The daily driver is a BMW 750iL from 1990 bought in winter 95/96 with 76kM and now with almost 135kM on the clock, but still going strong. Buying this car used provides the best value for the money. It was considered to be the best sedan in the world and probably is. Why they are so reasonably priced as a used car, is anybody’s guess. Following the typical supply and demand theory, my guess would be that a lot new cars were sold as the “best BMW you have” (high supply) and most people are intimidated by the V12 engine, believing it to be unreliable and high maintenance (low demand). So what is the truth? It actually is reasonably reliable, except for the hoses, which age fast due to the packed engine compartment. Certainly the maintenance costs are high, but I believe worth the effort for driving such a pleasant car.

An interesting claim is that the 750 has two “brains”, one for each bank, a design cost saving necessity (computer from in-line 6) that through clever marketing became a feature. I had an unplanned opportunity to try this out on a trip from LA to Mammoth, where the car all of a sudden lost power up-hill. It did feel as if half of the cylinders were gone, but I was able to limp home, still with enough horses to go (a projected) 90MPH. It later turned out that one of the two fuel pumps had died (commutator worn out at 90kM). Other major events include replaced driveshaft (shaking), broken ignition lock (major hassle), new windshield ($800), leaking power steering hoses ($1500) and it still needs a new steering box ($1200 in parts). A tricky situation my mechanic found was leaking fuel through fuel pressure regulators (both) into the engine, confusing the computer and sometimes stalling it at idle. Another tricky situation was that a few times when parked on a hot day I found it had dropped a gallon or two of coolant on the ground and no leaks were found. It was probably the radiator plastic end-caps that had opened up above a certain temperature and pressure and it was cured by a new (surprisingly easy to install) radiator and a lower pressure cap (factory recall). Another problem my mechanic finally rectified was replacing the cheap after-market front discs and pads with original discs and Australian made Axxis “Metal Master” pads. The cheap discs and pads made the car shake badly under braking, in addition were noisy and dirtied the wheels. The new combination works very well and keeps wheels (almost) clean.

The engine is extremely strong and smooth, runs on regular gasoline (8.8:1 compression ratio) and oddly enough is being prescribed 20W-50 motor oil. The large engine also warms up surprisingly fast and retains its heat for a long time, which is good for longevity. Another longevity feature is its high top gearing of only 2000 RPM at 70 MPH.

To measure the HP on the “Road Dyno” I had the car weighed on a truck scale to be 4240 ± 20 lb with 1/3 gas and unoccupied and the runs were made with 1st gear locked.