It is a very pleasant car to drive and own and it s capable of very high mileages (200,000 +). A problem is that it is so safe, quiet and fast that it is possible to lose control by driving too fast around corners without realising the speed you are actually going at.

Picked a BMW 740i up for £2,690 6 months ago (7 owners, no log book, a risk/bargain) - drives fantastically (despite a buckled alloy).
But so far a few minor things have been faulty and are proving expensive to sort out - windscreen water jets, intermittent faulty rear light cluster, intermittent fault in dials, pixels missing from computer/cd/radio display, dodgy heating/air-con thermostat.
Not major but I've had one of those fixed and it came to around £200! Oh and brake lining/disc replacement was £300! Not at the BMW dealer (of course), but still not cheap.

The car is very thirsty but you'll know that if you buy a 4 litre car, this does however mean that it has more power under the bonnet than the average Joe sharing the highways with you. Very pleasant at times. And it therefore makes for a highly comfortable ride over longer distances.

Basically buy one if:
- You're not going to use it every day and/or for lots of short trips OR you don't mind standing in petrol stations often and for a while (88 litre tank!).
- you don't mind visiting the mechanics fairly often and paying a hefty bill OR you don't mind living with some of the electrics occasionally playing up.
- You want a piece of quality machinery with loads of space, a leather interior and a rocket stuffed up the exhaust for a few grand...

Don't buy one if:
- You're concerned about your income
- You're concerned about the environment