BMW 750iL – 1989 – has run 536,188 km

BMW owner Feike Otto van der Zee turns out to be a very colorful customer of Klokje Rond. He is a visual artist, car enthusiast, free spirit, social and sociable and… he has separation anxiety, especially fear of finally saying goodbye to his BMW 750iL. This is in stark contrast to the feelings that our judge Joep, also a BMW enthusiast, shares with us after the test drive with the German limousine with a rare V12 in the front. “Seriously, do you really want me to inspect this car? This is the most terrible cage I have ever owned!”, he says plainly. Joep returns from the test drive with that story. After careful consultation, Joep fortunately started working on the sedan in his own thorough way, but it did take some persuasion. High time to find out: how did it get to this point?

750iL exchanged for a painting

The driver and owner of the 750iL, an extended 750, simply does not have the heart to do it; selling his car, because “I’ve done that once before, and then I really regretted it,” says the Frisian artist. His automotive resume is quite impressive. There are not one, but even two BMW 750s on it. The copy that appears in this Klokje Rond has already been his property once before. “I had to sell it at one point because I was running out of money. Well, the art world, eh. I really regretted that afterwards. When I was given the opportunity to buy it back, I didn’t hesitate for a moment,” says De Fries. However, the problem of the missing icicles had not yet been solved, so … how? “I then made a painting and with that I bought the car back, plus paid a few euros extra. Then I had it back.”

Carbage rallies with the V12 BMW

The condition in which Feike bought the car back was not what you would say ‘optimal’. Rather sub-optimal or perhaps rather lousy. “The guys I bought it back from mainly drove it and had no maintenance done. They also did a few carbage rallies or runs with it,” he says. That was in the period from 2011 to 2015. From 2015 onwards, Feike Otto became the owner for the second time and was left with a car that was at least in need of serious maintenance, but rather a complete visual and technical makeover. You guessed it: that wasn’t going to happen. “I didn’t have the resources for that at the time. In the art world it’s hit or miss and I also decided to study law in Amsterdam. So the car is in Friesland, I live in Amsterdam and a few times a year I start the engine and drive it for a while. So I really just have to get rid of it, but that doesn’t really happen.”

Joep is clear: to the scrapyard with the 750

Now we understand where Joep’s sadness comes from. A car that was in serious need of a lot of maintenance in 2015 has since been standing still in a shed in Friesland, being taken out once a year and barely warmed up. That is asking for misery and a list of defects. That list is getting so out of hand that Joep, disillusioned, does not throw in the towel, but rather throws in the pen. He stops taking notes, drives the BMW off the bridge, hands in the keys and pronounces his verdict: “To the scrap yard.”

Feike Otto wants to turn it into an art car

As mentioned, Feike Otto has already offered the car for sale. Fortunately, he thought, there was no response. Now that it has been conclusively established that the condition of the executive car is extremely poor, Feike Otto has to act very quickly. What to do? It can hardly be safely sent back to Friesland! Under the motto ‘alone you go faster, together you go further’, Feike decides to make a call. “I have been thinking about turning this BMW into an art project for some time now. How about a BMW Art Car? Then of course it needs to be freshened up and then I will do something artistic with it. A neatly painted sedan from a good background from the last century, with a power source that we no longer encounter today. Who wants to support this initiative financially, so that we can make this iconic car immortal?”

What’s wrong with it?

The tires are very old

The engine does not ‘get up to speed’

The gearbox shifts questionably

The wiper blades are bad

All rubbers in the chassis are rotten, dried out or worn out

Play in front suspension

Interior does not smell fresh

The chassis is very noisy on almost any road surface

The shock absorbers are worn or leaking

There is rust on the bottom of the body

The opinion of Carrec Technocenter

“When the car was registered, I already had my reservations. This car is equipped with quite complicated technology. This means that as an owner you have to make an extra effort to keep everything in good condition. If you don’t do that, you will get it back in full. Then you get something like this, a car that I would send straight to the car dismantling company, i.e. to the scrap yard. To the press with this thing. Buying a large, expensive car is one thing, driving a BMW like this is another story. You have to invest in that to keep it tasty, responsible and safe on the road. If you don’t do that, then you are not worth having such a car. A 750iL costs serious money. If you don’t have that, then you shouldn’t start!”