1995/96 740?

[gandhi]

Evening all,

I'm thinking of selling my (modified) E30 325iS, and picking up a 1995 or 1996 740 for around £3k.

Could anyone shed light on what to look out for, and general areas of concern for these cars, its a hell of a lot of car for the money. the mileage i've seen varies from 100k to 170k, im looking somewhere in the middle. Is mileage a major issue for these V8s?

Any hints tips and running cost advice well recieved..

[spokey]

The cars are very well made, but watch out for suspension hassles, because they are quite hefty.

Superb choice, though.

[derin100]

Great cars!

Nikasil shouldn't really be a problem now (the dates your giving are a little close to cross-over time).

I would say for £3K you don't really need to be looking at something as leggy as 170K miles at all!

e-mail me if you like and I can maybe put you in touch with a friend of mine.


[e-mail]

[B'stard Child]

Rust doesn't seem to be a problem

Auto boxes whilst sealed for life benefit from a fluid and filter change

As someone says bit close to the nikasil issues but I would agree unlikely to find one that has a problem now (how much did that cost BMW???)

Interiors very robust

Later cars with 4.4 are a bit more torquey

make sure all the electric stuff works

bought mine last year 99 740 and do not regret it for a min - why did I wait so long!!!

[spokey]

gandhi said:

325iS

Not a Shadowline, is it?

[gandhi]

Its a stripped out (for track) tech 2, sparco buckets/steering wheel, powerflow decat straight through, hartge chip, wilwood 4pot front brakes, braided hoses... no interior though!

[derin100]

"Auto boxes whilst sealed for life benefit from a fluid and filter change"

Yes...and apparently that's not a job to be undertaken by the inexperienced home-mechanic!

[B'stard Child]

derin100 said:

"Auto boxes whilst sealed for life benefit from a fluid and filter change"

Yes...and apparently that's not a job to be undertaken by the inexperienced home-mechanic!

I agree - but I'm not in-experienced

one of the things I do like about the 7 since I've had it is all the fixtures and fittings seem to be well designed and robust!!! It's a joy to maintain

[morningside]

Check it does not have the classic shimmy (wobble) fault at between 50-60mph. It is not tyre balance.

[gareth h]

Gandhi a business colleague is looking to sell a low mileage one for that sort of money, pm me if you're interested and I'll give you his details.

[gandhi]

morningside said:

Check it does not have the classic shimmy (wobble) fault at between 50-60mph. It is not tyre balance.

Thanks for that pointer.. If its not tyre balance, what is it/what are the implications of it? My E30 has it between 40-45, but its a steering rack issue..

cheers

[morningside]

Detailed reason and cure: www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/3052
Also have a wander over to : http://the7seriesregister.co.uk/ and search for poly bushes (cheaper cure)

quite a common problem on 7's

Edited by morningside on Wednesday 14th March 22:28

[gandhi]

Thank you kindly, good sir..

Doesn't look like a major problem really, and given that it occurs on many cars, I'll probably accept it (may use it to beat the price down!) and fix it myself...

All I need is a torque wrench, any ideas how much they are?

Thanks again..