Looking to buy 2002 745Li - BMW Forum

rickjames1978 · 03-17-2008, 10:20 AM

Okay, I am new to this forum. However, I have been in the market for a 745Li for about 2 years. My best friend lives in Alabama and he is going to sell his 2002 745Li to me for what he owes(about $18,000) because he has money like that. I have personally viewed and drove the car. It's in excellent condition with no real issues. It has 90k miles on it which is about right on for a car from that model year. The blue book value is around $28K, but he was offered $30K because of the rims and custom paint job. Even though this is my best friend, I checked the carfax reports and it has a clean history.

Now, after reading all that, I am sure that you are thinking, this is a no-brainer. However, I want to know some of the issues that others with that make/model/year are having or had. I know that there weren't many changes between 2002-2004 that were tremendous.

Thanks

dvmotorsports · 03-17-2008, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickjames1978

Okay, I am new to this forum. However, I have been in the market for a 745Li for about 2 years. My best friend lives in Alabama and he is going to sell his 2002 745Li to me for what he owes(about $18,000) because he has money like that. I have personally viewed and drove the car. It's in excellent condition with no real issues. It has 90k miles on it which is about right on for a car from that model year. The blue book value is around $28K, but he was offered $30K because of the rims and custom paint job. Even though this is my best friend, I checked the carfax reports and it has a clean history.

Now, after reading all that, I am sure that you are thinking, this is a no-brainer. However, I want to know some of the issues that others with that make/model/year are having or had. I know that there weren't many changes between 2002-2004 that were tremendous.

Thanks

Okay, that car should have the factory extended 100,000 mile warranty on it. There is a reason for this though. Everything goes wrong on the early 7's. I mean everything..... at least twice. I hate to sway you, but if you like have a car in the shop more than you do in your garage, do it. If not, then wait and get a newer one. BTW there is supposed to be a new one for '09. Which typically means the old style drops in value. So unless you are in a hurry, i'd wait for the depreciation following the new design and then purchase a newer one.

rickjames1978 · 03-17-2008, 01:20 PM

Good advice. I need to really look into that. I would hate to purchase this vehicle at the end of the warranty period and have all types of software issues. I will definitely wait for the 09' release to happen to see the value of the '03 and '04 models.

crewdog_843 · 03-19-2008, 11:33 AM

Although I do not own a 2002 or newer BMW, the preponderance of opinion is that if you want to hate BMW, buy an '02.

The 2001 model year was the last of the e38s, and although it had a run of several years, it still had many, many problems even at the end of the run. Most of the problems are easy DIY type fixes, although the fading pixel issue is the only problem addressed by BMWNA.

If the car is out of warranty, try to find an aftermarket warranty as you will need it, unless you have lots of folding green to spare.

jake