Thinking Of Buying A 740iL ??? Help !

[Ash71360]

Hiya everyone,

I am selling my 2007 Chrysler 300C for something a little cheaper but with a alot more CLASS...

Now ever since the 750il in "Tomorrow Never Dies" Bond Film, i have loved the shape of the '94-2001 7-Series (especially the facelifted ones with the clear indicaters and tail lights.)
I am looking for something on the tail end of that ... like '98-2001

Anyways ... I could really do with some pointers on what to lookout for... what to avoid, what models are good, what are not so good... i am really looking to get a 740il (not a 740i, i have been told, but that is why i want to hear from all of you to help decide Why ?)

My budget is 15k-20k ...

Thanks for any help that you can give ... even offtopic stuff is good as all info is good info !

Cheers...

[lincolnmaster80]

Well, first off, I'm gonna say that you have excellent taste. Despite what some negative people may say abot them, they are a bittersweet car...emphasis on the sweet though! I don't have a whole lot of experience on the E38's, but here is some of what I know.

Here's the bitter:

You want to watch for rough idle. Does it run nice and smooth? Or does it seem to kind of run smooth and then almost "blub bluh blub blub" then into a bit of smooth idle. (sorry, dunno how to translate sounds into text)

How does it start when it's cold? You can feel a that the car is running/idling, but it shouldn't be as rough as your Chrysler. Does it seem to want to hesitate as it is just firing?

Those are a good sign of neglected maintenance. Run away from the vehicle unless you have a cash cow and don't mind sinking it into fixing the rough idle and can get the car for VERY cheap.

Some more bitter: Though these are mostly service items and would have had to have been replaced sooner or later, depsite whether you owned the car since new or not, all of them combined can add up to quite a bit bill if you don't do your own work.

Take the car for a test drive...and not on a salesman route, on a route with a bunch of different road surfaces. Drive it in the city at the limit, drive it on the freeway at the limit and especially at around 50 mp/h (about 80 km/h) with a steady throttle to keep a constant speed. Anywhere between 45-55mp/h (70-90 km/h) the steering wheel should not have any shimmy in it (even if ever so slight). These are symptoms of the most common fault: Bad upper control arm bushings. A pig to replace if you are replacing just the bushing. It's easier if you decide to replace the whole control arm with bushing already pressed in with new balljoint.

Aside from that, check for how the tires are wearing, if they haven't been replaced for the sale. With the 'iL' versions of these cars, they usually have a self leving rear suspension. Now on the E38's, I don't know if they are hydrolic or not, but if they are, check to see that there is not leaking coming from the rear shocks...a very expensive part to replace is they are leaking.

I do encourage you to see if the car will come with a warranty and a money back guarantee. And remember, just because you might have one bad experience with a 7-series BMW, doesn't make all of them horrible cars to own. Keep on top of your maintenance, and these cars will see 300,000+ miles no problem.

And I put a lot of emphasis on not buying the first 740iL you see. I looked for almost 6-8 months at about 100 different 7-series before I bought mine. You don't have to wait that long, but my point is look to see what is out there, the differences, what needs what, and when you do find the one that is in perfect condition, you won't regret waiting!

Now here's the sweet:
I don't believe I have been able to express words how beautiful my 1990 750iL is to drive...it is something you must truly feel for yourself. With all the toys and gadget's and gizmo's, these cars are truly a mans dream!

[lincolnmaster80]

I also forgot to mention, accelerate hard from a stop and from speeds at about 45 mp/h. The car should talk off nice and smooth. Hit the brakes from 60 mp/h and then do it with a light brake application. What you're watching for is any sort of vibrations and shimmy.

If you find this, I suggest you might want to look else where for your 740.

[ibew595]

www.e38.org
Look through this first.
Figure on spending $200-$2500 per year on maintainance or repairs.
$5000 is not unheard of either.
These are fantastic cars and not for the meek of wallet. A dealer brake job will cost $800+ and oil change $200.
There are no such things as lifetime fluids for the transmission and between 70k and 100k it should be replaced, $600
Drive a few of them and you should be able to know how they should feel on the road, very smooth.
They may be expensive to maintain but try driving your 300C into a wall at highway speeds vs the E38s. You will get out and walk away in a BMW.
Look under the hood at the fenders and you will see all the "ripples" where the fenders will collapse in an accident.
If you do maintainance on your own cars there is lots of help for you at E38.org and bimmerboard.
Lastly go for a late production 2001 with the widescreen nav and sport.
The iL sport is a cosmetic version of a i sport.
In addition to what you see on a iL sport there is:
Different rear end gearing
Steptronic transmission, unless you buy a 750
Suspension

Do not buy any car with self leveling suspension as Lincolnmaster80 stated they shocks are expensive-----$600 or some ungodly amount. You can't get non BMW shocks to replace them with and cannot retrofit normal shocks into them.
Price out tires too. 18" tires are $800-$1200 a set.
You should be able to find a very nice 01 for $15k and save the rest to maintain.

[lincolnmaster80]

Originally Posted by ibew595

www.e38.org
Do not buy any car with self leveling suspension as Lincolnmaster80 stated they shocks are expensive-----$600 or some ungodly amount. You can't get non BMW shocks to replace them with and cannot retrofit normal shocks into them.

Well, don't let that scare you. Before you run around in circles when these things kick the bucket, my car has rear LAD and 112,000+ kilometers on it...and no leaks. When these things go, I plan on replacing them with genuine LAD shocks...I mean, if they last another 100,000+ km's, then it's well worth the $1500 investment, especially if you only put about 15,000 km's on it a year. Just my opinion of course...

For the E32 LAD, they make an elimination kit that plugs the hydrolic regulator and replaces the LAD shocks with "normal" shocks.