What To Do With My $1,000 BWM 740il
 

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

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

What year is the car?

George

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

Sell it to onewhippedpuppy!! :D :D :D

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

$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...

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

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.

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...

SmileWavy 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.

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

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.

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

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?

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... :cool:

"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?

Donate and take the donation off your taxes.

Do they still do that???

Hell yes, and it can really work out if the book value is high enough in relation to the cash value.

I drove my Aston Martin DB4 for two winters in Boston, and then moved to LA. I found corrosion that keeps on giving. The salt would get between the steel tubular frame and the aluminum and continue to eat at the car whenever it got wet out here. The amount of corrosion it got from two winters and springs in Boston was incredible. Repaired a lot of it, and in the end sold it to the Prime Minister of Kuwait sight unseen and no PPI; for a boat load of money.

http://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/1239540507.html
98 BMW 740iL - $2000 (Tucson Az 85747)

98 BMW 740iL for sale...electronics are fried...runs once in a while...water damage during monsoon season....good body, engine, and transmission. Looking to get rid of it need to buy another car. ASAP Callxxxx

This happens a lot more than you think. The e38 is a very complex car with many computers and relays.

I'll buy it. There are several smashed-up cars that could donate their harnesses, computers, and guts to help this car live another day..

E

I would get another opinion at a BMW non dealer shop. I cant see this car only being worth 1K it sounds like the trader might have thought he had another sucker on the line.
Clean the grounds and the CE panel let the car sit in the sun with the windows down for a few days

It's gotta be something simple affecting everything...Don't give up.

Thanks very much guys! I really appreciate your help and encouragement!

Langers, Svandamme,

I'm not far from the water, so I'll have to confess that a few Seagull poops may be a factor ;-)

Aurel,

It's not really a 'junker' but in economic terms, it's essentially "totaled". It needs to be sold privately and I just haven't taken the time to do that.

Azasadny, T77911s, Scuba Steve, Onewhipped, NickG,

Thanks, it makes me feel better to know others love this car as much as I do. It really needs a better home and you're all 'on the list' :-)

Chris Martin, Stomachmonkey,

Good suggestions! I haven't sold a car privately in a very long time, but that's probably the thing to do.

Sammyg2,

I did give up on it "waaaaaaaay too easily" and probably developed a bad attitude. I'll give it another shot.

Max Von,

Thank you! That's a very nice offer! I'll poke around a bit and contact you if I need a hand.

Speeder,

Auto-electric is not my forte, but I'd say grounds are a likely culprit. I live 1/2 mile from salt walter and nothing is ever really dry!

LWJ, Racerbvd

Donation is an excellent suggestion, but then it would still be sold for salvage. Nothing wrong with that, but I'd be happier finding it a good home.

MrMerlin,

$1,000 is simply what it's worth to the salvage company. The owner told me they have less demand for 7 series parts than 5 series -- ergo, lower price.

Randy P,

I really appreciate the encouragement. I'm going give it another try, if only to satisfy my curiousity.

Thanks again -- you've all been a great help!

piscator

If it were me, I'd be checking wiring diagrams for a shared ground for those systems. For such a variety of problems, that's a likely culprit.

I'm in CT but moving to southcoast MA. I may be interested if you are selling it. Do you have any pics? I have not read the whole thread si if you said somewhere it is not for-sale I apologize

Your car is worth FAR more than $1000.

Not sure if this has been posted yet:
"Sell" it to a buddy and build a car for the 24hrs of LeMons!

Trade it in under the new Cash for Clunkers law.

The engine is probably worth $4k. And the trans another $2k.

That car is a gold mine if parted out.

Parting a car is a PIA unless you have a shop w/ a hoist, etc..

I'm trying to sell an FJ62 landcruiser for parts right now, it's actually fixable but only worth it to someone in a rusty place where it's a little more special. Everyone wants to buy parts off it but no room to do that. Belongs to a close friend. Salvage title, runs, all major components good but lots of miles. (280k). These things run foooooorever...

If anyone wants it, $1500.00 and it's yours. I can deliver anywhere for a modest fee. ;)



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Check the charging voltage while it's running. My E39 would start having brownouts- (headlights dimming wipers act weird) if left idling too long, and everything on that car was in spec. Found that out while stuck in a snowstorm creeping down the road for 3 hours straight.

Probably something dumb like that. Whenever you have THAT much going affected at once it's something that should be pretty easy to trace. You just might not have enough voltage through the car to run those items..

Randy P,

Thanks for the lead! Your experience of "brownouts" does sound similar to the behavior of this car. Wipers 'acting weird' was the first thing I noticed, then windows, then sunroof, and then the problem seemed to spread to EVERYTHING. I'll check the voltage as you suggest.

Speeder,

I agree, parting a vehicle is a PIA if you don't have the facilities. I lost my large basement and garage space when we moved to a small house so we could be near the water. My hoist, Bridgeport, Lathe and other large pieces of equipment are farmed out to friends. I'd love to get it all back together again.

M21Sniper,

I don't know if it's worth $4,000 but the motor is very strong. I even considered using the engine in a boat repower project. Over the last decade most of my 'wrench turning' has been marine related and I've had some crazy ideas for that Bimmer motor. If anybody's seen a BMW motor (or Porsche motor, or any European automotive engine) used in a marine application I'd love to hear about it -- if only for curiousity sake.

IXXI Carrera,

That 'cash for clunkers' deal is the smart option, financially. I'd love to get a new truck, but the mileage improvement for a Sierra 1500 isn't enough to qualify. The 911 is my 'fun ride' and I don't really need a sedan. I've owned seven BMW's over the years, but if I were in need of a car, the new Caddilac would tempt me. Am I allowed to admit that on this board? ;)

GTC,

I apologize, but I think I'm missing the joke.

Thanks again for all the encouragement!

piscator