The search for a BMW E66 Barge Borker
Discussion
I sold my Jag XJR X350 a couple years ago and have had some epic bangers since then.
A 2004 £300 Megane with classic Renault electrics and a £800 2006 Mazda 5 MPV, with 275k on the clock.
Both bangers went surprisingly well and took a little over a years’ worth of abuse each.
But I became bored of cloth seats and a lack of cruise control. So I found myself looking at a cheap E65 / E66. I found one, a non-runner. It had gone in to auction running, was purchased by a garage and subsequently stopped working. Sold as spares or repair.
£1500 later and it was mine… I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the car, but after a few days of messing around I figured it was the timing on the engine. The chain must have jumped a tooth.
Got it to a BMW specialist to find the engine had eaten its self, and once inside was just a collection of metal shavings.
I sold it to the garage for the price of them looking at it and walked away.
Another couple of weeks of Mazda MPV misery and I found another one in London. This time it was a runner, and advertised surprisingly cheap at £4,500. It was also in the right colour. Grey, and the best spec imaginable. Massaging seats, TV, DVD, Double glassing, 2 fridges, rear blinds, electric rear seats, hydraulic doors, radar cruise control … the list goes on! And this one only had 120k on the clock.
I rocked up on a freezing cold day in London, in February. To see a rather battered, dented, scrapped E66 with condensation running down the double glassed windows.
The guy came out to greet me, smiling whilst leaning up against his brand new 5 series he through the keys at me. The car, just about coughed in to life.
Inside was soaking wet, the carpets were wet and the rear had what was left of the guys Christmas tree in it and that great big list of electrics above… None of them worked.
At this point I must have been suffering from some form of delirium, after a successful test drive. The engine and gearbox checked out ok and I parted with £2k worth of cash. I just admit I didn’t really want the car unless it was really cheap, so made an offer to reflect this. Unfortunately he took it!
The car drove ok on the way home, and in my head I was making a list of all the things I needed to do to it whilst kicking myself for getting it in the first place. And then the flat tyre warning light came on… And then I noticed it smoking when I set off from the lights.
Great.
A 2004 £300 Megane with classic Renault electrics and a £800 2006 Mazda 5 MPV, with 275k on the clock.
Both bangers went surprisingly well and took a little over a years’ worth of abuse each.
But I became bored of cloth seats and a lack of cruise control. So I found myself looking at a cheap E65 / E66. I found one, a non-runner. It had gone in to auction running, was purchased by a garage and subsequently stopped working. Sold as spares or repair.
£1500 later and it was mine… I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the car, but after a few days of messing around I figured it was the timing on the engine. The chain must have jumped a tooth.
Got it to a BMW specialist to find the engine had eaten its self, and once inside was just a collection of metal shavings.
I sold it to the garage for the price of them looking at it and walked away.
Another couple of weeks of Mazda MPV misery and I found another one in London. This time it was a runner, and advertised surprisingly cheap at £4,500. It was also in the right colour. Grey, and the best spec imaginable. Massaging seats, TV, DVD, Double glassing, 2 fridges, rear blinds, electric rear seats, hydraulic doors, radar cruise control … the list goes on! And this one only had 120k on the clock.
I rocked up on a freezing cold day in London, in February. To see a rather battered, dented, scrapped E66 with condensation running down the double glassed windows.
The guy came out to greet me, smiling whilst leaning up against his brand new 5 series he through the keys at me. The car, just about coughed in to life.
Inside was soaking wet, the carpets were wet and the rear had what was left of the guys Christmas tree in it and that great big list of electrics above… None of them worked.
At this point I must have been suffering from some form of delirium, after a successful test drive. The engine and gearbox checked out ok and I parted with £2k worth of cash. I just admit I didn’t really want the car unless it was really cheap, so made an offer to reflect this. Unfortunately he took it!
The car drove ok on the way home, and in my head I was making a list of all the things I needed to do to it whilst kicking myself for getting it in the first place. And then the flat tyre warning light came on… And then I noticed it smoking when I set off from the lights.
Great.
At this point I should point out that the car came with a private plate. A HPI check reviled that the plate was put on when it came out of the factory as something the original owner specified (2 owners by the way). A quick online valuation suggested that the plate was worth about as much as I paid for the car, it’s a good plate and incidentally has my initials in it. So will probably keep after this car is long gone.
It is also probably worth nothing that the HPI check revealed the cars original cost. £113,000. Nearly £1 a mile in depreciation in 10 years.
Once the car was on my drive I set about draining the rear foot wells. Plenty of space back there!
And then drying out the car.
The issue was the typical draining holes under the bonnet filling up with tree crap. Cleared this out and flushed it through.
Next up were the electrics, or the lack of…
Tore up the boot, dried it out… and ended up replacing the logic 7 amp. My first big expense at £700!
It is worth it though, the sound from it is great!
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Whilst the amp was now working, a lot of things were not. The battery kept going flat way too quickly. It was a 6 month old Bosh 95 amp hour beast. Put my back out lifting it from the boot!
A little research suggested that because it was a lead acid battery, it was no good. Further searching told me that if you replace the battery in the car you also need to tell the car about it, so it won’t over / under charge it and fubar the electrics and your new battery.
I decided to leave the battery out of the car whilst I was waiting for the new one to arrive. A 95AH glass fibre battery (AGM), that made my eyes water at nearly £200.
It arrived, I opened the boot to install it and found a small swimming pool in the foot well. Drat!
Hoovered up the water and dried it all out. Then got my missus to lock me in the boot and hose down the rear of the car.
Mistake number 1…
Don’t let your missus lock you in the boot of a car.
Mistake number 2…
If you don’t have the battery connected, make sure she knows how to unlock it.
Mistake number 3…
Don’t have the keys in your pocket.
I found the leek, and was starting to get wet. Luckily I had my phone on me so was able to guide my fair maiden in to the house to find the spare key, separate the actual key bit from the fob and then find the hidden key slot for the boot.
My frustration at her key finding and boot unlocking ability was instantly dissolved by daylight and fresh air. freedom!
A finger full of clear bathroom sealant round the inside of the boot seal and all was well. I then installed the battery and the car electrics jumped back in to life… Surprisingly, almost all of them too.
I found the “Reset battery” option in the INPA. (Yes, you really do need a laptop, separate software, special cables and the ability to read German to put a new battery in this car) And reset it.
Now the only electrics not working was the passenger seat.
A new module was ordered from eBay, plugged in and that was fixed too.
Next up, the greasy bits.
It is also probably worth nothing that the HPI check revealed the cars original cost. £113,000. Nearly £1 a mile in depreciation in 10 years.
Once the car was on my drive I set about draining the rear foot wells. Plenty of space back there!
And then drying out the car.
The issue was the typical draining holes under the bonnet filling up with tree crap. Cleared this out and flushed it through.
Next up were the electrics, or the lack of…
Tore up the boot, dried it out… and ended up replacing the logic 7 amp. My first big expense at £700!
It is worth it though, the sound from it is great!
Whilst the amp was now working, a lot of things were not. The battery kept going flat way too quickly. It was a 6 month old Bosh 95 amp hour beast. Put my back out lifting it from the boot!
A little research suggested that because it was a lead acid battery, it was no good. Further searching told me that if you replace the battery in the car you also need to tell the car about it, so it won’t over / under charge it and fubar the electrics and your new battery.
I decided to leave the battery out of the car whilst I was waiting for the new one to arrive. A 95AH glass fibre battery (AGM), that made my eyes water at nearly £200.
It arrived, I opened the boot to install it and found a small swimming pool in the foot well. Drat!
Hoovered up the water and dried it all out. Then got my missus to lock me in the boot and hose down the rear of the car.
Mistake number 1…
Don’t let your missus lock you in the boot of a car.
Mistake number 2…
If you don’t have the battery connected, make sure she knows how to unlock it.
Mistake number 3…
Don’t have the keys in your pocket.
I found the leek, and was starting to get wet. Luckily I had my phone on me so was able to guide my fair maiden in to the house to find the spare key, separate the actual key bit from the fob and then find the hidden key slot for the boot.
My frustration at her key finding and boot unlocking ability was instantly dissolved by daylight and fresh air. freedom!
A finger full of clear bathroom sealant round the inside of the boot seal and all was well. I then installed the battery and the car electrics jumped back in to life… Surprisingly, almost all of them too.
I found the “Reset battery” option in the INPA. (Yes, you really do need a laptop, separate software, special cables and the ability to read German to put a new battery in this car) And reset it.
Now the only electrics not working was the passenger seat.
A new module was ordered from eBay, plugged in and that was fixed too.
Next up, the greasy bits.
stewies_minion said:
You're a brave man.
I'd be terrified to tear one of these apart.
Do keep going. I'm vicariously increasing my car knowledge through you. Post lots of pics please.
100% agree, I look at these on eBay from time to time and think it is a stupid amount of car for the money. This is actually convincing me that I should get one!I'd be terrified to tear one of these apart.
Do keep going. I'm vicariously increasing my car knowledge through you. Post lots of pics please.
The car is a little over complex. Every module on the car is connected to the next with a fibre optic bus. you need to be a little careful with these.
Quick update for now....
Once the electrics were working and the car was drivable, i went out for MY first drive in the car.
Up until this point i had only driven the car up and down a 20mph road in London. the guy selling was a little nervous.
My Dad drove the car back from London to Reading. And it had sat on my drive since.
I went out for my first drive of about 50 miles... and this was the result.
Quick update for now....
Once the electrics were working and the car was drivable, i went out for MY first drive in the car.
Up until this point i had only driven the car up and down a 20mph road in London. the guy selling was a little nervous.
My Dad drove the car back from London to Reading. And it had sat on my drive since.
I went out for my first drive of about 50 miles... and this was the result.
Prizam said:
I found the “Reset battery” option in the INPA. (Yes, you really do need a laptop, separate software, special cables and the ability to read German to put a new battery in this car) And reset it.
Could you tell me what cable and version of ediabas/inpa you are using. I had a full setup that worked on my old E39 - which I've updated and it see's parts of the car, but not all of it (E65 750) - I have a feeling I need a new OBD cable with can bus?Don't worry about fuel consumption - my 750 is averaging 26mpg, drops to low 20's on A roads and high 20's on motorway - far more economical than my old E39 540.
Sub 20's is cold starts and short journeys - which really don't suit a big v8.
Ones like this usually go for 5-6k. this one was in a bit of a state so got it for the price of the number plate.
That said, it is also the highest spec 745li I have seen. only trumped by a 760li that was completely shagged with 200k on it and went for 6k.
The E65 / E66 was also tormented by electrical problems in the first batch of launch cars. The fibre optics went wrong and the I drive crapped out meaning early owners cars spent a hell of a lot of time in the garage. BMW screwed their own reputation by offering some pretty shoddy customer service around these issues and not extending warranties.
By 2005 they had sorted the issues, and reliability was reasonable. but the reputation was damaged. 2nd hand owners have the fear put in to them by very expensive consumables. Large fuel bills and internet tales of ruinous faults.
Even today on this car a replacement Xenon headlight will see you £250. Used. The flow me home intelligent headlights that my car has will see you well over £500 a headlight. IF you can find them. (2x on ebay right now £1312 and £2420, both look well used)
That said, it is also the highest spec 745li I have seen. only trumped by a 760li that was completely shagged with 200k on it and went for 6k.
The E65 / E66 was also tormented by electrical problems in the first batch of launch cars. The fibre optics went wrong and the I drive crapped out meaning early owners cars spent a hell of a lot of time in the garage. BMW screwed their own reputation by offering some pretty shoddy customer service around these issues and not extending warranties.
By 2005 they had sorted the issues, and reliability was reasonable. but the reputation was damaged. 2nd hand owners have the fear put in to them by very expensive consumables. Large fuel bills and internet tales of ruinous faults.
Even today on this car a replacement Xenon headlight will see you £250. Used. The flow me home intelligent headlights that my car has will see you well over £500 a headlight. IF you can find them. (2x on ebay right now £1312 and £2420, both look well used)
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