Buying a 745i...

[EagleGuy466]

Hey all-
i am currently looking for a larger luxury sedan for myself.
i am considering the new 745i, the S430, and S500-
i am wondering if anyone has experienced any problems
with a 2004 745i such as electrical or mechanical-
your input would be very valuable and if you know of
any problems with the new Mercedes S, please tell me too
thanks!

[jyep]

you should go look into some of the Mercedes forums for the info you need

do a Google search.

Also, many forums on the 745i also.

[chaldean]

JUST PURCHASED A 2004 745LI-- I AM ELATED. I TOO WAS LOOKING AT THE MERCEDES MODELS, BUT THEY HONESTLY CANNOT COMPARE TO THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE 7 SERIES. GOOD LUCK... YOU WILL NOT HAVE ANY REGRETS IF YOU GET THE BMW. TEST DRIVE THEM FIRST AND DECIDE THEN.

[CiscoKid]

if you want to have fun driving, get the BMW. If you just want a ride, then go for the Benz

[heidi528]

Do yourself a big favor. Do NOT buy the BMW!!!! Sounds harsh, but I'm on BMW #7 right now. I own a 745Li, 2002. Hunk of junk, lemon, and so on. My dealer promised me that BMW would do a buy back last fall. Well, I'm still in this piece of *(&%. I too thought it was fabulous when I first got it. But it's been one problem after another, and several of those problems have been "fixed" multiple times. Yes, there are wiring problems, and electrical, and also transmission, etc. The car has been in for service more than a dozen times - I'm not talking about the hour or two visits to fix something minor, I'm referring to the visits where I leave the car and its anywhere up to a week before I get it back. Currently it swears I have a flat tire, and wants me to change it. It is not flat. Period. When there's an error message you lose many other functions. The technology is great, but flawed. This car was released long before it was ready. I don't like the Benz much; I did sign for an Audi A8L yesterday, to be picked up tomorrow. The Bimmer will sit in the driveway until I get BMW to give me my money back. All of it. I don't even want a replacement anymore. Too many headaches, too many problems. If you want ALL the details, contact me! heidi@ctrealtor.net. I'm happy to expand...

[97alpineM3]

Buddy just got a brand new 7..... such a great car.... I like it... I'd say take a test drive then deside... thats a good plane..... good luck

[325isBaby]

I love the 745. It drives GREAT and deffinatly a LUXURY car and a half. I would deffinatly get one if I could

[heidi528]

"IF" is such a big word... I could buy one, and I did. As I mentioned, a 2002. It was a nightmare. Luxury for sure, but who needs an $80,000 driveway ornament? Looks and comfort don't count for much when it won't run. On the plus side, I now have a 2005 745Li. (No details on how and why; confidential). I also have a 2004 Audi A8L. Same basic price range- $75,000 for the Audi, $85,000 for the BMW. The Audi drives nicer, handles better, and is lacking nothing. Far superior navigation system, suspension, etc. Beats the BMW and the Mercedes hands down. Just missing the snob appeal. I'm going to hope the new BMW lives up to it standards. One lemon was enough!

[325isBaby]

Hidi I am incredibly sorry that you had such a negative experience with one of BMW's finest cars offered. The thing you MUST remember is the E65/E66 DEBUT in 2002 and yes there were our problem children, but the E65 and E66 have come a long way since it's debut. There have been many changes to the vehicles and are actually a really great car. I understand your fustration completely and I hope your future experiences with BMW are better than your past ones. BMW takes care of their own with in a reasonable amout of reality involved. There is no reason to be rude after all.

[CiscoKid]

2002 was the first year, there were always problems with that.... the only troubles that you may have is with the use of idrive

[odessamama]

745 - THE WORST CAR EVER. I have one 2001 model. The next day I got it, I had to bring it back to service bacause Navigation didn't work, to start with. Then, it's been in service for more than 3 months total.
All kinds of problems, some are really annoying ones. For example, if you don't use one of the remotes for a while, next time you use it - it would reset all your radio presets, sits, US/Euro metrics. The Low Fuel indicator would not work, etc.

I know that the first series where poorly made (BMW fixed most the problems with software upgrades, but even without this - it's just a badly thought through car. And here is why:
- It's a nice ride, but why does it have to take 10 moves on Idrive to change a radio station?
- Or better yet, try finding something in the navigation by a keyword - there is no such feature.
- It takes 10 times longer to enter an address in the NAVI than it does on my other car - acura MDX.
- How about having 7 DVDs to cover US map that you have to purchase separately for $150? Acura has 1 DVD for the whole coutry with complete yellow page info on all businesses.
- Actually, the whole idea of an iDrive is stupid. They claim it's unique idea to save time and clicks. They say '... why should your dashboard look like and airplain? have one iDrive and do it all!' Well, I would prefer changing radio station with ONE push and switching to CD with ONE push, not 5.
- The service departments are arogant and ignorant. Here is a quote from a service adviser in San Francisco "Now that you've got a BMW, you have to be patient when it comes to service". You go figure.

My final problem at hand is a bad mold smell coming out of air conditioner. Not only it's unpleasant, it's also probably dangerous. BMW reply - it's caused by outside conditions and is not covered under warranty. I can't believe this. I never had anything on any other car. Bastards.

Bottom line: You'll end up paying a lot for a nice ride, but stupid design and functionality will drive you crazy.

[Mr White G]

I'd say the benz is the subtle choice. The BMW is just as good but attracts a lot of attention.