1997 BMW 7 Series il review from North America
"Safe and stylish land yacht"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Lots of maintenance needed done when I purchased:
Waterpump: about $100 new from fcpgroton.
Intake gaskets.
OSV.
Control arms/drag link/tierods: fairly cheap from fcpgroton.
1 coil pack only $23 from fcpgroton.
O2 sensors - 4 about $63 a piece from azautohaus.
Trans fluid/filter expensive cost me about $150 to change myself. BMW filter/gasket, fluid from world impex - VW fluid, BMW fluid will cost about 30 bucks a quart and 8-10 will be required.
Plugs.
Pixels bad in instrument cluster.
Cup holders/ashtray lid broken like almost all BMW's.
General comments?
Very smooth engine, and only idles around 300-400rpm.
Doesn't leak or burn any fluids.
Good mileage for a V8: 22.6 average.
Built like a tank, hit a deer at 65mph and never hit the brakes, sheet metal damage only, still driving it.
Great support from e38.org.
Fairly easy to work on.
Engine has a timing chain, so no worries about a belt breaking.
Handles and stops great especially for a huge 4700lb car.
Even though it's 12 years old, the car still stands out, mainly because of its size. People with new cars will still think you have more money than they do, even though you may only have $4-6k in the BMW.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Model year | 1997 |
| Year of manufacture | 1996 |
| First year of ownership | 2007 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2009 |
| Engine and transmission | 4.4 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 8 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 0 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 150000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 181000 miles |
| Previous car | Audi A4 |
| Date of Entry | 2nd February, 2009 |