7 Series, WHY U SO CHEAP?!

"Jake The Skull" (WishIhadaHolden)
10/24/2013 at 21:47 • Filed to: None

I'm just curious. Is there something wrong with these cars? I mean, I know the 3 and 5 series are much more desirable, but the 7 is still ridiculously good looking. I feel like channeling my inner Jason Statham. Anybody know why these are so cheap?

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/index300.h…

DISCUSSION (33)

Dunnik > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 21:49

Q - What does BMW stand for?

A - Broke My Wallet

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 21:50

They're like 15 year old cars by now right? And like (at least from that mindset my parents ingrained in me, the LS reliability over 7-series fun mindset) Germans have high maintenance costs late in life? IDK.

I LOVE THIS 7-SERIES. ;_;

PatBateman > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 21:50

Cheap car, expensive repairs.

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 21:50

Because over long term ownership it would probably be cheaper to invest in a house.

N/A POWAAAHH > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 21:52

parts, repairs, etc. Also, Oppo Jesus is trying to tempt you

anonsagainstanonymous > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 21:52

Remember to check part and labour prices before you consider a high end car.

Slave2anMG > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis
10/24/2013 at 21:54

Or have a wife and 4 mistresses.

Jake The Skull > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 21:56

So basically, what everyone is saying, is there is no such thing as a cheap BMW.

deadpedal > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 21:57

because that's how the market sorts out.

These cars are beautiful sleek panthers. It ain't a house cat. Are you prepared to bring a panther into your house?

Pretty cat, though...

Your boy, BJR > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 21:59

Because they're crap. (don't get me wrong, I adore them and they're one of my favorites, but they're crap.)

offroadkarter > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 22:00

They are pretty damn unreliable, they will nickel and dime you to death. Also, when you see one of these advertised as "all the pixels still work!!!!11!!!11!1111!" Thats because the dash pixels are infamous for dying in the older 3/5/7/8 series cars.

But I'll still say to the day I die, the E38 7 series is the best looking 7 series BMW has, and ever will make

Manuél Ferrari > Slave2anMG
10/24/2013 at 22:01

LOL

Imagine if the wife didn't know about the mistresses and they didn't know about each other, then they all found out about each other and joined forces to kick your ass and bankrupt you.

Dunnik > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 22:03

No, there is not.

There are, however, cheap er BMW's. Where things can still be expensive to fix/find, but where most everything is well-made enough that it hardly ever breaks. This car is not one of those BMW's.

If you can swing a wrench and have a well stocked garage - and time, and passion - you can keep a choice older one on the road with reasonable cost. But if you have to pay somebody to do it, BMW Tech's don't come cheap, and ex-Techs/Specialists aren't cheap either.

Manuél Ferrari > Your boy, BJR
10/24/2013 at 22:04

Have you owned one or known people that have? Is it fair to say every one of them was crap?

I've never owned this particular bimmer but I know one person who did and she regrets selling it. She said it was reliable and all her maintenance was scheduled. She used an independent BMW shop to keep labor costs down.

She had the last model year. Usually bimmers are unreliable at first but the later years get more reliable as the bugs are worked out.

PS9 > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 22:06

It's not just the 7 Series. Unless it's rare and fast, it's hard for a car to evade that depreciation once it MSRPs for six figures. That and the reliability issues depress the prices.

Jake The Skull > Dunnik
10/24/2013 at 22:10

See, I am a wrench. But I'm a domestic wrench. I know enough about European cars to know how much they can differ from domestic cars. Under hood work? I think it's easier. Electrical/diagnostic/Ghosts in the system, not easy. But again, I don't have much experience with Europe. I don't know how much these could suck to work on long term.

Manuél Ferrari > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 22:12

Large German luxu barges are complicated machines. So the maintenance is more expensive than a simpler car. And some of them had design issues that created expensive repair costs.

But if you get the right year and a car that was taken care of it won't necessarily be a bad car. IMO the best deals on the planet are used large luxury sedans. These cars depreciate harder than almost anything else. Some models were crap but others were reliable. Either way they depreciate hard (look at the Lexus LS, it is reliable but depreciates hard too). IMO there is one huge reason that these cars depreciate hard and it's not related to the cars themselves:

SUPER RICH PEOPLE BUY NEW CARS!

The majority of new car sales for the 7 Series, S Class and Lexus LS are made to rich men who are at least 50 years old. These men are busy and don't want to waste time or hassle buying a used car. They buy or lease their cars new. If they care about having a new toy all the time then they do a 3 year lease. If they are old school then they buy the car and use it 5-7 years, then sell and get the new one.

Most of these buyers keep buying/leasing new cars. So the market for used large luxury sedans is really soft. The market for used 5 Series is better because there are people who have started their career but aren't super loaded yet so they buy cars used to save money. The market for used 3 Series is super hot because they are purchased by anyone from their teens to their 30s or even 40s if they like smaller cars.

If you happen to like the biggest luxury sedans then do your research, budget for the maintenance, and go for it. You only live once!

desertdog5051 > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 22:16

From what I have observed, they are no more expensive to repair than any other premium car. Just buy a manual so you can do most of the stuff yourself. That 740 is beautiful.

Dunnik > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 22:18

Then I think that with a little studying and even experimentation/trial and error you could learn to wrench a Bimmer.

I'm no mechanic but there's a reason Euro labour prices are higher than domestics: they're generally more complicated cars to work on.

But if you really want one, and you can wrench it, then go for it. Just not that one, slick as it seems.

Or go nuts and get one with a V12 in black =P

Your boy, BJR > Manuél Ferrari
10/24/2013 at 22:57

My mom's boss. I was looking to buy one a few years ago, he has one. he told me he hasn't spent less than $2500 at the shop since he's had it. but also, just general word on them. Again, I love 'em, and not all of them are crap, but a good majority of them are.

Manuél Ferrari > Your boy, BJR
10/24/2013 at 23:01

Given how many of them had issues it would probably be fair to say "most were crap, but some were good", LOL.

If I was going to buy a large luxury sedan this would be it. I would find one from the last model year with the fewest miles possible and a good service record and pray for the best. It would make you feel like Jason Statham when you drive around, haha

Your boy, BJR > Manuél Ferrari
10/24/2013 at 23:01

I DID end up getting a bimmer, btw, but it's considerably older (and way worse, condition wise) than any of these 7-series.

Clown Shoe Pilot > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 23:03

deferred maintenance.

it's probably had at least 2 owners. the first guy had it on a lease and only did the stuff that was paid for by the "free" maint program. it probably didn't get a post-break-in oil change and probably was on a 12K mile schedule (that's what the computer thinks it needs). other than 3 oil changes, the first owner didn't do anything but put gas in it.

now the second guy probably also followed the computer for the oil change interval. the computer never told him to replace the auto-tranny juice, so that's way past due. same for the diff juice. BMW cooling systems don't last so long and the second guy didn't replace it, so that's a ticking timebomb. the brake fluid and fuel filter are probably as old as the car too. the stop juice MIGHT have gotten topped up at some point but it's probably never been flushed. the giubo is probably close to done. depending on the roads its been driven on, it's likely about time for ball joints and bushings too.

none of those things would have made the car undriveable for the second owner, so they never got done. but as the car approaches 100k miles, they're gonna come hard and fast and even if you spin your own wrenches, you're still buying parts for an 80K+ car, and they're still priced like that.

It's the same for M cars. There's a good reason I don't daily the clown shoe any more. I've done all the maint and it was a lot of work and a fair chunk of change. I now put the miles on slowly so I don't have to do it again so quickly.

Manuél Ferrari > Your boy, BJR
10/24/2013 at 23:08

Cool! Which one did you get?

Some of the older ones are bullet proof. The owner of a local German parts store showed me an E28 5 Series that a customer gave to him for free. It was so beat up that the customer didn't even want to bother selling it. The new owner calls it "the turd" cause of how it looks, lol. But he says it runs fine despite having over 200,000 miles on the clock and he hasn't had to do anything to it yet.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 23:22

seems like a good candidate for a SBC swap.

BrownMiataDieselWagon > Jake The Skull
10/24/2013 at 23:29

They're great until something breaks... then you might as well buy another one.

wabbastang > Your boy, BJR
10/24/2013 at 23:43

They aren't crap. But in the used market, they are often not maintained at all because people either don't know how or won't pay someone to do it, and it shows when you try and find a good one for sale. Overall they are over-built and over-engineered, solid but overly complicated. The car goes 300k while the small stuff breaks, and people don't bother to fix it for the above reasons. American cars seem to fall to pieces after 150k and Japanese cars will keep running, but drive like a worn out power wheels as nothing's made to last there either. Everything has its ups and downs and everything takes maintenance, but buying a used BMW is like buying anything else second hand - All about finding the right one from the same type of owner as yourself.

Your boy, BJR > Manuél Ferrari
10/24/2013 at 23:49

'73 2002.

Manuél Ferrari > Your boy, BJR
10/25/2013 at 00:17

Nice!!! Your car started the sports sedan revolution

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > Manuél Ferrari
10/25/2013 at 00:23

5 series is one of the sweetest spots in the used luxury markets. You can get a great condition, higher-ish mileage, loaded model (60-80k mi 540/550) for well under $20k

Your boy, BJR > Manuél Ferrari
10/25/2013 at 00:32

It's also an automatic. and my DD 6th gen Sonata is a manual. Go try to figure that one out.

Manuél Ferrari > itranthelasttimeiparkedit
10/25/2013 at 01:16

Yeah they deprecate pretty hard too. I've seen low mileage current model 7s for about half their original MSRP.

The 5 definitely depreciated harder than a 3 since there are not as many buyers for used cars as there are for the 3. There are definitely some amazing deals on the 5.

Buying high end luxury cars new is just so expensive when you can get such good deals used. If I didn't already have too many cars I'd buy an e39 or e60 5.

Manuél Ferrari > Your boy, BJR
10/25/2013 at 01:20

Lol. Role reversal!