My Bavarian barge - long term report
Discussion
Well, two years on another update chaps. Is she still with me?
YES!
As you can where there was a dusty hole in the ground there is now a house, and the Bavarian barge lives on!
She hasn't been totally faithful - at 110k miles she did this:
And she spent 6 weeks at the local BMW specialist whilst a new transmission was sourced. Turned out then to be the torque converter which meant another swap. But she came home in the end and I was delighted to have her back, especially as I'd rented one of these to run around in, which then promptly got a flat tyre! The bill was about £1200 in the end. She had a couple of replacement PDC sensors which seem to be a weak spot.
I have to be honest and say that last year was the closest she got to going the journey. She looked tired, she was covered in s
t from the house build and us living in a static caravan on a muddy farm. She needed new tyres, her paintwork was showing the scars of 10 years and 110k miles and her alloys were corroding. But after the gearbox issue, I decided that I'd thrown £1200 at an old car and might as well get my money's worth. No point fixing up her up just to punt on. So 'operation refresh' was launched:
- four new P Zeros and a good condition part worn for the spare (it had been used, so my OCD kicked in)
- full paint detail
- interior leather steam clean
- alloy refurb
- new front discs, four new pads, oil, filters and replacement OEM carpet mats all round to replace the tatty 2005 originals
It took a few weeks to do it all but the result was wonderful!
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/GNptXtmS.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/zdCj1LgY" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/zdCj1LgY.jpg)
All in all I'm still incredibly happy with the car. I've had her since she was just 23 months old and at the time it was the most money I'd ever spent on a car. However had you said I'd still be driving around in her and still enjoying getting behind the wheel 8 years later I'd have laughed in your face.
The thing you realise with these lovely old barges is just how much money you'd need to spend to get something better. I've looked at a few F01 730/40ds when they come up for sale around here, but one with sensible miles and a few toys that is appreciably younger than mine will set me back the thick end of £20k. That's getting on for 5 times the value of my car. Yes it's a more modern car with better performance, better economy and undoubtedly BMW build them well enough to rely on a 50k mile example to perform daily driver duties up to 150k and beyond without any problems but I just can't find a way to justify it. And trust me I've tried. It's like throwing out your Miele vacuum cleaner because it's 10 years old. You just wouldn't.
Here's to another 2 years, gents!
YES!
As you can where there was a dusty hole in the ground there is now a house, and the Bavarian barge lives on!
She hasn't been totally faithful - at 110k miles she did this:
And she spent 6 weeks at the local BMW specialist whilst a new transmission was sourced. Turned out then to be the torque converter which meant another swap. But she came home in the end and I was delighted to have her back, especially as I'd rented one of these to run around in, which then promptly got a flat tyre! The bill was about £1200 in the end. She had a couple of replacement PDC sensors which seem to be a weak spot.
I have to be honest and say that last year was the closest she got to going the journey. She looked tired, she was covered in s
t from the house build and us living in a static caravan on a muddy farm. She needed new tyres, her paintwork was showing the scars of 10 years and 110k miles and her alloys were corroding. But after the gearbox issue, I decided that I'd thrown £1200 at an old car and might as well get my money's worth. No point fixing up her up just to punt on. So 'operation refresh' was launched:- four new P Zeros and a good condition part worn for the spare (it had been used, so my OCD kicked in)
- full paint detail
- interior leather steam clean
- alloy refurb
- new front discs, four new pads, oil, filters and replacement OEM carpet mats all round to replace the tatty 2005 originals
It took a few weeks to do it all but the result was wonderful!
All in all I'm still incredibly happy with the car. I've had her since she was just 23 months old and at the time it was the most money I'd ever spent on a car. However had you said I'd still be driving around in her and still enjoying getting behind the wheel 8 years later I'd have laughed in your face.
The thing you realise with these lovely old barges is just how much money you'd need to spend to get something better. I've looked at a few F01 730/40ds when they come up for sale around here, but one with sensible miles and a few toys that is appreciably younger than mine will set me back the thick end of £20k. That's getting on for 5 times the value of my car. Yes it's a more modern car with better performance, better economy and undoubtedly BMW build them well enough to rely on a 50k mile example to perform daily driver duties up to 150k and beyond without any problems but I just can't find a way to justify it. And trust me I've tried. It's like throwing out your Miele vacuum cleaner because it's 10 years old. You just wouldn't.
Here's to another 2 years, gents!
Great story. I like them a lot. I started a new job a year ago and came out of 10 years of company cars onto a decent car allowance. These were high on the radar along with A8 and Pheaton but Ingot put off by horror stories. Meybe next time I won't listen.
Where are you and which specialist do you use? Any recommendations Warwickshire way?
Enjoy
Where are you and which specialist do you use? Any recommendations Warwickshire way?
Enjoy
J B L said:
Great story. I like them a lot. I started a new job a year ago and came out of 10 years of company cars onto a decent car allowance. These were high on the radar along with A8 and Pheaton but Ingot put off by horror stories. Meybe next time I won't listen.
Where are you and which specialist do you use? Any recommendations Warwickshire way?
Enjoy
You could be unlucky I guess and the net is littered with stories of gremlins in early gen E65s but they're all long sorted now. You can see how well put together these cars are when you hammer them with miles and the passing years. And hell what's the worst that can happen? A mate of mine pays £300 a month for a crappy 320d. In 10 years the biggest bill this has thrown me is £1200 for the gearbox. Or 12 weeks rental of a 320d...Where are you and which specialist do you use? Any recommendations Warwickshire way?
Enjoy
Well chaps, thought I'd bring this thread to a close as after 9 years and 146,000 miles of faithful service, the Bavarian barge has left the building.
It was seriously the best car I've ever had and I'd have no hesitation in recommending BMW barging to anyone, as long as you can find a decent indie. In the last year alone is been a faithful daily driver and has notched up 20k miles. Not bad for a car that's more than a decade old. Special tribute should go to Dean from DW Motorworks here in the North East for keeping it tip top and having an almost cerebral ability to diagnose problems from six feet away.
Costs have all been routine stuff, apart from the previously mentioned torque converter and starter motor, along with the odd PDC sensor and a perished coolant hose. Parts aren't expensive and the originals seem to last well. The factory rear discs were good for 100k miles.
The new owner is a PHer and is having an oil leak looked at and the swirl flaps done, along with the leather re-dyeing on the front seats and the centre console as my elbow wore it off over 146k miles!
There was only one way to go with the replacement..........
It was seriously the best car I've ever had and I'd have no hesitation in recommending BMW barging to anyone, as long as you can find a decent indie. In the last year alone is been a faithful daily driver and has notched up 20k miles. Not bad for a car that's more than a decade old. Special tribute should go to Dean from DW Motorworks here in the North East for keeping it tip top and having an almost cerebral ability to diagnose problems from six feet away.
Costs have all been routine stuff, apart from the previously mentioned torque converter and starter motor, along with the odd PDC sensor and a perished coolant hose. Parts aren't expensive and the originals seem to last well. The factory rear discs were good for 100k miles.
The new owner is a PHer and is having an oil leak looked at and the swirl flaps done, along with the leather re-dyeing on the front seats and the centre console as my elbow wore it off over 146k miles!
There was only one way to go with the replacement..........
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