25th Mar 2010, 20:40
I have a BMW 740il, and I too have had my issues, but realise that they are things that would be considered wear and tear.
I have had repairs done, to only be disappointed by a failure of a belt. Reason was a mechanic not doing his job properly, and not the car's fault.
I enjoy the car and drive it daily, with fuel consumption being the only issue, due to the short trips that I make. As for the consumption on road trips, the car is amazing and a trust worthy car, delivering great fuel returns.
As for the parts and associated costs, I find them to be reasonable and not bargain prices. I have looked at the Lexus series too, and can't believe how much they resemble your average Toyota, especially when they age a bit. Very average and disappointing.
The generalisation of comparing a GM product to BMW product is like comparing manure to sugar. Don't taste the same, or look the same. The costs are the thing you need to be aware of, and the quality, feel and look are strictly awesome, with Mercedes the only real contender here.
Now to discuss part pricing; buy a Mercedes and you'll see how cheap it is to own a BMW, you'll think the prices are a steal.
As for cup holders being an issue is, they are designed to hold cups and cans, not the gallon buckets that you can get through your local drive through. I haven't had any problems with mine. Over indulgence is bad, for you and the car.
4th Oct 2015, 03:25
I have owned a BMW 740IL for over 7 years and have performed most repairs myself. You have to get parts at a discount on eBay and other sites. For example, a coolant water bottle costs $150 at the dealer, but online the part was $40 and it included the sensor. A whole front end kit, control arms, tie rods and center link would have been $600 at dealer, but was $99 bucks on eBay.
This is one of the all time great BMWs. Don't buy into the crazy marketing. This car is a taxi cab in Europe. Find a series of mechanics you can trust and learn to shop and fix a few things yourself.
As far as the weak points on the car, it's the coolant system, which has way too many plastic parts. When it's right, it drives well and even a high mileage one can be a great value if you don't obsess over the small stuff and can get your hands dirty! Buy one, a good one for about 5K and put 5K in it, in a smart way, and you will have a great car. A new one is 100K. Put the other 90K in the bank and drive well!
26th Dec 2009, 17:14
I purchased a 1998 740IL back in 2003. It had 68K at the time. I was the 3rd owner and later found that the 2nd owner only kept it for 6 months, should have checked before hand.
In one year I spent over 7K for repairs. The radiator neck blew up while driving down the highway. I have never seen this happen in any of the cars that I have ever purchased.
A sensor went bad where the coolant was leaking. When I got the call for the repair cost, they told me the sensor was 136.00, but the repair would cost 1,300!
The airbag light came on and was told that this could cost 2,000, less if it were a sensor maybe 500.00 or so. This was just some of the issues.
I sold the car at 77K to Carmax for 5K. Considering I paid 25K for the car plus repairs, that is a joke.
Even if I win the lottery, I would never buy a BMW (Big Money Wasted) again. I have always been a GM / Toyota person, and will now always stick with these models. Just read the Consumer Reports and you will see pretty much solid black for everything for all BMW's!
Don't waste your money. If you want a sports car, then get a Z06 Chevy Corvette. If you want a nice sedan, then get a Lexus LS400. You could even buy both of these used on less money than I spent on the 740IL BMW.
As a side note. About a year ago I saw one of the newer 2007 BMW 7 series broke down on the road. The whole rear end came off and sat about 30 feet from the car. Lucky it was in a 35MPH zone. Could you imagine if you were cruising down the highway doing 75MPH? Again never seen a car lose a rear end. Go figure.