Buying a BMW 7 Series F01 2014?
Discussion
Someone I know and trust has a lovely 2014 730d MSport with 80K miles that he purchased from a local official BMW dealer, and knowing that I've been admiring it of late he let me take it out for a drive the other day, it's certainly a beautiful car.
Whilst chatting he mentioned he may be selling it later this year and if so I'm definitely interested in buying it, but having never owned a BMW before let alone a 7 Series I wondered what maintenance work and costs are expected with these cars? As well as the expected servicing, I'm sure there will be 'good to do' things to keep it running as lovely as it does? He's replaced the tyres with non run flats.
One thing I will need is a tow bar fitting for my caravan.
Whilst chatting he mentioned he may be selling it later this year and if so I'm definitely interested in buying it, but having never owned a BMW before let alone a 7 Series I wondered what maintenance work and costs are expected with these cars? As well as the expected servicing, I'm sure there will be 'good to do' things to keep it running as lovely as it does? He's replaced the tyres with non run flats.
One thing I will need is a tow bar fitting for my caravan.
I own a 2015 F07 (BMW 5 GT) which shares the same platform as the F01. Essentially its a 7 series on a different body shell.
In the last 4 years its needed regular servicing which although BMW state oil changes every 18k miles I have opted for every 9-10k as the timing chains on the 2.0 and 3.0 diesels can be an issue if the oil is not changed regularly, mine has no symptoms of any chain issues on just under 80k.
The rear air suspension can be a weak point and at a BMW dealer its very expensive to repair, the good news is its relatively cheap DIY. I replaced the compressor release valve and valve block plus the two rear air springs on mine over Christmas as the air suspension was going down over night, the parts came in at just over £340 and took me about 2 hours to swap out.
Mine is on the 20" Msport wheels, when I had run flats the inner edges would wear out within 7k miles no mater the air pressures or how many times it was aligned , since changing to non-run flats its been much better but still goes through a set of rears within 10-12k miles due to inner edge tire wear.
It's a heavy car and I find it goes through discs quicker than other cars I have had, in my experience the discs have warped rather than wear out, this has been the case for BMW OE discs and decent branded disc like brembos. Its a family car so mine is driven sedately, its not like I am doing track days.
It will tow just fine, I have had an aftermarket detachable tow bar fitted to mine which was roughly £500 supplied and fitted.
In general its been very reliable with normal maintenance, good MPG, very comfy and in the right spec modern enough for daily life.
In the last 4 years its needed regular servicing which although BMW state oil changes every 18k miles I have opted for every 9-10k as the timing chains on the 2.0 and 3.0 diesels can be an issue if the oil is not changed regularly, mine has no symptoms of any chain issues on just under 80k.
The rear air suspension can be a weak point and at a BMW dealer its very expensive to repair, the good news is its relatively cheap DIY. I replaced the compressor release valve and valve block plus the two rear air springs on mine over Christmas as the air suspension was going down over night, the parts came in at just over £340 and took me about 2 hours to swap out.
Mine is on the 20" Msport wheels, when I had run flats the inner edges would wear out within 7k miles no mater the air pressures or how many times it was aligned , since changing to non-run flats its been much better but still goes through a set of rears within 10-12k miles due to inner edge tire wear.
It's a heavy car and I find it goes through discs quicker than other cars I have had, in my experience the discs have warped rather than wear out, this has been the case for BMW OE discs and decent branded disc like brembos. Its a family car so mine is driven sedately, its not like I am doing track days.
It will tow just fine, I have had an aftermarket detachable tow bar fitted to mine which was roughly £500 supplied and fitted.
In general its been very reliable with normal maintenance, good MPG, very comfy and in the right spec modern enough for daily life.
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