A V12 BMW 7 Series Fuel Pump Is Now Worth More Than the Entire Car

I had my coffee with an extra-wide wince this morning as I was trawling through the internet in my usual way—Facebook in one window, a BMW parts catalog in another (my two preferred methods of masochist procrastination). Somebody in the Oppositelock FB group incredulously shared that the fuel pump for a 2006-2009 BMW 760 is retailing for a champagne-flute-shattering price of about $15,000. The cars may have depreciated, but some parts… seem to have gone the other way.

I have an F31 (’10s BMW 3 Series wagon) and an E46 (’00s BMW 3 Series coupe) myself, and have not yet been unlucky enough to need any parts that outrageously expensive yet. Though they do need attention often enough that I’m often parts-browsing online. The 760, however, is unique in BMW’s lineup—it’s a rare V12.

A quick crosscheck with RealOEM, a comprehensive parts catalog site, revealed that this particular fuel pump (BMW part number 13517560364) is only shared with a few other vehicles—Rolls-Royces from the same era. That site posts a list price of $2,225.33, which I’m guessing was MSRP when the part was first minted 20 years ago. But today, casual window shopping at European car parts purveyors like FCP Euro, Pelican Parts, BMW Parts Now, and an Atlanta dealer’s parts page all come back between $12,000 and $15,000.

At first, I thought maybe one of those listings was an error or a placeholder for an out-of-stock item. But no, when stuff’s truly NLA (no longer available), it’s indicated as such. These pumps—the few that are left, I guess—are just insanely valuable.

Remanufactured and used items are on eBay for a lot less, but if you want the original article, you’re in trouble.

As for BMW 760s themselves, what do you know, they’re not easy to find for sale either. I think I’ve only seen a small handful in my entire life. But I did dig one up listed in Nebraska, presented beautifully with low mileage. The asking price is $12,749. So if you’ve got one of these and it needs a new fuel pump, you’d be better off throwing it in the garbage and buying this whole car.

Slightly more seeking turned up four V12s from this E65/E66 chassis era scattered around the country on Autotrader, and all of them are asking less than the price of the fuel pump.

The point of the story, besides just being a mildly amusing observation of the used car scene, is that cars don’t usually depreciate at the same rate as their parts. A car that was expensive to buy when it was new is almost always going to be expensive to keep alive as it ages. But hey, a running 760Li is a lot of car for $13,000, even if you have to throw it in the trash once a critical part breaks.

Seen any other comically expensive parts for cars that are now cheap? Drop us a line at tips@thedrive.com

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