BMW 7 Series For Sale

Why buy one?

Big luxury saloons shouldn't be this much fun to drive, but nobody seems to have told BMW. It may measure over five metres from bow to stern, but a used BMW 7 Series is no unwieldy barge. The steering is precise, the chassis is agile and the engines deliver effortless performance.

There's lots of space inside and all models have a good level of standard equipment.

Why think twice?

Running costs are steep to say the least. You can keep them to a minimum by choosing the excellent 3.0-litre diesel, but a second-hand 7 Series will still cost a lot to insure, fuel and service.

The awkward looks won't be to all tastes, and suffer in comparison with the more elegant Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Inside the car, the iDrive controller is supposed to make using the stereo, sat nav and air conditioning simpler, but in practice the system takes a lot of getting used to.

How safe?

Very. There are plenty of electronic aids to help keep you on the road and lots of airbags should the worst happen.

What might go wrong?

A used 7 Series won't be cheap to fix if it goes wrong, but fortunately that doesn't happen too often. BMW finished a solid ninth out of 29 makes in the 2009 JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey.

What do the experts say?

'The 7 Series is powerful and refined, but its appearance isn't to all tastes.' 'A capable and enjoyable executive car that's silenced critics by being a sales winner, and deservedly so' Auto Express

Anything else I should know?

If you want to know what used 7 Series owners think of their cars, log on to the BMW Car Club Forum.

Which one should I buy?

• Greenest? BMW 730d
• Fastest? BMW 750i
• Best? BMW 730d