Buying advice. 7 series.

[XB70]

To a large extent, yes. Personally, I would look under the bonnet and nod knowingly at the engine and grunt and rub chin and look for obvious crash damage and try all the switches but for things like (in the case of the 7), coolant issues, suspension links and mechanical bits and pieces, I would not have the foggiest and rely on the actual service history to show what was done. That said, there is a dramatic difference with the adaptive suspension when it is activated so that is one area that driving it will give you a feel for what it is like.

If you want a comparison, you can come have a look at mine (I know you want a newer one in the series) and see what a properly maintained one is capable of (I am near Baker Street) which may be useful benchmark in your hunt

[richyb]

After a month or so of research and hunting here it is.......




Found a really nice 740il at a good price with very complete SH and I must say I am well chuffed. Touch wood it will give me an happy hours motoring. Thanks again guys.

Edited by richyb on Monday 29th September 17:28

[monthefish]

Very nice

[richyb]

monthefish said:

Very nice

Thanks mate, I must save that little smiley face looks pretty similar to the grin I've got right now.

[sparks87]

richyb said:

After a month or so of research and hunting here it is.......




Found a really nice 740il at a good price with very complete SH and I must say I am well chuffed. Touch wood it will give me an happy hours motoring. Thanks again guys.

Edited by richyb on Monday 29th September 17:28

Beautiful car, congratulations

I want to be brave enough to buy a V8 540 over the 528 but I don't think I can stomach the fuel costs, even though I only do 5000 miles per year or there abouts. Maybe one day

Edited by sparks87 on Monday 29th September 17:52

[Blues]

richyb said:

After a month or so of research and hunting here it is.......




Found a really nice 740il at a good price with very complete SH and I must say I am well chuffed. Touch wood it will give me an happy hours motoring. Thanks again guys.

Well done chap, that looks a lovely example

Edited by Blues on Monday 29th September 18:53

[richyb]

sparks87 said:

Beautiful car, congratulations

I want to be brave enough to buy a V8 540 over the 528 but I don't think I can stomach the fuel costs, even though I only do 5000 miles per year or there abouts. Maybe one day

Thanks. I only do a few thousand miles a year as well so wasn't too worried about mpg although it cost £91 to fill it today and after a bit of 'first time in a V8' driving it returned 11.8mpg! Ouch.

[papercup]

richyb said:

sparks87 said:

Beautiful car, congratulations

I want to be brave enough to buy a V8 540 over the 528 but I don't think I can stomach the fuel costs, even though I only do 5000 miles per year or there abouts. Maybe one day

Thanks. I only do a few thousand miles a year as well so wasn't too worried about mpg although it cost £91 to fill it today and after a bit of 'first time in a V8' driving it returned 11.8mpg! Ouch.

Ouch indeed. My E39 540 has averaged 21 since i got it and seems to do about 17 around town, definitely no more than 18. Consistent 25 on a run, with cruise set to 90. Seen higher at 80 mph but i don't drive at 80 so who cares? I'd be interested how much worse yours is...same motor innit? The 4.4?

Nice car though....from my 540 the only way is up...to a 750

Andy

[lost in espace]

Are you going to keep the Beemer service history going, do it yourself or go indi?

[richyb]

lost in espace said:

Are you going to keep the Beemer service history going, do it yourself or go indi?

I have always done my own servicing so I am keen to keep on at it but I think I will probably do the intermediate stuff and go to a good indy for the scheduled stuff. I couldn't stomach BMW main dealer prices. I like to change the oil and filter every 3k so will do that myself and will probably do pads all road in the not too distant future. Probably change the microfilters in the next few weeks as they are a piece of piss and they haven't been done for a while. Its still showing 3 bars till the next service and at the amount of mileage I do (around 3-5k a year) that will be six months atleast I'd say. Anyone who knows a good BMW indie in West London give me a shout. Ealing/Hounslow area would be ideal.

• The oil change* I know it takes 7.5 litres of 0w-30 but does anyone have any recommendations for a good oil and importantly a good price for it. Castrol Edge springs to mind but its fairly pricey from what I remember.

[papercup]

richyb said:

lost in espace said:

Are you going to keep the Beemer service history going, do it yourself or go indi?

I have always done my own servicing so I am keen to keep on at it but I think I will probably do the intermediate stuff and go to a good indy for the scheduled stuff. I couldn't stomach BMW main dealer prices. I like to change the oil and filter every 3k so will do that myself and will probably do pads all road in the not too distant future. Probably change the microfilters in the next few weeks as they are a piece of piss and they haven't been done for a while. Its still showing 3 bars till the next service and at the amount of mileage I do (around 3-5k a year) that will be six months atleast I'd say. Anyone who knows a good BMW indie in West London give me a shout. Ealing/Hounslow area would be ideal.

• The oil change* I know it takes 7.5 litres of 0w-30 but does anyone have any recommendations for a good oil and importantly a good price for it. Castrol Edge springs to mind but its fairly pricey from what I remember.

servicing is amount of bars left, or a year, whichever is sooner, i believe?

A

[richyb]

papercup said:

richyb said:

lost in espace said:

Are you going to keep the Beemer service history going, do it yourself or go indi?

I have always done my own servicing so I am keen to keep on at it but I think I will probably do the intermediate stuff and go to a good indy for the scheduled stuff. I couldn't stomach BMW main dealer prices. I like to change the oil and filter every 3k so will do that myself and will probably do pads all road in the not too distant future. Probably change the microfilters in the next few weeks as they are a piece of piss and they haven't been done for a while. Its still showing 3 bars till the next service and at the amount of mileage I do (around 3-5k a year) that will be six months atleast I'd say. Anyone who knows a good BMW indie in West London give me a shout. Ealing/Hounslow area would be ideal.

• The oil change* I know it takes 7.5 litres of 0w-30 but does anyone have any recommendations for a good oil and importantly a good price for it. Castrol Edge springs to mind but its fairly pricey from what I remember.

servicing is amount of bars left, or a year, whichever is sooner, i believe?

A

According to the manual the onboard computer works both mileage and time since last service so it will reduce the number of bars in relation to both factors.