BMW 730d Sport Auto

grange1

Hey

i recently moved up to Belfast and have been looking at cars. Ill be here for 12 mths at least so wont have to pay VRT if bring car back down south.

Ive viewed a 2006 BMW 730d sport auto.
all mod cons incl sat nav, fridge, tv, auto close boot, soft close doors, heated seats, cruise control etc etc
its 2006 model (November) so not the brand new model
Full BMW service history from authorised BMW garage in Belfast.
List price new over £60k, ive agreed a straight price of £15k with garage (they are selling on carzone for between €36k and €40k!),
Only issue is mileeage is 120k which is steep, car was owned by a Company MD previously. 120k on BMW Diesel engine i would have thought is fine but some people think its high. I get comfort from FSH and 6 mth warranty from garage
interested in other views?

RobAMerc

I believe the ride quality of the Sport model, like that in all BMW 'Sport' variants is compromised, other than that they are pretty good from what I read and bloody cool imo.

Voodoomelon

120k miles is nothing indeed to the 6 cylinder diesel, however I would hold out for one with lower mileage. I would have no problem buying a car with that kind of mileage, but not for that money and on such a young car.

Here's a mint 2006 Sport in england for 17k, you should be able to get 15.5k-16k easy. Only 75k miles.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/200944345040343/sort/priceasc/usedcars/make/bmw/model/7_series/price-to/18000/price-from/13000/maximum-age/up_to_3_years_old/radius/1501/page/2/postcode/bt11aa?previous=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2Fusedcars%2Fpostcode%2Fbt11aa%2Fradius%2F1501%2Fmake%2Fbmw%2Fmodel%2F7_series%2Fprice-to%2F18000%2Fprice-from%2F13000%2Fmaximum-age%2Fup_to_3_years_old%2Fsort%2Fpriceasc%2Fpage%2F2&anchor=advert200944345040343&logcode=p

Having said that, the general consensus on the BMW boards is NOT to buy an E65 without a warranty. You should be able to extend the original warranty if you get a late 2006 model.

Voodoomelon

RobAMerc wrote: »

I believe the ride quality of the Sport model, like that in all BMW 'Sport' variants is compromised, other than that they are pretty good from what I read and bloody cool imo.

Not with the 7 series, the tire walls are still super thick even though they run on 18"s to 20"s, and the suspension is still super soft so that the slight drop in the front is imperceivable.

unkel

At 15k sterling for a 3 (or even nearly 4) year old 7-series with a 6 month warranty that is one helluva car for the money. There's only one major winner in the lifetime of that car: you

mickdw

I wouldnt touch a bmw of that age with 120k miles.
Ive seen many 530d etc with very big problems around 140k miles. exhaust manifold, cat, turbo etc.
No experience of the 7 series. It might be better but the costs ive seen with the 530ds would make me steer clear. The second major point is that you are going to be taking this car back in with you. Why buy something like this instead of something with low miles which you will save more vrt on and will get many years of motoring from.
Buy a 730d but get a low mileage one, and dnt pay any attention to asking prices on carzone. A 7 with that kind of mileage wont go 36k. That car would be around €25k here in the new year

rohatch

grange1 wrote: »

Hey

i recently moved up to Belfast and have been looking at cars. Ill be here for 12 mths at least so wont have to pay VRT if bring car back down south.

Personally I would source one from the UK with lower mileage.

On a VRT note
Please make sure you satisfy the conditions for residency in the north before attempting to bring it back here VRT free.

grange1

the garage gave me the loan of the car for today to test drive, its v v smooth. Took it to the BMW garage it has been serviced in and they plugged in the key to their system and were able to print out all service history in detail and also tell me when the next work is due on it - c 10 months. Also the mileage is 110k not 120k, still high tough.
Think im going to buy it.....

niceirishfella

grange1 wrote: »

Also the mileage is 110k not 120k, still high tough.
Think im going to buy it.....

nothing to it and can't blame you:D

Darragh29

grange1 wrote: »

Full BMW service history from authorised BMW garage in Belfast.

Would this be the same "authorised" BMW garage in Belfast that sub contracts out its service work out to an independent garage in Belfast and then stamps it with BMW stamp back in the BMW reception??? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

rohatch

grange1 wrote: »

the garage gave me the loan of the car for today to test drive, its v v smooth. Took it to the BMW garage it has been serviced in and they plugged in the key to their system and were able to print out all service history in detail and also tell me when the next work is due on it - c 10 months. Also the mileage is 110k not 120k, still high tough.
Think im going to buy it.....

Just remember that it has a possible VRT bill of at least 10,000 euros if you come back south and do not satisfy VR regs.

Have you owned a luxo barge before?

unkel

Another thing is that the car will be very hard to sell once the OP is back in Ireland when it has an even bigger mileage on it. This is not a problem naturally if they OP buys this car for the long term.

grange1

not sure what the story is re BMW outsourcing their servicing, Im talking about Bavarian BMW and my work mate had his car serviced in house last week! maybe when their are mad busy they outsource.

I have been in Belfast since last March and will be here for another 12 months minimum so VRT wont be an issue, Im renting a flat in the city, have bank accounts up here and get paid up here so the taxman can hump off!

Its high mileage but I do 15k a year so not too bad.

Btw, Im going from a 2007 Audi TT 2.0 TFSI to the 730D. But I spend most of my time driving between Dublin and Belfast and Belfast and Galway via Dublin - so all motorway driving.

Ive sold my TT and taken a massive hit on it from what I bought it for... but thats life U guess

cadaliac

That was a classic move by the salesman - give you the car for the day. Thats the second person I heard of buying a 7 series on the strength of a day long test drive.
There might be pitfalls, but, as you say, you have already taken a massive hit on the Audi, so has the previous owner of the 7 series.
Lovely car.
Anyway, enjoy dude.
BTW - any company car with a full stamped service history would be serviced on the button. There is uasually no expense spared.
Even if they did outsourse, the work was probally just as good as the BMW garage.

Gumbo

Darragh29 wrote: »

Would this be the same "authorised" BMW garage in Belfast that sub contracts out its service work out to an independent garage in Belfast and then stamps it with BMW stamp back in the BMW reception??? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

please explain........

Stevie Dakota

I used Bavarian in the past, found them outstanding.

grange1

well Bavarian have been very professional with me and had no issue verifying the service history, there garage is massive so id be surprised if they outsource work.

hope to have the 730 friday....

niceirishfella

Nice, enjoy Grange.

Voodoomelon

Congrats on the future purchase, ill be more than likely joining you in a years time for a 2006+ 750i. A lot of people hate the Bangle styling and i'm not a fan myself, but the face lifted version corrected a lot of his mistakes and the 2006+ models are a beautiful car.

Let us know how you get on.

rohatch

grange1 wrote: »

well Bavarian have been very professional with me and had no issue verifying the service history, there garage is massive so id be surprised if they outsource work.

hope to have the 730 friday....

Enjoy it mate.

rohatch

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Congrats on the future purchase, ill be more than likely joining you in a years time for a 2006+ 750i. A lot of people hate the Bangle styling and i'm not a fan myself, but the face lifted version corrected a lot of his mistakes and the 2006+ models are a beautiful car.

Let us know how you get on.

Now thats a mad car to get. Would you go the whole hog and get an iL.

Volvoboy

rebel.ranter

Thanks Volvoboy. That's interesting, I know two people with e65 7s & they have also been turned off BMW completely because of all the problems they have with them.

Voodoomelon

rohatch wrote: »

Now thats a mad car to get. Would you go the whole hog and get an iL.

Probably not, like the E38 7 series the iL looks somewhat contorted to me. The shorty i's still have buckets of room in the back, look better, are lighter and have possibly marginally better handling with the shorter wheelbase.

Volvoboy wrote: »

That's only the early models, 02-04, 06+ should be fine.

grange1

thks dude, interesting video:)
ive checked around and they seem to have sorted out all the earlier problems alot of them seem to have been related to the idrive... hope my one is ok!!!

Voodoomelon

Post some pics when you get her.

turbodiesel

rebel.ranter wrote: »

Thanks Volvoboy. That's interesting, I know two people with e65 7s & they have also been turned off BMW completely because of all the problems they have with them.

Just wondering what sort of probs??? I'm looking at an early '07 730LD. It's a chauffeur car with 220kms on. Mentioned might have a gearbox oil leak, It's the end of his lease. Reckons the bank wouldlet it go for around 24k...

Voodoomelon

2007 should have very few problems, last years of production were 07-08.

All the info you need is here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=273

Albeit mostly for the 740i +.