- Doors and Seats
4 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
3.6i, 8 cyl.
- Engine Power
200kW, 360Nm
- Fuel
Petrol 9.6L/100KM
- Manufacturer
RWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
2 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2002 BMW 7 Series review: Used car guide
Pricey when new, the BMW 7 Series makes more sense second-hand, says DAVID MORLEY.
A lot of car for the money
The first of the "modern" 7 Series in the late 1980s really dragged BMW's limousine up to (or beyond) the standard of the competition; namely Mercedes-Benz's S-Class.
Since then, the 7 Series has continued to challenge its competitors - the arrival of Audi's A8 and a rejuvenated Jaguar flush with Ford dollars.
But despite the big BMW's watershed period, the 7 Series' one big failing was its lack of retained value. There was a six-cylinder 7 Series but despite the V12 version's attraction back when greed was good, it left a lot of people owing more than the car was worth after the lease ran out. As anyone in the leasing game will tell you, a dud lease is not good.
Those early 7s dropped residual value like they'd been pushed off a tall building. This was a problem for some buyers but the car itself wasn't necessarily at fault.
The real culprit is what's called the funnel effect. There can be enough demand for a high-priced vehicle at the boardroom level but come trade-in time, there aren't enough private buyers out there with the cash to prop up the car's retained value. The laws of supply and demand take over, the once-expensive car's second-hand price plummets, and the car gets a bad name.
Years may have passed but even the current-shape luxury cars are struggling to hold retained values in their first three or four years.
A 735Li, for example, would have cost you $185,000 plus on-road charges when brand-new in late 2002. That same car today is valued about $109,000 despite its modern shape and with less than 60,000 km on the odometer. The funnel effect strikes again.
This is bad for the original owner but good for second-hand shoppers.
That mega-expensive 7 Series is still a pricey car but is now within reach of a lot more of us.
When it comes to the modern 7 Series, things aren't that simple. Also bleeding the car's value are elements of its styling.
There's no getting around the unconventional bootlid arrangement and the headlights seem a bit odd at first, too. Then there's iDrive. BMW will tell you the only way to combine so much technology in a car is to have a menu-based system controlling it. Maybe so and Mercedes-Benz has adopted a similar system in its latest S-Class range.
But the click-and-scroll iDrive system is, for many people, unfathomable and anti-intuitive.
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Older people less used to modern, menu-driven technologies have the most trouble with it, yet the 7 Series is aimed at these same people.
Those concerns aside, the 7 Series is a capable, competent machine.
The first of the new-look (E66 in BMW-speak) models were the 735 and 745, both available with either a long or short wheelbase. The longer wheelbase models are more limousine-like, although just as enjoyable to drive, with a taut chassis, responsive engine and clever six-speed automatic gearbox.
A few months later came the range topper, the 760Li, complete with a 6.0-litre V12 engine and 372 kW of power.
The whole 7 Series line-up drips luxury, with just about every feature and piece of safety equipment you can want. And probably a few you don't.
They're still new enough for their reliability to be beyond question and even the smallest-engined versions have good performance. To drive a 760 is to understand the true meaning of effortless performance. The stability and surefooted feeling for which BMWs have become famous add up to a dynamic and mechanically competent package.
They won't be cheap to run but even at $100,000-plus, the 7 Series is a lot of car for the money.
An earlier model, with its less confronting styling and no iDrive, is likely to be just as faithful. And if you think a three-year-old 7 Series can depreciate, you should see what a 10-year-old one can do.
What to pay
The 735i from 2002 sells for about $100,000. The bigger-engined 745i is closer to $120,000 but worth it if you value straight-line speed. The range-topping 760Li is still a gargantuan $220,000, so it's a niche model at best.
The competition
Mercedes-Benz's S-Class is the most logical competitor. The latest version has been on the market for only a while and its styling dates the previous generation (although the earlier car is probably prettier). Jaguar's reborn XJ6 gets a look-in, while Audi plays a decent hand with its A8.