E66 Buying Guide

[Sho]

Hi Guys!
I am looking to buy a late model e66 730 and had a few questions:
A) i know i need to set aside a certain amount for maintenance every year. Question is how much does it actually cost ro run it?
B) i have been reading around the forums and the transmission problems seem to be really common on these cars. Do these problems affect the 730 aswell? Are they capable of achieving 200-250k kilometers with requiring a costly transmission replacement?
C) what would a good 2007-2008 730 be worth right now?
this is my first time buying a 7 so i would appreciate any advice you might have. Thanks in advance.

[Sho]

nobody has experience wit a 7?

[Bruno]

suspension issues is common on the 7, make sure you get to know what sort of maintenance in that domain was covered throughout it's life span.

prices vary from 40s to 70s depending on the mileage and maintenance records. the maintenance should not be expensive unless you are dealing with suspension related failures.

[mik15]

i have an E66 750Li and so far i am really happy with the car. Obviously on the forums you will always read horror stories, is where they look for solutions the ones in trouble :) . Given that you're looking for the 730, which is the base model with less headaches you should be alright as the car didn't come with EDC and self adjusting suspension as standard, so nothing to worry about it, most likely you'll find one with the classic coilovers suspension. As for the gearbox, they all used the 6hpxx series, pretty strong boxes only flawed by minor issues which can be fixed easily if you know where to look for. Mine is now at 238k km, on its original box and struts and drives superbly, knock on wood not to jinx it :) .

As for how many miles they can cover? the 3.0l engine is well known from the 3 and 5 series, is a very solid one with very few problems, so i am sure it can easily get to 400k km with no major problems as long as it is maintained correctly.

So if you wanna get a 7 E66, go for it as they're really great cars, however i'd get a V8 for maximum driving pleasure, the 3.0l might need to be worked out in order to keep up with a heavier right foot and considering the weigh of the car.

[Hasan Shaikh]

Suspension problems are common and are expensive.

I don't think any auto gearbox should be expected to last beyond 200k kms. However, you can get the transmission rebuilt for about 20% of the cost of a new tranny.

[mik15]

without a proper maintenance and usage most likely will not pass the 200k mark, however with regular oil and filter changes the auto boxes can easily hit the 200-300k mark or beyond especially when most of these miles are being made on the autobahn, there is plenty of cars in Europe with this mileage and still running on the original gearboxes. The problem is that the car manufacturer states that these boxes are maintenance free, which is b....hit, but that is in order to reduce their maintenance costs while the service package is still active, and that works since they start failing once the warranty is gone, however, the actual manufacturer of the boxes, ZF, does recommend an interval between 80-120k km when the oil should be replaced, depending on the driving conditions and climate.

But as you said, the good part is that they can be rebuilt for less than a new one, or better said rmfd, would cost, however, this is another story as i personally yet have to see one re builder in UAE giving a warranty longer than 6 months :), a ZF specialized re builder gives you a 2 year warranty in Europe. So i'd say the best approach is doing preventive maintenance, meaning changing the oil and filter regularly plus the mechatronic and sealing sleeve seals on these 6hpxx boxes.

As for suspension, after all it is part of wear and tear parts, and depending on the mileage you'd have to take this into consideration, it is after all a used car thus it comes with risks and given the class it belongs to nothing comes cheap unfortunately, and even though they got older and can now be had for low prices, parts prices didn't follow the trend :) .