Hi All, Have my eye on a 2000 740 Sport and wanted to check and see if there are any red flags to watch for or any other issues to keep in mind? In general a great car or...? During me research of 740s in general, I have found some versions that I dont quite understand. In addition to the Sport package, I have seen 740 Sports that claim to have the M package and/or the Premium package and/or the Appearance package. Can anyone tell me the differences? Thanks in advance.
I don't own one, but there are several on this site who are passionate about their last generation 7-series. Aurorapter (sp?) is one who is always talking about how much he loves it. The depreciation on these cars has made them very attractive. There were several ~98 models in the same price range as the loaded Accord I bought. Being a college student, though, I needed the assurance of low/no maintenence, so I bought the Honda for now.
JOEV..... Try and get an 01 as they made several significant changes in the last year.....small changes.....but significant in number and what they were. There is no "M" sport package per say for the 740.....just a regular "sport package" consisting of double spoke alloy wheels, shadowline paint trim and a stiffer suspension. The "premium package" is standard equipment on a Canadian 740......it's a dealer ordered option on 5 and 3 series cars. If you get a BMW dealer to print out a sheet on the car, it "will" show a premium package listed under options......but it is there because it is a mandatory ordering item on all Canadian 740's. Appearance packages relate to things like the the "individual" packages or the "chromeline" appearance package for the 740. I have sold dozens of these.........
The BMW 740i Sport is a great car. It really is a great bargain. As KDS mentioned there were some new standard items included on the 2001 740 (Xenon headlights, rain sensing wipers, etc....) One thing to look out for when looking at used 740i's is that a lot of used ones have had there engines replaced. So try to get the proper service records to make sure the car was maintained correctly. I know this becuase I considered purchasing a used 740i a few years back and a lot of the ones I looked at had there engines replaced. I was nervous to get one(that didn't have a replaced engine or one that had) because I thought the expense of getting a new engine would be very expensive.
We had a 2001 740i Sport, and i have to say it was one of the best cars we had; no reliability problems with software, extremely comfortable and performed better than one would expect for such a large, relatively (in today's rekindled muscle car terms) underpowered sedan. Ours- and i don't know if this was true for prior model years, had blacked out trim, "M" labelled wheels and steering wheel, xenons, nav, hands-free speakerphone/deluxe stereo (which i thought sounded like ****, but you can't modify it); the front seats had power thigh extenders or whatever you call them as well as lumbar if i recall correctly, along with 15 other adjustments; i really wish they would have left well enough alone, rather than re-doing the 7 series the way they did. We had about 40k miles on the car, and had the option to buy it at the end of the lease for about 36k dollars. It was a cheap lease, under 900 a month, and i replaced it with a pair of 3's- an M3 SMG convertible, and an all wheel drive 3 series sedan. (We didn't really need a big sedan since its just the two of us, no kids). I would think that a good one would be ~30k or a little more these days.
its a very nice car. it was definitely in my top 10 list of favorite cars to detail when i was working at a detailing place. Interior is really solid and easy to clean, especially if you get black interior.
I actually had one. Tripple black 00 740i Sport back in jersey. It was inspired by a coworker and I loved it. The car wasnt any faster until some mods were done, but it handled excellently. I highly recommend this car, not to mention it still looks damn good. You can prolly find some used aftermarket Dinan parts for it as well. If you are looking for a 740 with short wheel base, get this car. The wheels were sexy as hell too.
Wow I cannot believe I missed this thread. Yes, I love those cars to death. 'Aftermarket' (mostly retrofit) Options are endless on these cars, depending on how much you want to spend. I know of a fellow in the UK that has an upgraded differential that hits 60 in around 5-5.1sec flat...not to shabby for a 5k lb car. If you can opt for the 750, as they do not command that much of a premium and every option on the car save for the 18 in wheels were standard. Also, thus far in the E38 circles they have proven to be more reliable then the 40s. www.e38.org The above tells you everything you ever needed to know about the E38. To get the most info join us here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=47 and http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/e38/ Most of the 'old time' E38ers do not use Roadfly much anymore.
just bought a 96 with 60k miles for just over $10k. I have not driven it much yet but the ride is terrific. also, I am 6'5" and I can sit comfortably in the back seat which I cannot do in an s-class. move over maybach 6.2.
Awesome! Hope to see you on the BMW 7 series sites (listed above). If you use a different user name there, mention something so I can recognize you. BTW at 60k on a 740, make sure the radiator has been replaced or do it soon... (not an issue if its a '50)
I have a 740iL with the sport package and I love it. car is big as heck since it is the L model, but I love the looks so much better than the new ones. It has been a good car, but the BMW maint surprised me. Just bought a battery last week for $239! Put new tires on it for right at $1000. The only glitch I have seen in mine is the dash where the miles display some of the LEDs are dark so the miles don't display fully although you can still read them fine. Imagine a dot matrix printer with a pin stuck so won't print that dot.
