New to me BMW E65 730D - 2006 - Le Mans Blue 'individual'
Discussion
Bought this on Tuesday after looking at numerous others as well as various E60/61 5 series cars
Stayed away from the 5s in the end, just cheap/plasticky feel inside put me off and the ones I saw were dogs TBH
Saw a few local 7s as well; again, most of them dogs bar one 750Li, but that was a no-go as didn't want a LWB car; the SWB is long enough as it is
It's a 2006 Le Mans Blue 730D with quite a spec including:
Soft close doors and electronic boot lid
Factory tints
Xenons and main beam assist
Integrated Bluetooth
Fully operation Freeview TV upfront and in the rear
Pearl beige leather
Heated and memory seats + heated steering wheel
20" Style 149 alloys
It needs new rubber and the wheels need refurbing toot-sweet; so this is the first job in the next week or so. Then it's going down to see a diesel guru via the 5 forums and he'll give it a full once over, a quick service, full software update and will sort the swirl flaps (if they've not already been done)
It needs a very in-depth wash and polish (just given it a decent wash, clay and a light polish for now) and fully Autoglym Magma'd the alloys as they were more or less black! The Magma stuff works very well indeed!!!
Wing mirror caps and bonnet in need of a respray really (stone chip galore), but will get these sorted sometime after summer is over and I've been down to Anglesey camping and back from various trips up to Scotland for some stone lifting events etc
On the look out for a cheap set of 18" OEM alloys too so I can stick winter tyres on them
Only pics I have of it for now; will update when I've had the alloys refurbed:
Stayed away from the 5s in the end, just cheap/plasticky feel inside put me off and the ones I saw were dogs TBH
Saw a few local 7s as well; again, most of them dogs bar one 750Li, but that was a no-go as didn't want a LWB car; the SWB is long enough as it is
It's a 2006 Le Mans Blue 730D with quite a spec including:
Soft close doors and electronic boot lid
Factory tints
Xenons and main beam assist
Integrated Bluetooth
Fully operation Freeview TV upfront and in the rear
Pearl beige leather
Heated and memory seats + heated steering wheel
20" Style 149 alloys
It needs new rubber and the wheels need refurbing toot-sweet; so this is the first job in the next week or so. Then it's going down to see a diesel guru via the 5 forums and he'll give it a full once over, a quick service, full software update and will sort the swirl flaps (if they've not already been done)
It needs a very in-depth wash and polish (just given it a decent wash, clay and a light polish for now) and fully Autoglym Magma'd the alloys as they were more or less black! The Magma stuff works very well indeed!!!
Wing mirror caps and bonnet in need of a respray really (stone chip galore), but will get these sorted sometime after summer is over and I've been down to Anglesey camping and back from various trips up to Scotland for some stone lifting events etc
On the look out for a cheap set of 18" OEM alloys too so I can stick winter tyres on them
Only pics I have of it for now; will update when I've had the alloys refurbed:
I love the colour combination, superb.
I have a 760Li in black with grey(sob) interior. At least once you are reclined in the back you forget about the colour.
What's the 730d like as an everyday proposition? I find that the 760 just about has enough grunt, the lazy autobox always seems to blunt the acceleration feeling, but once moving it picks up pace well. It actually needs revving higher than you might expect, whereas the low down grunt and turbocharged sensation of a 730d perhaps counters this?
I approve!
I have a 760Li in black with grey(sob) interior. At least once you are reclined in the back you forget about the colour.
What's the 730d like as an everyday proposition? I find that the 760 just about has enough grunt, the lazy autobox always seems to blunt the acceleration feeling, but once moving it picks up pace well. It actually needs revving higher than you might expect, whereas the low down grunt and turbocharged sensation of a 730d perhaps counters this?
I approve!
Nice! You can usually get a set of 18” for around £200 on ebay if you’re patient, and the ride on them is much, much nicer than on the 20”. But they look woefully small. Here’s my 760il on 18” for reference. (Goes well in the snow too, the lwb means every slide happens so slowly, it’s so easy to sort out - I may well have wasted a good half a tank of fuel finding this out... )
)Cheers @prinny
I'm not desperate to buy them and TBH there are lots of single alloys out there; so may just end up going down that route and will lightly refurb them myself and then get winters fitted to them, before the prices get hiked as they always do!
Had 16" alloys and winter tyres for my previous 530i and they came in very handy last winter; more so as we go up to Dunkeld for a week every Feb and the snow up there was amazing, so the winter tyres were a godsend!
I quite like the way the E65 is on the 20s! I've just come from an E39 530i that was lowered on coilovers and with them set to firm; so the E65s ride in comparison is like a wafty bus ride
I'm not desperate to buy them and TBH there are lots of single alloys out there; so may just end up going down that route and will lightly refurb them myself and then get winters fitted to them, before the prices get hiked as they always do!
Had 16" alloys and winter tyres for my previous 530i and they came in very handy last winter; more so as we go up to Dunkeld for a week every Feb and the snow up there was amazing, so the winter tyres were a godsend!
I quite like the way the E65 is on the 20s! I've just come from an E39 530i that was lowered on coilovers and with them set to firm; so the E65s ride in comparison is like a wafty bus ride
Jon_Bmw said:
I love the colour combination, superb.
I have a 760Li in black with grey(sob) interior. At least once you are reclined in the back you forget about the colour.
What's the 730d like as an everyday proposition? I find that the 760 just about has enough grunt, the lazy autobox always seems to blunt the acceleration feeling, but once moving it picks up pace well. It actually needs revving higher than you might expect, whereas the low down grunt and turbocharged sensation of a 730d perhaps counters this?
I approve!
TBH I think the 730D pulls very well for what it is and the weight of the car etcI have a 760Li in black with grey(sob) interior. At least once you are reclined in the back you forget about the colour.
What's the 730d like as an everyday proposition? I find that the 760 just about has enough grunt, the lazy autobox always seems to blunt the acceleration feeling, but once moving it picks up pace well. It actually needs revving higher than you might expect, whereas the low down grunt and turbocharged sensation of a 730d perhaps counters this?
I approve!
However it is my daily driver and my smooth/wafty ride, which is why I went for another big 7, so I don't really push it, not had it long enough to properly stretch its legs yet. The journey up the M6 on Tuesday was start/stop with 50mph zones etc!
Lovely spec, rare to see one that isn’t black or silver. What’s the bork potential on a 730d? I love the E65 model, but I don’t think I’ve quite had the necessary brave pill dosage to buy one.
Having said the above, congratulations on it and may it be as reliable as clockwork for you!
Having said the above, congratulations on it and may it be as reliable as clockwork for you!
to3m said:
By 7 series standards this is positively garish! Very surprised to see one that isn't black or dark grey. Not sure I've ever seen one that's even silver.
A lot of the pre-facelift 745 ones were silver; the 750s were aspensilber metallic etc (I think)Most of the facelift ones I saw were black and having just sold a black car and vowing to never go back to a black car; this stood out like a sore thumb
outnumbered said:
Looks great. Mileage ? I've always assumed these have mostly been used as executive taxis and thus been annually clocked,do you know any of the history on yours ?
Full history, all miles backed up by the MOTs, rafts of paperwork that all line up with the MOT etc & with some main issues being addressed (gearbox, sump etc)Main reasons why I bought it, it’s very well documented etc
d_a_n1979 said:
to3m said:
By 7 series standards this is positively garish! Very surprised to see one that isn't black or dark grey. Not sure I've ever seen one that's even silver.
A lot of the pre-facelift 745 ones were silver; the 750s were aspensilber metallic etc (I think)Most of the facelift ones I saw were black and having just sold a black car and vowing to never go back to a black car; this stood out like a sore thumb
I've never had a black car, but I did have a silver one with a dark interior. I drove it for 7 years. It was OK, but I really didn't want to get stuck with another one.
to3m said:
My 330i is Le Mans blue + beige "leather", which stood out a bit less when I was looking - Le Mans blue being more common on the 3 series - but the combination of non-grey/black/silver/white + light interior was unusual enough when I was looking that I pretty much knew I was going to buy it the moment I saw the advert.
I've never had a black car, but I did have a silver one with a dark interior. I drove it for 7 years. It was OK, but I really didn't want to get stuck with another one.
Know that feeling!I've never had a black car, but I did have a silver one with a dark interior. I drove it for 7 years. It was OK, but I really didn't want to get stuck with another one.
When I first saw this, the colour and contrasting interior stood it out above all the others, bar a black 750i that was spec'd with more or less all toys from factory. Alas; the price and known V8 issues put me off in the end
Once I've got the alloys refurbed and black grilles on; IMO, the car will looked finished
Such a shame BMW de-chrome a car with the shadowline spec, but leave chrome grilles on!
Prinny said:
Nice! You can usually get a set of 18” for around £200 on ebay if you’re patient, and the ride on them is much, much nicer than on the 20”. But they look woefully small. Here’s my 760il on 18” for reference. (Goes well in the snow too, the lwb means every slide happens so slowly, it’s so easy to sort out - I may well have wasted a good half a tank of fuel finding this out... )
Managed to get a set of these alloys via sellers on eBay )Got 2 from one seller and 2 singles from other sellers, £140 all in for all 4 with postage to me as well, so not too bad! Will sand them back and re-spray them myself, they are only for winter tyres, so won't be too precious about them
I've got the car into my local garage tomorrow to get the rear tyres fitted (front tyres fitted last week, they had to come on 2 separate deliveries from Camskill for some reason)
Front lower arms will be done tomorrow and then hopefully the car will go into the place I'm getting my alloys refurbed on Wednesday; will be getting them media blasted, have the rim edges repaired and then powder coated in either silver or anthracite (still haven't decided on the colour)! The swirl flaps, software update and oil/filter and full fluids refresh was done last Thursday
Will update with pics one I've had the alloys sorted
New tyres all round and new front upper arms fitted; lovely No more clunking. However, the tracking is slightly off still, so will get that sorted later this week
I'm dropping the car off at an alloy wheel refurbishers local to me tomorrow morning Will have a look at their colour selection (powder coaters not wet spray); so will decide tomorrow. But think I'm going to go for an anthracite or gun-metal
No more clunking. However, the tracking is slightly off still, so will get that sorted later this weekI'm dropping the car off at an alloy wheel refurbishers local to me tomorrow morning
Will have a look at their colour selection (powder coaters not wet spray); so will decide tomorrow. But think I'm going to go for an anthracite or gun-metal Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff