1982 BMW 7 Series 735i SE 3.5 from UK and Ireland
Summary:
It was a great car for its era
Faults:
The air conditioning & heater only worked intermittently in the early years, and the BMW dealer never took any conclusive action to get it all running properly. The aircon stopped working completely after approx 18 months. The heater still behaves in the same occasional way.
Although it never wore completely through, the leather on driver's seat looked like something rescued from an early Moskvitch model after the first year of use.
The cylinder head gasket blew at 55,000 miles.
Front wheel bearings required replacement more often than I would have expected.
It regularly had reliability problems, mainly with the electrics and breakdowns happened often.
General Comments:
This 735se was my 6th new BMW.
When I first took delivery of the car, I noticed how very much noisier it was compared to any of the earlier BMW's I had owned.
It was always extremely hard on fuel, and would be impossible to justify using it over long distances on a regular basis with petrol @ £5.00 gal.
It was a nightmare to drive on icy roads.
What did I like about it? It had great pace, great roadholding in good conditions, very comfortable, bags of interior space, was a stunning looker and still is.
It has a current MOT and still takes me to town in summer to collect our Sunday papers.
It still looks as good as the day it was new, and I don't think I will ever part with it.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 14th January, 2010