Hi All

Just got back from the local stealer looking at a 745i, have been haggling the price for 2 something days. The car has 50k miles on it, asking price is 36100 without certification and 37500 with certification. I asked him what the certification process is (even though I looked at the checklist on bmwusa.com) and he says tyres and brakes will be changed if necessary (I checked the rotors and tyres and they are in excellent condition) and any other issues will be solved to bring the 7 to new car standards, not sure if that is really necessary???? since the car has another 1.5yr/50k miles warranty left (sold date =jan 18,2002).

The only reason why I like the certification is , perhaps if BMW certifies that the car has never been in an accident and is free of any frame damage. Any other reason to get it 'certified' even though it has a 6yr/100k warranty. Can a dealer sell a non-certified car with possible frame damage unknowingly? will a frame damage be revealed during the certification process? i could have gotten one off ebay for less than $35k with 35k miles, but possible flood damage or frame damage scares me.

The options available on it are:
steptronic automatic trans
power rear sunshade
premium sound package
park distance control
comfort seats
rear sunshades
launch supply
heated front seats
heated steering wheel

Also, if someone can decode the service codes I will greatly appreciate it.

0061410200
6520001500
2400004800
6732011500
6112550200
5147000100
6326051200
6577268100
0017200100
1213001200
85990091MP
85990101MP
85990501MP
5116094100
6130241400
0061790100
34000077MP
64310237MP
0012730100
1032003500
6135091400
61610077MP
6213041400
6610051400
61610077MP
6213041400
6610051400
85990089MP
6112027900
3611024800
5113113700
6135920200
1151013900
0034390100
0012580100
0099070100
0062140100
0061680100
0061650100
0061630100
0013290100
6135601400
0013270100
1614041100
6130939900

Whew!!! I dont know if this is good or bad, but common sense says its good as lot of problems have been fixed. this is a early 11/01 production car which means it will have a lot of problems from factory. Also, this is a single owner lease return purchased and serviced at the same dealership.

please advise.

So, you get the 6yr/100k warranty regardless of whether or not it is certified?

Good, because you're going to need it! :lol

I hope the guy at the dealer's service counter is an attractive man, you'll be seeing him every week.

The reason those models come with a 6yr/100k warranty is because there were so many problems with them, BMW doubled the warrenty (normall 3yr/50k). Unless you get a 2004 or older, you'll quickly find yourself hating your car.

Save some money, buy a 2000 750iL, and take your wife out to a really nice dinner.

I agree, the 2002 is a mistake. They have tons of problems, i have several friends who have them, they all hate the car. They're always in the shop. go 2004 or newer or buy a 2001. the 02's suck. :buttrock

Yeah I suggest you don't get the 2002/2003 model. Your car will be at the dealer at least once a month. Too many problems with the car. If you're thinking about geting a 745i, you should get 2004+

If you do get it "certified," and you are a BMWCCA member, you are entitled to a $1000 rebate. (I Think)

I purchased a 2002 745i 6 months ago. Zero problems. Zero! And, I have put 5K miles on it already. It's a beautiful beast and I've owned BMWs since the mid '80s. I love it. Majority of the problems with the 02/03 cars have been fixed in software. The mechanical issues generally appear to have upgrade versions of parts further improving reliability. Ask the Dealer to confirm the software version of the car. It should be V20 or greater. I would be sure not to get one with the 8000 series phone because it is useless. No one will activate the phone and there is no bluetooth retrofit for it. Otherwise I would buy an 02 or 03 again if the price is right.

Ask the Dealer to confirm the software version of the car. It should be V20 or greater. I would be sure not to get one with the 8000 series phone because it is useless. No one will activate the phone and there is no bluetooth retrofit for it. Otherwise I would buy an 02 or 03 again if the price is right.


Thank you very much for this info. Looks like I have not researched much on this model. Should I look for anything more.

ps: Thanks for the suggestions about the reliability of the 02/03 7s. Honestly I cant afford the 04/05 models, one thing I was looking for is the 01 sport, but cant find any with low miles. and I love the gadgets in the newer 7's and also the look from the rear although the look from the front is girly girly.

idk the " newer " bodystyles to me look nothing like " REAL "bmw's ...bmw has had the same style look for literally 50 years ..then this new guy goes and redesigns it..yeah new people are going to buy it because they think its cool to own a bmw ...but to all of us who have LOVED bmw for years...mostly think the new models are ugly...my theory is ...something shouldn't have to GROW on you ...its something that should take your breath away the moment you see it...

Seriously...if it was a woman ...you would never wait for her to " grow on you " ... you'd want her to be smoking hot and have a great personality right away....

come on...the new bmw's SUCK.

idk the " newer " bodystyles to me look nothing like " REAL "bmw's ...bmw has had the same style look for literally 50 years ..then this new guy goes and redesigns it..yeah new people are going to buy it because they think its cool to own a bmw ...but to all of us who have LOVED bmw for years...mostly think the new models are ugly...my theory is ...something shouldn't have to GROW on you ...its something that should take your breath away the moment you see it...

Seriously...if it was a woman ...you would never wait for her to " grow on you " ... you'd want her to be smoking hot and have a great personality right away....

come on...the new bmw's SUCK.

what about the new m5??? and the 6 series are sexy too...i thought your dream was a 760 and you were gonna buy one this fall...

idk the " newer " bodystyles to me look nothing like " REAL "bmw's ...bmw has had the same style look for literally 50 years ..then this new guy goes and redesigns it..yeah new people are going to buy it because they think its cool to own a bmw ...but to all of us who have LOVED bmw for years...mostly think the new models are ugly...my theory is ...something shouldn't have to GROW on you ...its something that should take your breath away the moment you see it...

Seriously...if it was a woman ...you would never wait for her to " grow on you " ... you'd want her to be smoking hot and have a great personality right away....

come on...the new bmw's SUCK.

Uh, T38, aren't you in your early 20s or so? If this is the case, for how many "years" have you LOVED BMW?

Also, Minghi mentioned that he has owned BMWs for 20 years, so I would say that if he likes the car he is in a position to render that opinion.

I don't love the new design, either, but I respect the poster's right to do so without being questioned...

notice all the people saying not to buy the 2002's drive mid 90's 740's? anyway my 2002 745 was a hundred times better quality and much more reliable then my 740 ever was. go with the 2002!

first when I saw the 745 I was taken back by 'ugly' bmw styling. then as time passed by, whenever I looked at my 740, it kinda looked like an old gentleman's car (no longer bond's car). 760s look dammmmm good...even though they are almost the same shape, but when I saw a black 760 with black rims on the road, I was sold,....said to myself , thats how a car should look like :D .oh yeah, when I first saw, the 740 many years ago, I did say to myself -> that's how a car should look like, all other cars on the road looked like wannabbbbbbzzz. guess, its time for 'graduation'

coming back to reality, I found a mid-year '03 with a little lesser miles from outofstate dealer for the same price, of course non certified, but i could care less as i have 3 years of BMW warranty. am very happy about it. soon soon soon..................am not able to sleep :D

also, pardon me Reed Hunt, but where did I mention that I owned BMWs for 20 yrs. if i did mention it somewhere, then I apologize, but anyway thanks :) I wish I knew BMWs back then. BTW, I just turned 25 last month. waited for 1+ year for the prices of 745 to come down, waited for 2+ years to afford my first 740il. Need newer toys now, so 745, here I come. wish I could get the 745li but they are atleast 3k more expensive than the 745i. Hopefully, the 6s become more affordable in a year or 2.

what about the new m5??? and the 6 series are sexy too...i thought your dream was a 760 and you were gonna buy one this fall...

I'm not buying a new bmw with all the massive problems they are having. I'm looking at an A8 hopefully, prolly buy a 2005

One consideration with the current generation BMW's is cost of ownership. The weekend mechanic can handle some of the recurring maintenance and repair requirements but it will take a highly trained technician to deal with the more sophisticated problems that could arise after the warranty expires. Unless you have a black belt in automotive electronics you will should either buy the extended warrant/maintenace program, or set aside a few large $$$ for the unexpected.

buy the extended warrant/maintenace program, or set aside a few large $$$ for the unexpected.


oh, I would just sell the car before the warranty expires. I am not a competant weekend mechanic, so I would sell it off before the warranty expires or get an extended warranty although it would be pretty hard to find an extended warranty which would cover all that the CPO covers. heard warranty direct is really good, but pretty expensive......this car would be a nightmare to own without one with all the gadgets inside..........

also, pardon me Reed Hunt, but where did I mention that I owned BMWs for 20 yrs. if i did mention it somewhere, then I apologize, but anyway thanks :) I wish I knew BMWs back then. BTW, I just turned 25 last month.

Wow, you didn't (not sure what I was smokin')! My bad.

Gotta come off my comment to T38 just a tad, too.

I guess part of the problem is how much bad press the 2002 gets. Those of us who drive mid 90s 7s obviously have no firsthand knowledge, but when the -dealer- is telling me horror stories it makes me wonder. I had stopped at Towson BMW and the service guy walked with me back to my car cuz I had forgotten something. We passed a 745 and he chuckled and said that they had so far done about 50k in service on the car!! He said the car is in the shop so often that if it ran right, they'd consider it the unofficial yard car heh.

I hated the new look when it came out, but now I kinda like the revised version, the one with the flatter bottomed headlights. Too bad it's waaay outside my budget :)

I'm finding that much of the bad press comes from the dealer techs who are having trouble leaning the correct service techniques. I am a broadcast television systems engineer and understand complex fiber optic network, software based systems which is what the new BMW's truely are. To understand what I was purchasing before I bought the beast, I purchased the Service CD set and read every 745 service bulletin and the procedure for installing software updates. It is pages long and rather confusing. Make a mistake and you have to start all over again. No wonder it takes 2 or more days to install and test a version up and why you have to schedule it weeks in advance. Remember updating your PC from Win98 to XP??? There is probably only one or two techs at the dealer who have been trained to do it. The good news is problems can be fixed in software. It appears that stability has been achieved at least by my experience. Everything is working reliably. Now if they could just cure that A/C odor issue (not a software thing) and get me a bluetooth solution for the #%^%*(^(_^%#$ CPT8000 phone.

I hated the new look when it came out, but now I kinda like the revised version, the one with the flatter bottomed headlights. Too bad it's waaay outside my budget :)

yeah same here...i also like the new tail lights compared to the 02...plus the the interior is sooooo comfy...oh, and the 360hp the new motor cranks out:eek:

HP can be deceiving....It still has less torque than a 750IL (326 HP/361 torque).

just got a 2003 E65 :) , checked the service history at the dealership, they replaced the oil seperator valve twice(guess BMW never learns) :eyecrazy, front brakes :redspot , start/stop switch, cd changer, phone, bad muffler and other small stuff. so far so good, drives excellent, has the luxury seating package, logic 7 audio, steptronic paddles and voice activation and other small stuff. too bad I missed out the PDC and sport :( (didnt want it because sport seats dont come with lux seating package) loving the cold seats and voice activation so far except for some few hurdles which I believe is a result of my indian accent :D . has 10mo/10k full maintanace remaining and 2yr10mo bumper to bumper warranty.

took a few shots with my cell;late y'day, night shots are blurry

https://mymirror1.sslpowered.com/745i/

WOW! I had been one of those who did not like the new body styles, and when I was shopping, I could not find a decent 01, so I became a little impatient and got a 99 and made it look like a 01... Basically, you have made me want to reconsider my disliking the new body style!

CONGRATS!

I actually set out for an 01 sport but couldnt find any with low miles, (was looking for less than 40k miles) with records which is like finding needle in a haystack, so the next best thing was to get the newer body with lots of warranty left on it.