BMW 750il - Matt Garrett

1988 BMW 750il

1988 BMW 750il V12. 11K Miles. Loaded, CD, Phone, Limited Slip. Cirrus Blue. Dealership collection history since new. Driven from 88-89 for 7K miles, then put into the collection housed in a climate controlled multi million dollar facility. This is quite possibly the finest V12 E32 on earth. I dare say it is. All original other than the addition of the very rare, expensive and highly sought after OEM BMW BBS Style 5 Staggered 18" wheels and Bilstein Sport Shocks. This OEM setup on the car now looks incredible and drives even better. With this setup, this is the best overall driving sedan I have driven in my life and I have to say possibly the best looking too. 88 7 Series Dish wheels and OEM Pirelli 7000 tires and wheels perfect too.

The 1988 BMW E32 was considered quite a marvel when it came out. It was the sedan of all sedans, but at the same time became to be known as kind of a lemon in its day. A very over engineered car that boasted things never seen before on any automobile. Hi powered V12 with dual Electronic throttles synchronized by a computer and dozens of other things that put this over $70,000.00 when it came out in 88. This car set the standard for high end sedans at the time and really in terms of build quality combined with engineering may be a near close rival the the finest sedan of all times, the 96-99 V12 Mercedes S600 W140. However, this came first and set the bar! Raved or loathed, the 750il was a marvel and when fully understood by those that work on them, not a lemon at all. I think it took the mechanics about 5 years after this cars release to catch up to how it worked, thus creating lots of the issues these cars had. Working on E23s and E32s, I can say that the E23 had more inherent issues vs an E32 even being 1/2 as complex. I can also tell you that the BMW and Benz V12s from 88-99 are GOOD engines. Mclaren used them in their famous supercars. This era V12 is actually better than some of the later V12s that both BMW and especially Mercedes built after.

Yes, a car this complex will have more issues than a proven winner like a simplistic Crown Vic that had 4 decades to perfect in terms of reliability, so for a daily car, a car like this could be a handful, even to me. I would never have one for that. They are not angels I can attest to that, but they really kind of got a worse rap than they deserved. You can also take this same scenario today and compare a car like a 2010 crown vic vs a 2010 760li. I will wager anything you want to that the Crown Vic will be more reliable and outlast the BMW certainly in the long run. But a new BMW will give you a team of mechanics working for you on warranty as you take the car in vs the ford that wont need its warranty at all and certainly will be more neglected and harder used... and still lasting longer! BUT people don't seem to buy cars on sheer reliability... If they did there would only be Honda Accords, Avalons, Lexus LS, Crown Vics and Town Cars on the road.......... Instead many people buy cars on image of how it makes them look first (not a good thing really), then on looks second, magazine rated performance (not always right either). Reliability is a factor, but I think it is one of those things that people seem to think "wont happen to me". Any complex car you buy, will certainly give you more fits over a simplistic car. It is just the way it is. Even though the first owners probably bought these cars on image first, the 750il has more substance than that BS shallowness, and was at the cutting edge when it came out. The BMW 7 Series was and still is a real car and its complexity is what makes it what it is. If it were not complex, it would be another basic car. I think a lot of the real bad memories came from the 740 and 840 with the Nikasil M60 Engine. Now that was a real lemon, the 850 and 750 were not!

The size, weight and proportions of an E32 are more agile than an E38 or new 7 and even Benz. They were also not tiny and twitchy like a 5 series or 3 series of that era, of which none of those had any power at all. The E32 is a real road car that has the power, handling and stopping combined. The overall size and weight of this car is about perfect as a road car too, of which is about the same as a new Bangalised 3 series. The newer 5 and 7 are bloat cars, this was not. The E32 is my favorite BMW sedan. The top examples of these V12 cars are collectors items today that will only be more desired tomorrow.

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The V12 E32, possibly the best looking BMW Sedan, or even German Sedan of all times.

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Plates for Display only. Car has not been registered since 89.

The M70 V12 - 300HP

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Perfection at its best. And look.. No Cosmoline coated engine! Painstakingly removed.

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The M70 V12

OEM Phone, Heated Seats.

Factory 6 Disk... Really rare in 88!

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Hella Projectors.. Wont see ones in this shape too often.

Perfect glass driving lamps. 750il had headlamp washers on brights, regulars and even these driving lights.

Not a bug or spec on the condenser. See top right the Bel BMW radar detector Antenna. Unit is hidden in ash trey, dealer installed there.

Perfect wood inlay, shift handle and indicator lettering.

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These are NEW OEM Style 5 Wheels. A used set today is about a 4K set in this Staggered 18 size making these possibly the most expensive vintage BMW wheel.

The rear wide 9.5 x 18 BBS Style 5

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Bilstein Sport Shocks and HR springs. Best asset to these cars.

This car is like new everywhere.

The stance of the 8.5 and 9.5 BBS Style 5 18" wheels with 245/45 18 Front and 275/35 18 Rear

Flawless time warp interior.

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More E32 750il Items than I knew existed, articles, brochures, order books, OEM manuals, OEM touchup kit, OEM plate brackets, frame, original bill of sale.

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More E32 750il Items than I knew existed, articles, brochures, order books, OEM manuals, OEM touchup kit, OEM plate brackets, frame, original bill of sale.

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