Reliability on E32 750il

[MikeHsu]

Can anyone tell me how reliable is the E32 750il. I am looking at a 1990 e32. Is there anything I should be aware of? I don't know much about the V12 and how much maintenance it needs.

What type of gas mileage are people seeing? Are they relatively quick? I used to have a e38 740i 95' and although it was a bit torquey, it felt like I was lugging a boat.

Also, anyone have pictures of clean e32s. Thanks!

[kwho]

Can anyone tell me how reliable is the E32 750il. I am looking at a 1990 e32. Is there anything I should be aware of? I don't know much about the V12 and how much maintenance it needs.

What type of gas mileage are people seeing? Are they relatively quick? I used to have a e38 740i 95' and although it was a bit torquey, it felt like I was lugging a boat.

Also, anyone have pictures of clean e32s. Thanks!

Well, they will be nice to you, if you are nice to it. Check the front suspension, control arms, listen for poor bearings, check slop in the steering wheel, make sure it drives straight. The V12 is a good engine, if taken care of. Check OIL, make sure its not BLACK. Check tranny fluid, make sure its pink. Go slow, feel the tranny shift at low speeds without kicking.

I drive the same car and get around 13in city with light driving..

Check driveshaft, or atleast make sure there isnt a clicking in it..like mine lol.

Front suspension is a biggy and can be a prob if not fixed right. If you plan on using a mechanic, don't but this car, it costs alot for labor and hard to find an honest BMW mechanic. Make sure you know how to fix things on cars first..

It's quick, but not from a dig, remember, its a 4500LB car if not more ( I can't remember :O)

If I didn't scare ya, good luck, they are nice cars and addicting, ask anyone here. Make sure you have a full wallet though.

[MikeHsu]

I do more highway driving so I am looking for a good cruiser. It will be used as a daily driver. Is it a lot of work to get a 6 speed manual swapped into this? I know the gearbox is hard to come by but is it the resources of getting it that is stopping people from doing it, or the price?

[shogun]

go to my website below, see under prepurchase, there is a long write up for the E32 750 and if there is any more question after reading that, please let us know.

[paulmer]

Do it . I know this'll be a very controversial statement around these parts, but E32 = the best generation of 7er.

And pix you say?

[Mr.Stabby]

..... and what if the tranny is kicking at low speeds? what does that mean? i did a hard reset listed on shogun's site and it went away, then slowly came back. hopefully to me that jsut means a electrical problem

[tazM3]

Do it!

If you can tolerate expensive maintenance now and then (and for me it hasn't been all THAT expensive or frequent) the rewards are rich!! I think it's a terrific cruiser, still highly competitive in that category although designed in the mid-80's

When the car asks for $$, you do have to pony up though, best if you can DIY at least some stuff like the other posters said.

I have put 110K total on two different E32 750's over about 7 years and they've been very rugged

MPG = 15 city, 18 highway stock; 13 city, 17 highway with Dinan DME chip

You'll really enjoy this car



About maintenance, what I should have said, is that this is not a car you can drive and forget

You have to stay aware of the maintenance schedule and be picky about keeping up with it, plus keep a close eye so you can catch stuff early if anything is up

Probably just what anyone who owns a car SHOULD do

But with this car, it's essential that you actually DO these things

When you do, it will perform great, be reliable and not astronomically expensive, and will make you very happy


Best regards,
Steve

[paulmer]

Well said, Steve

Agreed.

[kevinakerberg]

Do it!

When the car asks for $$, you do have to pony up though, best if you can DIY at least some stuff like the other posters said.

About maintenance, what I should have said, is that this is not a car you can drive and forget

You have to stay aware of the maintenance schedule and be picky about keeping up with it, plus keep a close eye so you can catch stuff early if anything is up

Probably just what anyone who owns a car SHOULD do

But with this car, it's essential that you actually DO these things

When you do, it will perform great, be reliable and not astronomically expensive, and will make you very happy


Best regards,
Steve

What DIY maintenance do you mean? Could you give some examples of maintence that the owner of this car would have to do themselves? I’m looking at a 1993 750iL and want to know what I’m getting myself into. Thanks.

[SergeBMW]

Kevin check Shogun's checklist out, has more than I can say. http://twrite.org/shogunnew/topmenu.html Go to the left pane and click on checklist, then prepurchase below that.

The E32s are very robust cars, more so than the E38s and I have both. 750iL comes with a few more complications such as the LAD or self leveling suspension in the rear, sometimes the shocks leak, or may need new accumulators, 1 for each rear wheel. The M70 V12 engine is fantastic but be ready to purchase 2 of everything, 2 throttle bodies, 2 fuel pumps, 2 filters, 2 fuel regulators, 2 distributers, 2 coils, etc... It was designed with the ability to run smoothly on 1 bank if it ever needed to incase of a major fault. The throttle bodies seem to be a big area of trouble when years pass without a cleaning. Reconditioning can be done at home with a couple of tools.
These E32s honestly are easy to work on with the exception of replacing a driveshaft or center bearing due to old age/slop and replacing front end suspension. Id say of my 2 E32s ive owned, that was the hardest part of any DIY ive done to them. The rest can be done with plenty of references online and with a Bentley manual.

Periodic maintenance is a must, but simple such as oil changes for the diff, engine, and transmission. Keeping brake fluid and coolant clean is a must as well. Flushes should be done when the time comes. These items that most people skip on their Japanese or american cars wont do you any good with these cars. In the end, regular maintenance is not expensive at all on these unless you have a major issue one month.

We are a HUGE community and more so than VW or MB of which I also own. If you'd like, send us a link to the posting of the car or send us more info such as mileage and general issues of the car. We are here to help!

[biasvoltage]

Lots of people are afraid of the V12; there are all sorts of horror stories on the internet about complexity and difficulty...all written by people that either never owned one, or owned one and relied on dealerships or independent mechanics to fix everything. It really isn't that difficult. If you have reasonable DIY skills, it is pretty easy to work on. Every fastener is plated, and torqued to a specific value. Which means everything comes apart and goes back together the way it is supposed to. Try that with any 30 year old US car! I bought a neglected 89 750 last year, that hadn't run in 6 years and brought it back to life with junkyard parts and things I bought from RockAuto and FCP euro. The car was headed to the scrap yard, but with about $1000 in maintenance parts and a few weekends of wrenching, it has been an utterly reliable, supremely comfortable and powerful cruiser for the 6000 miles I've put on it in the year I've had it.

[wrestlerdad]

I'm on my second, the first was a 93 that I still regret selling. Become familiar with this board and other DIY resources and you can keep your maintenance costs down, and buy a Bentley manual. Good luck with yours!

[kevinakerberg]

Thank you for your help Serge! I checked out Shogun's site and that too was a great help. The listing is here, tell me what you think and thanks again.

[youngbimmer]

We have a wonderful support community on this board, really makes owning an E32 very easy to live with (if you do your own work).

That being said, I generally avoid any listings written in all caps....

[kevinakerberg]

That being said, I generally avoid any listings written in all caps....

I also found that to be a bit sketchy, but the price is hard to ignore (assuming it's been taken care of). But that aside is the mileage too high and is the price right?

[youngbimmer]

I also found that to be a bit sketchy, but the price is hard to ignore (assuming it's been taken care of). But that aside is the mileage too high and is the price right?

that's the point, cars written in all caps have NOT been taken care of, in my opinion. Don't buy a cheap 750 and expect it to be perfect because you will easily sink in double what you paid for the car getting it back into shape.

[kevinakerberg]

Understood, I guess I'll have to keep looking then.

[SergeBMW]

To be honest for 2k that looks in great shape compared to what I've seen and paid for mine. Why not go take a look at it, test drive it. Maybe I see more diamonds in the rough than most lol. I do see some faded paint on the roof though. Something to look at because it may just get worse from there.

[vwleadfoot]

Can anyone tell me how reliable is the E32 750il. I am looking at a 1990 e32. Is there anything I should be aware of? I don't know much about the V12 and how much maintenance it needs.

What type of gas mileage are people seeing? Are they relatively quick? I used to have a e38 740i 95' and although it was a bit torquey, it felt like I was lugging a boat.

Also, anyone have pictures of clean e32s. Thanks!

Where in MD are you? I'm in southern MD. You're welcome to come visit and see my car and get the whole saga of the build. It's not cheap, but well worth the price of entry.

[kevinakerberg]

Why not go take a look at it, test drive it.

I’d love to, the only thing is is that it’s in Cincinnati and I live in the suburbs of Chicago, so I want to be absolutely sure there’s at least a chance of me purchasing it before making the trip.

[SergeBMW]

I’d love to, the only thing is is that it’s in Cincinnati and I live in the suburbs of Chicago, so I want to be absolutely sure there’s at least a chance of me purchasing it before making the trip.

Oh yea, no thats a hell of a trip for a shady CL post.

[SergeBMW]

Are you only interested in the 750? Or the other E32s as well including the 735 or 740?

[kevinakerberg]

I would definitely be interested in both the 735 and 740, however I’ve been hard pressed to find good listings for them in my area.

[SergeBMW]

What is your budget? I did a quick search within the Chicago area and found a couple 740s, one of them is being sold by another classic BMW enthusiast, asking $4900 but its beautiful

Here is a few:

1994 740i $4900 135k (He says he owns 6 classic bmws, this would probably be the top one in my search)
https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/c...598027826.html

1994 740i $3900 172k
https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/c...598661847.html

[kevinakerberg]

My budgets around $3000-3500, might be able to stretch it to $4000. So that $3900 740i is of interest, however 172k is a lot of miles. Too many or manageable in your opinion?