buying a 2006 bmw with over 90,000 miles, is it a good investment?

If you are looking for a car that will impress everyone you drive by, this is the car, but unless you have a lot of money for what will be extremely expensive repairs for this model, the car could drain your wallet. I'd never even consider buying a car like that UNTIL I have taken it to a BMW dealer (and only a BMW dealer) to be checked out top to bottom. There is a reason these car depreciate so badly, but when they run good they can last and provide a very satisfactory ownership experience. This will not be an investment, it will be a liability. Did you check how much it is too insure? You may want to do that, and you better get full coverage. good luck.

I have to disagree with voltagefuel on a couple of points. I bought an '06 750i with 44K one year ago. I now have 56K. It has had some issues but for the most part has not given me trouble. First, if you have a trusted mechanic to check it out I would avoid the BMW dealer. The dealer service dept will recommend anything and everything in order to run up the bill and charge you a premium over your mechanic's price for anything you decide to do. Secondly, at 90K you're likely to have a timing belt issue within the next 20K or so. It's a good investment to get it done before that. Don't wait until you have the problem as that could be a very expensive ordeal. Lastly, this car has some funky computer issues - it will give you messages about mechanical faults that may or may not be as critical as they seem. I have had a driver side airbag fault on my car since day one. The dealer has reset it twice and it still comes back. However, they have assured me my airbag would function normally anyway if it were deployed. Also transmission faults are common with this year's 7-series. Your best investment if you buy this car would be to buy an extended warranty contract for it. Peace of mind in case of a major engine / tranny failure is priceless (and a lot cheaper than paying for that kind of repair!).

step on any landmines? I predict a never ending barroge of repairs---it's ripe!

A great car, but personally I would hunt out a short wheel base model as they are slightly more nimble. Does it have a full service history and if so has it been done by a BMW authorised dealer? Depending on the price, I don't think the K's are an issue. The earlier N62 engines had problems with the valve stem caps leaking at around 100,000 kms however I haven't heard of this being a problem with the N62B48 engine. So basically and unbelievable engine with a serious amount of power and torque. You should find the car to be reliable and incredible to drive, I believe the 2006 750 Li's come standard with dynamic drive which is an absolute must if buying a 7. The difference this makes to the cars handling is incredible, making the big car handle like a much smaller one. The dynamic drive keeps the car flat when cornering making the whole thing a much more enjoyable experience and gives you the confidence to push harder when cornering. Things to be aware of I would say are the following, tyres are expensive and if you drive with enthusiasm you will find they don't last very long ie 12 months or 15-20,000 kms - in Australia I can buy Continental Sport Contact 3's for AUD 550 each....and that's cheap, but then again that's Australia. You should check the price of replacement tyres as this will become an issue for you. I believe that the car has a rear donut that can be easily destroyed under regular hard acceleration, although these are not too expensive to replace, it can happen with so much power pushing such a heavy car...finally even though this is an economical engine for it's age and capacity you still need to be prepared for larger fuel bills...this is a trade off that I consider to be worth while. BMW service intervals can be very long, I recently had mine service and the car tells me I don't need to have it service for 21 months or 2 years! Personally I wouldn't wait that long, I think it's well worth having the oil changed every 12 months. Good luck if you go ahead, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Cheers Mark

Boy Mark, it sounds very expensive to have a BMW in Austrailia! I was able to get Continental Extreme Contact DWS's, staggered fitment for about US$1100 for a set of four (Mavis Tire) installed. Regarding the valve stem caps, does this cause the exhaust to emit white smoke when idling? Mine has been very smoky lately when I stop for a traffic light or when I'm parked with the engine running. Also my oil level gets very low at times (no oil on the dipstick) and will take a couple of quarts to bring it back to level. Please let me know although I plan a trip to my mechanic very soon. Thanks.

Steven, yep very expensive...and so is buying food, rent, electricity etc living costs a fortune. I have considered importing tires from the US for exactly that reason from a place called Tire Rack, they seem to have good prices and are willing to export. That doesn't sound great in regard to your valve stem caps. If you sit at the lights or stationary for 30 seconds or more and then floor it, do you see a cloud of smoke behind? The fact that you are using that much oil doesn't sound great either, these are symptoms I had. What model 7 do you have? From the sound of it I think it is quite likely that this is your problem. If so I would suggest that the heads need to come off and basically be re-conditioned. In Australia this is a $6,500 - $7,000 job! Anyway from my research I found that this is a problem is common with the N62 engine and clearly a week point with the design although I believe the blame can be partly directed towards the long life oil and long servicing intervals. As I mentioned before best to have the oil changed every 12 months to avoid it happening again. A couple of things to note, the cost in Australia to rebuild the head is probably double that in the US so I am guessing it will cost you $3,500. Also I complained to BMW Australia & BMW Germany and managed to get them to pay half my cost. At the time my car had done 90,000kms and had been a one owner in very good condition, so I was pretty annoyed about it. Good luck! Cheers Mark

Sorry Steve just read your previous comment... "I bought an '06 750i with 44K one year ago. I now have 56K"

I've got a beauty of an 06, 750 Li w/63K on it. No problems but I have 4 other vehicles & paying winter storage for it. Car originated in Calif. Asking 18K. Bill H. 309.868.0352 Barbera Red. Call for flicks

Can anyone let me know if they still have the 06 750i i am mad keen to buy a 7 series i have always loved them...and all i hear are bad reports. I have seen an 02 fail but because it was never looked after. I have had a friend with a 03 735i he loved it no probs but he had it like 6 months and his friend still has his 02 745i with 160k on the clock no probs. Im in australia and sick of hearing shit reviews bagging this car. I dont like anything else as this for me looks the best. I wanted an 02 745i as there round 12k but am thinking to push the budget to 23k for the 06 750i please help..mi have found a few with 110000kms

I have an 06 BMW 750 li if anyone is interested.

Few cars are investments except for certain high quality classics. Those you can drive for years and sell them for more than you paid for them. A 10 year old BMW can be a great car but it will be a money pit.

I've had my '06 for the last 8 years, now with over 160,000 miles on it the worst issue I've had with it was having the transmission rebuilt ($6,000 out of warranty) at around 130,000. Figure on spending around $100 a month on preventive maintenance if you do most work yourself.

I have a 04 7 series Li if anyone interested. It in mint condition. email martinsmithmdsmith@outlook.com for more details. Martin

Did you sell

Please reply members: I am planning to buy BMW 7 series with KMS:140,000 2006 Model...Any tips or suggestions.

Got an 06 750i with 180000 on it with no issues would let it go for $4500 bo 7746066405

Can I have pics to my email abass@gisy.com

White smoke from your exhaust is a $15 problem that takes 10 minutes, and zero tools to fix. $7k?! Uhhh... No. Look it up. Bimmer forums, or YouTube (read comments)

I got a 2006 140k 5.5k or best offer 615-516- 5019

What type of wheels