Buying review BMW 7-series (F1) 2008-2015 Common Issues Engines Inspection

Hello everyone, we are back with a BMW buyers review, the most luxery BMW in the range, the 7-series. This car is competing with the Mercedes-Benz S-class, the Audi A8, the Lexus LS and the Jaguar XJ.

This generation was built between 2008 and 2015 so it just hit the market when there was a financial crises brewing. This is the 5th generation 7-series with the internal code F1. There are a few diesels for the frugal accounts but also a few v8 petrol engines.

A bit of a history lesson, the E65 generation came before the F1 and was designed by the hand of Chris Bangle, the car was a success in terms of sales but we come to find out a few year later that engineering wise the car was not spot on. The 90’s 7-series, the E38 was the most beautiful in my opinion 7-series on sale, the car was a quality built, had quite some road presence and a few of these cars still drive around which is a testament to their durability. Many new technologies debuted on the E65, these system did not stand the test of time very well. So, this new generation the car we currently talk about have had many improvements on the tech level. Engine-wise and engineering wise BMW have also caught up, but they where already in a class of their own.

Reasons to buy such a luxury car are for instance, the space in the back, the driving dynamics that is top level in this class, probably its the badge which is not really an argument but counts in the board room and all the gadgets that makes life easier on the road.

The best all round engine for this car would be the 730d in my opinion. Enough power, frugal when it counts and a long track record of being durable. Again, there are many different engines on sale, many petrols, a few diesels and even a active hybrid.

Let inspect this car for its weaker point so you have some homework to do when buying such a car.

First of all this car uses many aluminium parts, which makes the car lighter than the E65 and E38 models of the 7-series, also BMW improved on the rust protection of this model. Interior space and quality of the used materials is on a very high level.

Since this car came about in the technological advanced times, many expensive gadgets and electronics can be found on cars like these. This means that over time, when these electronics deteriorate, there is an increased chance it might start causing trouble. Many things can be fixed with software-updates as well as a good service history, for cars of this statue it is important to have a well documented car. This car could be specified with a boatload of options, sometimes added up the price of a well specced 1-series.

The car has various setups when it comes to the shock absorbers, like dynamic damper control that sets the car in comfort, sport, sport+ when coupled together with the board computer. Normal springs are more reliable and cheaper to replace. In 2012 the face-lifted version of the 7-series came to the market, so if you can avoid the model year 2008,2009 and 2010. There are some small minor but annoying issues with these model year, the facelift seems to erase these problems.

The petrol engines are overall quite reliable and have long track-records, the engine to avoid is the 750i with the 4,4 liter v8. There are quite come cooling issues with this engine, injectors can become contaminated, there is quite some carbon buildup in the engine plus the timing chain is a weaker part.

The diesel are more reliable but suffer from the common issues that diesel engines often suffer from like the injectors, fuel-pump issues, EGR valve and DPG filters. Other thing to mention, these cars are usually bought for long journeys, still it is recommended to change the oil in the engine every 15000 kilometers, sometimes even earlier. Keep this in mind when you drive lets say 100000 km a year and do not want to go to the garage every-time for an oil-change.

Timing chains useally last 200.000 but need to be checked regularly above 150.000. Also when you hear a rattle at a cold start, this is the best indication that a replacement is due and this should not be overlooked.

Reliability-wise this F1 model was better than the E65, this is the best BMW had to offer in the late 2000’s up until the middle of the 2010’s. Still quite a good car, it has depreciated quite something and this is still a respectable car. If you drive lots of miles go for a well specced diesel and drive it until the first heavy repair bill and kiss it goodbye with a smile.

Thanks for watching the buyers review of the BMW 7-series model F1, this 5th generation is in many aspects still a good investment. If you want to see more buyers reviews hit the subscribe button.