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BMW 7-Series Maintenance and Repair

831 messages,  Last post on Feb 17, 2013 at 11:00 AM

You are in the BMW 7-Series Forum.

What is this discussion about? BMW 7 Series, Electrical, Engine, Sedan

Messages Page 73 of 84

#716 of 831 Advise on Purchasing Used BMW 740il by irvsteroni

Aug 19, 2009 (6:12 pm)

Lexus dealer in Gwinnett, Georgia is selling 2001 BMW 740il-asking $12,990.00, with 106,000 miles. I test drove it and didn't notice anything irregular (drove just fine), and it looks fantastic. I'm no mechanic however. No maintenance records are available. Tried checking the local dealers with the VIN# and was told the last time was October of 07. Very worrisome-but I love this car! BIG concern about costs-have read many posts, gone to various forums, having many doubts about how much money I'll end up spending on repairs. Spoke with a BMW specialist/mechanic about inspecting the car, and he warned me to expect upwards of $2,500.00 a year for maintenance.
 
Any comments would be appreciated. Really want the car, but don't want to spend $250.00+ a month in added maintenance as I read elsewhere in this forum to expect.

#717 of 831 Re: Advise on Purchasing Used BMW 740il [irvsteroni] by MrShift@Edmunds HOST

Aug 19, 2009 (6:22 pm)

Replying to: irvsteroni (Aug 19, 2009 6:12 pm)
Yes $2500 a year is being realistic. Some years less, some years more. Depends, too, on how much you take on yourself, whether you join bmwcca and get discounts on parts and labor, etc.

#718 of 831 Re: Advise on Purchasing Used BMW 740il [irvsteroni] by DACollins

Aug 19, 2009 (7:23 pm)

Replying to: irvsteroni (Aug 19, 2009 6:12 pm)
First, I think the price is a bit high. The miles are right, but none of the 740s are selling well right now, although I don't understand it myself. I have an 01 740il with 156K. Cannot sell it for 9900. It too is beautiful. You could very well spend 2500/year if you have a shop do all the work. The car(s) are what I call "fussy". If you plan to do some of the routine maintenance, ie, oil changes, brakes, cabin filters, bulbs, etc.yourself, you can save considerably. It's just the detailed repairs or unneccessarily complex repairs at a shop (or bad shop) that can send your repair budget overboard.
Owning one of these has more to do with the passion of the experience than the budget analysis, but do not buy on impulse.
Good Luck, DAC

#719 of 831 Re: Advise on Purchasing Used BMW 740il [DACollins] by MrShift@Edmunds HOST

Aug 20, 2009 (8:10 am)

Replying to: DACollins (Aug 19, 2009 7:23 pm)
Miles are too high, is your obstacle. Once you crack the mythical 100K barrier, it seems to have a psychological effect that really dampens buyers' enthusiasm.

#720 of 831 Re: Advise on Purchasing Used BMW 740il [Mr_Shiftright] by DACollins

Aug 20, 2009 (8:36 am)

Replying to: MrShift@Edmunds (Aug 20, 2009 8:10 am)
Correct you are! Many factors merge to make the 7 series a bit hard to sell. The mythical 100K mark, the aura of a cantankerous, fussy car, high insurance, poor gas mileage are all examples of the myths that make these and most cars hard to sell. Remember when the magical # was 50K?
I'm sure I'll have to get the number closer to $9K to sell it anytime soon.
Good Day y'all!

#721 of 831 Re: Advise on Purchasing Used BMW 740il [DACollins] by MrShift@Edmunds HOST

Aug 20, 2009 (8:51 am)

Replying to: DACollins (Aug 20, 2009 8:36 am)
Well spiff it up, get out all your service records, price it right and it'll sell. Good luck with that!

#722 of 831 Re: Advise on Purchasing Used BMW 740il [Mr_Shiftright] by irvsteroni

Aug 20, 2009 (12:33 pm)

Replying to: MrShift@Edmunds (Aug 20, 2009 8:51 am)
Appreciate all the feedback, and definitely has helped in my decision making. Hard choice to make but I'll pass. As much as I love this car, I'll be wary all the time when the next failure will come given the issues I've read about here and elsewhere. Thanks to all!

#723 of 831 Still Hung Up on it by irvsteroni

Aug 26, 2009 (4:19 pm)

Been checking out other used vehicles (other 740s with lower mileage, Audi's and 5 series BMW's) but I'm still hung up about this 740il I test drove with the high mileage but perfectly kept interior and exterior. I've attached a link to the dealer website-if only maintenance records had been kept! But the guy who owned it must have been immaculate, and you figure someone like that kept the car running well....
 
http://www.lexusgwinnett.com/?http://web.dealer123.com/web/pl/?DIDNM=1225&ww=965- &bgcol=ffffff&newonly=0&scr=1
 
Do you think the dealer might let me take it to a BMW mechanic to have it checked out? Unfortunately I don't know any mechanics to take with me. Any suggestions on how I go about having this car checked out? If it were a BMW dealership I might feel more comfortable purchasing it, but from a Lexus dealer? I don't know....

#724 of 831 Re: Still Hung Up on it [irvsteroni] by airmailmiller

Aug 27, 2009 (6:08 am)

Replying to: irvsteroni (Aug 26, 2009 4:19 pm)
I too, was looking at a 740, The bmw repair shop told me to remember when looking at one of these, this is an 80,000.00 car. If you had to replace all the parts on it, that's what it would cost you. Check the phone book and find a independent bmw shop and tell the dealership you want to have it gone over. If they want to sell the car, they will do this. The price of parts never goes down, just the price of the car.
Look around, these cars are cheap right now.

#725 of 831 Re: Still Hung Up on it [irvsteroni] by toothrawn

Aug 28, 2009 (5:21 am)

Replying to: irvsteroni (Aug 26, 2009 4:19 pm)
The 01 is the ultimate 7 series and worth searching for, but I'd suggest that this dealer's price is a little on the high side. A few weeks ago a local dealer, (who deals in BMW's in a big way), had a 740il with similar mileage at $11K. Didn't have the Sport Package but very tidy, and was gone before I could get there. Keep up your search, or try beating lexusgwinnet down a bit.
For service and repairs I use a small independent mechanic who specializes in Bimmers. You might look for someone like that to look over a possible purchase. Otherwise, don't laugh, try looking on Craigslist - there are sometimes ads from guys familiar with BMW's, who will do a basic check and read the computer for error codes etc. Not a guaranteed health check but better than nothing, and you get what you pay for etc etc.
Good luck in your search - it's a great car and worth spending time looking for the right one. At the prices we're talking about, you get a lot of the car for the money.

Messages Page 73 of 84

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