1998 BMW 7 Series Reviews from North America

7 means... expensive!

Valve cover gasket has no life span.

Power steering motor goes at 100K.

Belt tensioner goes... so does your cooling system.

Great car... handles well, fast, but it will cost you after 100K.

Passenger Seat Airbag Sensor - $500

Faulty Front Calipers - $800

Cracked Tail Lights - $200

Fan Clutch - $1000

MAF - $1000

Radiator - $300

Catalytic Converters - $400 (Replaced with After-market)

Oxygen Sensors - $400 (all 4)

Squeaky Moon-roof - not fixed

Missing dash pixels - not fixed

Seats starting to wear out - not fixed

Cracked shifter knob - not fixed

Rear suspension creak - not fixed

Carbon buildup on cylinder heads - quote $8000.

The 1998 BMW 740iL is certainly a sexy head-turning car, it handles amazingly well for a 2.5 ton car and is plush and very comfortable on long trips. VERY SAFE, got rear ended on the highway and it only left a small dent on the bumper while the other car was almost totalled! Incredible rear leg room. Gas mileage for highway is decent, 25mpg on a recent 200 mile trip. City mileage is not so great at 11mpg.

If you're thinking of buying it used, Don't! I've learned not to buy German cars used, if you don't have too much money, lease new! Overall, the repair costs for 2 years is over $12600 and the depreciation is about $5000. Overall running costs: $17600, should have leased a new 5 series or A6 and save the headaches.

However, if you are determined to buy a used 7 series, do your due diligence before buying. Also know that the after-market "extended warranties" are useless because everything is "wear and tear."

If the 7 series had ls400 like reliability, I would recommend it without hesitation. However, it's far from the case, consumer reports rates the 7 series one of the worst used car buys due to reliability. The ls400 or acura RL may not be as sexy, but it sure saves you time/money/and headaches. If you REALLY want sexy, go lease a new Bentley Continental GT for $2500 a month.

Oh, and I still have the car, anybody want it for $7000? NO? Well I don't blame ya.

It's the small things that drive me crazy!

Drink holders were broken the 1st month.

Lighted letters and numbers go out CONSTANTLY.

This car is a dream to drive. I've always had BMW's because they feel so safe, and this car rates at the top. It is smooth and fast and heavy, yet the brakes are fantastic and can stop on a dime.

Maybe it goes without saying the the 7 series is wickedly expensive to maintain when things go wrong, so I'll not complain about the thousands I've spent on too many things to count between 100,000 and 125,000 miles. As much as it hurt the pocketbook, the repairs were always fixed the first time around and car never felt anything less than totally dependable.

It is however, a big disappointment that the little stuff (the bells and whistles)inside the car doesn't hold up to use at all. The inside equipment breaks at a glance. Cup holders, seat controls, the entire center console as well as those orange lights in the stereo and dashboard just do not pass! This is stuff I've never considered fixing because it is too expensive.