Leggy E65 730d. Ruinous?

[Davie_GLA]

I'm moments away from pushing the button on a 7 series with just north of 110k on it. It has full service history, mostly from BMW and looks immaculate.

Can anyone offer words of encouragement with maybe some advice on potential pit falls?

[Davie_GLA]

Crombers said:

I have an 06 E65 B7 as a play thing with just over 120k on the clock and it's the most reliable, solid and confidence inspiring BMW I've had the pleasure to own. It puts the F10 550 I bought at a fresh 19k to shame

The E65 wasn't built on the cheap so provided there's plenty of history suggesting it has been well looked after then I'm sure it will do you proud.

I guess all the typical caveats of high mileage diesel power units apply though.

Hmm. I guess mine will be more than a play thing, I will use it daily. I'd be putting anything up to 20k on it and hope to keep it for 3 years.

[Davie_GLA]

pointedstarman said:

Age, mileage and (if you don't mind spilling the beans) how much?

As a general observation however they're great cars and so much better that 5's / A6's / E Class et al IMHO. You can see where the extra money went when building these things and it translates into a very nice place to be. People may comment that it's not the most nimble but I suspect it'd keep up a 530d round the twisty bits but in the end that's not what it's bought for. Just do the usual checks.

2006, 116k, and under £10k.

I'm hopeful anything horrific has happened already and that the big bills are minimal but i have a wee voice in my head that's shouting 'gearbox!'. I had an E60 525d and it was brilliant, the straight 6 really is sublime.

[Davie_GLA]

pointedstarman said:

The changes should be very smooth on the box including kickdown. If not there may be a problem. If there's no indication of gearbox oil change then it's apparently worth doing post 70-80k. Does your car have the upgraded (full) bluetooth that was a change around 2006 (earlier cars had a phone in the drawer in the dash that required its own SIM card, if not and it's really important to you it may be worth waiting). These cars also had many nice bits of tech as standard and the only item I would miss from mine that's not standard to the base car is the heated seats. One other thing I'd check is the status of the DPF as shown on the OBC - they're supposed to last circa 120k so, given its north of £1k to fix, it's worth checking.

That's very useful. Thank you.

No mention of upgraded bluetooth but it does have bluetooth.

[Davie_GLA]

pointedstarman said:

It's not so much of an upgrade rather a change in the functionality, older cars have a built in phone that needs it's own SIM (an therefore a dedicated number) but newer cars have full bluetooth. The change took place in 2006 hence my vagueness and wasn't done at the same time and the 2005 facelift which seems odd to me given 2005 3 / 5 series have the more modern system so it was available.

So if it has the old system i couldn't pair my phone with it?

[Davie_GLA]

pointedstarman said:

Don't believe so, no.

Sorry, did you mean to quote me?

[Davie_GLA]

What about real world MPG?

I do a mixture of town and motorway probably about a 30/10 split respectively. Would i see anywhere near the quoted 34mpg?

D.

[Davie_GLA]

pointedstarman said:

I do a lot (5 or 6 times a week) of short journeys taking the kids to nursery / going to the shops etc - about 4 or 5 miles round trip so the engine doesn't get properly warmed up. On weekends we often go out for the day so it gets a run of, say, 50 miles or so and we occasionally go a decent distance on motorways etc. I average about 30 mainly knocking about and can easily get late 30's on a run. I've had it over 45 mpg going on hols at a steady 75mph. This said I'm having the thermostats done (under warranty ) as I'm not convinced they're working properly as the car takes an age to warm up and the hidden menu indicates circa 75C as its normal running temp which is on the low side.

What you get will depend on driving style - I'm not a slow driver but neither do I want to overtake everything in sight.

MPG isn't noticeably different from the 530d's and 330d's I've had.

Thanks. I think it's a done deal. Deposit paid and pending insurance stuff etc. i'll get a readers car thread up.

The wife is DEAD CHUFFED at £300 a year tax. Honest.

So, Man of Pointed Stars. What do i need to know about the car?

I had an E60 525d a while back and used the hidden menu to diagnose dodgy thermostats in that and i got a small increase in MPG's. What's the normal operating temp? It's about 85deg c if i remember rightly?

D.

[Davie_GLA]

Heh. i used that site and smiled at this:

Chassis: Limousine

Being LWB it's massive. Think i'll go into the wedding car business!

Other optional stuff:
Code Optional Equipment
S1CAA Selection of COP relevant vehicles
S2EAA BMW LA wheel Y-spoke 149
S302A Alarm system
S320A Deleted, model lettering
S323A Soft-Close-Automatic doors
S423A Floor mats, velours
S428A Warning triangle and first aid kit
S431A Interior mirror with automatic-dip
S438A Fine wood trim
S441A Smoker package
S442A Cup holder
S459A Seat adjuster, electric, with memory
S466A Roof mouldings in body colour
S508A Park Distance Control (PDC)
S534A Automatic air conditioning
S601A TV function
S603A Fondbildschirm - Rear Screen According to google
S609A Navigation system Professional
S612A BMW Assist
S620A Voice control
S633A Preparation, mobile phone, Business
S672A CD changer for 6 CDs
S696A DVD changer
S698A Area-Code 2 for DVD
S760A High gloss shadow line
S761A Individual sunshade glazing
L812A NATIONAL VERSION GREAT BRITAIN
S850A Additional Export tank filling
S863A Retailer Directory Europe
S877A Delete cross-pattern operation
S880A On-board vehicle literature English
S8SAA Navigation access request,country-spec.
S8SMA Car ident. number visible from outside
S8SPA Control unit COP
S9AAA Outer skin protection

HPI said £6500 of optional extras but i guess that's not difficult on these cars.

[Davie_GLA]

pointedstarman said:

I was also amused by the stuff that's standard on the 7 but an option on the 5's I'd been used to such as high beam assist, pro nav, elec memory seats, dimming door mirrors etc.

You've got a few toys to play with there though so enjoy!

I'm not sure however if the tv function is digital in the 2006 model so it may not work without an upgrade to a digital tuner if that's important to you?

I'm not precious about it butI tested it today and it works. Reception is a bit dodgy mind you in deepest darkest Glasgow but i'll survive.

The car is listed as having bluetooth and it doesn't have the phone in the drawer. It does however have the wee key pad which does nothing when i press the buttons but displays 'phone not connected' on the screen. I should have checked this out more though as i do need bluetooth.

Looking forward to getting this now. Not sure it will fit on the drive.

[Davie_GLA]

Well, i bought it!

What a car so far. Seems to move particularly well for a car of it's size.

Will take some getting used to, especially parking the thing!!!

Will do a readers thread at some point.

[Davie_GLA]

pointedstarman said:

Any update on how you're getting on with the new beast?

Hello. Currently in a mall in Florida awaiting the wife so nothing else to do...

It's been good so far, there was a shimmy that I thought was discs so replaced them, but it turns out its the front control arm bushes that I'll sort when I get back.

I replaced both stats too as it was and still is a little cool so not sure how to fix that.


It for us to Manchester though with no ideate and returned about 34 mpg.

[Davie_GLA]

hamish88 said:

Davie did you regret getting the 730d ?
I'm also mulling over one that a Glasgow dealer is selling its sitting at 86k miles but my mind is full of broken turbos,lunched gearboxes and clogged dpf's ,broken swirl flaps but thinking what the hell life's too short.
There's loads out there with well over 100k and it's still going so what condition is yours in at just over that mileage

Hi Hamish. No regrets whatsoever.

mine has 120k on it now and apart from this suspension arm issue (which will be fixed on saturday) it feels like a 50k car. There is of course the odd rattle here and there but nothing an afternoon with some tools won't sort.

The car pulls like a train, rides effortlessly and for a car of it's size is surprisingly nimble. it does have the self leveling air suspension which is a bit of a worry but if i worried about all the potential problems i'd never drive it.

It is a little more thirsty that i'd hoped and annoyingly i'm about to start doing more miles so i might have to move it on but it really is a LOT of car for the money.

Being long wheel base it can be a bit of a beast to park and get round multi story car parks mind you.

I'm in Glasgow, more than welcome to come have a look at mine and take it for a spin to help your decision making.

D.

[Davie_GLA]

hamish88 said:

Thanks for the offer . I'm actually going to see one at a dealers beside Hampden park
Hope it's a good un as there's not that much of a choice up here in Scotland

Good luck. get it out and make sure it breaks straight and true, and that kick down is good.

Also, if you can get the hidden mune up and make sure it gets to high 80 / low 90 degree coolant temp. If not you'll probably need to budget or haggle for the cost of 2 thermostats.

What's the advert? I'll have a look and target some stuff to look for if you like. They eat through bushes and brakes can be short lived with the weight of them.

If you have the chassis number you can also get the list of equipment it came from from the factory, dealers don't always have the full picture. Get the ref number from the v5 too and do a mileage check. A lot of them are used for exec taxis and wedding cars and it isn't common for them to be corrected between MOT's

If you know all of this of course then apologies.

i'm around 20 mins from hampden if you need a nosey.

[Davie_GLA]

That looks decent if a little short on spec.

Can you increase your budget at all?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

I got a great spec on mine at the expense of higher mileage but the resale on this would be stronger.

[Davie_GLA]

That's a shame.

What were the things that put you off?