![]() 12/17/2018 at 22:15 • Filed to: BMW, bad ideas, Craigslist | ![]() | ![]() |
Enlighten me oppo: why are earl
y 2000s BMW 745s so
ludicrously cheap?
I mean specifically: gimme the top 5 reasons.
O bviously i t’s an old, high mileage German luxury car with a million pieces that will go wrong and I’m assuming all of these cars need way more repairs than they are worth just to get through inspection/emissions to get back on the road.
That said if the powertrain even sort of worked given what parts cost for these things you could have a ridiculous Lemons contender just from selling the seats and wheels...
Or as I posited elsewhere a safari/battle car for rallycross!
But sadly I’m guessing there’s some kind of terminal engine/transmission/computer cancer that makes them worth roughly what my (admittedly functional) ' 06 focus was.
![]() 12/17/2018 at 22:38 |
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1) Reliability
2) Reliability
3) High mileage new-ish German automobiles
4) Reliability
5) Reliability
![]() 12/17/2018 at 22:39 |
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You should buy three and find out.
For science
![]() 12/17/2018 at 22:40 |
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I have no clue, I just know that any non-col
ectable 15-20 year old BMW I see on the highway is burning oil... badly.
![]() 12/17/2018 at 22:40 |
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1. Vanos
2. Plastic timing components
3. Unreliable electronics
4. Unloved styling
5. High maintenance combined with 1-4
![]() 12/17/2018 at 22:45 |
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I’ve seen countless x45 cars emitting blue smoke in a way that would make my fintail blush.
![]() 12/17/2018 at 22:45 |
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In short, the third owners could not afford to properly fix or maintain them so they are big piles of deferred maintenance and bodged fixes and you don’t want that on such complex cars.
![]() 12/17/2018 at 22:46 |
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They were pretty unreliable even new.
![]() 12/17/2018 at 22:48 |
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This is a thing I didn’t know existed and now I am dissapointed .
2. Plastic timing components
![]() 12/17/2018 at 22:50 |
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It’s just the chain guide... Not that important, nah.
![]() 12/17/2018 at 22:56 |
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Just a 20 hour job for a bmw specialist
![]() 12/17/2018 at 22:58 |
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The most intense mechanical thing I have done was replace a tiny piece of plastic in a transfer case (Jeep GC ZJ) . It was a decade ago but I think the anger has effected me to this day.
![]() 12/17/2018 at 23:04 |
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6. front suspension
7. interior bits falling apart
![]() 12/17/2018 at 23:08 |
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1. Expensive to maintain, really expensive to fix when broken and not particularly reliable even when they were new.
2. The above compounds with age and deferred maintenance. Seriously, if half the components and accessories work on any of these cheap cars listed I would be surprised. These uber complex cars didn’t get better with age.
3. All the above adds up to cars that cost more to run over a surprisingly short period of time than they’re worth.
4. The maddening experience of early iDrive. How do you feel about menus for your menu’s menu to do something like adjust the headrest?
5. Styling that wasn’t loved new, although I don’t hate them.
Hot take incoming: I think the Bangle butt has aged well. I didn’t really like it back in the day, but it somehow doesn’t bother me now.
![]() 12/17/2018 at 23:17 |
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They were basically disposable cars when new, designed to hold together reasonably well for the first owner, without regard for what happens after that.
The problem is compounded by the enormous depreciation that quickly made them staples of shady buy here/pay here dealers operated out of construction office trailers on vacant lots. The third and fourth owners lacked the luxury of warranty coverage, and expensive failures start racking up quickly with age.
![]() 12/17/2018 at 23:24 |
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Clearly I should buy one with engine issues, one with transmission issues and one with electrical issues. Put them all together and I'd have.... 3 still broken cars
![]() 12/17/2018 at 23:27 |
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At these prices I’d go to the ol’ mastercraft socket set and a YouTube video rather than a German master tech
![]() 12/17/2018 at 23:28 |
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Yes but think how cheap they are. So much room for saving money
![]() 12/17/2018 at 23:29 |
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First gen BMW minis had them - it ended poorly
![]() 12/17/2018 at 23:29 |
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Too complex to fix?
![]() 12/18/2018 at 00:03 |
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Mine has been working fine at 198k miles.
*Prayes to the BMW gods*
![]() 12/18/2018 at 00:06 |
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I have a comment for you:
https://oppositelock.kinja.com/1830053564
![]() 12/18/2018 at 00:08 |
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Everything. Everything is wrong with them
![]() 12/18/2018 at 00:17 |
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Seconded. You'd be a fool to not buy four or five, when you look at the maths.
![]() 12/18/2018 at 00:20 |
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Wonder if someone has fabbed metal versions to replace the bad plastic parts.
![]() 12/18/2018 at 00:21 |
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I wouldn’t even touch an early 2000s VW, let alone a 7 series.
![]() 12/18/2018 at 04:25 |
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You don’t need working valves to run a LeMons race, right?
![]() 12/18/2018 at 07:00 |
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Probably, but I don't really know.
![]() 12/18/2018 at 07:07 |
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#1: The Problem is c ircled on the hood.
2-5: See number 1.
![]() 12/18/2018 at 10:33 |
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I’m sure they’d give you a reward for trying to race a 7 series.
![]() 12/18/2018 at 11:00 |
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They’re 15+ years old
![]() 12/18/2018 at 15:04 |
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Those v8’s suffered from faulty valve stem seals. I believe it’s a 4 digit repair.
![]() 12/18/2018 at 20:19 |
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I mean that's a $100k car right there...