1995 750il V12? phoenix Craigslist

[eslihunt]

I found a 1997 750il V12 for around $6K. Anyone know about these cars? Should I avoid them like the plague?

It just looks like the coolest car...aside from the droopy headliner...

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/ctd/2781283940.html

[Coupenut]

My personal preference would be for a nice 740 Sport, tighter suspension, Steptronic transmission, sport seats, high stall speed torque converter, Shadowline trim. That being said, my son has a 97 750iL. At 177K miles he is dealing with the well documented problems associated with the automatic transmissions these cars are equipped with. Aside from that there have been no problems or issues with car that one wouldn't expect in 15 year old BMW.
Be advised that the 750 sucks gas big time!

[eslihunt]

My personal preference would be for a nice 740 Sport, tighter suspension, Steptronic transmission, sport seats, high stall speed torque converter, Shadowline trim. That being said, my son has a 97 750iL. At 177K miles he is dealing with the well documented problems associated with the automatic transmissions these cars are equipped with. Aside from that there have been no problems or issues with car that one wouldn't expect in 15 year old BMW.
Be advised that the 750 sucks gas big time!

Thanks. You brought me back down to earth.

[samsonevickis]

As a 750 owner and mechanic I would advise caution.

I LOVE my 750, but I bought an E32 over the E38 because of the simpler electronic issues. My V12 is great, but I dread working on the E38 model, just more stuff in the way of doing routine BMW maintenance.

But with that said the car seems to be in great shape, engine looks super clean. Also I agree with Coupenut on the tranny issues, I have been down that road more times than I can remember. It really seem inevitable that your tranny and ABS module will need to be replaced at some point.

[master6]

You need to do some more research, there are some really pissed off owners of the 750i.

[LarryM]

My personal preference would be for a nice 740 Sport, tighter suspension, Steptronic transmission, sport seats, high stall speed torque converter, Shadowline trim.

I didn't realize that the "sport" package actually included some legitimate "sport" items other than the upgraded wheels. Good to know, as I've always liked the 740.

So tranny was completely different (and less problematic) than the 750's?


I LOVE my 750, but I bought an E32 over the E38 because of the simpler electronic issues. My V12 is great, but I dread working on the E38 model, just more stuff in the way of doing routine BMW maintenance.

Can you enlighten me on how the electronics in the E38 are so much different than the E32? I think there may be a 7 series in my future, but I want to make sure I get the "right" one. I agree: problematic, complicated electronics in a car can be a deal breaker at any cost.

[mauryc]

Do you want a 12 cyl or just an e38? If the latter, 99' - 01' post facelift 740's are my choice. I'm an average DIY'er and I've been able to handle everything on my 00' so far under my carport, including all suspension as well as upper timing covers and intake/valley pan gaskets. No electronic issues to date (130k). Incredible cars.

[Coupenut]

I didn't realize that the "sport" package actually included some legitimate "sport" items other than the upgraded wheels. Good to know, as I've always liked the 740.
The "Sport Package" was introduced with the 1999 facelift of the E38. The springs are 25% stiffer than those on the standard E38 and the shocks are 100% stiffer. As I mentioned in the earlier post the Sport came with the Steptronic transmission and a higher stall speed torque converter. You also got a 3.15 LSD differential instead of the standard 2.93 rear. The sport option also offered sport seats, and steering wheel (please note that the sport steering wheel wasn't offered if the particular vehicle was equipped with the "Cold Weather Package" because the sport steering wasn't or couldn't be heated). So if you a car without the three spoke sport steering wheel and its presented as a "sport" that doesn't mean its a fake or a clone.
Finally the sport package offered the staggered 18" M-Parallel wheels, and Shadowline trim.
All these goodies were available on the short wheelbase E38 only. If you ordered a longer wheelbase E38 all you got were the cosmetic items; wheels and shadowline trim, none of the performance upgrades were available .


So tranny was completely different (and less problematic) than the 750's?
The transmission is the sport is different than that of the regular cars including the 750 but I'm not expert enough in this area to say that its any less problematic than any other BMW transmission. I think that much of the transmission problems in these cars is related to the "lifetime" fluid program that BMW switched to. The fluid supposedly never needs to be changed and there's no way to check it (no dipstick) and many of the transmission problems began to surface as vehicles manufactured after this change began to rack up mileage. There's tons of information on the problems created by this change on the E38, and other boards here at Bimmerforums. I personally know of one E38 owner who converted his car to a 6 speed manual when his transmission went bad.


Can you enlighten me on how the electronics in the E38 are so much different than the E32? I think there may be a 7 series in my future, but I want to make sure I get the "right" one. I agree: problematic, complicated electronics in a car can be a deal breaker at any cost.

This is probably somewhat subjective because I know that a friend of mine who is a BMW tech prefers the E38 platform over the subsequent 7 series platforms as well as the E32. I'm not an electrical engineer, but I believe that a lot of the differences (and preferences) come from the way in which the different platforms are wired and pass signals. Someone here can probably provide much more detail on the differences and the pros and cons of the electronics.