(1999-2001) 740i vs 740il what are the differences

I'm looking to purchase a BMW and I like the 740's, but I have noticed some differences in the models. I would like to know the differences between the 740i and the 740il. I have heard that the 740il is actually a longer vehicle, is this true? What do the initials stand for anyway.

Hottrodd72
SF, Ca.

The iL version is longer, it's 4.5 inches longer, all of it in the back seat leg-room area. Personally, I like the iL because I think this length adds to the elegance of the car.

Other than the length, the biggest different is that the iL has a self-leveling rear suspension called LAD (Load Absorbtion Damping). The system has an additional pump piggy-backed to the power steering pump, a reservoir shared with the power steering system filled with a special fluid, an accumulator at the rear for each side, and special (translation: expen$ive) struts at the rear. However, it's a reliable system good for 10-12 years and there's absolutely no reason to replace the rear struts unless they leak. Regular struts, like those in front, require some periodic change, say every 60,000 miles.

BMW speak:
For their sedan type cars I'm sure you know they have the 3,5, and 7 series, sort of small, medium, and large. The second two numbers tells you the engine size. Examples:
325 is a 3-series car with a 2.5L (6 cylinder) engine
530 is a 5-series car with a 3.0L (6 cylinder) engine
740 is a 7-series car with a 4.0L (8 cylinder) engine
760 is a 7-series car with a 6.0L (12 cylinder) engine
This in not 100% accurate. In 1996? the 7-series went to a 4.2L engine but they kept the 740 name. The current 7-series V-8 models have the name 745 but have a 4.4L V8 engine. For the 745, my guess is that they didn't want to use the name 744 because Volvo used to have a model with that name.

Guess of the meaning of "i" via observation: In the mid 1980s BMW cars in the U.S. had names like 325 which was a 3-series with a 2.5L engine with carburetor fuel delivery. About that same time they started offering 325i models which were the same except they had a fuel injection system. I think all of the U.S. sedan models are now "i" versions. So I believe "i" means fuel-injected.

"xi" in a sedan, e.g., 325xi, means fuel-injected all-wheel drive.

I think BMW sells diesel fueled cars in Europe with a "d" designation.

The meaning of "L": Usually considered to mean "long", but in the BMW books they refer to them as "limosine" models.

There's also a capitalized "C", as in 325Ci, but they use the same name for Convertibles and for Coupes. So, ???

The "M" series, like M3 or M5, means motorsports. These cars have suspensions that are like race cars and I think a more powerful engines and different transmissions as well.

Well, that's about all I know about that.

I must thank you so very much for your reply. Your information is awesome, clears alot up. I'm curious... what is it you do for a living? Master Techinician maybe? Well, whatever it is you do, your top notch reply was very, very helpful and appreciated.
I'm a newly licensed real estate salesperson and I'm in the process of getting my game plan together, which is where the BMW comes in. I have been primarily looking at the 7 series, from about 1999 - 2001, and don't want to spend much more than $20,000. I have been looking online at traderonline.com (auto trader) and ebay and the vehicles I have viewed are high miled ones. Do you have any insight to this as well as any other issues, like the front strut replacement at 60,000 miles you mentioned earlier, that I should keep my eye out for?

Thanks again,
Scott (Hottrodd72)
SF, CA.

I appreciate your kind words but Master Technician? Hahahahaha. I see you're from SF so you must be smokin' something!

Let's see, I grew up in Kentucky and in High School I DID work at a service station where I changed a few water pumbs, fuel pumps, and radiator hoses. I spent 5 1/2 years in the Air Force fixing airplanes-instrumentation systems. I got out and went back to college and earned a degree in Computer Science and then worked in the "Military Industrial Complex" for 20 years writing software for aircraft and spacecraft. But I have some health problems and so I went to disability. In August I bought a '93 BMW 740iL and, not being able to afford dealer prices, I bought a Bentley's service manual for BMW E32 models (E32=7-series cars 1988-1994). That's where the data about the LAD system is from. Some time back I had a "Eurika" moment about the BMW naming system and set about to test my hypothesis, which seems to hold true but, like I wrote, is not 100% accurate. Well anyway, being the Master Technician was fun while it lasted.

Re: buying a car. carmax.com has an interesting nationwide system. I haven't bought anything from them but it appears it would be a pretty good place to do so. They have "no haggle" prices that seem pretty reasonable and they claim their cars are checked out very thoroughly. My daughter lives in Tampa, where carmax has an outlet-it's absolutely huge! When you search for a vehicle they will show you the ones in your area first but also cars at their various locations across the country. They will ship any car to the location nearest you at your expense for closer examination. However, if you buy the car $150 of the shipping cost is refunded. And the shipping costs are pretty reasonable as well, say $150 to move a car up to you from L.A. So if the car is not too far away there's no net shipping cost. Admittedly, this works better in the East. I surfed on over there last night but didn't see anything at the moment.

Personally, I'm a fan of ebay. That's where I bought my BMW and I have no hesitation to recommend it. At first glance it seems crazy-buy a car sight unseen, etc. But let's think about this. You go to a car lot and you see all the pretty cars and you can drive them a little bit, but you still don't know all that much about the car. On ebay, EVERY buyer gets to leave feedback about their transaction and EVERY potential customer can view it. You won't find that at the dealer's lot.

There are ebay auto dealers with positive ratings in the many hundreds. Most of them show many, many photos of the cars (often overkill), they provide a description of the condition of the vehicle. Often they will actually point out flaws to you-with photographs! Why? Because negative ebay feedback will KILL their business. The cars they sell damn well better be as described or they won't be in business for very long. Plus, if you bought a car that was significantly misrepresented, I'm sure you'd have legal grounds to reverse the sale (still a pain in the butt of course).

The cars on ebay sell for thousands of dollars less than their car lot counterparts since the dealer has very little overhead, so there's room to take care of some problems if they do spring up.

You wrote that you're looking primarily 7-series cars for your real estate business. Yeah, your clients in the super expensive SF market probably wouldn't think too much of you driving them around in a Yugo. Yikes! just the thought of a Yugo on those hills gives me the creeps. You might also consider the Jaguar XJ8, another luxurious car but they usually sell for a bit less than the BMW 7-series cars and tend to have lower miles as well.

That's about it for now.

-- Tom Norris
-- Palm Bay, FL

I'm a newly licensed real estate salesperson and I'm in the process of getting my game plan together, which is where the BMW comes in. I have been primarily looking at the 7 series, from about 1999 - 2001, and don't want to spend much more than $20,000. I have been looking online at traderonline.com (auto trader) and ebay and the vehicles I have viewed are high miled ones. Do you have any insight to this as well as any other issues, like the front strut replacement at 60,000 miles you mentioned earlier, that I should keep my eye out for?

Thanks again,
Scott (Hottrodd72)
SF, CA.

Scott,
If all you can spend is no more than $20k for a >99 car that would be tough to do. If anything it would be more like <98 with well over 100k. Stay away from anything 95 and older because of the Nikasil engine problem unless you can absolutely verify that the block was changed to Alusil or that it is a car only driven in California. The Alusil blocks "rot" out because of sulfur in the gas which we don't have so much of in Ca. for a lot of information check out www.e38.org and look at all the links and FAQ's. If you decide to pick up a 740 we have a group of owners in the bay area from S.J to Santa Rosa. I am in Lafayette. Email me if you are interested. Check out Edmunds.com or KBB.com (kelly blue book) for prices. I wouldn't want to buy a 740 with more than 120k on it, mine had 40k
Good luck!
Kevin