740il vs A8 - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

ycchan · 30th September 2002, 13:17

In the near future, I'm deciding on getting a 740i sport or the A8.
All I want to know which one is more reliable.

Please help and comment

ycchan · 30th September 2002, 13:37

sorry I forgot to add the BMW will be 2001 model and the Audi 2000 or 2001

dNA3D · 30th September 2002, 15:40

We (my family) has a late 1996 E38 740iL with the 4.0L M60 engine. It was pretty problematic right from the start; we got the engine replaced at about 30K km, which solved the problems, temporarily. Now, the car is approaching 80,000KM, and the car is starting to have problems again. At about the 60,000km mark, the car was sent into the dealer once every month or so, in addition to the regular servicing. Though the repairs are usually minor, it is extremely inconvieniant to have to bring the car in at least once a month. Perhaps this car is just a lemon, maybe not.

Audi, well, I've heard bad stories about them too, so I'd give my vote to the last of the three choices. Both Audi and BMW are unreliable. And so are Mercedes.

Finality · 30th September 2002, 15:45

I have not had any experience with Audi cars but in general our old 740 was quite bad we had to sell it within 6 months of getting it due to all the problems we had with it. So far my parents 2001 has given no problems (its about 1.5 years old) .

Though all our S class Mercs we have owned have yet to give us any problems. We had an old 380 that ran 600,000 km before we had to send it off to the scrap heap. Our current S is also about 2 years old with no problems.

Hamann7 · 5th October 2002, 10:44

Believe it or not, 92,000 BLISSFUL miles in my 2000 740i Sport and still going strong... blows away Mustangs and Boxsters, and gives M5's a hard time in the twisties...

Earlier 740's were problematic, but mine has not had major problems. With the extended and factory warranties, the car has been a joy to own even with the small problems that come up every now and then. It is amazing considering that I drive it like I would a Porsche, whipping it and sliding it around corners!

Amazing sedan... probably the best sport luxury sedan ever. I don't regret the choice even a second.

No way I would even consider an A8!

TCM · 5th October 2002, 17:52

Get the BMW as Audis are a mess to work on. Their electrical systems are some of the worst in the auto industry and nothing is properly designed to be repaired quickly. While I love the looks of the A8, the engineering would cause me not to get one. In fact, the only thing the Audi has that is better then the 7 is the paint, Audi paint is probably the best in the business. Get the 7 and save the headaches.