A friend of mine ran my car's VIN number and determined my car's production date to be September 22, 1987. Two more years and my car will fall under the classic car emissions rules for the state of Texas (safety inspection only -- state emissions test will no longer be required. although I do have to keep federal emissions equipment intact to keep it legal for US roads.) I'd say my car looks pretty good for 23 years old and 223k miles doesn't she?
Sounds great..... ............but PA is way too cold in the winter for my taste. Plus, TX has barbecue & no state sales tax! Thanks though!
WOW!!! Happy Birthday, little treasure! Happy Birthday to the car!! That is a pretty amazing look at over 200+K Miles! BRAVO!
Thanks so much! I am owner number FIVE to her. I'm hoping she can stay with me for a good long time while I restore her youth.... You should see this car in person -- nothing "little" about an E32 iL.
Congrats!! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love E32s - especially 750s! When I see my dad's 1990 750iL parked in the garage next to my mom's 335i I realize, it WAS a huge car for its day (especially inside, talk about comfortable!) but at the rate they're going, we're probably only 2 generations of 3 series away until the 3 series is the same size as an E32. The current 3 is pretty big (outside, inside the backseat is as cramped as always).
Oh it's even worse than that... China gets an extended wheelbase version of the 5-series in addition to the regular wheelbase version the rest of us see. Sadly, that longer wheelbase version is a China-only model. This has been going on since at least the E60 model, to my knowledge. I look at the newer cars as something of a Faustian choice: are you willing to tolerate all that extra size, weight in order to get all the safety, performance, fuel economy, and toys of the newer cars; or are you willing to forgo all that complexity for something simpler and easier for a DIY'er to relate to? Most of the stuff on the new cars I can easily duplicate on mine via the aftermarket -- and it's likely going to be more reliable too.
Thanks eam3! I remember your kind words from last time but thank you again. If you have ever seen BMW's preproduction, documentary-style commercials prior to the E32's release in 1987, BMW made no secret of wanting the 2nd generation 7 to literally be the best in the world, and actually started work on the car 5 or 6 years prior to its release. The E23 was state of the art in ITS day (as I recall it was not only the first BMW to use electronic engine controls, but also one of the first cars in the entire world to do so), but by 1982, the E23 was sadly getting outclassed in the luxury car market by Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar, and other luxury car competitors. BMW's earlier powertrain experiments were interesting also, including an inline 8 version of the M30, before deciding to design their first modern V12 in decades. I'm hoping the current tightening of fuel-economy rules will rein in the size a bit. Even with advances in materials and technology to try to bring the weight down, people need to realize that the drift towards heavier, larger cars is largely being driven by the market. If BMW doesn't offer a car with six airbags, Audi, Mercedes, and a whole host of other manufacturers will. Airbags are just one example. You could apply that to any desirable automotive toy you want (Bluetooth, Sirius radio, etc). At the same time, I'm hoping BUYERS will come to their senses as well. The endless piling on of electronic toys, while demanding the car perpetually weigh no more than 2,500 pounds just simply isn't reality talking. Not everyone wants a car the same size and weight as a Honda Fit. No one wants to pile four, five, or even six people into a Smartfortwo either. At the same time, BMW isn't going to put the 2002 back into production either -- or the E30 for that matter. I say that people should buy what they really want. If you say you don't like runflats or a car with no dipstick, but you BUY the car so equipped anyway, what are you REALLY telling the auto manufacturer? That they better fix that or else? Heavens, you just voted for them to build MORE cars that way! Which is what I love the most about my 750iL. It has a single, solitary, lonely airbag in the steering wheel, no nav or bluetooth, no massagers in the seat, but also about a thousand FEWER things to break! Yet it weighs 4,200 pounds. Too much, you say? How much do any of BMW's CURRENT products weigh? I rest my case, and I will enjoy my dipsticks (BOTH of THEM), full sized spare tire and accessories, and lack of need to visit the dealer when I need my battery changed, too, thank you.
She's getting a temporary vacation at the moment Due to the need to repair some worn out components and track down a nagging emissions issue preventing her from being legal on the highway. Previously, I did put her on some covert "milk runs" on the highway before deciding I'd better do this proper instead. I don't want my baby to be an outlaw. Thanks so much!
Well, it's not the birthday of EVERY 750, or even the 1st... ...just mine. But thank you just the same!
Speaking of reliability...I've owned two E32s years ago. A 735i we bought in 1992 for my wife's daily driver, and then in 1996 I bought my father's 1988 735i 5spd manual/LSD he ordered back in the summer of '87. I can say without exception that my M5 (56k miles now) and especially my E90 (77k miles now) have been far more "reliable" than either of the E32s which I loved so much back then. If I just look at the number of warranty claims the first one had in the first 4 years we owned it, it dwarfs the E90 (which has been the most reliable car we've ever owned, knock on wood). We had many things in common go wrong with our E32s (like the HVAC box motor mounts which was very expensive to repair, the 5spd car had it done twice), headlight relays, seat adjusters, etc. Strangely, the 92 car had a rod bearing fail (I caught it in time) which is bizarre since the M30 is basically bullet proof, and I changed the oil/filter every 3-5k miles. Anyway, congrats on the car. The E32 750 is a neat car for sure, but there are some very expensive potentials in continuing to run one I would think.
I look at it as six in one hand, half dozen in the other. A car, any car, is only as good as its engineering, as well as the parts and labor that went into it. I still hear stories about various cars (pick a model) that was obviously built on someone's lunch break, that had no end of horror stories. This isn't limited to older cars like mine. Look at the E46 rear-floor pan failures. Or the E46 M3 S54-SMG problems that has grown into an enormous thread elsewhere on this forum. And lest you think BMW has sorted out all of the bugs from the e9x cars, think again. Some 335i owners continue to have problems either with overheating or with their high pressure fuel pumps (search HPFP on the forum). That problem has since grown to encompass even non-3-series cars that just so happened to use the same engine, such as the 135 and 535. Then there is also some issues with the electric steering systems on the 1-series, 3-series, and 5 series cars. You can search the forum for that too. To be fair, I'm not just picking on BMW either. Toyota and Honda both are experiencing all manner of problems with gas pedals, brakes, steering, faulty airbag components, etc. My car is by no means unique when it comes to having parts fail, and neither is BMW or any other car maker. So to assume that just because my car is older, that it's going to be either more expensive or less reliable, is not only shortsighted, but it completely ignores what's going on with NEW cars, right NOW, TODAY. At least on my car, it may not necessarily be cheaper or more reliable, but chances are, it's probably going to be a lot easier to fix, and it's probably not going to require a trip to the dealer.
I don't think I could own your car without doing something trick with the exhaust. Hearing the sweet sounds that V12 could make would be too alluring to me to be able to ignore.
This car has a rather unusual exhaust system. Twelve cylinders generate a LOT of heat and a LOT of backpressure. Unless the exhaust system is specially designed to withstand all that, it wouldn't last very long in this car. Without those design allowances in mind, that V12 would quickly turn an inferior exhaust system into something resembling burned cardboard within six months. Additionally, the rear area of the floorpan is extremely crowded with various equipment, not the least of which is the dual-fuel pump fuel system, a self-leveling suspension system, an irregularly shaped gas tank, etc. The question of where you would put all this stuff comes to mind. It's also what precludes conversion to symmetric-style exhaust system with one tail pipe per side. Mine has a dual-outlet but single-exit exhaust system, exiting on the driver's rear side of the lower rear valance. It's not as much of a problem with the M30 (inline six) and M60 (V8) cars because those engines don't generate the amount of heat and backpressure the V12 does.
Haaaaaappy biiiiiiirthdaaaaay toooooo yoooooooooou, haaaappy biiiiiirthdaaaaaay tooooo yoooooooou. Haaaaaaappy biiiiiiirthdaaaaay deeeeear E-thiiirty twooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, [short pause] haaaaaaapppy biiiiiiirthdaaaaay, toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, yoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooou!!!!
I had a Road&Track where they mention the E23 12 cylinder test mule. If I remember correctly, it was sometime around 1982 that I first read about it. It wasn't long after the 750's arrival here that it started taking names and kicking butt. Several magazines named it the best sedan in the world and honestly, I don't think they were exaggerating. I had never driven such a heavy car that was so comfortable, luxurious, well built and at the same time, able to surprise sports car owners with its wicked acceleration. Even today if I go somewhere with my dad in the 750, he always wants me to drive it and I certainly never refuse. It feels old school compared to the new BMWs but that's not a bad thing by any stretch. The one thing that sticks out whenever I drive the 750 though, is the sound of the starter. I love it! David E. Davis once said that everyone should own a 12 cylinder car at least once in their lifetime. He was right.
Wow! A birthday song! Thanks so much! AWESOME!! Thanks az3579! Eam3, one sure sign of how special a car is, is when you sit in a car and realize it's not for everyone. The first time I drove this car home from Jacksonville, FL to Dallas, TX (an 8 day road trip), I still couldn't believe I bought a $70,000 (its MSRP back in 1987) car for $2,600. I wasn't paying attention to the speedometer and thought I was doing a legal 70 mph -- so imagine my shock and surprise when I did look at it and discover the car was quietly flying at 110!! To this day, I don't know if I bought a 750iL, or if this sleek white German automobile adopted me instead.
