Buying a used e65 7 series

[Ian-65xww]

Hi All,

I’ve decided to take the plunge and buy a luxury barge having seen a used e65 7 series 730d with 80k for 5k gbp. Ive been advised that these are money pits. It was bought 6 months ago and auctioned which is a worry but thought I’d ask. It had some service history but not all.
I’d be keen to hear views on whether this is a bad idea. I’m budgeting 1k per year for maintenance. Is this a bad idea? I’ve not seen any A8s with similar prices for similar mileage and I do 80 miles a day and Lexus don’t do a diesel. Any thoughts would be welcomed..

Thanks

[rayyan171]

The first gen RRS will be a nightmare for running, and are dog slow. With the 7 series, ensure it is a facelift with the second gen CCC iDrive system (should be an Aux port). The mileage is ok at 80K, quite low for that age actually. That would get me thinking about the DPF however. I think the 230hp models have DPF's. Check every function works, adaptive drive etc. If you get it, priority is swirl flaps on the engine as early M57 engines ingest them. Cheap job to do however.

[Ian-65xww]

It’s a 2005 facelift and swirl flap intake manifold was renewed in 2017. Mot documentation shows only 3k per year for the last 7 years.

[Ian-65xww]

Thanks for your comments

[Ian-65xww]

Interestingly when I did take it out the electrics went haywire and I’ve bern informed it was an alternator issue which has since been replaced. The engine in idling went from sounding normal at standing traffic to sounding like a diesel truck and kinds of warnings came up. Was informed this was only an alternator issue which messed with the electrics?

[Fittster]

Ian-65xww said:

Was informed this was only an alternator issue which messed with the electrics?

Mandy Rice-Davies applies

[rayyan171]

Batteries love to cause issues in general. Check to see when it was last replaced, and change if necessary. All 2000's eras BMW exhibit the same issues when there is old batteries in the mix.

[nobrakes]

Try posting in the bargain barge thread.

[Jag_NE]

Don’t do it. Adding in some weekend pottering you will be doing 20k miles a year, your 1k maintenance budget will be used up on servicing and tyres alone.

If you have an itch to scratch I’d get a 1-2k barge so that if it chucks up a big bill 6 months down the line, you can take a view that you would have spent the same leasing something new and boring and just scrap it. With a 5k car you won’t be able to do that and potentially end up in a financial hole.

[OnTheSauce]

Carguruguy said:

If it goes wrong parts can be very expensive. These cars are common for rusting very badly under the sills where the jacking points are so if you go to view one be sure to take a jack with you to test it out for rust,crumbling of the structure etc they are also quite slow for the make. If you want a big luxury vehicle that you can get fairly cheap I would recommend a range rover sport between 5 - 10 years old. Luxury style with good speed, not to pricey on parts and things rarely go wrong with them anyway.

Sure you're not confusing it with the E46 or E39? I've never heard of an E65 to rust at all.