1999 Bmw 740il on 2040-cars
Merrimack, New Hampshire, United States
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FIRST, WHY I'M SELLING I'm selling the best car I ever owned because I simply can't justify putting more money into this BMW 740iL. Three days ago the dash displayed "TRANS FAILSAFE PROG" and the transmission stayed in third gear (limp mode). I got it home, parked it, and it wouldn't start. When I Googled "TRANS FAILSAFE PROG", most of the solutions seemed to be electrical in nature (i.e., battery, alternator). I had the car towed to my local garage who couldn't replicate the problem since the car started and ran fine! I went to pick the car up and the message was there. The mechanic said it could be a "range sensor" or something else. I drove it home (in third gear) and parked it. SECOND, ABOUT MAINTANANCE ON THE CAR I bought the car from my buddy (I think the original owner who bought it outright after his lease term ended) in 2005 with 66,400 miles on it. My buddy gave me all the maintenance records (he's meticulous about maintenance!) with the car. I drove the car home from IN and have enjoyed it ever since. The part I HAVEN'T enjoyed is the price of parts and have had the following things done to the car since 2010 (I have the earlier maintenance records as well):
I've had the car regularly maintained by my local garage ever since I bought it. Occasionally, when I found myself with tons of extra cash, I would take it to the BMW dealer for special things my mechanic didn't have the expertise to repair. THIRD, ABOUT THE COSMETIC CONDITION OF THE CAR As you can see from the pictures, the car is in surprisingly good shape for its age. There are a couple of rust areas: the bottom of the front passenger's door has been rusting for a couple years, the rear wheel wells both have some rust spots, and the trunk latch area is rusting. There are a few small dents from inconsiderate parking lot neighbors and the front has some small paint nicks (I usually touch these up in the spring with my Biarritz Blue touch-up paint but it's been a L O N G winter in NH!). Inside, the car is immaculate. Everything works - heated seats and steering wheel, power seats and windows, radio controls on the steering wheel, memory positions for the driver's seat and mirrors, etc. This is the L version, which gives you an extra six inches or so of legroom in the back seat. The seats are leather and are in great condition (I'd say perfect but they ARE 15 years old). The power sun roof works perfectly. The 6-CD changer audio system works and sounds like a dream! (The reason I'm saying all this is that if you're buying the car to part it out, it's got GREAT parts!) I currently have two snow tires on the rear with good tread; the car comes with two all-season tires (also good tread) that I normally swap out in the spring. The car's been garaged since I've owned it. FOURTH, ABOUT THE MECHANICAL WORTHINESS OF THE CAR Mechanically, I don't know. I had trouble passing our yearly inspection in Oct 2013 and had to replace the cam position sensor since it caused the check engine light to stay on and NH doesn't pass cars with a check engine light on. The car had been running fine before that and has been running fine after that (since the inspection). That is UNTIL last week! I was on the highway and I engaged the cruise control (as I normally do). The transmission then started to shift between third and fourth gear -- back and forth. I disengaged the cruise control and the TRANS FAILSAFE PROG error displayed on the dash. I have NOT tried the cruise control since, so I don't know if it works anymore.... (Note: The TRANS FAILSAFE PROG error sometimes displays and sometimes doesn't -- see the display in the pictures; the first display picture shows no problems but the second one does.) The only other thing I've compensated for is the fuel gauge, which I believe gives a false reading. I have run out of gas when the gauge reads a quarter full. I don't know if the problem is with the gauge or something else. I simply reset the trip odometer when I fill up and, when I'm hitting 300 miles, I fill up again. FIFTH, FINAL THOUGHTS I'm selling the car because I can't justify putting any more money into its care and feeding. If I knew more about BMWs and had access to reasonably-priced parts, I may try to figure this out. (I have the Service & Repair Manuals on CD.) Or, if I had the gumption (and my wife would tolerate my taking on another project), I'd part the car out because there's a lot of good stuff in it! I'm starting the bidding at $400 because that's what my local auto graveyard will give me. Any money I get over that amount will go for booze to drown the sorrow I feel for parting with my baby.... THE DETAILS/FINE PRINT The winning bidder should contact me within 24 hours of the auction and make arrangements for payment and pickup at that time. A $100 deposit is due within 24 hours of the end of the auction with the remainder due within 7 days. You will need to bring cash or bank check in exchange for the two keys and title. You are welcome to come and inspect the car (by appointment) before the auction ends, but once the hammer goes down and you're the high bidder, you own this car (and a piece of my soul). Ask questions; request more pictures. (Note that I travel and may not be able to respond immediately.) You are responsible for pickup or shipping of this vehicle. You should be able to drive the car anywhere, but I am making NO guarantees! I reserve the right to end this eBay listing early if the vehicle is no longer available for sale. |
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Trans Medic Transmission Clinic ★★★★★
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Auto blog
Is Audi getting complacent and suffering from brain drain?
Wed, 27 Nov 2013The argument is made in a Reuters article: Audi is falling behind other luxury brands, such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, due to a lack of research-and-development spending and "brain drain," or the migration of top executives and R&D chiefs to other parts of the Volkswagen Group. Reuters notes that Audi's current R&D chief is the third in 16 months.
Audi, which contributed to 40 percent of VW Group's $11.6 billion in profit the first nine months of the year, is delivering cars at a record pace: 1.31 million were delivered from January to October 2013 versus BMW's 1.35 million. Yet Audi, Reuters reports, doesn't have a halo car akin to BMW's new electrified i3 and i8 or an answer to Mercedes' plug-in-hybrid S-Class, and the R&D spending at Audi is less than BMW and Mercedes by a fair margin. It's noted in the article, however, that Audi benefits from other R&D spending within VW Group.
Reuters mentions that BMW "trumpets its new 'i' series" and the new Mercedes CLA and GLA ranges are winning "rave reviews" as part of its argument that Audi's recent lack of technological innovation could hurt future sales. Those cars do pack tons of new technology, some of which are firsts for mainstream production cars. But last time we checked, the i3 could be causing BMW's stock to slide, the CLA isn't receiving the rave reviews that Reuters would have you believe and the GLA hasn't been reviewed yet.
BMW releases complete pricing info on M3 and M4
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The pricing intel that we had at the time was correct - prices start at $62,000 for four doors and $64,200 for two. Those prices don't include the $925 destination charge. Potential customers should also plan on spending an extra $550, as seven of the eight paint options are of the metallic variety. BMW's trademark Alpine White is the only no-cost paint option.
As for the cabin, customers will, interestingly, have the choice of a cloth/leather combination as standard. That's in addition to the standard suite of leather options. There are also extended leather and full leather options, for $950 and $3,500, respectively. There are three option packages available, covering all the extra goodies for the M3 and M4.
BMW puts a sheep in wolf's clothing with 2 Series Active Tourer M Sport
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The sport package for the Active Tourer packs all the usual suspects: a more aggressive aero kit, retuned suspension, blacked-out grille, 17- or 18-inch alloys and an interior with sports seats trimmed in blue-stitched Alcantara. Top all that off with an Estoril Blue paint job and you've got a compact family hauler that might look the part, and maybe handle a bit tighter, yet it naturally stops short of the full M treatment (or even an M Performance spec like you'd find in the M235i coupe). All of which is probably just as well, because that might be the only thing BMW purists would object to more than the existence of a front-drive BMW MPV in the first place.