My BMW E65 745i

[E65Ross]

Picked up about a month ago and still settling in after sorting a few niggles.

Spec is relatively straight forward 7 series stuff (sat nav, dual zone air con, nav, cruise, hands free phone, heated seats etc as well as a few other bits like sun roof, electric automatic boot open/close etc)

Few niggles to start with were warped front discs causing juddering under heavy braking; slight vibration when going at 65mph steady due to slight buckle in a wheel (swapped for spare....getting all wheel refurbished soon); slight thud from the gearbox on kickdown (guibo unit/transmission flex disc/doughnut) but nothing major.

The car runs sweet as a nut and whilst it's not going to set the world alight it's not exactly a slouch. It's a magnificent motorway car, absolutely epic. It's been remapped for a sharper throttle and a little more power (i feel it's there, but not much but definitely there) and also the 155mph limiter removed and gearbox software updated etc etc.

anyway...pics

Silver nor the most flattering colours, especially on a cloudy day!











And what I'm in love with.....

[Court_S]

That looks like a great place to sit and cover a load of distance at naughty speeds.

What do the two silver buttons at the top of the steering wheel do?

[E65Ross]

Court_S said:

That looks like a great place to sit and cover a load of distance at naughty speeds.

What do the two silver buttons at the top of the steering wheel do?

It's a really nice place to be, the illumination at night is spot on, and it's so, so quiet even at, erm, naughty speeds. Even doing 130+ it's just so well refined and effortless.

Those buttons are for manual gear changes, there are also a couple on each side on the rear of the wheel as well.

[Court_S]

I can imagine. My uncle had one of the last E38 735's and that always felt quicker than it had any right to. You cold also hustle it pretty well for a big car.

Given how cars only get better, I can imagine that this is even more effective.

[E65Ross]

Court_S said:

I can imagine. My uncle had one of the last E38 735's and that always felt quicker than it had any right to. You cold also hustle it pretty well for a big car.

Given how cars only get better, I can imagine that this is even more effective.

Well I used to have an E38 728i and the 745i is definitely a little bit quieter, the ride is a bit better and it handles a bit better....it's just, well, a bit better.

A few things I prefer on the E38 though (it was a "sport" model) is the gearbox was a bit smoother (the E65 was the first car to have an electronically controlled gearbox and it's just NOT QUITE as smooth) and I think the steering was better on the E38 as well. But I know the V8 steering on the E38 wasn't the same as the 6 cylinder ones so maybe the E38 steering wasn't any better in V8 models.

That aside I prefer just about everything else on the E65.

[Amirhussain]

I didn't really like the looks of the E65 when they first came out, but just like the E63 6 series, I think they looks quite good now, they're ugly, but in a good way if you know what I mean.

Does look like a nice and comfortable place to cruise in.

[castex]

Lovely car. The only fly in the ointment? The sticker. There, I said it.

[Max M4X WW]

Looks great Ross! I saw the sale of the E38 on the barge thread and this seems like a good progression.

I really want a barge, but have other cars that I can't/won't replace at the moment. I'll get in something big at some point!

I agree about the sticker, I did this on my E39: http://www.fucck.co.uk/photos/540/spec2.jpg

[castex]

Max M4X WW said:

I did this on my E39

Better!

[FlukePlay]

This example looks absolutely spot on. Looks perfect and I hope you get some very happy motoring out of it. May I ask, how much was it, what year and was it a private sale?

[Shnozz]

That looks very much like Whiteley...

Nice car

[Shaw Tarse]

FlukePlay said:

This example looks absolutely spot on. Looks perfect and I hope you get some very happy motoring out of it. May I ask, how much was it, what year and was it a private sale?

I think it was bought from a fellow PHer?

[E65Ross]

I wasn't sure on the sticker myself, it's been duly removed.

FlukePlay said:

This example looks absolutely spot on. Looks perfect and I hope you get some very happy motoring out of it. May I ask, how much was it, what year and was it a private sale?

I paid £5k for it, and it was a private sale.

It's got full BMW service history and was under full warranty until 100k miles (on 105k when I got it) so it never wanted for much. I've already put also 2k on it, largely because of a jaunt to Scotland! I it was pretty much the perfect car for the job!

[E65Ross]

Shaw Tarse said:

I think it was bought from a fellow PHer?

Yup. And I sold old E38 728i to a PHer as well!

[DanielJames]

All that car for 5k? wow

I hate to ask but... fuel consumption?

[E65Ross]

DanielJames said:

All that car for 5k? wow

I hate to ask but... fuel consumption?

Depends how I feel

I'm around 22mpg at the moment. On a steady motorway cruise at 70 it will genuinely see over 30mpg, town driving and cold starts kill it. Driving with a lead foot kill it. Put it this way, driving sensibly on my commute (total 3.5 miles busy town and 12 miles motorway usually busy on the way in quiet on way home) I could get an average of 26mpg maybe a tad more but I don't see the point in owning a V8 and driving like miss daisy!

[DanielJames]

E65Ross said:

Depends how I feel

I'm around 22mpg at the moment. On a steady motorway cruise at 70 it will genuinely see over 30mpg, town driving and cold starts kill it. Driving with a lead foot kill it. Put it this way, driving sensibly on my commute (total 3.5 miles busy town and 12 miles motorway usually busy on the way in quiet on way home) I could get an average of 26mpg maybe a tad more but I don't see the point in owning a V8 and driving like miss daisy!

Better than I thought, I expected it to be in the 'teens!

Seriously tempted now

[Baryonyx]

The 'set of drawers from Ikea' interior in these is probably one of the bravest, boldest moves BMW have made in a long time!

[anomaly]

That is really lovely, I can see the appeal. Visually it is slightly less offensive now than when new.

[E65Ross]

Baryonyx said:

The 'set of drawers from Ikea' interior in these is probably one of the bravest, boldest moves BMW have made in a long time!

And I tell you what, they're bloody useful. They feel quality, and the interior feels much more functional than the highly regarded E38. Aesthetically some may prefer the E38 interior, yet as an owner of both, I'd take the E65 interior every time after living with it and getting used to it.