BMW for first car

[acshobo11]

Hello,
I'm looking for my first car and I found a BMW (along with a bunch of others) that is in my price range but I have a few questions.
1. About how many miles will it be able to last for? It is a 1990 750 iL with 138,000 miles on it.

2. It says it has a 12 cylinder engine! I've never even heard of one of those until I saw this car, is there anything special about it, such as fast, gas hog, uses disiel fuel etc.?

3. I want a car that looks good but will also last, what sets BMW's appart from the the rest of the long lasters (Carollas, Civics- whatever, I don't really know a lot)?

4. Are there any flaws in these cars?

If you could throw in any other information about these cars, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Adam

 

[Big Daddy]

First welcome to the board!

The BMW 5.0 liter is a V-12 that if properly taken care of is capable of lasting 300k plus! Having said that they can be very expensive to maintain, I owned one. For example they have two of a lot of parts, distributor caps, rotors, fuel filters, air filters, etc. If your upper pan gasket starts leaking it is over #1,000.00 to repair as they have to pull the motor to get to it! If your self leveling system goes out, well it costs a lot! Unless you find one that has been maintained properly they can be a money pit!

On the good side they can get 21 mpg at 70 mph on the highway and have tons of power. They are smooth and comfortable. I loved mine, but once she hit 100k she started to nickel and dime me.

 

[Kirby]

Unless you either have a lot of money to put into maintenance, or you can do most of the work yourself, I'd steer clear of this as a first car.

 

[frolf]

Unless you either have a lot of money to put into maintenance, or you can do most of the work yourself, I'd steer clear of this as a first car.

THIS IS SOLID ADVICE



there was a kid who liked my bmw at school, said he wanted to get one really bad. it was going to be his first car (this was a few years ago). he told me he found the perfect 750.... i said thats a very nice car, but wow can the work get expensive on those fast. i told him to get a nice e30. well, he got the 750, after about a month he got tired of drive a HUGE car, when the sportiness of my car was what hooked him in the first place, and i think the kid drives a saab now. but he got rid of the 750 fast, there was an issue with the starter and one other thing that was going to be really expensive.

 

[frolf]

my 328iS was my first car, and i still roll in it daily.

 

[selavia]

Yeah, if you're younger, I think a 750 will not give you the excitement that you probably want. The 3 Series is much more practical, fun, and easier to maintain. If you have basic knowledge regarding cars you can work on the 3's engine. The v12 is a beast of an engine to work on, not to mention the cost of parts.

I agree with Kirby as well.

Also, my first car of my own was my 318is. And I still am in love with it. It's not terribly quick, but its fun, reliable, and an absolute hoot to drive on curvy roads.

 

[jrt67ss350]

All excellent advice here. I'd look at an e30 or e36 3 series. Either of those would be very good first cars for you. The e30 is a relatively simple car and is easy car to work on and repair. They are also very reliable if they are maintained. My e30 has 300,000 miles, and it still runs like the day it was built. It's been a very reliable car for me.

While you may be able to get 21 mpg at 70 mph in a 750i, I routinely get 29-30 mpg at 75 mph in my 325. Sure, it isn't as powerful, but it's certainly adequate.

Plus, the 3 series is a heck of a lot more fun to drive than the 7 series.