E65 2004 745i Accident History

I am looking to purchase a 2004 BMW 745i with $8000 in accident history. I got this info from carproof.com. It does not detail what has happened to the car. I got an inspection on it and the BMW dealer stated that it looks to be the rear end. I am getting a really good price on the car I just wanted to know what you guys think. Is it really that hard to rack up 8g in damage on the rear end of a 745i? Or do you think/guess this could be a major problem in the future? Thanks any input would help.

- Andrew

Reply to
Andrew Batke
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An out of warranty 745i is already one of the riskiest used car purchases you can make, and we're talking about dealer-maintained cars only driven by little old ladies to church on Sunday. To knowingly buy one with an accident history, that's like going to Tijuana without any condoms then picking the hooker with a rash. epbrown

Reply to
E Brown

Simply wonderful. I have to remember that one..

Reply to
admin

You would expect a 7 Series to last a long time, this is not the case? What are the major issues of the 7 Series?

Reply to
Andrew Batke

The drivetrain is as solid as any BMW. The problem area is the same as on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or Audi A8 - the car is chock-a-block full of electronics that are expensive to diagnose and repair when things go wrong. Under warranty, BMW will pay the dealer 10 hours labor to figure out some niggling fault, and 6 hours more to remove and replace the defective bit (which itself will cost about the same as the testicle of a albino virgin male born in the Year of the Dragon during an eclipse). Out of warranty? Few used buyers will pay $3000 to fix the seat massage function, and dealers will typically stonewall you on fixing such problems because it would take a technician out of circulation for days, when he could be racking up simple repairs well under "book time" on numerous other cars. You could easily drive a modern 745i for the next 20 years, provided you don't intend to use the heat, air, electric windows, electric seats, sunroof or iDrive for the last 10 of them, when repairing any of those faults will cost about as much as or more than the car is worth. The Germans haven't caught up with the Japanese when it comes to reliable electronics on a high-end luxury scale; it's why this market is losing customers to Acura, Infiniti, and Lexus. epbrown

Reply to
E Brown

Thanks for the info E Brown!

Reply to
Andrew Batke

Yeah, I know it's on top but I'm busy. I have a 1988 735i with 140,000 miles. It was bought new and has all the paperwork on repairs. I got it from my brother in law who owns a foreign car repair shop. It's had the usual work done. Nothing special. I just moved to FL, but I think in NJ a 20 year old car is a "classic" and a 30 years old car is an "antique". You get discounts on insurance but are limited in how often you drive it.Would I buy another BMW? No way. They handle like crazy (I can take clover leaves at 70 mph and you don't even lean to the side. It goes up to 160 mph but I've only had it up to 120 mph. The front end was just rebuilt and I wanted to check it out. It stayed in it's lane for almost half a mile. It should, the front end work was two grand. The electrical areas are always acting up. I think the new ones run between $80,000 to over $100,000 depending on the goodies you get. You can do much better with other brands. The Toyota Avalon, the low end Lexus, and a few GM cars give more value for the money. I drove a friend's Chevy Malibu and it had a larger trunk than I did, was wider, and cruised well over 100 mph. I live in Florida, so there are many empty roads to try your speed runs. The Chevy rode well with four large people and a trunk stuffed with luggage. I guess I'm getting tired of a chipped high beam lens costing $170, etc. At least we don't have inspections here in Florida. NJ's were terrible. Save your money and buy a Lexus and you'll have enough left over for a nice boat. I live on the river right across from the space center, so I'll rather have a nice boat, a motorcycle and maybe a convertible. We have the A/C on all 12 months of the year. I'll take the sun and breeze in the convertible, the bike (helmets are optional) and the boat.

I hope this helps. Of course, every opinion is different. I've had Volvos, Acura Legends, and driven even more models. The parts are costly, they charge a bundle to work on them and the nearest dealer to me is an hour each way. Toyota and Chevy dealers are everywhere. My father bought a new 2006 Scion xB (the one that looks like a box) but it rides really well, gets 36 mpg and is very reliable. Maybe a sporty model might be for you. Dad's 82 and I'm 58, so my tastes changed.

Good luck in your choice. Try Consumer's Reports. I've been getting them for

30 years and they do a good job. Happy driving.

"Andrew Batke" wrote in message news:lsjsj.20081$C61.18182@edtnps89...

Reply to
Michael A. Neuhaus

It doesn't take much to do $8000 in damage to a BMW. My '04 X5 was rear ended a few weeks after I bought it. Since I wasn't driving it, I visited the repair shop and I was shocked at the lack of *visible* damage. The car was in the shop for 3-4 weeks and then spent a few days at the dealer for work on the electrical safety components. The total bill was just over $8K.

It was returned as good as new and I never had a problem for the next three years. It was traded in for an '07 X5 without any apparent penalty for the repair/damage history.

-Dan

Reply to
DK

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