BMW 7 Series 740i
Performance
Practicality
Reliability
BMW 7 Series 740i
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User Reviews
Performance
Practicality
Reliability
Value For Money
It Is A Very Pleasant Car To Drive And Own And It
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.
Performance
Practicality
Reliability
Value For Money
Picked A Bmw 740i Up For £2,690 6 Months Ago
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
I had a 1995 BMW 740iL up until a few weeks ago when I changed it for a 528iSE. The big 7 was an amazing car in every respect except the fuel economy which could be shocking to the say the least!Mine was the L model, which with an extra 6 inches rear legroom was almost big enough in the back to hold a cocktail party!The car was brimming with toys, including a BMW Nokia phone which was a bit dated but worked perfectly well.By far the best feature though was that glorious 4 litre V8 engine, as the review writer has already said though it could very easily catch you out as it was so quiet at times you just don't realise your speed. When revved though the engine was absolutely fantastic, and the noise it made can only be described as throaty and very sporty...my wife said the engine was evil, and it could be!I made 2 very long trips to Scotland in mine (expensive too) and it never missed a beat in over 1000 miles and returned an average of about 29mpg, not bad for a 286bhp engine pulling a 2 ton car. Use the power though and that figure WILL drop to about 16mpg!Overall I would very highly recommend this car if you're not worried about fuel economy you want a supremely comfortable cruiser...not for the faint hearted though about 3000rpm.Sadly I let it go as it was just too impractical for my needs in the end, just try using it for town work and parking in supermarket car parks that are designed for Ford Fiestas...
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