E65 7 series buyers guide?
Discussion
Evening All.
Contemplating a change and looking at some bargain bargeing . 7 series (730d) looks like a lot of car for the money and there seems to be a fair bit around at the 4-5k mark.
I'm not expecting them to run for peanuts considering some would have been north of 80k when new, but it would be good to know what goes wrong on them.
I've searched around and can't seem to find one, so does anyone have a buyer's guide or top tips for things to look out for?
Contemplating a change and looking at some bargain bargeing . 7 series (730d) looks like a lot of car for the money and there seems to be a fair bit around at the 4-5k mark.
I'm not expecting them to run for peanuts considering some would have been north of 80k when new, but it would be good to know what goes wrong on them.
I've searched around and can't seem to find one, so does anyone have a buyer's guide or top tips for things to look out for?
Having bought my 1st ever E65 and first ever diesel (730D) back in July, my advice would be to make sure you’ve got a solid, comprehensive service history with a decent amount of receipts to show the cars been serviced and maintained as it should have been.
These are heavy cars, they like to eat suspension components and brakes. So make sure the car drives well and true and stops well also. If not, budget for a full brake overhaul and replacement suspension arms, drop links and possibly inner tie rods/track rod ends etc
The body’s don’t do rust, so that’s a plus point.
Make sure all the electrics work. Some of the E65s are very basic spec, but ones with comfort access/soft close doors & boot etc need to work properly, so make sure they do. The external door handles can have issues, so make sure they all work properly, the doors soft close properly and the cars open/lock properly. Make sure the heated/electric memory seats work properly and make sure there are no warning lights on the dash as well.
I’d take a decent code reader with you and read the codes too, see if there’s anything stored in the cache etc
Big cars, big alloys and tyres. So don’t be surprised that you’ll need to refurb the alloys and probably replace the tyres
The M57 engine is fairly bullet proof, but get the swirl flaps sorted/blanked off (if they haven’t already been done so) and get the engine serviced (oil & filter, replacement vortex filter and air filter etc).
For your budget you should be able to pick up a facelift E65. Make sure it’s got integrated Bluetooth and not the handset in the top middle drawer, otherwise you’ll have to use a separate sim for your in car calls.
The car isn’t great when it comes to fiting aftermarket Bluetooth or upgrading it to allow for music playback etc, so near this in mind if this is important. I thought it was, but I make sure and have enough CDs to keep me entertained when necessary
FYI this is my thread going on here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=17...
Haven’t put much in it lately a it’s not needed for anything bad a replacement EGR stat
These are heavy cars, they like to eat suspension components and brakes. So make sure the car drives well and true and stops well also. If not, budget for a full brake overhaul and replacement suspension arms, drop links and possibly inner tie rods/track rod ends etc
The body’s don’t do rust, so that’s a plus point.
Make sure all the electrics work. Some of the E65s are very basic spec, but ones with comfort access/soft close doors & boot etc need to work properly, so make sure they do. The external door handles can have issues, so make sure they all work properly, the doors soft close properly and the cars open/lock properly. Make sure the heated/electric memory seats work properly and make sure there are no warning lights on the dash as well.
I’d take a decent code reader with you and read the codes too, see if there’s anything stored in the cache etc
Big cars, big alloys and tyres. So don’t be surprised that you’ll need to refurb the alloys and probably replace the tyres
The M57 engine is fairly bullet proof, but get the swirl flaps sorted/blanked off (if they haven’t already been done so) and get the engine serviced (oil & filter, replacement vortex filter and air filter etc).
For your budget you should be able to pick up a facelift E65. Make sure it’s got integrated Bluetooth and not the handset in the top middle drawer, otherwise you’ll have to use a separate sim for your in car calls.
The car isn’t great when it comes to fiting aftermarket Bluetooth or upgrading it to allow for music playback etc, so near this in mind if this is important. I thought it was, but I make sure and have enough CDs to keep me entertained when necessary
FYI this is my thread going on here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=17...
Haven’t put much in it lately a it’s not needed for anything bad a replacement EGR stat
If you want to be able to stream music, make sure you buy either a very late 2006 or even better 2007 car (think from October 06 build onwards you should be ok) as these came standard with Aux in port and usb power supply in the armrest cubicle. Then just plug in your favourite hands free device (mine being Aukey car kit) and off you go with Android Auto (or Apple Car I guess?) Otherwise pig to retrofit. And try to find one with comfort seats - not easy as most of the UK E65/6s are of the chauffeur poverty spec provenance. And if you're really lucky you may stumble upon an individual - as rare as hen's teeth though. But a different thing altogether.
dmarkovina said:
If you want to be able to stream music, make sure you buy either a very late 2006 or even better 2007 car (think from October 06 build onwards you should be ok) as these came standard with Aux in port and usb power supply in the armrest cubicle. Then just plug in your favourite hands free device (mine being Aukey car kit) and off you go with Android Auto (or Apple Car I guess?) Otherwise pig to retrofit. And try to find one with comfort seats - not easy as most of the UK E65/6s are of the chauffeur poverty spec provenance. And if you're really lucky you may stumble upon an individual - as rare as hen's teeth though. But a different thing altogether.
Yup.. Mines an individual, just mid 2006 so no damned aux in Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff