Buying advice. 7 series.
Discussion
Hello all, I regret to publicise I have been a diesel driver for a few years due to high mileages 
. My situation has now changed and I live 5 mins walk from work, have been given a company vehicle to use during the day and my annual mileage has gone from 20k commuting and business to 3k social so I've decided to indulge myself. I've always been a bargain barge fan and in particular the E38 7 series. What I am looking for is buying advice for said vehicle. Budget is around £4k and I am obviously looking at pre 2001 to avoid the tax re-banding. Ideal vehicle I am looking at is a 1999 740i on around 100k mileage. I did have a thread a while ago about the timing chain situation but I am really looking for advice on what else to look for. Any advice appreciated.
. My situation has now changed and I live 5 mins walk from work, have been given a company vehicle to use during the day and my annual mileage has gone from 20k commuting and business to 3k social so I've decided to indulge myself. I've always been a bargain barge fan and in particular the E38 7 series. What I am looking for is buying advice for said vehicle. Budget is around £4k and I am obviously looking at pre 2001 to avoid the tax re-banding. Ideal vehicle I am looking at is a 1999 740i on around 100k mileage. I did have a thread a while ago about the timing chain situation but I am really looking for advice on what else to look for. Any advice appreciated. Thanks for the info. I did expect the servicing to be more expensive but £800 on a £3k is probably not going to happen. I have always serviced my cars myself so would like to continue that (started with just filters and have progressed to pads, discs upto water pump and timing belt sort of level so I am reasonably competant). I am going to get a check by AA or RAC before buying anyways to check the car over properly. The plan is going to be to get something with a FSH and then keep the vehicle till the end of its days. I think a decent example should be available for £3.5kish.
ndg said:
Go to www.e38.org and look for buying guides and more info there.
Cheers for this, loads of good stuff. Blues said:
I bought a 75k miles 1997 750 earlier this year, with full BMW service history. It was a little more than your budget at £6k, but i am absolutely thrilled with it. I started out looking for a 740, but once i tried the V12, i had to ignore the fuel consumption issue and buy it.
As a motorway cruiser it is superb,you have to be very careful about the speed creeping up on you though. It has every conceivable extra, including double glazing, which gives an extremely quiet ride.
I can strongly reccommend them!
I have seen several 750iL's for sale but I didn't like the idea of a lot of the luxury stuff being in the back where I wouldn't be. I thought the 750s would be rarer and hence a bit more pricey as well. I could be easily swayed though! As a motorway cruiser it is superb,you have to be very careful about the speed creeping up on you though. It has every conceivable extra, including double glazing, which gives an extremely quiet ride.
I can strongly reccommend them!
I've got no interest in the sat navs or phone as I rarely use the mobile and have a tomtom anyways. I didn't realise the 750s came in anything other than the long wheel base so will now definately have a look. I've had a good look at GSF for parts and they are still affordable so I feel confident I could keep it well maintained.
Blues said:
richyb said:
I've got no interest in the sat navs or phone as I rarely use the mobile and have a tomtom anyways. I didn't realise the 750s came in anything other than the long wheel base so will now definately have a look. I've had a good look at GSF for parts and they are still affordable so I feel confident I could keep it well maintained.
Richy, dpepending where you are in West London, if you are passing you can pop out and have a shot in mine if you want.I'm 5 minutes away from Junct 10 on M4 Reading/Bracknell Junct
Hello again, I've been out looking at 740/750's and have seen a few good examples so far. I am just emailing a guy at present who has one up for sale but it has a minor fault which is descibed as slight vibration between 50 and 55mph. The guy said "he think it is lower control arm on the nearside as the offside has been replaced recently and ideally you should change these in pairs". Anyone got any advice on this or whether it could be an expensive issue to fix. I know its not a lot of info to go on but any advice would be helpful.
Morningside said:
Very, very common fault the 7-series shimmy.
Here you go a detailed repair
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/3052
Again the absolute power of PH prevails. Thanks a lot. Here you go a detailed repair
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/3052
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/701756.htm
What do you guys think? Did notice the rear seat leather looks a bit warn and some signs of scuffing but to be expected for age/price? I have enquired about mileage, MOT and tax. Just waiting for reply.
What do you guys think? Did notice the rear seat leather looks a bit warn and some signs of scuffing but to be expected for age/price? I have enquired about mileage, MOT and tax. Just waiting for reply.
Edited by richyb on Saturday 13th September 12:31
Blues said:
richyb said:
Got a reply. 118k and years MOT, no tax. Glass guide comes in at around £3k with this sort of mileage. Provided there are no faults I would probably look at around £3750 offer wise. Sound reasonable?
I'm not sure that i follow your logic on the offer front old chap? If he has it for sale at £3995, i'd definately start much lower.I'd also have a look on autotrader, these two don't make that one look too much of a bargain
740 £3k
And another
Have you seen this, for price comparison if nothing else
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/598276.htm
ETA
oooooooh looooook
750 £5k
MattNM3E36 said:
Somehat obvious Q and no doubt shocking, but what kind of average MPG do those that have the 740/50 see?
From the bit of research and talking to owners about 21 and 20 combined. Some 740i owners say they can get 32mpg on a run if driven conservatively. Drops to around 13-15 around town. Edited by richyb on Saturday 13th September 15:45
B'stard Child said:
richyb said:
I would guess with 'spirited' driving you could get it down to single figure mpg. I plan to waft about but will no doubt find out at some point.
Nope try as hard as you can but on public roads 20 is as low as I can get with spirited drivingRound town never less than 22
On a run 30 is easy at sensible motorway speeds (70-80) the sort of speed where you keep up with the other traffic rather than blast past and with a bit of restraint and some planning plus keeping it stuck at 70 I have seen 34mpg
All the above are not trip computer readings - that lies like hell - all are results of brim full to brim full on same pump whenever possible
Average overall since I bought mine is 24mpg but mainly because my journey to an from work is less than 2 miles
sparks87 said:
richyb said:
B'stard Child said:
richyb said:
I would guess with 'spirited' driving you could get it down to single figure mpg. I plan to waft about but will no doubt find out at some point.
Nope try as hard as you can but on public roads 20 is as low as I can get with spirited drivingRound town never less than 22
On a run 30 is easy at sensible motorway speeds (70-80) the sort of speed where you keep up with the other traffic rather than blast past and with a bit of restraint and some planning plus keeping it stuck at 70 I have seen 34mpg
All the above are not trip computer readings - that lies like hell - all are results of brim full to brim full on same pump whenever possible
Average overall since I bought mine is 24mpg but mainly because my journey to an from work is less than 2 miles
sparks87 said:
richyb said:
sparks87 said:
richyb said:
B'stard Child said:
richyb said:
I would guess with 'spirited' driving you could get it down to single figure mpg. I plan to waft about but will no doubt find out at some point.
Nope try as hard as you can but on public roads 20 is as low as I can get with spirited drivingRound town never less than 22
On a run 30 is easy at sensible motorway speeds (70-80) the sort of speed where you keep up with the other traffic rather than blast past and with a bit of restraint and some planning plus keeping it stuck at 70 I have seen 34mpg
All the above are not trip computer readings - that lies like hell - all are results of brim full to brim full on same pump whenever possible
Average overall since I bought mine is 24mpg but mainly because my journey to an from work is less than 2 miles
Realistically MPG wise from what you guys are saying it won't cost me that much more to run a 740 over my intended 528i purchase if it stays in the 20s around town (although parts may be astronomical and insurance is £1500, £700+ more than I would pay on a 5 Series)
I do think in a year or so when I hopefully get my pay rise I will be looking at a circa 1999-2001 740/750 and get another little runaround to balance the costs like an old Fiesta 1.1 or whatever.
sparks87 said:
richyb said:
sparks87 said:
richyb said:
B'stard Child said:
richyb said:
I would guess with 'spirited' driving you could get it down to single figure mpg. I plan to waft about but will no doubt find out at some point.
Nope try as hard as you can but on public roads 20 is as low as I can get with spirited drivingRound town never less than 22
On a run 30 is easy at sensible motorway speeds (70-80) the sort of speed where you keep up with the other traffic rather than blast past and with a bit of restraint and some planning plus keeping it stuck at 70 I have seen 34mpg
All the above are not trip computer readings - that lies like hell - all are results of brim full to brim full on same pump whenever possible
Average overall since I bought mine is 24mpg but mainly because my journey to an from work is less than 2 miles
Realistically MPG wise from what you guys are saying it won't cost me that much more to run a 740 over my intended 528i purchase if it stays in the 20s around town (although parts may be astronomical and insurance is £1500, £700+ more than I would pay on a 5 Series)
I do think in a year or so when I hopefully get my pay rise I will be looking at a circa 1999-2001 740/750 and get another little runaround to balance the costs like an old Fiesta 1.1 or whatever.
sparks87 said:
Yes, I'm 21. A 1999 E39 528i costs me £700 fully comp for a year and a 1997 V12 750 would cost me £1500 fully comp. On my current salary thats a bit of a struggle combined with the increased fuel costs and more things to go wrong. My pay could double in the next couple of years, so I will be definitely tempted then.
A group 20 car at 21 is quite a struggle. Even if you have a lot of cash to spend its still a lot for insurance that could be used better elsewhere. I'm only 25 with 3 years NCB so insurance will still be pricey. Looking at about £900. Might see about these limited mileage policies though. I still have my work vehicle so this will be purely for social. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff