All Entries Tagged With: "BMW 750iL"
eBay: 1989 BMW 750iL
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img via eBay ::: 1989 BMW 750iL for sale
CAVEAT EMPTOR.
In the long, post war history of German luxury cars, precious few autos can compare to the dashing E32 generation BMW 7-series. The 750iL with six liter V12 engine tops the E32 range and in the late 80s, the lang model brought automotive luxury and performance to tall, new heights.
Yet in one of life’s cruel ironies, what would prove one of history’s greatest executive sedans would also turn out to be one of the least reliable. There’s a site – my750.com – devoted to suffering E32 750 owners who needed a dedicated space on the Internet just to vent over serial maintenance issues that afflict their big 7s.
And while this particular one owner, 1989 signature gold BMW 750iL with 128K miles may not be the typical basket case, it’d be crucial to prove otherwise.
In prime form, the 750iL still ranks as a ‘bahn stormer par excellence.
Thanks, Adrian!
Thank Trigger: 1987 CAR Road Comparo 560SEL v 750iL v Turbo R v Sovereign
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img (1987) CAR Magazine via Flickr ::: Road Comparison Test Issue
THUMB through the pictoral mountain that is Flickr and you’ll find an account called “Trigger’s Vintage Road Tests!” It’s awesome. For one thing, “Trigger” posted a 1987 comparison issue from CAR that compared a quartet of 80s luxury rock stars – the BMW 750iL, Bentley Turbo R, Jaguar Sovereign, and Mercedes-Benz 560SEL. Girly squeal! He’s done us auto aficionados a great service. Here’s why:
On BMW’s Outstanding E32 7-Series
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: YouTube ::: img Sara (1997) via IMCDB ::: BMW e32 7 Series
PRECIOUS little’s written of the BMW e32 7-Series (1986-1994).
What’s online, generally, is content posted by owners that enthusiastically showcase their 735i’s aftermarket performance mods or 750iL’s 0-60 time on YouTube. Fine ‘n dandy, but none of these casual entries really do justice to the vintage e32 7er – a sharp, powerfully understated sedan with true Continental swagger.
Truth is – BMW’s e32 stands as one of the best model lines ever to roll off the line at Dingolfing.
When the second generation 7er debuted in 1986, the über-saloon launched the Roundel well into the 90s with pioneering technology and engineering that set the benchmark for performance in the luxury sedan market.
An ungoverned 750i/iL could sail past Mercedes’ 560SEL to 185 mph. At the time, that was no small feat.
Auto, Motor und Sport via Fuenfkommasechs.de
Catch is – the e32 started the industry trend towards a heavy reliance on electronics that’s hurt the model’s longevity. Good, functioning examples of 735i/iL, 740i/iL, and certainly 750iLs are increasingly rare due to high running costs. In particular, repairs of the 750iL’s 5.0 Liter, 300 horsepower V12, Germany’s first automotive 12 cylinder engine since the Weimar, are notorious for being Jaguar-involved and costly.
Still, sterling examples expertly showcase Bavarian road-going finesse and classic Teutonic taste. All the more reason that more should be written on the great e32.
What’s Japanese For: “I’ll Take Them Both!” ?
V12 majestics. BMWs 750iL and 850i on display. Screen shots below.
NY Mag Ponders The Painful > What If You Invested In A M.Y. 1998 750iL?
An icon, depreciated.
Luxury sedans just don’t get much better than BMW’s E38 generation 7-Series. In that line, Dingolfing produced one of the best cars the world has ever known.
Behind the wheel, the predecessor 7 gave you the impression that Hollywood’s leading ladies are more forthcoming about their weight. A large and heavy three box sedan built for comfort just had no business performing with such exacting precision.
And yet, time has its way with value.
New York magazine’s Jhoanna Robledo posted an article recently that posed the rhetorical question what investing $100,000 in 1998 would’ve yielded today.
Among the examples, $99,995 in Apple stock would have yielded nearly $2 million. A townhouse in Harlen for 80 large back then would today bring home $800K at least, “And that’s if it’s still a wreck,” writes Robledo.
But some other investments, would not have faired so well.
$92,100 for a M.Y. 1998 750iL might get you $12K in resale with no miles.
As painful as that depreciation seems, we must remember that in general automobiles – unless they come adorned with rearing elephant hood emblems – serve as dubious investment vehicles (no pun intended… ok maybe a little).
Robledo acknowledges this somewhat, “You’d have held more value if you’d bought a car that is perpetually coveted, like a Ferrari, but a yard-high Italian two-seater isn’t exactly built for our potholes.”
So, what is the rate of depreciation on a Ferrari from ’98, anyway? Don’t ask Kelly…
Back then, one tutto rosso M.Y. 1998 Ferrari F355 Berlinetta F1 retailed for $130,995 (before option$) according to MSN autos. Al giorno, it’s $92,900 on Hemmings.
Tap the Link > New York
My750.com > An Owner’s Experience With BMW’s First V12 Flagship
One classic weighed by a checkered history
Clock back to the spring of ’01.
The Bush Administration was in the stupor of an indifferent honeymoon. BMW Chief Designer Chris Bangle, armed with flamethrower, was busy redefining the term “surface entertainment.”
And one man elected to start writing about his ownership experiences with his M.Y. 1989 750iL; one among the first V12 flagships BMW e’er built.
Playing ostrich these past seven years, I completely missed my750.com >>> among my many, many Internet searches for fly Teutonic content.
So when I uncovered this site that features one of my all-time favorites; having driven an ’88 735i (with 5-speed stick) and ridden in a ’93 740i, I was very eager to know more about what it meant to own the top model that powered the Roundel into the 90s.
Asking the general public to opine on their experiences, the site’s publisher left user comments to do most of the initial telling.
“1989 piece of $#*&. Need I say more! Pissed owner. BMW (Bring Money With you),” wrote Ken V.
Phillip K. took account, “Horror … cost me $72,000 … sat in the repair shop more than three months … one day my accountant … told me we have a problem … The bill had accumulated to $43,000 and more coming. I was stunned … ”
And finally MJ confessed, “I am a BMW Service technician. I am so glad someone has started a site to speak the truth about the abomination called 750iL! 750′s are about as bad for the technician as the owner. They are difficult to work on and a pain sometimes to diagnose, a car never really fit for this world … BMW should be ashamed of the E32 750 (unfortunately with what we’ve seen with the new E65 7 series so far, history may repeat itself) … a nightmare financially. Forget resale value … The car is junk…”
Were these dark episodes part of some troublesome trend among BMW’s finest sedans? Or did it just happen that the site publisher’s own car was built on a Friday afternoon in the middle of Oktoberfest?
Amazingly, the publisher went on to write that despite itemizing his 7′s seven months of downtime and $36,720 in repairs that included fixing everything from slow coolant leaks to replacing clogged windshield washer nozzles, he still found merit in his ride.
“Make no mistake- the 750iL is quite a car and I’m still impressed by it, however, if you have one like mine, be prepared to be equally or perhaps even more impressed by its repair and maintenance requirements.”
Now that’s what we might call true (read: dumb) commitment.
Granted, the guy’s probably since moved on from his rolling cash siphon. The site really hasn’t seen a substantive update since 2002. Further, there’s no direct way to confirm if anything that he’s written is true.
But this WAV file of a recorded voicemail from some non-committal BMW rep. is interesting >>> as is the site itself – if only for dual aspects of the fly nature of its Teutonic subject matter and for providing thought to what problems might wait in store for the far more complex current generation >>>
