My 'new to me' 2011 F01 730D SE Luxury

[d_a_n1979]

So just before I sold my Jap import E39 touring to Matt; I'd been looking at a number of F01 730Ds (didn't want to entertain the V8 750i with its well known engine issues) and a number of F11 530D tourings

I went to see a local touring and a local F01 730D and for me, the overall build quality of the 730D was so much better; that swung the decision for me easy enough. So it was then to lookout for the right spec of F01 that I wanted

I watched quite a few; a lot very overpriced, more so for their mileage and the ones that I was really interested in were all way down South and the trek was putting me off slightly...

Until this F01 730 SE Luxury was listed on AT in Wolverhampton...! An hour on the the train away

So a few emails sent to Kal who owned it; emails replied to and a few phone calls later, a 1st class ticked to Wolverhampton was booked...

The E39 sold on Monday to Matt and going to see the F01 yesterday (Thursday 16th Sept) was full steam ahead... A nice train ride down, 1st class brekkie and coffee galore

Met by Kal; viewed the car, lovely drive, lovely spec and interior, but bodywork issues and odd tyres on the front let it down. Knew of the bodywork issues, but not detailed as I'd hoped they could have been. The tyres were an oversight and new ones have already been ordered (non-RFTs too)

Overall the car had the spec, history and interior I wanted; so I told Kal there was one price I'd pay and that was it; if it's a no-go then I'll enjoy the hour and 11mins train back home and carry on looking

Kal accused me of being a 'brutal barterer' I'm a Lancashire Lad; want my money in me back pocket

So price agreed; paperwork done there and then all online and I set off home (to sit on the M6 car park; great fun)

So cars been thoroughly cleaned inside this morning; leather all cleaned, just waiting for a leather conditioner to arrive via Amazon

I've been to my pals bodyshop to get it booked in to have both front & rear bumpers resprayed; both wing mirror caps resprayed and a few dents sorted and paintwork sorted, if necessary. It goes in on 18th October for a few weeks. The main issues are stone-chips that have lead to lacquer peel and parking dings etc. I'm not after concourse perfection; just after the car looking as best as it can for an 11 year old executive saloon

I've got Kumho front tyres on their way to sit on the OEM 20" alloys; rears are Uniroyal RainSport 3s which will get replaced at some point; but they've decent tread left so will leave them for now.

Have already looked to sort a set of 18" alloys to put winter tyres on, so they'll get swapped over sometime mid-late October and the 20s will either be sold on for different OEM 20" alloys, or I'll get them fully refurbed with all new tyres ready for Spring 2022

Overall it's a lovely car; it was a lovely, smooth and relaxed drive home and the car pulls like a train!

It's done nearly 83k miles

Spec (off memory):

Full pro sat nav and widescreen
DAB, full Bluetooth connectivity and Pro DSP stereo
Full extended Nappa oyster leather
Full memory comfort seats with lumbar support; driver & passenger
Full heated front & rear seats
Rear climate control
Xenons with high beam assist
20" Style 253 alloys
And more...

Pictures from the seller:
































I'm not going to upload any further pics until it's had the bodywork done

Edited by d_a_n1979 on Monday 20th September 11:33

[d_a_n1979]

keo said:

That looks lovely. Good deal then? These are hell of a car for the money anyway.

Thanks; it is if you don't look too carefully

Yes; paid the right price for it as it's taken into account the bodywork and tyres that need doing ASAP

The seller isn't short of money; the size of his house, with a few Ferrari's parked up outside, a few classic Porsches and his wife's new Jag I-Pace etc

[d_a_n1979]

ahenners said:

This looks lovely. Hello from a fellow Lancastrian too, we definitely do drive a hard bargain!

How'do and yes, too bloody right

I'm not going to pay over the odds for anything, more so a car (albeit a decent one) that needs some TLC to its bodywork

One price and that was it; take it or I travel home 1st class and drink more free coffee

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

d_a_n1979 said:

Thanks; it is if you don't look too carefully

Yes; paid the right price for it as it's taken into account the bodywork and tyres that need doing ASAP

The seller isn't short of money; the size of his house, with a few Ferrari's parked up outside, a few classic Porsches and his wife's new Jag I-Pace etc

If that’s his house, looks like he’s got a few quid.

Looking forward to the updates as you work your way through it, especially given how good the E39 looked.

Erm yes pal; not short of a bob or twelfty...!

Numerous very expensive cars on their dirt-drive (*so much building work going on too). The kitchen, literally, was longer than our house! No word of a lie, you could have housed a full 4 bedroom house in the kitchen area

Lovely guy and family though... They had great fun watching me trying to squeeze into the Ferrari

[d_a_n1979]

stevep944 said:

Didn't take long replacing the e39 then Dan!
What happened to scratching the V8 itch?

Too many issues with BMW V8s that put me right off; plus the spec of this is what won it in the end... There are very few 750i's out there and when they do crop up; they were way over the budget I wanted to stick to...

But no; I'd looked at a few other cars, but as soon as I saw this crop up, I knew I had to go and see it

[d_a_n1979]

cerb4.5lee said:

I've always really liked the idea of one of these and I bet that it is just so nice to waft around in. I really like the colour combo on yours too.

Enjoy it.

Exactly what I was after pal; a full blown luxo-barge waftbus

And it's just that; but with plenty of poke too!

[d_a_n1979]

Basically what I've written in the initial post

Must haves were pro nav, comfort & front heated seats minimum, xenons and high beam assist, powered tailgate etc

I also wanted to stick with an SE and not go for a Sport unless it had a superb spec, wanted to go with a more compliant ride this time around

Edited by d_a_n1979 on Monday 20th September 11:35

[d_a_n1979]

alec.e said:

Looks great, nice interior colours

I am also from Lancashire and love to bargain with sellers

Was the V8 the 4.8 that you discounted? Actually quite a reliable unit on the whole, despite the naysayers! Or was it the 4.4 twin turbo?

There was a 4.8l 750i E65 that I was considering in Clitheroe (still available too); but it was only 4 years younger than my touring and still old tech inside (basic spec too); lovely looking car though and it's had all the major engine work done to it, which is a huge plus point

But yes, the 4.4l V8 twin turbo F01s and their issues put me off; there's plenty of info out there and if they go wrong, which they look like they can do readily, can be a very costly affair and I didn't want to go for that risk

[d_a_n1979]

So, so far...

- Style 234 18" alloys ordered via a reseller on eBay and Nexen Wingaurd 2 winter tyres ordered in 245/50/18 flavour via MyTyres
- x2 new Kumho front tyres ordered and will be fitted next week
- Will decide over winter whether to keep the Style 253 20" alloys & have them fully refurbed; or look to drop to 18/19" alloys for overall comfort and better tyre selection

[d_a_n1979]

V6Nelo said:

Looks good and super comfy interior.

How are you enjoying the drive, I’m a convert to big barge like cars, although yours has the bonus of big engine.

How does the ride compare to your older barge?

It is thank you; a very nice place to sit

TBH I've not driven it enough yet to compare it to my previous E39 touring or previous 7'ers, but so far it's a good ride, but new tyres are needed (as is an alignment) as well as a suspension look-over as it's not as tight as it could be IMO

[d_a_n1979]

alec.e said:

d_a_n1979 said:

But yes, the 4.4l V8 twin turbo F01s and their issues put me off; there's plenty of info out there and if they go wrong, which they look like they can do readily, can be a very costly affair and I didn't want to go for that risk

Not familiar with the 4.4 issues, fair enough. Will be following

Plenty of issues unfortunately pal; all to do with the 'Hot V' etc; loads of info online re the N63 (IIRC that's the 4.4 V8 engine code)

[d_a_n1979]

acme said:

That is lovely, is it blue or black? In one pic it looks blue (I think), the rest black?

The cream & wood is fantastic!

It’s got me looking at them, anyone know what engine the 740’s had, same as the M135? Presume not as came out earlier, but more powerful than the N52?

Cheers

It's Azurite metallic black; so yes, black in some pics, very dark blue in others!

Yup; the interior is a lovely place; very comfy and the seats are superb

The 740i is the twin turbo N54 and N55 IIRC and the 740D is the 300 BHP N57 diesel straight 6, I think

[d_a_n1979]

g3org3y said:

Congrats Dan, that looks really nice, great colour combo.

d_a_n1979 said:

alec.e said:

d_a_n1979 said:

But yes, the 4.4l V8 twin turbo F01s and their issues put me off; there's plenty of info out there and if they go wrong, which they look like they can do readily, can be a very costly affair and I didn't want to go for that risk

Not familiar with the 4.4 issues, fair enough. Will be following

Plenty of issues unfortunately pal; all to do with the 'Hot V' etc; loads of info online re the N63 (IIRC that's the 4.4 V8 engine code)

That seemed to be my impression also when I researched it. The N62 might leak all over your drive or blow smoke out the back, but the N63 is prone to more significant issues that could properly bork it.

Exactly; and as they were all at the top of my budget, when they cropped up, that put me off even more!

[d_a_n1979]

TheAngryDog said:

Congrats Dan, looks a nice old bus. Enjoy!

alec.e said:

d_a_n1979 said:

But yes, the 4.4l V8 twin turbo F01s and their issues put me off; there's plenty of info out there and if they go wrong, which they look like they can do readily, can be a very costly affair and I didn't want to go for that risk

Not familiar with the 4.4 issues, fair enough. Will be following

The N63 is notorious for issues. It's a complete dog turd of an engine.

Have to agree; the more I looked into it the more it put me off... Glad I stayed away!

[d_a_n1979]

Straff99 said:

That's a lovely car! Get yourself a Flash Magic Eraser and some Halfords upholstery cleaner on the driver's seat. You won't believe how much crud will come off!

Thank you

I've got a decent leather cleaning kit just delivered; just waiting for the leather dye kit as the drivers seat is beyond 'dirt' unfortunately; so it needs a thorough scrubbing and recolouring in places

And if I don't do a good enough job on it; I've a contact that sorted the beige leather seats in a previous E39 saloon and he did a superb job, so will use him again

[d_a_n1979]

dhibbert said:

Hi Dan, I ran a 2009 F01 730d for a couple of years/22kmls up to February this year. Mine had done 91k when I took ownership.

The spec was similar save for yours having heated rear seats, self closing boot and the Nappa leather. Mine was Sapphire Black with Oyster Dakota interior with the same 20 inch wheels as yours. The logic 7 stereo is a feature I had to have on its replacement as I found it so good. Mine had the cameras in the bumpers which was a feature I only used half a dozen times.

I'm afraid I am as sick as anyone else on here and serviced my car 3/4 times a year using only genuine BMW parts! I had a set of Sotto Zero 20" winter tyres which transformed the grip in the snow/ice.

They are great cars and I have covered over 500mls in one day in total comfort.

The biggest issue I had was a severe case of water ingress. The passenger side literally had an inch of water sloshing about, and that was on top of the carpet and underside. There are 2 subs under the front seats so you can imagine the work that went into sorting it out. I had to virtually remove the interior of the car. Its a well known issue with the yellow bung which blocks off the space where the steering column would be on a LHD variant. The seal in it breaks down and lets water in. Its more likely to affect cars that park 'nose up'.

When cold, my car had the 'cattle grid' effect when going up hills at low revs, I had the gearbox fluid changed and after a day or so the issue disappeared for good.

If I bought another I would be replacing the yellow bung asap. I've just bought one for the F01's replacement so I can post up the part number if needed.

Anyways, that's a lovely car and i hope it serves you well.

Thanks for that. It's a great car so far

Yes, well aware of the grommet issues. There's a whole section dedicated to it on the 5 forums for the Fx 5'er range and I know it affects the 7'er too, so I've got the grommet ordered (well, I've emailed Cotswolds BMW to sort it etc)

Thanks re the box advice. I'll be getting it fully serviced by Automatic Transmissions Preston before winter kicks in, we're off to the Highlands mid December, so that and the 18" winters will be perfect I'm sure

[d_a_n1979]

And so the DIY maintenance begins

Both windscreen & headlamp washer pumps replaced; bottle removed (a LOT of faff) and cleaned out thoroughly; both filters removed & cleaned with bleach too

All washer jets and headlamp washers work perfectly now. Both filters were properly gunked up; headlamp washer pump was dead

I've no skin left on my hands now

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

d_a_n1979 said:

And so the DIY maintenance begins

Both windscreen & headlamp washer pumps replaced; bottle removed (a LOT of faff) and cleaned out thoroughly; both filters removed & cleaned with bleach too

All washer jets and headlamp washers work perfectly now. Both filters were properly gunked up; headlamp washer pump was dead

I've no skin left on my hands now

It’s a rubbish job isn’t it? Where is the bottle on the 7?

Wedged between the bulkhead and inner wing; it's like a cassette, so slots on, sits on one mount and bolted down with one bolt...

Deffo DIY'able; but faffy

Doesn't help having shovel like hands!

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

d_a_n1979 said:

Wedged between the bulkhead and inner wing; it's like a cassette, so slots on, sits on one mount and bolted down with one bolt...

Deffo DIY'able; but faffy

Doesn't help having shovel like hands!

They do stash them in awkward places. The 1 series has them behind the drivers side wing, I’ve found they come out relatively easily but are little sts to get back in.

Same for the 7 by the sounds of it; nicely wedged in!

[d_a_n1979]

Up on my pals ramps today for a full suspension check over

Bar one torn bush on one lower front arm, the suspension is all in rude health thankfully; changing that arm Friday

Totally bone dry underneath too; no leaks, no misting etc. So a good clean bill of health thankfully