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Message |
Brian Hardy
Guest
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 Posted:
Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:41 am Post subject:
Should I Keep My 97 740? |
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I make the last payment on my '97 740iL this month. My plan was to keep
it and use the extra money to get a 645. I figured that even with 130K
miles, the car would easily go another 130K miles. I've gotten good
service out of the car, and it is in great driveable shape. Looks good,
drives good.
However --- At my last service job, I complained about the failure of
my transmission to downshift when the engine was cold. About a mile of
driving, everything would warm up to normal, and the shifting would
return to normal. The response to my complaint was, "I can't replicate
the problem. Looks good to me." No more than a week later, the "Check
Engine" light comes on, and when I take it in to investigate, the answer
is, "It's the transmission." The solution? Replace it. About $5K.
I investigated the transmission on the internet, and the story is that
the "lifetime" transmission does in fact last a lifetime according to
BMW's definition of a life - 100K miles. (I thought a lifetime was much
longer.) Apparently, losing the transmission at 139K miles is nothing
to be surprised about, and the record (that I found) was 169K miles. I
am now presented with a question about the future. Will I continue to
find such surprises in other crucial (expensive) areas? Should I keep
the car hoping to contain expenses, or forget about it - turn it in and
get a new one.
Any advice is welcome.
Thanks,
Brian
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marlinspike
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:41 am Post subject:
Re: Should I Keep My 97 740? |
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Well first of all, the lifetime refers to the fluid, and while my dad won't
listen to me, that whole thing is bo-O-O-O-gus. Tranny fluid should be done
every 60k IMHO. Has anything else major been done? I think in about 50k
you'll be doing catlytic converters if you haven't already, maybe a
differential too. How about the timing chain, has that been done?
Richard
"Brian Hardy" <bmhardy@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:bmhardy-E27C35.19352005122004@comcast.dca.giganews.com...
| Quote: | I make the last payment on my '97 740iL this month. My plan was to keep
it and use the extra money to get a 645. I figured that even with 130K
miles, the car would easily go another 130K miles. I've gotten good
service out of the car, and it is in great driveable shape. Looks good,
drives good.
However --- At my last service job, I complained about the failure of
my transmission to downshift when the engine was cold. About a mile of
driving, everything would warm up to normal, and the shifting would
return to normal. The response to my complaint was, "I can't replicate
the problem. Looks good to me." No more than a week later, the "Check
Engine" light comes on, and when I take it in to investigate, the answer
is, "It's the transmission." The solution? Replace it. About $5K.
I investigated the transmission on the internet, and the story is that
the "lifetime" transmission does in fact last a lifetime according to
BMW's definition of a life - 100K miles. (I thought a lifetime was much
longer.) Apparently, losing the transmission at 139K miles is nothing
to be surprised about, and the record (that I found) was 169K miles. I
am now presented with a question about the future. Will I continue to
find such surprises in other crucial (expensive) areas? Should I keep
the car hoping to contain expenses, or forget about it - turn it in and
get a new one.
Any advice is welcome.
Thanks,
Brian |
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marlinspike
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:41 am Post subject:
Re: Should I Keep My 97 740? |
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BTW, I should add, that even with the things I mentioned, it's always
cheaper to keep an old car than to buy a new one with cars like these. I
mean, even if you sink 30 grand into over the next 130k miles, what car
that's as good as a 740iL would only cost 30k to buy and then maintain for
130k miles?
Richard
"marlinspike" <rishayegan@davidson.edu> wrote in message
news:31i3haF38pfmnU1@individual.net...
| Quote: | Well first of all, the lifetime refers to the fluid, and while my dad
won't
listen to me, that whole thing is bo-O-O-O-gus. Tranny fluid should be
done
every 60k IMHO. Has anything else major been done? I think in about 50k
you'll be doing catlytic converters if you haven't already, maybe a
differential too. How about the timing chain, has that been done?
Richard
"Brian Hardy" <bmhardy@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:bmhardy-E27C35.19352005122004@comcast.dca.giganews.com...
I make the last payment on my '97 740iL this month. My plan was to keep
it and use the extra money to get a 645. I figured that even with 130K
miles, the car would easily go another 130K miles. I've gotten good
service out of the car, and it is in great driveable shape. Looks good,
drives good.
However --- At my last service job, I complained about the failure of
my transmission to downshift when the engine was cold. About a mile of
driving, everything would warm up to normal, and the shifting would
return to normal. The response to my complaint was, "I can't replicate
the problem. Looks good to me." No more than a week later, the "Check
Engine" light comes on, and when I take it in to investigate, the answer
is, "It's the transmission." The solution? Replace it. About $5K.
I investigated the transmission on the internet, and the story is that
the "lifetime" transmission does in fact last a lifetime according to
BMW's definition of a life - 100K miles. (I thought a lifetime was much
longer.) Apparently, losing the transmission at 139K miles is nothing
to be surprised about, and the record (that I found) was 169K miles. I
am now presented with a question about the future. Will I continue to
find such surprises in other crucial (expensive) areas? Should I keep
the car hoping to contain expenses, or forget about it - turn it in and
get a new one.
Any advice is welcome.
Thanks,
Brian
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Dick Schneiders
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Dec 06, 2004 4:46 pm Post subject:
Re: Should I Keep My 97 740? |
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| Quote: | Well first of all, the lifetime refers to the fluid, and while my dad won't
listen to me, that whole thing is bo-O-O-O-gus. Tranny fluid should be done
every 60k IMHO.
|
Exactly!!
The fluid, while longer life than ordinary ATF, should certainly be changed
every 75,000 miles or so, give or take, along with the filter. If serviced the
tranny should last way beyond 100,000 miles. I have heard of them going way
beyond 200,000 miles.
The fact that if you try and get the job done at a BMW dealer, you are most
likely going to have to argue with the service people a bit, and that is almost
criminal in my opinion. I just had it done on the 1999 740i I bought last
month and I had to argue with the parts manager for 10 minutes before he would
order the filter and gasket. I bought the expensive fluid at a VW/Audi dealer
as it is a lot less expensive there and comes in 1 liter bottles. The BMW
dealership could only get it in 20 liter containers! The Audi A8 uses the same
transmission and therefore the very same Esso fluid.
Dick Schneiders |
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Matt O'Toole
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Dec 07, 2004 1:42 am Post subject:
Re: Should I Keep My 97 740? |
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Brian Hardy wrote:
| Quote: | I make the last payment on my '97 740iL this month. My plan was to
keep it and use the extra money to get a 645. I figured that even
with 130K miles, the car would easily go another 130K miles. I've
gotten good service out of the car, and it is in great driveable
shape. Looks good, drives good.
|
Sure, no problem. In fact, it would probably do that a couple of times.
| Quote: | However --- At my last service job, I complained about the failure of
my transmission to downshift when the engine was cold. About a mile
of driving, everything would warm up to normal, and the shifting would
return to normal. The response to my complaint was, "I can't
replicate the problem. Looks good to me." No more than a week
later, the "Check Engine" light comes on, and when I take it in to
investigate, the answer is, "It's the transmission." The solution?
Replace it. About $5K.
I investigated the transmission on the internet, and the story is that
the "lifetime" transmission does in fact last a lifetime according to
BMW's definition of a life - 100K miles. (I thought a lifetime was
much longer.) Apparently, losing the transmission at 139K miles is
nothing to be surprised about, and the record (that I found) was 169K
miles.
|
I'm sure most have gone well beyond that. Most usually do. But IMO all
automatic transmissions are ticking time bombs. Unfortunately you've been
unlucky. These days the only remedy is replacement, which is horribly
expensive. This is why I avoid them like plague, as do many others -- manual
BMWs sell at a premium in the high mileage, used car market.
| Quote: | I am now presented with a question about the future. Will I
continue to find such surprises in other crucial (expensive) areas?
Should I keep the car hoping to contain expenses, or forget about it
- turn it in and get a new one.
Any advice is welcome.
|
As expensive as it seems, fixing your current car will certainly be cheaper than
buying a new one. A "trade-in" probabaly isn't viable because your car isn't
worth squat in its current condition. Five grand for another 100k miles is
still pretty cheap. You'll lose way more than that the minute you drive a new
BMW off the lot. However, there must be a cheaper alternative than a new
transmission from a BMW dealer. I bet you could find a good used one, or an
aftermarket rebuild. Try the independent shops in your area, and look for
aftermarket suppliers.
About the "lifetime" thing -- what you've found is correct. But look at it
another way -- the lifetime of the car *is* the lifetime of the transmission! I
bet more cars go to the junkyard because of dead automatic transmissions than
anything else. These days most engines will long outlive the rest of the car.
Matt O. |
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tech27
Guest
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| Posted:
Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:07 am Post subject:
Re: Should I Keep My 97 740? |
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"marlinspike" <rishayegan@davidson.edu> wrote in message
news:31i3k9F3bg146U1@individual.net...
No reason to ditch the car if you like it and it has served you well. There
are, however, 2 critical things to take care of:
1-Drain the oil and drop the oil pan. Check that the oil pump bolts are all
tightened to factory spec. It's a known issue that the bolts can work loose
and get sucked up into the engine - basically destroying it.
2-Only use BMW tranny fluid filters. I'm sure others are okay, but there
have been many instances where a cheaper aftermarket filter caused damage to
the tranny. Not worth the savings. |
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