Hi, I'm a 20 yr. old college student and since 17 have owned an '86 528e Automatic and a '90 Acura Legend LS sedan Automatic which I have now. Both cars have wrung me for at least $1,000 per year in maintenance and repairs, often more. I'm not complaining, but repair costs obviously factor in my next purchase, hopefully this spring. I'm targeting either an early '90's 525i or 535i with about 100K-125K miles, but I'm dying to have a 740i or 740iL '93 or '94 (if I can afford one).

I'm scared by the reliability issues posed by these cars, especially regarding the Nikasil issues of the early V-8's. Are these cars really that bad? Worse!? About how much do they cost per year? If you privileged folk would be kind enough to let me know, I'd appreciate it.

P.S. It follows logically that I'm interested in the earlier 735's, so if you have opinions about those, I'd love to hear. Thanks so much.

My car is a 1993 740iL and my wife and I both LOVE this car! It drives like no other that we've ever driven. We've concluded they don't call them the "Ultimate Driving Machine" for nothing. We had a 1989 325is before and there is no comparison, the 740iL is sooooooo much nicer, though the 325is was fun.

We bought our '93 740iL with 113,700 miles on a spur of the moment in August on ebay for $7550. I've watched the ebay auctions since and found that these cars are often sold in that price range. We've probably spent another $2000 getting into tip-top shape. Here's a few things to think about:

1) Parts for these cars are indeed expensive and labor at the dealership is downright exorbitant, so plan on doing as much yourself as possible. Buy a Bentley's repair manual, expensive at $75-100 but it'll pay for itself quickly. With help from this forum and ones like www.roadfly.com there's a LOT you can do yourself.

2) The Nikasi problem: First, my car has the Nikasil engine and I've had no trouble whatsoever. I think if it was going to have problems, it would have already showed up. You can minimize the Nikasil problem by buying name brand gasoline and synthetic motor oil. The V8 engines require premium fuel.

3) At 100,000+ miles driveshafts often need to be replaced due to vibration problems. A place in Oregon and another in Texas will ship a remanufactured driveshaft for about $400-500 and you get some back when you return your old driveshaft to them.

4) Another common area of wear in the 100,000 mile range is the upper control arm bushings. These can be replaced for say $300 if you do the work yourself (strength needed).

Any 10-12 year old car will need more maintenance than a brand new car. For about the same money you can own a '93-94 BMW 740iL or a brand new Kia. It's your choice.

Wow, thanks for your reply. That's some positive news. The maintenance issues you listed are consistent with what I've read in the "BMW Buyers Guide" (Fred Larimer). Yesterday I just spent $700 on new front brakes for the Acura, and less than a year ago the timing belt change cost me over $700, so prices for the items you listed actually sound good :uhoh: . Plus, I'd probably find a good BMW specialist rather than a dealer.

I'm surprised you had no trouble with the Nikasil block after all the horror stories I've heard. That's encouraging.

I have R&T magazines dating back to 1991--the Mar. 1993 issue contains a road test of a gorgeous Calypso Red on lovely Dove Gray gathered leather 740i, and I start gushing every time I read it!

Regarding the Kia--it's no contest. My parents bought a '99 Saturn brand-new and are still foolish enough to think I may one day own a boring low-cost car. When I could have a distinctive, brilliantly-engineered luxury car?

I just bought a '93 325i, and it is very fun and fast, the bad thing is now i need to get rid of my '85 735i. The interior is in excellent condition, it's automatic, wood paneling, leather, new pagid brake pads, new spark plugs, only on third owner, 159k miles. It needs a new radiator ($300) to work perfectly, otherwise only minor repair needed. In Pennsylvania near philly, e-mail me if you are interested, need to sell, i'm military. $1,200.

Wow, for $1200, I wouldn't have to sell my Acura, and then I could have two cars (something I've been mulling). I'm assuming the $300 for the radiator would cure the overheating issue you mentioned in the other post? Still not entirely sure--really wanted to have ONE car that is newer than my current one.

I'm about 2 or 2.5 hours away from Philly down here near D.C. Maybe I could come check it out this week if it's convenient for you. By the way, my e-mail address is csieminski@hotmail.com (I couldn't locate your e-mail).

P.S. If you find someone else who will buy it NOW, don't worry about me. :-/ I do have that amount of cash available though if I decide to buy in the near future. How quickly do you need to sell?