About to buy an 88 735i

Hey guys,

I just went to a dealer and I saw two cars. First was an 88 735i:
-It has 102K, brand new leather interior, smooth revving engine, slightly sagging headliner, sunroof, radio says "CODE" and information computer doesn't work (dealer says he just needs to reset some code, is this true?) I didn't get a ahnce to test drive but the engine sounds very helathy, except a slight vibration inside the cabin while idling (is this normal?) He wants 6K with a 60-day warranty

Next car I saw a 94 Cadillac Seville STS:
-It has 74K, nice leather (some minor vear), 295HP FWD, everthing power, everything works, also some minor vibration at idle, great V8 rumble out of the dual exhaust :) He wants 7.5K (will prolly take 7K) same 60 day warranty

Now Caddys I know a fair bit about, but can you guys tell me if the Bimmer is a good car considering a small maintenance budget.

Now what would you guys get if you were completely unbiased as I am.
BTW I am very mechanically inclined (compeltely restored and upgraded an 89 Trans Am by myself)

Thanks for the help

The 735 has one of the most reliable engines BMW has ever made. However, the 735 does has alot of small expensive electrical accesories in the cabin. If you fix it yourself the parts are not as expensive as say a jaguar, but still more then most. (never compared to Caddi). I bought a 740 (a year ago) which is suppose to be less reliable then the 735. The 740 has 165,000 mi on it and I am happy with it so far. I think the BMWs drive better then any Caddy I have ever been in, but some of the older 735s I test drove were a little loose. Plus an '88 735 to me looks alot older then the '94 Caddy STS as far a styling. To answer the question about the radio they have an anti theft device that anytime they are removed or the battery is dissconnected (or dies) the radio goes into safe mode and needs a code to start again. You should get the code when you buy the car (otherwise any BMW dealer can get it for you).

One other thing to remember about the BMW if you do your own oil and inspection is you need a special tool (about $50 for a Peake after market tool) in order to reset the oil inspection light. (if you want to be able to reset the check engine light the tool it $150 and includes a code reader and the oil inspection light reset).

If the operable term here is "small maintenance budget," an '88 735 is not for you. The previous reply is correct -- a lot of electrical gremlins in '88s and '89s that improved later. If the dealer is not a BMW dealer, I would doubt his ability to activate the computer. Radio does need code as mentioned. Only headliner fix is to have it replaced.

Vibration at idle could be drive shaft ($1000 job). Other things you might have problems with considering age and mileage: entire front suspension, a/c system, transmission, exhaust (check replacement prices).

BMW 7s have fabulous rides and many features not on American cars 10 years later. But you ought to budget repair and meintenance at several thousand dollars a year until everything is right on it.

My experience base: '85 BMW 535i (few electrical problems, great car); '89 735iL (many electrical glitches, several $thousand repair in four years); '96 750iL (virtually free of inherent problems, but it ought to be for what it costs).

It's hard to tell at a distance, but $6,000 for an '88 is more than I'd be willing to consider. But once you've driven a BMW 7 for any length of time, you'll never be satisfied with a Cadillac. Sorry this post is so late --I just joined.

Jim