior upline models.
From f1buick's comments above, you may never see a Lexus LS with 5 relays used in the operation of headlights! They would anticipate the maintenance problems. In fact, one might suppose the greatest asset of Lexus/Toyota to be manufacturing excellence... insiders might differ and say that "problem-solving" by the real "value-adder" employee is their greatest asset!
I say all this as an extremely passionate 2003 BMW 530 SP owner. BMW got this platform right. The challenge is getting the 1st unit of the 1st model year for a new platform right from the start. If the new 7 was built to Lexus standards, we'd all possibly forgive Bangle (well, maybe!) a bit just to enjoy the faultless joy of driving a fabulous car designed to perform unlike any other in its category.
I often use a quote from Peter Drucker when assessing today's automotive manufacturing challenge... "An innovation, to be effective, has to be simple and has to be focused. It should do only one thing, otherwise, it confuses. All effective innovations are breathtakingly simple. Indeed, the greatest praise an innovation can receive is for people to say: This is obvious. Why didn't I think of it?"
The concept of iDrive is easy to understand, but the execution has been poor. "It confuses". Let's hope BMW will not take 3+ years to figure this out!
#997 of 1317 Used 745i by landspeed .. by rroyce10
Jan 14, 2004 (6:21 am)
...... He's probably not too far off depending on the miles, options and the condition .. if he's leasing it, then all he has to do is look at the residual and that will give him a pretty good idea what that "buy" figure might be ...The resales on the new 7's are weaker than pond water .. 02 745Li's with all the stuff and miles in the 12/15k range are only doing "around" that $50kish range for trade/auction $$, that's pretty sad for a vehicle that had an MSRP of $80ish+ 18 months ago ...
Terry.
#998 of 1317 720 IL BMW by amber12
Jan 14, 2004 (12:25 pm)
I am trying to find out some information about this model BMW. Looking for comments on years made - supposed to be a 1989 model but I cannot locate - think it was earlier. It is a 4 dr. V-8. I have driven a MBenz for quite a few years but considering a change#999 of 1317 some answers by f1buick
Jan 15, 2004 (12:19 pm)
regarding tire rotation, BMW does not recommend tire rotation on any of its cars, as far as I know. I'm not sure why.Tire mfg's, on the other hand, generally insist on tire rotation if you want to maintain the mileage warranty.
Regarding a "720iL" V8, there is not and never has been such a car. The last two digits indictate the engine's liter displacement, i.e., a 745 has a 4.5 liter engine. A 720 would have a 2.0 liter engine. The only 2.0 liter BMW engine is a 4 cylinder.
Back in the early 80's you could get a 720 in Europe--a full sized sedan with the tiny 2.0 liter 4 cylinder engine. Never made it to the US for obvious reasons.
Only 1989 7 series models were the 735 six cyl and the 750 v12.
warning: the 1993-1995 740 V8 had a "nikasil" engine which was defective. Avoid this car unless the engine has been replace with an "alusil" engine. don't trust the dealer to properly inform you on this issue.
#1000 of 1317 Thanks for the warning, f1 by nvbanker
Jan 15, 2004 (2:18 pm)
"warning: the 1993-1995 740 V8 had a "nikasil" engine which was defective. Avoid this car unless the engine has been replace with an "alusil" engine. don't trust the dealer to properly inform you on this issue."Wow.....that's reassuring! I thought this kind of stuff only happened to Oldsmobile,,,
#1001 of 1317 by f1buick
Jan 15, 2004 (6:33 pm)
In an earlier post someone said BMW sweeps the big problems under the rug. Nikasil was one of them. Eventually, BMW was forced to extend the warranty to 6yrs/100,000 miles, but that warranty now is gone and a lot of engines never were fixed.The problem is that the cylinder walls corroded in the presence of high-sulpher US fuels. Lots of used car dealers out there are selling nikasil V8 740's, asking top dollar and not even aware of the problem.
1995-98 Jag V8 has the same problem, but apparently to much less of a degree.
#1003 of 1317 opps by f1buick
Jan 16, 2004 (10:50 am)
you may be correct. 1995 was clearly wrong on my part. can't recall if the v8 came out in 98 or 97, so now I'm mixed up on whether the 99 v8 is nikasil. a jag expert would know more. I'm sure the 1998 has the problem because one of my friends has a 98 XK8. apparently the plastic guides for the timing chain also are suspect on the early v8's (his literally blew apart a couple months ago, but fortunately there was no collateral valvetrain damage).#1004 of 1317 by nvbanker
Jan 17, 2004 (12:35 pm)
Well, ok then, I will definitely steer clear of the 98 either way. Thanks.To POST a message, please
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