2006 BMW E65 760i V12

I purchased this 2006 BMW E65 760i in Jan 2018 for $5,000. It's a short wheel base 12 cylinder car with sport package and quite rare as only 50 of this particular (face lift) model were sold in North America in 2006. The longer wheel base version is far more common (760Li).

Immediately after purchasing this car I tore it apart and spent 2 yrs putting it all back together again... other projects got in the way and I was in no hurry.

As best I can tell, this car spent its first few years in Las Vegas and the rest of its time commuting between Phoenix and San Diego (where I purchased the car). There are no signs of any significant accidents, it has a clean title, fresh smog and 139K mi. The previous owner commuted the car between San Diego and Phoenix and I believe the majority of the miles are freeway miles as the drive train shows very little wear.

The car has a few minor scrapes (surprisingly the one you see on left bumper below mostly buffed out) which might force me to work on my painting skills. There was a long list of issues in need of repair... most disclosed to me and a few more I found later. This was purchased as a project car... a challenge!

BMW E65's (mostly 750i/Li's) can be picked up for as little as 2 to $3K but they will certainly need work - many of the same issues as with my car. The cost to repair these can be high as this was an expensive car when new and parts are still expensive... particularly those unique to the 12cyl model. I've spent well over $5,000 on parts to fix this one (detailed account below) and I shop around for the best prices.

A few shopping cart scrapes on the rear bumper.

The engine bay looked nothing like it does now! Both high pressure fuel pumps and associated hoses looked to have been recently replaced. I was told the sender unit in the fuel tank had also been replaced.

Look in Page 4 (Engine refurb section) to learn more about what I found!

The interior is in nice shape with minimal wear on the leather.

The CD Changer had been removed and replaced with an IPOD cable in the glove box. I had an old IPOD which required a simple repair and it is now installed and working great!

Here's the build sheet for this car:

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Vehicle information

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VIN:                       WBAHL03516DE70038

Type code:           HL03

Model:                  760I (USA)

E-F-R series:       E65

Series:                  7

Type:                     LIM

Steering:               LL

Doors:                   4

Engine:                 N73

Displacement:     6.00

Power:                  327 (444 hp)

Drive:                    HECK

Transmission:      AUTO

Paint code:          354 - TITANSILBER METALLIC

Upholstery code: U6SW - LEDER NASCA SCHW

Prod.date:            2005-07-06

• 0ZCV Convenience Package

• 0255 Sport leather steering wheel

• 0358 Infrared windshield

• 0416 Rear sunshades

• 0430 Auto-dimming mirrors

• 0441 Smoker's package

• 0453 Front ventilated seats

• 0496 Heated rear seats

• 0524 Adaptive light control

• 0655 SiriusXM Radio w/ 1 year sub.

• 0677 Logic7 sound system

• 0697 DVD Area coding, North America

• 08SP CO2 control

• 09AA Transport protection

• 01CA CO2 relevant vehicles

• 02EA 20" wheels w/performance tires

• 0415 Power rear sunshade

• 0423 Floor mats

• 0438 Dark Ash wood trim

• 0451 Active seat for driver

• 0494 Heated front seats

• 0508 Park Distance Control

• 0620 Voice-command

• 0672 6-disc CD changer

• 0691 CD holder

• 0760 Shadowline exterior trim

• 0925 Shipping package

• 0ZFA First aid kit

The car has its original 20" (staggered) wheels which were in decent shape and a matching full size spare in the trunk. There was some minor curb rash and lots of baked on brake dust so I refinished them. I also found an unused replacement on Ebay (front) for only $150 (with a brand new Michelin tire)!

This was a bit of an impulse buy, had I checked it out more carefully I doubt I would have agreed to $5K for it. It has a long list of things that needed fixing... most are very common for this model (E65) and a wealth of DIY info can be found on the web. The paintwork needs minor repairs in a few places but other parts of this car's paint are in outstanding condition. The rubber door and window seals are all in great shape with the exception of the lower gutter at the bottom of the rear window which is starting to rot (easily replaced). No signs of any sun damage to the paint.

My goal for this car was to keep the spend to a minimum but the parts costs kept rising and this goal flew out the window! I have done all the work myself (everything).

Below is a summary of the errors shortly after time of purchase. With so many computers in this car it is not easy to keep it completely error free...

Update 2/14/20:  Most of the errors have now been corrected. But a few remain...

1.    Steering angle sensor. Most likely dirty /damaged wipers (i've purchased some replacement wipers on Ebay).

2.    Alarm siren internal battery. A common problem that I might get to some day (no urgency).

3.    I'm not sure what this is yet.

These issues identified at time of purchase:

• Left passenger door sun shade jammed (right side and rear were OK).

• Paint repair needed, front left side bumper, rear bumper, rear right pillar, front right fender (looks like an acid spill). Front of hood also has a lot of paint chips (car has a lot of freeway miles). The paintwork on the rest of the car looked pretty good... no sun damage.

• Steering wheel tilt inop (stuck high).

• Strong smell of coolant and oil in the engine bay. Valve covers were leaking onto exhaust manifold and valley pan leaking.

• Much of the engine was covered in oil. Also oil residue underneath and a slow drip but was unable to determine source.

• Some minor curb rash on wheels and lots of baked on brake dust .

• Parking brake inop -  Light on the dash.

• ASC inop - (ABS light on the dash).

• Front left wheel was missing a wheel lug

• Engine hood liner burnt on the right side (a small engine fire perhaps although nothing else appeared burnt).

• Occasional hiccup from the transmission during test drive.

• Headlight lenses need refinishing (seller advised he refinished them once but did not last).

• Driver and passenger thigh support extension not working (common problem due to broken plastic gears).

And a few more I discovered shortly after buying it...

1.    Right rear air shock leaking... it bleeds down (sags) within a few hours of shutting off the car and should have been disclosed but was not.

2.    Signs of a battery connection problem!

The plastic cover that sits above the +ve battery post was melted. I didn't see any damage to the battery/wiring so it appears this was corrected already and was most likely caused by a loose battery connection.

The car is coded for an AGM battery (I checked with DIS) but was fitted with a regular lead acid battery!  I ended up replacing it with a new AGM battery as it was not holding a charge as it should.

Parts spend

Below is a break down of my spend (it's not completely up to date and has grown since). I always look for good deals on parts and often buy them in advance of needing them especially if the price is right. Ebay, RMeuropean, FCP Euro and ECS are my preferred suppliers for new parts, Ebay and LKQ pick-your-part for used.

I've found some great deals at LKQ pick-your-part but you have to be careful as most of their cars are very neglected. I removed an oem windshield from a 2006 750i and paid just $25 for it. Its got some very small stone chips in it but nothing too bad... I used a kit from Harbor Freight. I'm not if i'll use it but it is in better shape than the windshield presently on my car.

As you can see, the spend is significant and I'm not finished! I intended to spend as little as possible but that quickly went out the window and I have now spent far more on parts than I did for the car! I do have a few expensive items left over that I could sell and recover some money. This was certainly not a good investment as I'd be lucky to sell this car for what I paid for it ($5K), but I've learned a lot about these cars and the work has been mostly enjoyable and rewarding so I'm not bothered by this. This is not a daily driver so there was never any pressure to complete the work quickly... I take my time.

The following links document my repair work...

        Page 1   

1. Left passenger window shade (jammed)

2. Parking brake actuator (broken plastic gear)

3. Right rear air shock (leaking)

4. Steering wheel tilt (jammed)

5. Steering wheel (leather restoration)

6. DSC (ABS) repair (had a 5EE4 error)

7. Broken gear in front seat thigh support extensions (x2)

8. Engine cover (broken mounting studs)

9. IPOD repair (car is wired for an IPOD in place of CD changer)

10. Wheel refurb... removing baked on brake dust

11. Front cigarette lighter (socket) replacement

12. AC drier replace and re-charge

        Page 2   

1. Getting it on my Quickjack

2. Under car inspection

3. Oil filter access cover

4. Headlight restoration

5. Heater Control valve

6. External Power Supply for programming

7. New engine mounts

8. Transmission mounts

9. Transmission service (bridge seals, fluid and filter)

10. Replace drive shaft flex coupling (Guibo)

11. Steering Angle Sensor (SZL)

        Page 3   

1. Liquid cooled alternator rebuild

2. Oil change - rear differential

3. Brake fluid flush

4. Front axle overhaul (new upper/lower control arms, tie rod ends, brake rotors and pads)

5. Throttle bodies

6. High pressure fuel pumps

7. Intake manifold

8. New hood insulation

9. Front end alignment

10. Sunroof seal

11. IVM module (inspect/repair)

12. Fuel tank breather valve

        Page 4   

1. Engine refresh (gaskets, mounts, high pressure fuel pumps and more)

        Page 5   

1. Troubleshooting a cylinder misfire (bad fuel injector)

2. New gas struts and hydraulic actuator for the trunk lid

3. Near new Bilstein front EDC struts and FAG wheel bearings

4. Rear suspension refurb incl sub-frame bushings