My monumentally moronic mega-miles 760Li purchase...

My monumentally moronic mega-miles 760Li purchase...

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Discussion

Sheepshanks

32,412 posts

118 months

Wednesday 12th June 2019
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RoverP6B said:
I've been asking myself the same thing! 67,001 miles a year or getting on for 5600 miles a month, about 1290 miles a week on average, or north of 183 miles a day every day throughout those three years... I would love to have more history on this beast, and especially what it was up to then.
I wonder what the total time it spent in filling stations over 3yrs was? smile

Court_S

12,722 posts

176 months

Wednesday 12th June 2019
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RoverP6B said:
Thanks, but it isn't balls so much as some insane man-maths, perverse logic and my sons going DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! ...and it wasn't actually me bidding on the car at the time, but my elder son, who had decided we needed the car regardless of my trepidatious prostestations! At least the 540i I actually agreed to buy simply because (after haggling on price) it was cheaper than the gearbox rebuild on the 535i... but even then, only after a lot of persuasion, nagging and man-maths on my sons' part (particularly the elder one).

In fact, it was he who found all three of the E39s for me. The last conscious purchase decision I made myself was the E46, and that proved something of a disaster! Even then, elder son (then 10 years old) had some input, and was trying to drag his parents towards the E39 528i Tourings... but MrsP6B was then a committed small car person, wanted an R53 Mini Cooper instead, and the E46 was the compromise we had to agree...

Edited by RoverP6B on Wednesday 12th June 22:17
At least your lads have good taste!

RoverP6B

Original Poster:

4,338 posts

127 months

Thursday 13th June 2019
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Sheepshanks said:
I wonder what the total time it spent in filling stations over 3yrs was? smile
Don't even make me think about it. I shudder to think how much dino juice it drank under its former owners.

Court_S said:
At least your lads have good taste!
Well, I did try. Elder lad was rising 18 when we bought the 520i, and was instantly attracted by its unusual Oxford Green exterior/English Green interior... but then he had gone through a teenage phase of dressing in check shirts and tweed, attending Tridentine Rite Latin masses, and was the youngest-ever member of the Pugin Society... albeit by this time he was transitioning into a long-haired neo-hippie atheist metalhead with a penchant for pairing light pink shirts with darker pink trousers, and admitted to harbouring a desire to own a Magenta Triumph Stag - as he put it, "they're the only pink convertible a straight bloke can get away with being seen in". He also thought the 540i with its Slate/Stone Green colour scheme (I forget which is which) made an ideal partner to the 520i. I still sometimes wonder what's going on in his head. The younger lad is less concerned with aesthetics and more with baking bread and waving a bloody great sabre around...

Chestrockwell

2,619 posts

156 months

Thursday 13th June 2019
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200k in 3 years! That’s like driving from Surrey to Birmingham back to Surrey every day for 3 years, I’d love to know the history of it.

RoverP6B

Original Poster:

4,338 posts

127 months

Thursday 13th June 2019
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Well, it did come from a Birmingham dealer originally, and the vast majority of its service history is with Sytner Birmingham, plus one each at the Sytners in Coventry and, oddly, Chigwell... so I suspect you're not far off the truth. Bashing up and down the M40 between Brum and Heathrow and/or central London every day. Possibly the best car in the world for doing so at the time - Phantom too expensive and conspicuous, S-class at that time was the aging W220, Phaeton/A8/Flying Spud W12 just not in the same league for refinement...

Chestrockwell

2,619 posts

156 months

Thursday 13th June 2019
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Even still, that’s 7 days a week including Christmas, Easter etc, it must have done more miles in some instances. Love that about it, there’s something about really high mileage cars to me.

I love the interior and colour. I don’t think 7k is too much if I’m honest, high mileage ex taxi, probably clocked back basics diesels go for 3-4K, an individual 760li should definitely command a higher premium.

Mr Tidy

22,037 posts

126 months

Thursday 13th June 2019
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RoverP6B said:
I was 27 when I bought my Mexico Brown 3500S TTS874M in 1984. Ran it as my daily for eight years until tinworm and lack of rear belts made me take it off the road. Stupidly stored it in a damp leaky lockup until 2008 when I eBayed it as a terminally rotten engine donor.

My other cars:

First car: my father's Humber Sceptre Mk2, ex-demo with a very high compression engine and hairy cam... refused to run properly on anything less than five star.

Then a Mk3 Cortina 1600E, also had some use of my father's 2-litre (which ended up becoming a parts donor for mine before I sold it)
Wow - very similar story!

I bought my Mexico Brown 3500S in 1979 when I was 20 - SXD 865L.

It replaced a 1970 Fiat 125 with a twin-cam engine that used to be my Dad's, but the car before that was a horrible MK2 Cortina (my 1st car) even if it did have a 1600E wooden dash!

Tommo Two

217 posts

144 months

Tuesday 18th June 2019
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Good work OP beer
I've got a pre facelift 760IL (slightly uglier but cheaper to tax). Had it near 2 years and still love it.

The back light on my dash dials does the same thing light up when they feel like it, but always stay on when using sat nav / cruise control.

I love the soft close on the doors really nice feature and the rear sun blind operated from the front, especially usefull when the person you have just over taken give you the full beam of appreciation!

I was advised by a BMW tech when looking at 740s / 750s to go for the V12 760, much more reliable engine, same one BMW put in the Rolls Royce of the time. So if you ever buy a genuine oil filter it has RR stamped on it! cool He's seen chauffeur cars come in with over 300,000 miles on them.

On the oil front can't remember if i was advised or read somewhere that the book service interval of 15,000 miles is pushing it and for best practice for these engines is 10,000-12,000 miles for oil change, really easy to do your self just make sure you have a big volume drip tray and a manly trolley jack & axle stands!

An other cool feature the person sat behind the front passengers seat can move it forward! (proper chauffeur car gadget!) Also if you put the rear side blinds up then the windows down you can lock the car like this to keep the car cooler if parked in the sun.

RoverP6B

Original Poster:

4,338 posts

127 months

Wednesday 19th June 2019
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About that... it hasn't had an oil service in 40,000 miles. That does make me want to give both the seller and the bloke he bought it off a few months ago a slap... last owner but one spent a fortune on it last year, including a full rebuild of the mechatronic unit on the gearbox, but couldn't stretch to an oil service?

At the moment, RL are busy enough with my 535i (they've just presented me with a bill for £3624, which doesn't include bodywork!), and I need to be sure of having transport... is an oil service on this a quick enough job that it can be turned round inside a day? As long as I have it back for the evening to get back home and/or do the taxi driver bit for my younger son and his burgeoning collection of swords...

At any rate, idle misfire aside, it's running very nicely at the moment, had it up to a nice steady 120 at one point, felt rock solid.

One other thought - the V12 kicks out a monstrous amount of heat! Not that heat soak in the cabin is noticeable, but when opening the bonnet after a run, one is hit by a wall of thermal energy... would it be worth using a waterless coolant like Evans in this?

One thing that REALLY annoys me is the cheap tubular metal boot hinges... utter crap! I would love to change these for some proper cantilever hinges at some point, if possible... the E39 is a much cheaper car yet has by far the better-engineered boot hinges! Given that the E65 was up against the supreme expression of Ferdinand Piech's OCD, with its beautiful Campagnolo titanium boot hinges... now there's a thought. Wonder what a set of those would cost?

Sardonicus

18,925 posts

220 months

Wednesday 19th June 2019
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RoverP6B said:
About that... it hasn't had an oil service in 40,000 miles. That does make me want to give both the seller and the bloke he bought it off a few months ago a slap... last owner but one spent a fortune on it last year, including a full rebuild of the mechatronic unit on the gearbox, but couldn't stretch to an oil service?
And for that reason alone I would avoid like the plague eek thats an obscene mileage over

RoverP6B

Original Poster:

4,338 posts

127 months

Wednesday 19th June 2019
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That information wasn't disclosed in the eBay listing. Too late, I'm stuck with the thing, and I am not getting rid of it any time soon. It's running so well that part of me wonders if there hasn't been a more recent service that just wasn't recorded in the history. I shall email the seller to ask...

Tommo Two

217 posts

144 months

Wednesday 19th June 2019
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On the oil change front surprisingly easy. Couple of hours max on a driveway.

Jack up, remove under tray (Might even have flap cant remember) oil filter and drain point are in the sump right next to each other, big oil tray i've got a 25L drum with the side cut off which is perfect.
Not sure if the facelift ones have a dipstick, my pre facelift does but from memory its about 9L of oil.

They do get super hot makes me a bit nervous sat in traffic on a hot day. And also makes me wish mine had cooled seats option. but mine has never overheated.

I've just swapped the coolant in my race car to Evans (e36 M3) and it was a bit of a faf. (remove coolant, refill with evans flush, remove evans flush and refill with evans coolant)
In reality I was doing it as part of a head gasket swap so syringed all the coolant out of the water jacket and didn't bother with the flush.

I've recently given the 760 an inspection 2 service so did a coolant swap. The only drain point is bottom of the rad and the hoses aren't the nice easy jubilee clip style, so to get a good flush with the size block a double flush would probably be needed. Other wise you would end up with 60% evans and 40% old coolant and then you've spent £100 on evans coolant and not got the benefit from it!

Prinny

1,669 posts

98 months

Wednesday 19th June 2019
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Why would you care about the boot hinges being a tubular piece of metal when all the actuators, etc for electric open and close are hidden away in the background? They’re just joins in the system, no-doubt engineered into the most space efficient compromise? Just my 2c.

Anyway... Bad luck on the oil front - but as mentioned, simple enough to do, so long as you have a large bucket - ask me how I know. :-)

As far as the heat goes - you’re not kidding - it’s also by design, the thermostat is at something like 106 degrees (it’ll be in the pdf), as there are certain benefits to running “hot”. I’d be looking (I still am, but haven’t got around to it) as to the fitting of said thermostat - If I can find one that fits but runs at (say) 95, i’d be much happier in terms of rubber hose longevity, and probably there’s a slight performance increase/economy decrease to go with it.

There was an ebay seller in the US who was doing replacements on the 7-forum, but that seems to have gone now.

I’ve had mine stood in almost stationary traffic in 32 degree heat last year for over an hour - it wasn’t phased at all - I’m confident these cars have been designed to weather (ha!) it.

helix402

7,824 posts

181 months

Wednesday 19th June 2019
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Oil service is quick and easy (Unless plugs are due!) Standard G48 coolant is fine.

RoverP6B

Original Poster:

4,338 posts

127 months

Wednesday 19th June 2019
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Plugs were new last November IIRC.

Boot hinges? Partly it's just my OCD, but the curved tubes are crude and bulky. At least, unlike some modern cars, they don't intrude into the boot space (or, rather, constrict it by necessitating a boot liner to be shaped around them), but they're hardly the most space-efficient design.

E39 - a much more elegant solution:



Phaeton - the same thing but with German/Italian over-engineering turned up to 11:



Edited by RoverP6B on Wednesday 19th June 16:13

RoverP6B

Original Poster:

4,338 posts

127 months

Monday 15th July 2019
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261,544 miles now. Long overdue an oil service and still runs like crap at idle, but otherwise nothing to report, except that a few electronic gremlins which initially appeared seem to have cured themselves... MoT is up on 6th August and I'm hoping to get it in before then for a few jobs, but it's reliant on the 535i getting fixed before then - it still isn't quite finished, although I'm told it should be done this week. It still needs to get bodywork done but at this stage there isn't going to be time to do anything about it before the 7's MoT expires. I did see a very cheap E61 550i Touring up for sale here in Devon a few weeks ago, wonder if that's still available... mustn't do anything silly... I need to get the E39 540i Touring fixed next! E66 will need new tyres and that's going to be very expensive, unless anyone knows a good source?

One job I've decided to do is get the calipers painted, or maybe go over to a set of Brembos or similar? The standard ones look rubbish, although the braking action is effective enough. The rear calipers look far too small too. I'm thinking a set of big yellow calipers would suit the blue paint.

At the moment the liar box is saying I'm doing mid 17s, although I had it up to high 18s before I reset the trip computer. Is this normal? I mean, I knew it was going to be horrendously thirsty, but I'd hoped I might see low to mid 20s. I guess the misfire and general engine condition isn't helping and that a thorough service should liberate a few MPG (and BHP!).

Monkeylegend

26,187 posts

230 months

Monday 15th July 2019
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An oil change might help mpg a bit smile

BFleming

3,578 posts

142 months

Monday 15th July 2019
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Vacuum leak will cause a crappy idle above anything else.

Because Love Island is on, and I banish myself to be anywhere else during that time, 261,544 miles at an optimistic 20mpg equates to 13,077 gallons of petrol, or for those remain folk like myself, 59,370 litres! With an 88 litre tank according to the first website I found, that's 675 refills. At 50 litres per minute (max UK dispense rate according to goggle) that's 1m 46s per refill, and a whopping 19 hours 48 mins (minimum) of pumping fuel so far in the cars lifetime.


Edited by BFleming on Monday 15th July 22:11

Prinny

1,669 posts

98 months

Monday 15th July 2019
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I suspect the 50l/min is a truckers diesel pump. I have been filling up before, watched someone drive in in (example) a corsa, fill it, go in and pay, get in and drive off, while i’m still pumping!
20l/min feels more like it, and even that’s probably on the high side. In a busy filling station, it can be fun to watch the people behind you slowly going insane as they realise they picked the wrong car to queue behind! You get lots of looks at the till too, when it’s the best part of £130 to fill up.

BFleming

3,578 posts

142 months

Monday 15th July 2019
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Sheepshanks said:
I wonder what the total time it spent in filling stations over 3yrs was? smile
Prinny said:
20l/min feels more like it
Let's 2.5 times everything on that basis... 4m 24s per refill, and 49 hours 30 mins of pumping fuel so far in the cars lifetime. Jesus wept, that's 2 days, 45 mins of solid refuelling laugh