Following on to the 1989 BMW 750iL we featured yesterday, here is possibly one of the lowest mileage V12 E32s in existence. We featured this car four years ago and its back up for sale with barely any more mileage tacked on.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 BMW 750iL on eBay
The below post originally appeared on our site September 11, 2011:
This V12 equipped BMW E32 has been in a private collection nearly it’s entire life. The original wheels and tires were even removed and plastic wrapped to preserve them. The seller speculates this might be the best original E32 in existence and he’s probably right. I remember my wife and I coming very close to buying a 750il of the same generation over 10 years ago. It was a very impressive drive for sure. While of course it’s huge with the extended wheelbase, driving it didn’t feel like yacht. It’s a BMW after all and a really fine piece of engineering being the then flagship model. And that V12 is very deceiving. Incredibly smooth and builds speed with real authority.
Year: 1988
Model: 750iL
Engine: 5.0 liter V12
Transmission: 5-speed automatic
Mileage: 11,346 mi
Price: Reserve auction
1988 BMW 750il V12. 11K Miles. Loaded, CD, Phone, Limited Slip. Cirrus Blue. Dealership collection history since new. Driven from 88-89 for 7K miles, then put into the collection housed in a climate controlled multi million dollar facility. This is quite possibly the finest V12 E32 on earth. I dare say it is. As new in every manner, fully functional in every manner and absolutely as perfect as a car even 1 week old could ever be. All original other than the addition of the very rare, expensive and highly sought after OEM BMW BBS Style 5 Staggered 18″ wheels and Bilstein Sport Shocks. This OEM wheel setup on the car now looks incredible and drives even better. With this setup, this is the best overall driving sedan I have driven in my life and I have to say possibly the best looking too. 88 7 Series Dish wheels and OEM Pirelli 7000 tires perfect too now plastic bagged.
The 1988 BMW E32 was considered quite a marvel when it came out. It was the sedan of all sedans, but at the same time became to be known as kind of a lemon in its day. A very over engineered car that boasted things never seen before on any automobile. Hi powered V12 with dual Electronic throttles synchronized by a computer and dozens of other things that put this over $70,000.00 when it came out in 88. This car set the standard for high end sedans at the time and really in terms of build quality combined with engineering may be a near close rival the the finest sedan of all times, the 96-99 V12 Mercedes S600 W140. However, this came first and set the bar! Raved or loathed, the 750il was a marvel and when fully understood by those that work on them, not a lemon at all. I think it took the mechanics about 5 years after this cars release to catch up to how it worked, thus creating lots of the issues these cars had. Working on E23s and E32s, I can say that the E23 had more inherent issues vs an E32 even being 1/2 as complex. I can also tell you that the BMW and Benz V12s from 88-99 are GOOD engines. Mclaren used them in their famous supercars. This era V12 is actually better than some of the later V12s that both BMW and especially Mercedes built after.
The $36,200 buy-it-now price is very high as expected, but considering what this car cost new, and the fact that it practically is brand new, half price doesn’t sound so bad!
-dc
Love the color combination on this. Subtle and even the non stock wheels work.
I follow GM-Classics very closely, this man sets a very high water mark for any aspiring car collector, you can be assured anything he touches is top notch.
http://www.mcsmk8.com/cadillacs/mycads.htm
@UrSDriver – Holy crap that ZR1.
A 12 Cylinder BMW or Mercedes is an interesting car but not one I’d own. A friend owned 2 750s’. The second one was a 2005 that the dealer bought buy with BMW authorization. It was a LEMON that had running problems from day one. I forgot how many computers were in the right rear of the car but when he took it to the dealer the “factory enhancements” took hours to program and it went back many times before BMW took it back.
Another old acquaintance in the Mercedes business steered me away from any of the 12 cylinder offerings as they were “not reliable” and known for “running issues” as they “aged”. These were low mile used cars with warranties but when the warranty runs out they were the same as an 80’s Jaguar: You don’t want to own it.