Well I'm getting my first car this summer and I want a used BMW 740il,  or a 740i. SO with that I was wondering if anyone had or has one of this cars or any advice on them.

If you value the earth and want to reduce your carbon footprint, no.

Craig. wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2008 at 4:21pm:


No, said a used 740i/il (1999 or older) around my area they cost about $4,000-USD, but cars in the $2000< range for my area we have yet to find one the runs (I mean it, we looked at probably 10 or more and they don't work) The reason for no 3/5 series is they cost a lot more, and I have to take my 2 other sister around to places in it too

As Craig said, initial cost isn't necessarily the expensive part of running a) a BMW, and b) a 4litre car.

Try running that in Europe. You'd be broke fairly quickly...

the problem is, your search criteria is very limited in the states, mainly to BMW, Mercedes and audi. All of which are higher up presitge cars. I'd advise something Japanese personally, mazda and honda are two of the best makes you could get hold of. Their cheap, reliable, inexpensive to maintain and have the power and handling behind them aswell.

Ravang wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2008 at 8:10pm:



My 5 year old BMW 5 Series has just cost me $3000 in repairs this last month, not sure what you think average maintenance costs are go to be on a 7 Series, but best of luck.
16 and a 7 Series



C wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2008 at 4:34pm:



That is a good one Charlie especially when one takes into account your "office"

Matt

Fozzer wrote on Apr 3^rd, 2008 at 4:33am:


In the UK he wouldn't get insurance for any car at 16 ..... you can't get a provisional license till you're 17 .... soon to be 18 if the government gets their way.

My might see a price drop on a BMW 7XX as the new one is coming out soon at two in work today (all disguised to look like something elce)

Just Remember that when you look at a BMW the first Number is the series second two are Engine size.  Don't get conned just because some moron has changed the badge on the back from 718 (7 series 1.8 litre ) to something more to what your looking for.

Also something to note see if the car has got a full history and get a good drive in it town and out of town. If possible get it looked at I know the RAC and the AA do a free (or very cheep) service where thay will check the car out for you and hi light any problems.

A good tip is also have a feel of all the door edges all round as its surprising the amount of cars that get there doors banged into every thing!!  Move the steering through its full range any strange noises? yes then don't touch it power steering can be VERY expensive to fix.

Have a good look at the Drivers seat and the mat / carpet and peddles on the drivers side. if the car is only low mileage then the seat peddles and carpet should not be badly worn. 


Last year I bought a van yay for me.  Found one that had been clocked as the floor peddles and seat where very badly worn (the rubber floor was through to the mettle at the Gas peddle) there was NO way that it had only done 60 000 miles (not a lot for a diesel)

Any why hope this helps.

Your frendly BMW owner ( and I work at BMW too )

BMW's I would like please
M3 2 or 4 door   M6 lovely Heads up display  K1200 or R somthing

BMW's I would not wont
X6 whats the point of that back end  ugly!!!  Z4 TOO SMALL

Ravang, what area do you live in? That will help a little bit with finding a car. Your best freinds are the newspaper, classified ads which are available for free at most supermarkets, and the internet, I think I used cars.com a lot. Also, check out kbb.com (kelly blue book) to see if the deal is a good one before buying.

As for the car, tbh, you don't really need one all that powerful. My first car, a 2000 grand am that I've had for a little over a year and now has 116k miles on it, still runs great and has plenty of power. If you take car of your car, and it is late -90s or newer, it WILL do 200k miles, especially if its a honda. My sister had an 89 Prelude, thing just didnt want to die. The engine was still purring like a kitten while the rest of the car fell apart around it .

My Grand Am has a 2.5L I4 in it, with 135 HP. Even though its only a four, it still gets going quickly if you need it to. With the 4-speed auto I've stood on the pedal to get into extremely congested highway traffic, and have been able to get from 0 to 55 in maybe a 6-7 second gap in traffic. Granted, I wouldn't want to take this car into some areas around my college in the winter, but thats mainly because I wouldnt take ANY car there. 30-45* inclines and snow DO NOT mix, regardless of 4wd, AWD, traction control, or whatever.

I've got a 730i & I love it, I don't think there's much that can touch it for long distance loafing, but if your going to be doing a lot of town driving you'll soon realise it's a big car - & a thirsty one.

Cold engine / short trip = 8 mpg
Town driving / warm engine = 15-20 mpg
Motorway = 30 mpg

But don't let those costs put you off, I regularly do a 550 mile trip & it costs me £80 in the 7 (3ltr V8) - I did the same trip a few weeks ago in a 1.6ltr 4-pot mitsubishi, guess how much petrol money I saved.

A whopping £5!!

These cars are great, but it's not the cost of buying one that can be the problem, it's the upkeep (as Craig has mentioned), of the top of my head, my local dealer charges:

Inspection 1: £300
Inspection 2: £350
Inspection 3: £450

But please don't quote me on those prices, I think they're right, but I'm trying to remember them from last year. labour is £90 per hour plus VAT. If you know a good independant specialist your onto a winner.

Tyres start at roughly £100 a corner.

I'm just about to have a new instrument cluster put in mine & that will be £500 for the cluster & £150 to fit & code.

You also need to remember that there are a lot of electrical things that can go wrong.

A lot of negative points yes, but all they require is a liberal application of hard cash. However, bad points aside, everytime you drive the 7 it feels absolutely bl**dy awsome & the V8 is soooo smooth, I don't think I used the stereo for months because the engine really does sound amazing. The car is also amazingly quiet whilst cruising on the motorway, no need to turn the stereo up loud to hear it, no need to spend the entire journey talking in loud voices. Last year I took my 7 & three friends down through France & I spent most of the journey listening to my mate repeatedly apologising for saying "I'm sorry, but I've never been in a car as quiet as this at 85mph". (Cue smugness).

Drive one, you'll love it - just remember, it will cost more than most to run & maintain, but you may think it's worth it.

I love my 7 dearly, but would I want one as a first car at 16-17? No friggin' way. It's a massive car & the power from such a big engine can easily get you into trouble, not only with control, but you can easily put your foot down & be doing a ton without even realising. Still, if you've got a sensible head, there's no reason why you shouldn't get one.

Have a look here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71177

Any questions just ask.

Cheers,

TSC.

Just to clear up Ravang, 'Inspection 1' etc, are the terms BMW use for their car services, 1 is like the oil change, The other 'Inspections, 2 & 3' involve more work, you know, brake pads & stuff. They're not a legal requirement, but they will help to keep the car running well.

If your maintaining the car properly then these inspections/services should be carried out in the correct order, IE, my last service was the '1', so my next service will be '2', then '3', then back to '1' again.



TSC.