Just picked up a BMW 745i on the Cheap! Am I cray cray?

I was looking at an 03' BMW 745i on Craigslist for about a month. It was set to sell for $2500/obo with 140K on the odo. I'm thinking, "Hum, could be a fun project-buuuttt", so I shot a text over just to see if it was a scam. Welp, got a text back a few days later and got the info I needed (VIN). Checked it out -found out it was a "fleet car".

See, wh the guy i talked to was the third owner. He changed the transmission pan, refilled it with fluid, and immediately got a fault! Hasn't had time to get back underneath it. Neither have I until now, so currently, I'm figuring out my next steps.

OH! and yeah, I bought it - for $1800 bux -WERD!!!! (challenge car???)

So, I've picked up a Bosch 1350 Code reader to pull all faults (hopefully have not been cleared by prev. owner) and was going to just,"Get After It!" I'm hoping to be able to push that S.O.B. into my garage so as to have a level ground to work on. Even as a worse case scenario, I replace that tranny with a reman and I'm still ahead of the game.

First things first, I'm recharging the 1.5 y.o. ADM battery to 100% (e65 do not like an even SLIGHTLY drained battery) and top off trans oil. If that doesn't do the trick, I'll exhaust all of the typical electrical fixes, which means re-solder boards with a solder torch.

I would love to get your thoughts/tips on this.

we're all Cray Cray. Congrats and good luck!

Pics

Q: Cray cray?
A: Totes magotes.

Pictures.... Where are the pictures?????

John Welsh wrote: Q: Cray cray? A: Totes magotes.

omglmaowtfbbqsuace

google images arent loading in his post? Can anyone see these? Im having to dig the link out by looking at the HTML in firefox

In reply to 4cylndrfury:

Thanks 4cylndrfury! It acted like it was loaded correctly before I headed out to the store! In any case, that be it!

My 5 and 7 year olds want to give it a name, as they've named all the other cars that are in the family (they're good at it too). I told them to hold off until I've finished it completely and I've decided to keep it.

As for names, I'll offer up Babonkadonk since it's got dat back.

If you're in the south, perhaps The Honky Tonk Babonkadonk.

Or, add some Dubs and name it Sir Mix a Lot

That's a deal! Bring it to the challenge!

Crossing my fingers that the code is "incorrect fluid level".

Enjoy weeks, maybe even months of driving pleasure with that luxo-barge.

How many warning lights are on at the dash currently? If you can count them on one hand you're doing good.

Crap you could fit like 8 bodies in the back of that thing.

I can safely say that seven series cars at the only ones I actually like sitting in the back of.

You bought that for $1,800?! Holy E36 M3.

Robbie- You have NO IDEA how bad I'm hoping it's something simple. Even if it's a bad trans, I'm still ahead of the curve!

NEALSMO - Haha! Actually the only issue is transmission-related! No other warnings.

The0retical- Yeah, it's pretty good on room, although not as roomy as I thought it would be. It's good enough though

Sky_Render- YESSIR! I've got the bill of sale (and video) as proof cause it's a possible Challenge car.

Congrats. Wow, yeah, amazing how depreciation works. And, yes, bring it to the Challenge.

Install a 100 shot of nitrous and bring it to the challenge.

It would be crazy to NOT buy that for 1800.

These are dirt cheap up around me. Most have bad transmissions. Did these have a zf variant?

Yes, it does have the ZF transmission in it. It was working fine before the transmission pan was replaced. Hopefully, simply adding in the correct amount of fluid will make the difference.

Congrats on the pickup! I had a buddy who had one of these and it was really nice. It really set the luxury bar for me.

Hello people! Sorry for the delay in updating this thread. Sooooo... I tried to simply fill the transmission up with some fresh fluid and see if that worked-no go!

I ended up taking the car in for service. $300 later, SUCCESS! She was running without issue. I'm thinking, yeah, I've only spent $2100 on this car to get it running. Challenge, here I come! That is, until I started playing with the HVAC controls on the IDrive. E36M3 - no A/C! In fact, no air movement at all!

I ended up Googling, "Typical 7-Series issues" and there it was, "Blower Motor Resistor Failure". The HVAC system had all the symptoms of the failure prior to it happening, so I took a gamble and purchased a new one- and it only cost $17!!!! (uh, plus another 80 bux). (In Soup Nazi voice) "NO Challenge For You!" Uh, yeah, no - no way was I going anywhere w/o A/C! 

So, now I'm going to perform the common repair and upgrades to her. Next on the list;

- New timing belt/pulley kit, $174.00

- Reman driver's seat control replacement, $35.00

- Replace HID bulbs, $45.00   

- 8-pc front suspension replacement, $185.00

- O2 sensors, $140.00

- Current total = $2770.00

There are other little niggling things that i'll take care of if I decide to keep her like;

- Repairing "soft close" feature to the doors 

- Replacing trunk struts, $130/pr 

I'll start posting pics of the process starting next week as work duties start to wane. 

Cheebus!  I'm nominating this thing for "Deal Of The Decade" status.

Is it safe to admit that I actually liked the Bangle Butt?

That is a hell of a nice car for sub 3 grand.  I hope it works well for you.