I pick up a 2002 745i tomorrow. It's a repo, so I can't ask the owner about the car. I'll go get it inspected and have the oil changed. I'll also do a complete detail. What else should I definitely get done straight away? ATF and coolant change?
Thanks for any advice
What should you do right away? Sell it.
However, if you are hell bent on keeping it, check for oil leaks.
That is one of the worst cars BMW ever put out. Ditch it as fast as you can, being a repo car it probably wasn't cared for and is a money pit.
Second about pos... Detail it clean it up and stick a for sale sign on it.
2006 X5 L83 5.3 6l80 swapped in progress
1999 528i 5.7L 4l60e swapped w/ 31 spline 8.8 cobra diff
2007 ZX-10r - sold
1987 R-10 SWB L83 5.3L 6L80e swapped
Sell it.
Part it out.
Skip the detail.
People are actually be very serious with this post, very little good can come of owning one of those. The e65 745i is one of the few cars that pretty much every BMW enthusiast agrees should be avoided. They just have so many issues, almost all of them scary and expensive to deal with.
Current fleet:
1999 BMW e36 M3
1999 BMW e36 328is with rotary valve engine head
1999 Oldsmobile Eighty Eight
1990 Jeep Comanche Eliminator
1962 Austin Healey Sprite
Detail it and sell it asap. You'll probably see the same car in a tow yard 3 years from now after it gets repo'd again and you can start the process all over!
2000 BMW M5 Evolve Alpha-N Tune, Evolve Carbon Fiber CAI's, UUC Short Throw Shifter, Dinan Front STB, Dinan Rear Sway Bar
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1985 BMW 745i 18" Style 37's, Team745i Chip, Getrag 265/6, Clutchmasters FX-300, UUC Short Throw Shifter, Strut Tower Bar, Bilstein HD's ("Build" Thread")(SOLD)
1986 BMW 735i Getrag 265/6 Swap, Strut Tower Bar, Bilstein HD's, Euro F/R Conversion, 3.46 L/S Diff (Scrapped)
2016 Ford Mustang GT Performance Pack Stock
2004 Mercury Marauder Eaton M112, 3.4 Billetflow upper, Accufab SBTB + Plenum, 4.10's, Stainless Works LT's, 2.5" Exhaust, Borla Stingers, FX-R projectors, Addco F/R swaybars
2003 Mercury Marauder JLT CAI, SCT Xcal4, Stainless Works LT's, SW 2.5" Catback
1996 Ford Bronco 4" lift, 35" BFG A/T's, MH1 projectors
Sell it ASAP. Those early 745i's had a ton of problems.
2009 135i/6 | Cobb Stg 2+ | VRSF Downpipes | aFe Intake | Evolution Intercooler | Evolution CP | Apex ARC8s | BMW Performance Spoiler | Carbon Fiber
Clearly op was not expecting the honest of the people that know about these bastard child's of BMW. Hope he heeds the advice and chooses another model.
2006 X5 L83 5.3 6l80 swapped in progress
1999 528i 5.7L 4l60e swapped w/ 31 spline 8.8 cobra diff
2007 ZX-10r - sold
1987 R-10 SWB L83 5.3L 6L80e swapped
Im not a BMW tech and know absolutly nothing at all on the subject, but I heard a couple minutes ago that they are the worst, piece-o-crap BMWs to get, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn last night.
Last edited by Ron750il; 08-21-2014 at 02:38 PM.
I wonder how many of the people replied actually have owned a 745i. Seems the posts are mostly based on the perceived ideas about the cars.
I daily drove one for about 4 months and enjoyed it very much. I did some very simple maintenance up front, fluids, plugs, etc, and never had a major issue. Had to initialize the sunroof (no problem) and a few other really minor things but if you get one that drives good now it may not have the problems that plagued these cars. Mostly the problems are the valve seals, once they get replaced with a few other preventative measures the engines can be pretty reliable. The later 750i had a much more reliable engine though.
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I am glad you had success. My comments were based on personal knowledge of someone that owned a 740iL and the horror they went through. A quick search reveals many, many complaints and threads about problems with these cars.
http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2002/bmw/745i/
http://www.carcomplaints.com/BMW/745LI/2002/
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=605576
ive had inside experience with BMW NA warranty dept for a couple years, its a scary thing... the N62 had a huge design flaw from the factory. I believe the 745 was the 1st BMW to use the N62 hence why it got such a bad wrap... the dealer would say you need new heads.... or in some cases a new motor from what ive seen...such a joke... luckily some companies actually put thought and good engineering to fix problems like this....
FWIW....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMOjFAKUt30
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I personally had the very experienced mechanic from my local BMW dealer tell me that they were terribly unreliable cars and to stay away from 745s at all cost. Of all versions of the 7 series ever built they were the ones that had the most problems that he had seen. He did speak very highly of the e65/66 750 though, in his experience they were the least troublesome of all of the 7 series. I think he was trying to hint to me to upgrade from my e38 because he was tired of seeing it.
Four months is hardly enough time to find out if a car is reliable or not. Granted over the years those 745s have slowly been worked on and I suppose upgraded from the initial software releases that gave them such a bad wrap. Software can't fix mechanical problems though.
Current fleet:
1999 BMW e36 M3
1999 BMW e36 328is with rotary valve engine head
1999 Oldsmobile Eighty Eight
1990 Jeep Comanche Eliminator
1962 Austin Healey Sprite
I owned one for four months but I've worked on them for many more. I know someone with a 645 who has never had a problem in the 2+ years hes owned it (but the valve seals were fixed by PO) and the 645 shares the same underpinnings as the 745, not just the engine but the chassis computers and etc. They have about as many problems as any other BMW, the catch is that parts are more expensive. A home mechanic who is a bit thrifty can maintain one of them quite easily. S54s, S85s have rod bearing failures, E36s and E46s have subframe failures, the early N62s had a few issues... no BMW is perfect.
And the 750 was just a 745 with a few reliability upgrades, so saying the 745 is the worst and the 750 is the best and most reliable strikes me as odd. A little preventative maintenance on the 745 and it can drive many trouble free miles. FWIW in the four months I owned mine I put over 8,000 miles on it. I bought it because I was going to be doing a lot of highway driving between Phoenix and LA so I wanted something comfortable and the E65 is like piloting a cloud.
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Well, every one is entitled to their own opinion on a car and is allowed screen their sources of information on a given vehicle. BimmerBreaker, you seem quite knowledgeable on the 745i and I trust your opinion, but I also trust the opinion of the veteran BMW tech at my local dealer.
I would imagine that the e65 is like piloting a cloud, it is probably a very comfortable car.
Current fleet:
1999 BMW e36 M3
1999 BMW e36 328is with rotary valve engine head
1999 Oldsmobile Eighty Eight
1990 Jeep Comanche Eliminator
1962 Austin Healey Sprite
I am a BMW dealership technician. They are junk.
My boss drove a 2007. Loved driving it, but the thing was always at the dealership. Left him stranded multiple times. Traded it in on a Toyota 4runner and never looked back. A shame because it was a stunning car.
Driving it is nice, but owning it is hell... So is better to sell it and go for a more reliable model. We had one like that in the family and it was a nightmare, comparing it with the same age 5 Series.
The E65 is the single worst automobile to come out of BMW in the 21st century. Anyone that argues against that point is ignorant.
Tenured Automotive Service Professional - Avid BMW Enthusiast
So I'm assuming we should be hearing back from the OP with an update at any moment...right...?
He's supposedly had it for just shy of 3 weeks. I wonder how much money he's already hopelessly sunk into it.
Last edited by twastheglow; 08-28-2014 at 04:04 PM.
Going into my TENTH YEAR of providing high quality reproduction BMW fabrics!
PRICE CUT on ALL FABRICS
Offering the best prices on the best quality reproduction fabrics!
Who wants to have a conversation with anyone that thinks a 745i is anything other than scrap metal waiting to be cashed in?
Tenured Automotive Service Professional - Avid BMW Enthusiast
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