What To Do With My $1,000 BWM 740il

[piscator]

I'd really appreciate some advice on what to do with my BMW 740il. The car needs non-engine related electrical repairs that are estimated to cost more than the car is worth. A local salvage yard offered $1,000.

I bought the 740 new and always had it dealer serviced. It was never hit and never abused, but since this was my 'work ride' it shows the wear you'd expect from 76,000 miles of shuttling customers around.

Six years ago I got hit with health problems and stuck the 740 in a neighbor's garage. He needed the garage back, so the last couple of years it's been sitting out in our New England weather. Yes, I neglected it.

When a friend needed a car, we threw a battery in the 740, checked the fluids and he headed off to Boston. That's how we discovered the electrical failures that had never surfaced previously. It's as if 'gremlins' invaded this car -- door locks, trunk locks, wipers, ventilation blower, stopped working, sunroof and windows became intermittent, etc. etc. etc.

So what should I do with this car? Now that I'm 'back on my feet' I drive our 911 for fun and use my truck as the "Mr. Mom" vehicle. My wife loves her car and we don't really need the 740. Still it seems a shame to 'junk it' for $1,000.

AND on July 1st this 740 will suddenly be worth $4,500 -- when Congress passes the "Cash for Junkers" bill -- $4,500 if I trade it in on a new vehicle that gets 5mpg better gas mileage. I don't really need a new car either and unfortunately a new truck won't quailify.

That's my dilemna, as I see it the choices are:

Part it out myself -- (anyone know how much that would bring?)
Junk it -- (only offered $1,000)
Trade it in under the "cash for junkers" program (just because it's available)

Sorry for the long post, but I really could use your thoughts and advice!

piscator

[pwd72s]

Damn...you'd think somebody out there would want to stuff a BMW V-12 into a '49 Caddy...or something like that. Seriously...

[aigel]

What year is the car?

George

[piscator]

Aigel, pwd72s,

Thanks for commenting! It's a 1998 with V-8 engine. It's a big car and in it's prime, the most impressive 'pavement eater' I've ever driven -- fast, quiet and very comfortable.

piscator

[Gogar]

Sell it to onewhippedpuppy!!

[Langers]

How the hell an 11 year old 7 series can only be worth that much? Blows my mind!!! They still sell for us$40k here!!

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by Langers

How the hell an 11 year old 7 series can only be worth that much? Blows my mind!!! They still sell for us$40k here!!

that's what i was thinking...electrical gremlins are to be expected if not driven and parked outside.. but still i don't see how it can be a 1K parts car if it still runs and drives... unless it's covered in bird poo

[Aurel]

$76,000 miles is not a lot of miles at all. Hard to believe it could be a junker. What is wrong with the electrical?
Edit, I just read the details. Maybe find an auto electrician who just lost his job...

[azasadny]

If you lived closer to me, I'd make an offer to buy the car!

[T77911S]

sitting is the worse thing you can do to a car. and it is the electrical stuff that goes. i let my 760 turbo sit for just over a week, started it up and all kinds of little problems loike that. the ABS light was, some stuff did not work.
too bad your not down here. my brother is looking for a 7 series for his wife.

[Scuba Steve]

Sell it to me! Except I'm in Texas. But if it's still around when I make it up to New England I'm always up for a road trip...

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Sell it to onewhippedpuppy!!

I'd probably buy it if it were close.

Piscator, so it runs and drives? If so, I bet you can do better than $1k for it. Hell, just a good running M62 V8 and transmission should be worth way more than $1k, especially with those low miles. If it were me, I would clean it up as best as possible, take lots of pictures, and post ads everywhere. Craigslist, Pelican BMW classifieds, and Bimmerforums classifieds are all free and well traveled. If in good shape, a '98 740iL with 76k would probably be a $10k car, I would price it at $4k or so unless the cosmetics are really bad.

[VincentVega]

No kidding. Clean it up and advertise it. Check craigslist for average asking price and deduct 20%.

[stomachmonkey]

The car has been sitting outside in the NE.

You have a moisture problem. You need to get the car dried out.

My 911 never had issues. Was doing a repaint over at my fathers place and the car sat outside under a car cover during a particularly wet NY winter.

Afterwards had serious electrical issues that got worse whenever it rained or humidity was high.

I put the car in the garage with windows down, hood and trunk open, and a dehumidifier running for a couple of weeks.

Problems gone.

BTW, I love that car, I'd be tempted to buy it from you but the wife will kill me.

[NICKG]

sell it to me....I love the big beemers like that

[sammyg2]

Fix the bad or corroded grounds that are very possibly the cause of your electrical problems and keep the car or sell it.
Seems to me you're giving up on it waaaaaaay too easily.
It only has 76k on it but you're acting like it has three times that much.

Are there other problems with it?

[Max Von]

Agreed that bad grounds may be a contributing factor. Where in New England are you located? I'd be willing to come by and take a look at it. I've got time on my hands and am fairly good at chasing down electrical gremlins. Don't sell it short.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Max Von

Agreed that bad grounds may be a contributing factor. Where in New England are you located? I'd be willing to come by and take a look at it. I've got time on my hands and am fairly good at chasing down electrical gremlins. Don't sell it short.

There you go. Take him up on it, and also look into drying-out the car really well. If someone in AZ. or NM bought it and just left it outside for a couple weeks, it'd probably be well on its way to fixed.

The reason that junk yards are offering $1k for it is because that's what it is worth in the salvage world. Yes, they would make $$ on the parts. That's how they make a living. Some of the posters getting all excited about this car are people who have never lived in NE or somewhere that cars really get soggy. In Boston, any 10 y.o. car can be a totally worthless POS, regardless of what it sold for new. The climate and lack of "car culture" among owners makes for quickly disposable automobiles. It's a different world from the west.

Old saying in the resto biz: "You cannot turn a pickle back into a cucumber". What we have here is a pickle, I suspect. But still, it could be dried-out and fixed. I may be one of the few people here who has done this, (bought under-priced vehicles in MN. and moved them to CA.), in some cases it can be worth it but it's a lot of work to clean them up properly and always better to just buy a nice one from a dry place. Costs more of course but you'll get it back on resale and have an actual nice car to drive in the meanwhile. Life is too short to spend it drying out pickles or fixing "really cheap boats", etc...

[Max Von]

"Some of the posters getting all excited about this car are people who have never lived in NE or somewhere that cars really get soggy. In Boston, any 10 y.o. car can be a totally worthless POS, regardless of what it sold for new. The climate and lack of "car culture" among owners makes for quickly disposable automobiles. It's a different world from the west."

Ain't that the truth Denis! I was in San Diego for 3 years and marveled at how many nice dry cars were out there. I bought my rust free 2000 E55 AMG when I moved there and it was totally rust free. 2 winters here and it's already showing little rust spots on some suspension and trim. Now I remember why I always had a winter beater. New England eats cars alive!

piscator,
Just curious as you mentioned that you had an estimate for the repairs? Where did you have it done and how much was the estimate ,if you don't mind my asking?

[LWJ]

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