# 2003 E65 Is it worth it?



## drbmw (Oct 12, 2003)

I'm just 3 days away from taking delivery on my new 2003 E65. Just wanted to hear from all of you that have recently purchased a 745 what your overall impressions and experiences are. Good or bad. thanks.


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## rost12 (Dec 22, 2001)

drbmw said:


> I'm just 3 days away from taking delivery on my new 2003 E65. Just wanted to hear from all of you that have recently purchased a 745 what your overall impressions and experiences are. Good or bad. thanks.


Hi there. Congrats on your purchase!

I'm sorry to say that traffic on 7er board here is not that great, so you may not get any responses from "recent" purchasers 

But as a 2002 driver, my experience is that it's a great car!  And if any computer glitches come your way, good luck with having them fixed :thumbup:

Oh, and what's your colour combo/options?


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## drbmw (Oct 12, 2003)

Kalahari Beige metallic, with beige interior.
Luxury seating, premium sound, 19" sport wheels, convenience package, park distance control, and heated steering wheel for the wife on those cold Wisconsin winter days. I agree with you that the only real risk with a car like this is electronic failure rather than mechanical failure. Kind of ironic that the automobile has transformed itself from a mechanical transportation machine to an electronically controlled instrument of travel. What do think the odds are that my new car will operate flawlessly, and everything will work as its supposed to?


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## Mathew (Feb 8, 2002)

I've had none of the horrible iDrive software gremlins that some people have had. The only little nuisance is the phone, which has been replaced twice, and that could happen in any BMW.


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## sclui56 (Oct 6, 2003)

Can't really offer much help yet as I juist p/u a black on black for the wife last night, still missing the phone as dealer is still trying to get the correct one for Cingular.

I am still learning about all the features and & menus & sub-menus, first impression is that the iDrive has a steeper than usual learning curve, I still like the system I have on the FX45 much better since I have at all times NAV info, stereo, & climate on 1 screen. A simply click on a button gets me into the vehicle stats (tire pressure, etc) & vehicle configuration (DTRL, beep vs horn when armed, selective unlock, etc). At least with the FX, I don't feel like I need to ask the vehicle permission to change settings (as in BMW or MBZ).

The handling is simply amazing for the size & weight of the vehicle once you get past all the controls, but there's some shakes on the steering wheel even @ 50 so hopefully it's simply a matter of rebalancing. I still find myself reaching for the e-brake with my left foot instead of pushing the button, and have activated the windshield wipers & headlight cleaners twice when trying to shift, kind of mess up the shine on a freshly detailed vehicle.

I wished the vehicle has a bit more of traditional control, but hey, this is what progress is all about, and I am glad I didn't listen to her when she said she wanted another MBZ. If I could have chosen, I would have opted for different 19" rims instead of the ones we got from the sports package, the angular style just doesn't do much for me.

So far, I feel it's worth it.

Steve


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## rost12 (Dec 22, 2001)

drbmw said:


> What do think the odds are that my new car will operate flawlessly, and everything will work as its supposed to?


I'd say you've got a good of trouble free ownership, but then again, I'm biased  Just don't rush into your dealership every time they release a new software update for the car because often they bring more trouble than they fix, so you have to give them time.


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## rost12 (Dec 22, 2001)

sclui56 said:


> ...there's some shakes on the steering wheel even @ 50 so hopefully it's simply a matter of rebalancing.


Congrats on your purchase :thumbup:

That steering wheel shimmy is very common among "old" 5 series (E39) and among current 7 series as well. Balancing the wheels properly might help, it's even better if they "force" balance them. Hunter GSP9700 is the best wheel balancing machine out there, some BMW dealerships have these.

If that fails, it might be a defective rim. I had one front rim replaced a week after the purchase, they couldn't balance it properly. Some people even had whole steering racks replaced... don't know if it helped, though


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## drbmw (Oct 12, 2003)

sclui56 said:


> Can't really offer much help yet as I juist p/u a black on black for the wife last night, still missing the phone as dealer is still trying to get the correct one for Cingular.
> 
> Thanks for your input, Steve. I will keep the rest of you posted on how the new 745Li performs over the next couple of weeks. This is the last of the 2003 models, so I'm hoping the gremlins have been taken care of for this model year.


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## sclui56 (Oct 6, 2003)

*rost12*

Thanks for the pointers, will certainly have the dealership take a look. I guess I'm having bad luck of late with rims/tires - purchased a C class coupe for my dauighter 2 months ago, there was a slight shimm,y so I took it to my trusted tire shop, soon as they mounted the wheel/tire & started spinning, I saw a bent rim. This rim could hjave been defectivbe as it was chromed, so it was from a core exchange at some point.

Thanks.


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## sclui56 (Oct 6, 2003)

*Front Shimmy @ 50+*

Just an update after coming back from the dealer. They tried balancing the wheel/tires and there was still shakes at speed, took it back yesterday, they said they were going to replace rims & tires, after that the foreman informed me that he could still feel the shimmy on mine, but when they put my tires on another 7, that one tracked properly. I am glad he took the time to get to the bottom of things instead of simply noting that everything was within specs.

I got a call & passed by the dealer this evening, the foreman was holding a stack of fax pages from BMW tech center, he told me that it is very possible that there's a problem with the worm gear in the rack assembly, they should know more by tomorrow. I asked my writer if they've seen similar cases of late, he said he had done 2, and the writer sitting next to him had done 3, all on the 7 series.

This is very disturbing to say the least, and on a vehicle that has only 300 miles on the clock, of which 280 miles came from me.


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## svengersammy (Sep 18, 2006)

Please update us on the out come of your worm gear problem. I hav ea 97 740IL. I have the same shimmy problem at 45 - 50 mph. I get a heavy shimmy when I first start driving the car but as it warms up it seems to fade but never goes away. I ahve checked and rechecked the wheels and the suspension and nothing. My wife says what else do I expect from an old car. My answer is I expect it to run well if I fix it. So please keep us updated.

And mine had 160K miles. yes, I drive it. HEHE.


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## gbelton (Aug 3, 2003)

*New Bimmer*



drbmw said:


> I'm just 3 days away from taking delivery on my new 2003 E65. Just wanted to hear from all of you that have recently purchased a 745 what your overall impressions and experiences are. Good or bad. thanks.


First, I have to ask is this question. You are buying a New '03 745 in '06? Maybe I am a little dunce but you mean a New/CPO '03 745?

Anyway, my overall impressions are that the car is great. There is so much technology embedded in this car you will learn new things about your 7er everyday.

Are there any issues? Well, it all depends. I have not had any abnormal issues in my '03 745Li; just normal stuff (e.g. oil change, throttle regulation, that's about all)

Anything else you like to know?

The reason the 7 Series sub-forum is not so active is because most of the owners don't chat beyond issues they may have or quick questions like this original post... Take the 6 Series sub-forum for example, we talk about everything and we also meet. Oh, and it has nothing to do with age.

I have own the 7 Series for many years now and I believe it will take a few more years to attract buyers who want to do things that other BMW 3ers, 5ers, 6ers, Mers, and Zers enthusiasts do... I did the do, do thing...:rofl:

Good Luck!


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## 01Byte (Jun 22, 2003)

gbelton said:


> First, I have to ask is this question. You are buying a New '03 745 in '06? Maybe I am a little dunce but you mean a New/CPO '03 745?


Did you look at the original post date? :rofl:


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## gbelton (Aug 3, 2003)

*Oops*

Ok you got me.:rofl:


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