Buying an E65/E66 7 series... Convince me not to do it

[Jon_Bmw]

Mid life crisis is here, baby on the way etc...

Aged 30 and considering something like the below:



http://www.coastlinecars.co.uk/used-car ... 1149742620

Logic being that I only do a 100 miles a week and I am getting bored of a diesel chugger.

I have an autologic scanner at work so I can plug it in to read the MANY fault codes, and then promptly clear and ignore them...

So Pacerpete, Barry et al are they financial suicide? I have heard about the stem seal issue on these v8 engines. What else?

The one in the link seems a bit choppy to me, especially after reading some of the MOT history! But something between £3000-6000 and pre the £500 tax bracket is what I am thinking about. It is fairly ugly, but I won't be able to see that when wafting about in it or waiting for the RAC truck...

[Kos]

I have an autologic scanner at work so I can plug it in to read the MANY fault codes, and then promptly clear and ignore them...

[Kos]

on a serious note, i keep looking at e63's

then i become sensible and buy a 320d e91

I'm just waiting for the timing chain to shit it self

[Jesus325iTouring]

Just get on with it you big girl, if I listened to everyone with there doom and gloom stories, I wouldn't have my V8 X5 in my garage. It's a beast and I love it. The V8 sounds ace and goes well too. Same logic as you, doesn't do many miles as have 2 other cars for daily use so couldn't careless about the economy. You only live once!

[Jesus325iTouring]

http://rs284.pbsrc.com/albums/ll16/Jesu ... 0&fit=clip

http://rs284.pbsrc.com/albums/ll16/Jesu ... 0&fit=clip

Do you like the romantic number plates I bought for my wife

[DanThe]

You can have a V8 and be sensible, convert it to LPG
Mine does 17mpg @40p per litre which is the running equivalent of nearly 50mpg, win win

[Simon13]

IF you live near an LPG station if not then its bollocks, like living in my town no LPG for miles and miles

Jon it is true, just go and buy with your noggin. The Zone types will steer you away from anything, like renault tragics e46's e30's Austin Maxis

[Brianmoooore]

IF you live near an LPG station if not then its bollocks, like living in my town no LPG for miles and miles

OP gives his location as Sallsbury. Three stations in town that I know of, more up on the 303, and loads in Southampton direction. None are likely to be quite as cheap as DanThe's 40p/litre, but still a LOT cheaper than petrol.

[Jon_Bmw]

As brian said Salisbury is unbelievably well catered for LPG stations, unfortunately there must be some price fixing going on as it is at least 65p a litre, if not more. There's one about 1 mile from work. I wouldn't rule it out, but I probably couldn't be bothered fitting another kit, so if it came with it, great.

I ran that 540i when I was in my last year of uni(and subsequent years), but I get the feeling that didn't have as much to go wrong as a 7 series.

Kos I should be sensible, but every time I log on auto trader I only search for Petrol and over 2.5l I have heard lots of horror stories about diesel BMWs so I have always shyed away, but the Internet only ever tells the bad stories.

Still have the M coupe appreciating in the garage, but I need a daily BMW again...This could be the (expensive) ticket...

[bss325i]

The thing with the E6x V8's is they use the N62 engine which is great when there are no problems but.....

They are pretty much two N42's joined together and they suffer the same problems and a couple of others which are a pain!

The valvetronic intermediate levers and shafts wear causing EML lights and misfires.
The Valve stem seals last appox 100k miles before they smoke like a bugger.
Timing chains and guides stretch and break up respectively
They love an oil leak from the cam cover gaskets and front timing covers as well as the vacuum pump.
There is a coolant pipe in the V of the engine which can leak which means heads and lower timing cover off to do although there is a telescopic pipe that can be bought from the states to do that instead of removing the heads.
The alternator has a CAN BUS data line and these can fail leading to all sorts of warning lights.

All of that tends to happen around the 100k mark although there is no hard rule to that.

Then there is the rest of the E65/66 electrical dramas.

Also watch for gearbox trouble in the form of leaks from the plastic sump and electrical plug sleeve plus shift issues.

[DanThe]

As brian said Salisbury is unbelievably well catered for LPG stations, unfortunately there must be some price fixing going on as it is at least 65p a litre, if not more. There's one about 1 mile from work. ...

The taxi driver industry has been keeping LPG prices on its arse here for a few years now, its great

[Jon_Bmw]

Barry,

I knew I could rely on you to bring me back to reality! Ouch that looks like a rather painful list! Interestingly the car linked above has had its EML on for the last two MOTs...

The intermediate levers, shaft wear and timing chain dramas sounds particularly sad.

I wonder if the V12 is even worse? Obviously the 3.0 is probably the best bet, but that must be a bit of a roadblock.

Jon

[Jesus325iTouring]

How many are there out there that have not had issues, versus those that do?

[DanThe]

From google -

This motor is the sole reason i will never buy another v8 powered BMW, Besides making decent power, these things are crap, expensive as hell to fix, and not very friendly to the DIY'er. Trying to troubleshoot one of these things yourself is going to put you out of a lot more $$ than you think you are saving. Best bet is to roll in to the stealer, bend over, and spread em wide. Hopefully you know a good indy that specializes in BMW.

Also -

I currently own the 2007 550i. I bought it with 90k miles and now I have 158k on it in about two and a half years.

Here are some of the repairs done;

Vacuum pump
Water pump
Valve cover gaskets and valve stem seals- $2250 with parts and labor
Alternator is pretty much done, that will be my next repair. However, the alternator bracket gasket is an issue and it leaks a lot of oil (about a quart a month). I am replacing that with the alternator job.

Air filter, breaks and spark plugs are just regular maintenance that were done.
-----------------------------------------

Id be looking for a lesser milage car than the one advertised, at near 100,000 miles you should be expecting to have to replace lots of wearing parts, obviously depending on how hard its been driven.

You would like to see its already had a set of valve seals, timing chain, water pipe etc etc but lots of car salesmen will throw away repair bills in the thought it scares people off

[Jesus325iTouring]

The main reason I bought mine was it had been owned by a lady clearly as a second car for 12 years or so, had full history, pretty low miles and little things like correct BMW suggested tyres etc. If one was to be any good, i'd struggle to find one with better provenence. Plenty out there that have been illmaintained, running around on Ditch finders and with no history.

[maxfield]

The main reason I bought mine was it had been owned by a lady clearly as a second car for 12 years or so, had full history, pretty low miles and little things like correct BMW suggested tyres etc. If one was to be any good, i'd struggle to find one with better provenence. Plenty out there that have been illmaintained, running around on Ditch finders and with no history.

Jesus, I'm sure recently you asked what was the point in servicing cars

[Jesus325iTouring]

Thats correct, I wouldn't buy a car from myself Joking aside, the X5 will be properly maintained, my E class though, not a chance!

[bss325i]

The main reason I bought mine was it had been owned by a lady clearly as a second car for 12 years or so, had full history, pretty low miles and little things like correct BMW suggested tyres etc. If one was to be any good, i'd struggle to find one with better provenence. Plenty out there that have been illmaintained, running around on Ditch finders and with no history.

What year and engine size is your X5 Rog as you may have the more reliable M62 engine?

[bss325i]

Barry,

I knew I could rely on you to bring me back to reality! Ouch that looks like a rather painful list! Interestingly the car linked above has had its EML on for the last two MOTs...

The intermediate levers, shaft wear and timing chain dramas sounds particularly sad.

I wonder if the V12 is even worse? Obviously the 3.0 is probably the best bet, but that must be a bit of a roadblock.

Jon

V12 ones are quite rare but i can't think of anything they suffer from in particular.

3.0 petrol are not a complete road block to be honest and being the M54 or N62 are pretty reliable.

[Jesus325iTouring]

The main reason I bought mine was it had been owned by a lady clearly as a second car for 12 years or so, had full history, pretty low miles and little things like correct BMW suggested tyres etc. If one was to be any good, i'd struggle to find one with better provenence. Plenty out there that have been illmaintained, running around on Ditch finders and with no history.

What year and engine size is your X5 Rog as you may have the more reliable M62 engine?

51 with the 4.4

[Blitz]

Please dont get grey with grey.

[rh306]

Talking V8 smokers, are these any better than the Bangle 7? They're getting cheap

[Simon13]

they look 400 times better so thats a start

[Jesus325iTouring]

CLS 500 gets me excited

[bss325i]

The main reason I bought mine was it had been owned by a lady clearly as a second car for 12 years or so, had full history, pretty low miles and little things like correct BMW suggested tyres etc. If one was to be any good, i'd struggle to find one with better provenence. Plenty out there that have been illmaintained, running around on Ditch finders and with no history.

What year and engine size is your X5 Rog as you may have the more reliable M62 engine?

51 with the 4.4

Yep, M62 but these still like an oil leak and stretched chains shagged guides.

[Jesus325iTouring]

I'll look after it with kid gloves, currently runs lovely and my garage floor, whilst wet because the garage roof lets the rain p1ss in, doesn't have an oil slick, or indeed a drop

[Jon_Bmw]

Simon, you just have to close your eyes as you walk up to it.

Dan - yes I read that, he seemed particularly enthusiastic about it. Haha.

I had the m62 in my 5 series Rog and it was reliable for me in 25K miles. I think the rocker cover gaskets started to leak but that is an easy DIY. I have a spare gasket that I will drop to you when I am passing one day. Unlike your normal gaskets, this one is BMW AND new!

Barry thanks as always... I need to try and forget about this and just put up with the daily chugger... Perhaps the wife won't mind me getting it as a part Christmas present.

[Jesus325iTouring]

That'd be nice Jon, have a cup of tea, laugh at my lack of E30 progress and play spot the rust on my E Class. No taking the p1ss out of Frank the CRV though, he's ace

[Jesus325iTouring]

Oh and you mentioned BMW V12, how about this little number....

[Jon_Bmw]

Well I decided that I really didn't want to do stem seals, stretched chains etc etc of the v8 745i so I broke pretty much every rule I would normally use when buying a car and went for a 760Li.

1) Viewed in the dark...check
2) Car was 200 miles away...check
3) Let heart rule head...check.

Anyhow it drove very nicely back. After a bit of fudging around with insurance and I shall be using it at the end of the month. At least that will give me time to get the drivers seat into a comfortable position. It has so many different potential positions its ridiculous.

The bork potential is absolutely massive. Lets see how much I am crying into my cornflakes when I start using it regularly. I have yet to scan it using our autologic, if I upload the fault record it will probably break the internet with historic codes.

Jon_BMW
(new wedding/funeral car business tbc)

[Jesus325iTouring]

Excellent stuff, in these times of austerity and such like I fully approve of buying cars with large engines and the potential to bankrupt oneself

[Simon13]

i just saw this thread and had a thought of V12ness and you've gone and done it! Crazy mofo but i'd do it.

Will be great for Le mans this year?

[DanThe]

[bss325i]

Fortune favours the brave!

[Jon_Bmw]

Here is a very quick photo. It makes the ramp look small huh!



I think the electrochromic exterior mirrors will be the first casualty. Those babies are f**ked!