Owners' Stories

how much it cost to get the ECU installed

I bought this car off ebay and thought it was god deal. Boy was i wrong. i have already put 3k into the car just with the steering issues. I mean not for nothing, it has 169k miles on it. So it has been around the block. But you know what, i love it. If you do not have the money and the patience to put into this car, then DO NOT BOTHER. SAVE YOUR SELF THE AGGRAVATION. I have no qualms. This is a project car for me. The tranny and other issues are endless. But after it's all done, this car is a beast and easy on the eyes. Faggoudaboutit!! As i said, live within your means. if you dont have the cash, this one is not for you!!

I have tried after-market rims on my car and cannot get a balanced ride. I had the tires professionally balanced twice, but to no avail. I assumed that one of the rims has a problem since the rims were used. However, when I put the original rims back on, there is still vibration at 50-55 mph, the indicator for balance control. What else could be the problem?

Look,BMW has mastered the art of deception with the price of repairs.This is one of the most amazing cars on the road.You have to love driving more than life to appreciate what this machine is capable of......for example,Santa Monica pier to the Antelope valley in 33 mins.Yes 33 mins.top speed 167 MPH.They say the top speed is 145.The price.....look at it like this,I pretty much completely rebuilt mine for under $20,000.Ya sounds like alot but....I have a $75,000 car for a quarter of the price!!!!!!!!.YUP im the guy you seen on any so cal freeway in a black 740 IL going extremely to fast,sorry if i scared you.Catch me if you can.

I bought my car in late december of 2010. The previous owner drove 62,000 miles over the life of the car. The car was well maintained and driven by his wife. The car looks like it was never driven inside and out. I had the car looked at and did the car fax to check out the service records. I paid 12,500 for the car I have since spent 15,000 on new valves and head gaskets along with a long list of other issues that are more maintence issues and repairs that you would exspect with a 12 year old car. The good news is that the car does drive great and it is solid at this point. The previous owner never drove out of the city in florida and never went over 40 mph. I will pursue the dealership to cover the valves but as for now I have a great ride.

i just got one, its the most packed car ive ever had its a wonder to drive and a great car overall even though its a little money to fix it, in the long run its worth keepin. The total package no wonder they call it the ultimate driving machine.

Ive had my beemer for about two years and yes as far maintence its expensive! Take it in first sign of problem. But honestly overall rating on the car I LOVE IT no major problems drives like a champ!

I have a 1996 740il - and it just turned 70,000 miles. I baby this car - only drive it around town and around New England some. I have been lucky - no major expenses - yet. But, I replace things rather preemtively and do some basics myself - plugs, the occasion coils various hoses that may look tired. Not sure what my plan is with this car - but as long it keeps going, I will stick by it. These cars are a dream to drive but, owning - apparently your mileage may vary..........

I have a 99 740iL. I love the look and profile and it is the best driving car I have ever owned. But that is as far as it goes. Repair wise this is the WORSE vehicle I have ever owned. The repairs just keep coming and coming. I do most of the repairs myself but at some point you have to ask yourself is it worth it. It seams like I am having to repair something every month on this car. Parts are very expensive and the labor cost for repairs I don't do myself is even worse. When I purchased this car I paid cash because I did not want to be making monthly payments. Boy was I ever wrong, I have been making monthly repair bill payments from the first day I purchased it. I will NEVER EVER own another BMW.

Worst car we have ever owned. I have 20 year old Porsches that I drive daily that are more reliable than this POS. I work on my own cars and after the first couple of wrench sessions you start to see how cheap this car is put together. There is an ABUNDANCE of PLASTIC used everywhere in this engine so expect a new radiator and coolant over flow tank every 40-50k miles. Also the serpentine belt tensioner pullys are plastic and are known for letting go around the 80-90k mark. Then you have your other common issues warped PLASTIC intake manifold, WARPED PLASTIC valley pan, CATs, and CAM postition sensors. We bought are car with 55k on the clock and we have pretty much replaced everything before I finally gave up on it this year and sold it. The alternators are watercooled and will set you back over a grand. This car has a lot of electronics so expect to eat this things for lunch are car went through three from 55k miles to 118k. However this biggest pain in the butt on this car is BMW's POOR attempt at making a MAF sensor. This car will go through MAF's every 2 years nothing you can do about it!! You will also go through cam position sensors as well. At around 100k EXPECT the whole front end to be worn out and need replacing. Don't get me wrong is a fantastic driving machine just poorly engineered with substandard parts. If you don't mind the servicing by all means knock yourself out. Simply put after owning numerous 20 year old Porsches the reliability of this car was a real shocker. Quite funny that my 20+ year old Porsche 928 was more reliable than this and it has over 120k miles. In closing BMW needs to STOP using so MUCH PLASTIC in there engines it just doesn't hold up the heat cycles. If this car didn't have so many stupid seals it would be much more reliable. I'm still trying to figure out the point of a valley pan?? Most V8's don't have them so why put a seal there? Why does the intake manifold come apart in 4 different sections... this just leads to more failure points. All in all fabulous car to look at and drive, horrible car to pay for the repairs.

Are you kidding me? For a car that looks good, it is just a POS. So many issues, I really don't know where to begin. I really wish I would have read the other comments BEFORE I bought my BMW. I have only had it 30 days, and already, I have had problems with the radiator, suspension, windows, lights, cat converters, and a/c. The cost of these repairs will be more than double what I paid for the car. I can not beleive it. Well, lesson learned. I will just cut my losses and sell it. I refuse to pay for these intial repairs. I can tell by reading other comments, that this will be just the beginning. The best thing about this vehicle will be the tail lights when I see it going down the street with someone else. BUYERS BEWARE

POS car!!!! RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN AWAY!!!! Unless you have a TON of cash that you can burn! Will most likely never buy a BMW again as a result

Several people including myself have had radiator and water pump issues. Repair costs are very expensive. My local dealership wanted $1840 for LABOR alone to install a radiator and water pump. Also has some electrical issues as well.

GOOD CONDITION

I love this car

I have a 97 740IL and I must say that it runs pretty well. The problem I have with it are the tail lights, the cup holder is broken (cheap), the inside door strips are cheaply made with those clips that are always breaking, the cover to my stereo speaker just fell off and I cannot re-attach it. I do find that some of the fixtures are easy to replace and not as complicated all as many would think. My nemesis with my car is the electrical stuff. Both of my brake lights are out. I've changed the bulbs a numerous amount of times and I've replaced the bulb sockets to no avail. I am thinking about buying new tail lights however, I'm not sure if this will resolve the issue not know if it's the wiring that causing the problem. I've been trying to determine if there's a fuse out however, it's very confusing. I very hesitant to take it to the dealer or my mechanic. It will cost me a s--t load of money for something so simple as popping out a fuse and putting another one. I'm going to keep trying...I'm sure I'll figure it out...hell, I changed the grill myself! I'm also having some major problems passing the emissions test...for a car of this stature and price, this should never be!!

I've been driving this car for 7.5 years and I just passed the 150K mileage mark. I'm on my second million miles and have never found a car that compares with its overall driving performance. It eats up mountain driving, hugs the road on corners, and absorbs shocks from our horrible Northern California roads as though they had been newly paved. It will cruise at over 150 mph. At 100 mph, it handles better than any American piece of trash at 60 mph. It truly is a joy to drive. HOWEVER, it is not a joy to pay for its maintenance. I just dropped $4,500 to replace its entire coolant system - it went through two radiators in six months. Dealers' service charges for anything significant are higher than what you can sell the car for. Be prepared to visit your favorite shop often.

I bought this car when it was six months old. Service maintenance is extremely expensive. I think BMW spent too much time making the car complicated (they call it "engineering") for automobiles of the caliber, rather than "KISSing" it. KISS = Keep it simple stupid!

I love this car. It requires attention, but is a pleasure to drive.