1983 BMW 7 Series 735i 3.5 litre petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Luxury, performance and reliability

Faults:

Power windows have been unreliable (probably a fuse issue though).

Some rust has developed around the sunroof.

The Automatic transmission sounds a bit clunky, but that's to be expected after the punishment I have given it.

General Comments:

Who does not want a BMW?? I have driven a few models and the comfort, performance and reliability is top notch.

My 735 is only just starting to suffer from 10000 miles of absolute hell. I am talking about 130+ miles an hour, burnouts, drifting, donuts and paddock bashing!! It just keeps going!

Through my term of ownership it has become unroadworthy, but it provides me with hours of sideways fun on my farm.

This car is most comfortable vehicle I have ever driven. German cars are an investment.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st December, 2007

30th Dec 2007, 19:34

I would think your reference, though at first a "shocker" is a very good one... are you in a salt affected area?...rust at sunroof sounds odd. It's a pity in one way you are destroying the car, but at the same time your 'destructive testing' has a lot of real value.

I remember 41 years ago a friend in a beautiful Mk9 Jaguar took me to tech. and did donuts on the road in front of Sydney Tech.. in it...the trouble is that this is hard on differentials and then... well it wasn't my car, but it goes to respect for machinery. Less damage on farm dirt I guess...I'd never do it, but then... I am an engineer who respects fine machinery, its limitations and costs... and how much it costs me every week just to get by... At the same time if you own it you can do more or less what you like...yes?

Thanks for your experiences.

31st Dec 2007, 20:44

The Original Review writes

"This car is most comfortable vehicle I have ever driven. German cars are an investment." yet is proud that he has made the vehicle undrivable withing 10k. Is this interview for real?

17th Jan 2008, 05:59

Well it is very comfortable and it is a marvel of engineering. Take a normal car and trash it like an old BMW and it will brake a lot earlier than the beemer. Try it yourself if you don`t believe it, older BMWs were way built to last longer than these newer models.

1983 BMW 7 Series 733i 6 cylinder Gas from North America

Summary:

An excellent long distance cruiser

Faults:

Sunroof needed realigning.

1 of its 2 fuel pumps needed replacing.

Added new more powerful headlamps.

General Comments:

This is an excellent car. So good that I've decided to drive it in Canadian winters for the first time in its 20 year life. Very stable on snow and ice. I used to drive this car only in summers, depending on our Chrysler and Acura during the winter. When I'm not driving the BMW I miss it immensely and as soon as I get back into it for a long cruise I immediately understand why. Very comfortable and reliable as long as you stay on top of small things that crop up due to the cars age. Still drives and handles better than a lot of new cars I've driven.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd November, 2002

3rd Apr 2005, 23:22

Mine is an 82 733i. Very nice car which I bought to replace my 320i which was too worn out to start anymore. This car is much more solidly built, a true BMW ultimate driving machine. AC & heat don't work, but I knew that when I bought it for a song in 2004.

Mine had 134,000 miles on it, now has 143,000. Super nice freeway cruiser. About 20 mpg. Very safe handling, and feeling car.

I had to speed up the idle to get it to run smooth. Probably a bad idle control solenoid.

The best thing about this car is it's classic good looks. It seem to be at least 10 years ahead of its time. Of course being a low production car, parts can be a little hard to find. I would recommend this car 100% if you can find a really good one for a reasonable price.