E65 7 Series

monkey_boy

monkey_boy

monkey_boy

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Leicester UK
With all the spec me threads for the e38, e39, e46, e60, e90.... I have built up a reasonable picture of the pro's and con's of each. The e65 doesn't seem to come up much though.

I'm not ready to change my e53 yet, but with a fully specc'd 05/06 730d SE coming in at 12-14k it seems like a good idea to change to one when I am ready. Is it a good idea? What's to be avoided? L versions? Particular bells and whistles? The entire car?


Cheers,
 
Good cars, but slightly flawed in the sector which they are marketted in as they drive too "sportily" and have the wrong badge for a luxury. This makes them excellent value however, shown by the fact that they are much, much cheaper than an equivalent S-Class. The large petrols are nearly half the price :eek:

L's are not to be avoided for any mechanical reason, my only concern with an L is that they will not fit in most garages.

At the price they are they really make sense now, Rilot has just bought a 730d, and i am considering changing my ageing S-Class for one too (a petrol version in my case). They are only not mentioned on this forum much as not many people here seem to opt for cars from the classes below.
 
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Here's my advice based on my recent purchase.

Get an 05+ facelift model. Looks better and most issues with the pre-facelift model are sorted.
Hold out for the spec you want. An E65 with no options is a waste of time.
You want a sport model (standard dynamic drive) or an SE with Dynamic Drive. This is essentially active ARBs and make the car sit absolutely flat in corners. It's a sporty drive so you might as well have it handle properly too.
Comfort seats are a must have.
Bluetooth with telematics is a must have.
Soft close doors are awesome.
Auto bootlid is also awesome and I highly recommend it.
Comfort access (keyless) is nice but I don't miss having it.
EDC is very nice but not neccessary.
Logic 7 audio is good but the stock hifi isn't terrible once set up properly.
Heads up display, night vision, adaptive lights, adaptive cruise are all cool but you won't use them much so don't pay extra for them.

Servicing is based on BMW's conditional servicing scheme so you don't end up servicing things that don't need it. Concequentially, it's not expensive to maintain.

Performance is good for all models except the 3.0 petrol which, although acceptable, needs to be thrashed to maintain good progress.
4.0 V8 740i is pointless as it's costs the same to buy and run as 5.0 V8 750i.
Avoid the 6.0 V12 760i unless you are totally minted, in which case you won't be looking at an E65 anyway.
Nav is standard as is a fair few other items. Higher the model, the more standard kit.
The interior layout takes a bit of getting used to (column shifter, one touch stalks, push-button parking brake) but feels very natural once learned.
Don't belive what anyone says about iDrive. It's a piece of cake to use and will take 5 seconds to learn.
No major weak point to speak of other than the usual electrical gremlins when the battery get towards it's end of life.
 
Thanks both, that's good to know. It seems like the only sensible option with a budget in that region. All the spec me threads seem to come to a similar conclusion that it's a rubbish budget to have but I think this fits nicely.
 
What specific benefits does the facelift bring? I was looking at facelifts anyway as they fit the 'budget' but I've just looked and actually quite like the look of the prefacelift.
 
monkey_boy said:
What specific benefits does the facelift bring?
Click to expand...

Sport models
Different engines (735i -> 740i. 745i -> 750i. Uprated 3.0 diesel)
More standard kit (Xenons, programmable cruise, high-beam assist, mp3 capable CD changer)
Revised iDrive that's a bit snappier
Better nav

Downside is that with the pre-facelift, Dynamic Drive was standard across the range in the UK. It's only standard on Sport models with the facelift and a 3k option on SEs.
 
I love these, they fall well into budget and seem great value for money.

A facelift 750i Sport (05 onwards) with less than 100k on the clock would be my pick personally. That should come in at £14k-£15k and the only thing that puts me off is that a 335i would fall vinto that budget soon.
 
Peerzy said:
I love these, they fall well into budget and seem great value for money.

A facelift 750i Sport (05 onwards) with less than 100k on the clock would be my pick personally. That should come in at £14k-£15k and the only thing that puts me off is that a 335i would fall vinto that budget soon.
Click to expand...

:confused::confused: What does a 335i have to do with a 750i? Neither car would appeal to the customer of the other.
 
Jez said:
:confused::confused: What does a 335i have to do with a 750i? Neither car would appeal to the customer of the other.
Click to expand...

Oh totally not, you are right.

I was just dead interested in one recently and the only thing that stopped me was the thought of holding off and getting a 335i. I didn't mean to compare the two as they are totally different.
 
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