Vip Kukanathan loved his 7 Series so much that he bought it back off the next owner – with a bonus
Question: when is owning one BMW 7 Series like having owned two?
Answer: when you have owned the same one twice and discover that in between you selling it and buying it back, it has been completely restored.
Vip Kukanathan is that lucky man. He first bought his 1989 BMW 730i SE in 2016, when it was showing 85,000 miles. He used it for four years, during which time he drove it in triumph to the south of France, and then, when the repair bills began mounting, parked it up for another two before reluctantly parting with it in 2022.
So far, so not unusual: a lot of people buy big, leggy motors only to offload them when the bills bite.
However, what happened next is extraordinary. Out of the blue last year, Vip was contacted by the chap to whom he had sold the car. He was emigrating, he explained, and couldn’t take it with him, so was offering to sell it back. Vip had to think: the car had been on its last legs three years ago, so what would it be like now? “I wasn’t keen to have it back,” he says.
“I have a BMW ‘E30’ 3 Series that I love. Did I want a tired old 7 Series as well?” Then the caller said something that made Vip think again: “I’ve had it completely restored.”
Vip recalls: “He went through the list of work that had been done: a bare-metal respray with ceramic coating, new interior, new windscreen, new fuel lines and pump, new radiator, hoses and water pump, new injectors, new suspension parts, new brake lines… All together, he told me he had spent £15,000 on the car.
“I couldn’t believe it! The 730i was a nice model but just a regular 7 Series. However, he said it was his pride and joy and fully deserved to be restored. Obviously I wondered how much he wanted for it…” In fact, the chap wanted just £3500 for the car, then with 95,000 miles on the clock. Vip took a deep breath. “I’d paid £5500 for the car in 2016 and sold it in 2022 for £3500, so in effect I was being offered a £15,000 restoration for just £2000,” he says.
A done deal, you would think, but, not a chap to believe in miracles, Vip said he would come with a sceptical friend to view the car first. Later, clamping eyes on the gleaming BMW and having studied the photo album detailing its restoration step by step, said friend vowed that if Vip wasn’t going to buy it, he would. “That did it,” says Vip. “I bought it on the spot.”
When I encounter Vip at his local car meet, there’s an appreciative knot of enthusiasts gathered around his freshly minted 730i’s exposed engine bay, admiring the immaculate straight six with its huge, polished exhaust manifold. “It does attract a lot of interest,” says Vip. “It felt very different in a good way when I first got back behind the wheel.
“The 7 Series was designed to be a sportier alternative to the Mercedes S-Class, and it’s certainly that, but it’s also very comfortable.” Could a return trip to the south of France be due?
