BMW v12 vs. v8

[UberF30er]

Hi Forum,

So, after browsing the various G11/G12 threads, I get the impresssion that the v12 (plus the tranny) in the 2020-22 7ers is a pretty solid combo may be more solid than the v8. So, now moving towards looking into an m760i vs. 750i.

So, big picture, how much more expensive is the v12 going to be vs. the v8? I mean, it has four additional cylinders and a bigger displacement engine so more oil per oil change and 4 extra spark plugs to replace!

I know I am being very superficial in my comparison but just looking at any insights members can provide on their ownership and maintenance experience. I can afford to buy a 2020-21 MY m760i - just want to know if it will turn into a white elephant that I will want to get rid of as soon as the novelty of the v12 wears off and I get hit with the cost of my first service visit or repair invoice ��.

Thanks all, as usual!

P.S. If there are any m760is out there that the forum members think would be good buys, would appreciate links to the cars. Thanks.

[chad86tsi]

Originally Posted by UberF30er

Hi Forum,

So, after browsing the various G11/G12 threads, I get the impresssion that the v12 (plus the tranny) in the 2020-22 7ers is a pretty solid combo may be more solid than the v8. So, now moving towards looking into an m760i vs. 750i.

So, big picture, how much more expensive is the v12 going to be vs. the v8? I mean, it has four additional cylinders and a bigger displacement engine so more oil per oil change and 4 extra spark plugs to replace!

I know I am being very superficial in my comparison but just looking at any insights members can provide on their ownership and maintenance experience. I can afford to buy a 2020-21 MY m760i - just want to know if it will turn into a white elephant that I will want to get rid of as soon as the novelty of the v12 wears off and I get hit with the cost of my first service visit or repair invoice 😀.

Thanks all, as usual!

Maintenance is about the same. Long term the V12 is likely to last longer so it will cost less. It doesn’t work as nearly hard to make its power. The V8 is known to have some weakness in the long run that the V12 doesn’t share with it.

[jokerswld34]

BMW maintenance schedules are the same for both V8 and V12 engines. It will be more expensive to replace spark plugs at 60k miles. The engine also takes up a lot more space in the engine bay so if there is a problem with a component, it may be more costly to access the repair. That said, the V12 is a much more reliable platform and will likely have very few “engine” issues down the road.

The biggest cost increase I’ve encountered is oil changes. The V12 take 12.7 qts of oil and should be changed more often than a V8. I go 4-5k miles between changes which can be expensive. I use Liqui Moly oil with ceratec additive and get great mileage and performance.

[JellyStyle]

Originally Posted by jokerswld34

BMW maintenance schedules are the same for both V8 and V12 engines. It will be more expensive to replace spark plugs at 60k miles. The engine also takes up a lot more space in the engine bay so if there is a problem with a component, it may be more costly to access the repair. That said, the V12 is a much more reliable platform and will likely have very few “engine” issues down the road.

The biggest cost increase I’ve encountered is oil changes. The V12 take 12.7 qts of oil and should be changed more often than a V8. I go 4-5k miles between changes which can be expensive. I use Liqui Moly oil with ceratec additive and get great mileage and performance.

go to FCPEuro for all your oil, they take it back free and it only costs you shipping sending it back, so your oil changes become very low cost.

[g11hoonigan]

Originally Posted by JellyStyle

go to FCPEuro for all your oil, they take it back free and it only costs you shipping sending it back, so your oil changes become very low cost.

Unless the engine is excessively burning oil

[JellyStyle]

Originally Posted by g11hoonigan

Unless the engine is excessively burning oil

Mix the remaining oil over the quarts with water and fill them up and send back. They don’t look or care

[g11hoonigan]

Originally Posted by JellyStyle

Mix the remaining oil over the quarts with water and fill them up and send back. They don’t look or care

I know...just poking fun at something that excessively burn oil to a point that almost nothing is left.

[BMW5and7]

Get a V12 now when you can…. These cars will be come a dream-car 10 years from now.

The experience of driving a Rose-Royce like drivetrain isn’t something you’ll be able to experience down the road. V12 is just different.

The issue is that there is not a lot of well equipped B7 or M760 cars available for sale… It’s hard to shop or hunt THE ONE. I’ve been looking for more than a year now.

[Derived]

Frankly not sure the N63 can be trusted long-term, just seems to be too many issues. The V12 seems to be bulletproof, mine has been great so far.

[m760iM5]

If you purchase one from a BMW dealer, it's about 500 dollars for the oil change maintenance plan. You'll get many years of free oil changes. I don't believe that there are any other maintenance plans available unless you're getting in the CPO range, so if you stick with 20-21, try to find a CPO version and discuss with the dealer extended maintenance plans.

They are hard to find in specific colors, unless you like white or sapphire black. I have Carbon Black and it grew on me. I wanted a true blue or imola red, but they are both hard to find.

[Outlaw10-5]

Sorry to go necro thread...

Originally Posted by m760iM5

They are hard to find in specific colors, unless you like white or sapphire black. I have Carbon Black and it grew on me. I wanted a true blue or imola red, but they are both hard to find.

Someone in the market could be in luck, on a low mile, Flawless History 2018 Imola Red V12...

Putting mine up for sale. Even has a Noelle Tune.
It's been a couple years. Time for something new.

[m760iM5]

Outlaw! You have my dream M760i, I would purchase yours if I wasn't t trying to add an F90 in red to my garage.

Can you explain the Noelle tune?

Did you change out your front kidneys from cerium grey? What else did you do to your V12?

Thanks for posting that pic, it's lovely!

[M_Bimmer]

Originally Posted by Outlaw10-5

Sorry to go necro thread...



Someone in the market could be in luck, on a low mile, Flawless History 2018 Imola Red V12...

Putting mine up for sale. Even has a Noelle Tune.
It's been a couple years. Time for something new.

Mind sharing a link to the "for-sale" site? Would prefer an LCI G12, but a 2018 wouldn't bother me...would park it along side my 2018 B7 with 58K miles on it and zero issues after the turbo line change, twice .

[Outlaw10-5]

I did the tune at Strictly BMW. Noelle has partners across the country, and Noelle tunes the car themselves remotely. Each car is done individually. They don't want any additional mods, as that would change what they're working with and the end result. Why they can't make something relatively one size fits all I'm not sure (at least with the same caveat of no other mods). Above my pay grade. I did mine in 2022, months later they did a heavy price decrease from $3k to like $2200...Drop the car off and 5 or 6 hours later you're in business. Was it "DRAMATIC"? To me no, but these are just a toy. I've driven SIGNIFICANTLY faster stuff. Cars like these are just peppy. Lol

I was considering have a localish shop do some exhaust work, possibly in Titanium, and and maybe far more to REALLY wake the car up into the 900-1000hp range. Just have somewhat lost interest, and don't want the potentiallly extremely expensive reliability issues going that route. I trusted Noelle as they're the only place I've heard of that will honor the FACTORY WARRANTY, as long as the car is still under it, where BMW won't honor it due to modification of the ECU.

Not sure on the kidneys. Just the way I got it. 🤷

[Outlaw10-5]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

Mind sharing a link to the "for-sale" site? Would prefer an LCI G12, but a 2018 wouldn't bother me...would part it along side my 2018 B7 with 58K miles on it and zero issues after the turbo line change, twice .

I haven't listed it anywhere besides mentioning it here, and a Facebook 7 Series owner group. It will end up in ads like FB Marketplace, Auto Trade, etc over the next couple days. I took a large batch of photos this weekend. I'll get them on Dropbox to share in a few minutes. Send me a DM and I'll send you a Link to them and chat more there if you like. This isn't really a For Sale Post on the forum lol.

[m760iM5]

Outlaw, thanks for the info. I've been too nervous to mod my G12 V12 as I intend on keeping it a while and I don't want any major problems down the road, but one day I might change my mind. I haven't even had the balls to mod my F10 M5. Both are plenty fast, but I don't need to have the fastest car on the block, these cars stock are fast enough. The V12 is just fun to cruise in anyways, so smooth and comfortable. Good luck with your sale!

[Outlaw10-5]

m760iM5, You're right. Just an outright pleasure to drive. Still fearful of the repair bill in a catastrophic failure no doubt. The bright side seems to be the drivetrain in the V12 cars seems to be one that BMW really had their $#it together on, without any of the gremlins of some other generations/models. Sure typical 7 Series with so many electronics that the battery will give up on you if not driven regularly or on a tender, and electronics can go haywire, the more of them there are, the more likely something will give you grief, but I'm grateful for all the times I've had with this one.

[jokerswld34]

I’ve got 50k miles now and have barely had any issues at all. Had to replace the thrust armjoints up front (which is unfortunately a wear item with the weight of the front end), transfer case fluid change and a new main coolant reservoir tank (plus fluid flush). Otherwise the car has been bullet proof. Oil changes every 3500-4k miles. Switched to 0w40 and the car seems to like it more.

Actually Just put a DME tune on a couple weeks ago and it is an absolute rocket ship now (joined the 200 mph in “Mexico”). Going in for new plugs and upgrading the coils to Dinan coilspacks tomorrow.

This is an amazing platform from BMW and like was previously mentioned, is one of the few times it seems that BMW had their s*@! Together.

[Outlaw10-5]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

Mind sharing a link to the "for-sale" site? Would prefer an LCI G12, but a 2018 wouldn't bother me...would park it along side my 2018 B7 with 58K miles on it and zero issues after the turbo line change, twice .

Asked and received.
Live on Marketplace (Max of 20 Pix), Dealership Website now with BIG batch of photos, CarGurus and Auto Trader will populate overnight.

https://www.facebook.com/share/rp4CP2Jw4ZXVkdMq/

https://www.automaxusayakima.com/det...ries/104587475

[Derived]

Originally Posted by jokerswld34

I’ve got 50k miles now and have barely had any issues at all. Had to replace the thrust armjoints up front (which is unfortunately a wear item with the weight of the front end), transfer case fluid change and a new main coolant reservoir tank (plus fluid flush). Otherwise the car has been bullet proof. Oil changes every 3500-4k miles. Switched to 0w40 and the car seems to like it more.

Actually Just put a DME tune on a couple weeks ago and it is an absolute rocket ship now (joined the 200 mph in “Mexico”). Going in for new plugs and upgrading the coils to Dinan coilspacks tomorrow.

This is an amazing platform from BMW and like was previously mentioned, is one of the few times it seems that BMW had their s*@! Together.

Do you mind me asking how the suspension felt before you had the thrust arm bushings changed? Mine has about 47k on it now already, and while the car has been generally bulletproof, as of late I do think the suspension does a lot more "crashing" and clunking than it should, it's one of those things where you don't really notice the difference over time and then suddenly 2 years later you wonder if it's always been like that. Bought the car with 27k miles on it and I remember it being a bit smoother. I assume the incredible weight on the front end + my somewhat aggressive driving at times is extremely hard on the front suspension.

[jokerswld34]

One of my thrust arms was shot (leaking) and the other was on its way out around your mileage. Steering was a little loose and I was getting a lot of brake judder, presumably from uneven pad wear due to play from the thrust arms. Also got a clunking noise over speed bumps. After the replacement, steering is improved and car feels a bit more stable.

My car does “crash” over bumps a bit but I think that’s a combination of extreme weight over the front end, <50% tire tread up front on Michelin PSSs, and potentially control arm bushings needing to be replaced at some point in the future. I keep my car in sport mode with comfort suspension all the time and it drives better to me.

[LuvMyE92]

Originally Posted by JellyStyle

go to FCPEuro for all your oil, they take it back free and it only costs you shipping sending it back, so your oil changes become very low cost.

Good Lord, how much does it cost to ship it back? Most places like Autozone, Advance, etc. will take your used oil for free, no shipping.

Originally Posted by BMW5and7

Get a V12 now when you can…. These cars will be come a dream-car 10 years from now.

The issue is that there is not a lot of well equipped B7 or M760 cars available for sale… It’s hard to shop or hunt THE ONE. I’ve been looking for more than a year now.

Wow, it seems to me that most B7s and 760is are well equipped, but I've never really cared about options.

I will agree though that there are few things as sublime as a V-12.

Originally Posted by Outlaw10-5

https://www.automaxusayakima.com/det...ries/104587475

Good luck. I think that's only like the second red 7 series that I've seen.

To answer the OP's original question, anecdotally it seems that the V12 cars are less problematic (drivetrain) than the V8 cars. However, it's still a BMW 7 series, and a great engine isn't going to change that. From reading these forums and from my personal experience, it seems that you either get a good one that needs nothing, or you get a money pit.

If the cost of 4 extra spark plugs is a concern for you, then you probably don't need to be buying a used BMW 7 series.