BMW 6 series

[Bren]

Not the classic but from 2003 onwards - I have heard as BMW's go they are shite.

 

Anybody any experience?

[DVee8]

Well you could always set one on fire.

[0ldCh0d]

The Reverend Bluejeans seems to be the man for BMW's. I can offer no advice other than what DVee8 say's....As I am of the 3 pointed star persuasion. 

[AMC Rebel]

They flaming ugly, even by BMW standards.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Ugly for sure, but not offensive. In a nice metallic grey the Coupe is quite handsome in an XJS kind of way.

 

The V8 goes well but likes fuel.  The 258 bhp 630i is a much better bet. They drive really, really well as you'd expect.

 

What goes wrong?

 

Alloy corrosion on doors can occur. Various electrical gremlins but they're not bad.

 

Mechanically. Oh fuuuuck...........

 

The N62 V8 sweats oil from every orifice. Shagged stem seals mean they're all too often smokey and the oil buggers the catalysts. Also ring wear, oil leaks, VVT issues, more oil leaks. Don't buy a 645i unless it's silly cheap (1500 quid) which they won't be. 650i getting to be much the same.

The 630i is a much better car. They go well enough and the engine is just that much more reliable and economical. They can still leak oil but not as bad. 6 speed autos are alright, rare 6 speed manual is worth having. Suspension is all E60 5 Series alloy stuff but avoid active steering and active ride at all costs. Great when it works, thousands of pounds to fix when it doesn't. Used parts? Good luck with that.

 

Avoid cheap shit clocked 9 owner ones. You want warranted mileage, a stack of invoices - a proper car sold by a proper person. A 630i manual is rare but worth seeking out. A shagged 645i auto for £3000 is just not worth having. There were a small number of 645i SSG cars (manual box with no clutch and paddle shift). No. Just no.

 

Prepare for big invoices as befits a 50 grand BMW and buy accordingly. But they're at the stage where there are still some decent ones before they're all ruined by skinflint wankers.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Here we are, five grand and it's got the panoramic roof that I'd personally be scared of opening......

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201704064148387?model=6%20SERIES&sort=mileage&price-to=5000&postcode=yo626pd&radius=1500&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&advertising-location=at_cars&make=BMW&page=1

[twosmoke300]

"Flaming " ugly - I see what you did there 😄

[AMC Rebel]

To borrow a phrase from Felly Magic, whoever signed off the styling on that heap - especially the rear, should be shot in the cock.

[sierraman]

Prone to pissing oil out? Quality German engineering there!

 

I like the look of them but like you say it's a £50,000 car with £50,000 expenses. You see them sometimes on say a 54 plate, you can see what's happened, someone's painted it Matt black, painted the wheels, not prepared anything properly, running it about on a bloody shoestring. Constantly going wrong as it's getting messed about with by idiots. Then winds up on EBay with barely enough to pay off the 26.9% APR loan that they've took on to buy it...

[cort16]

I never really liked the look of these all that bangelism looked bad then good after a few years now it's starting to age a bit. This also wasn't BMW's finest hour built quality wise.

You can still get an 840i for 5-6 grand I think that's what I'd been spending my BMW barge money on.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

My current daily is an early shape E91, and it's the size of a bus. Great car, mind.

I'd imagine driving a 6 series of the same era would be vaguely comparable to a Hummer.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

A sub £5k V8 cabrio is on the shortlist for MrsN's next car- she wants a Mustang! Caught her on the Ford website getting PCP quotes, however ruinous a 6 is to run its got to be better than owing £17,000 on a fuckin 4 cylinder Mustang after paying £500 a month for the bastard for 2 years.

 

Shouldn't this thread be in the moderns section?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Just read Bluejeans advice- back to Autotrader looking for a630 instead of a 645!

[EssDeeWon]

Sounds like you are confusing shite with shit.

[SiC]

A sub £5k V8 cabrio is on the shortlist for MrsN's next car- she wants a Mustang! Caught her on the Ford website getting PCP quotes, however ruinous a 6 is to run its got to be better than owing £17,000 on a fuckin 4 cylinder Mustang after paying £500 a month for the bastard for 2 years.

V8s Mustangs aren't much more expensive! I'm personally waiting till a few more >20k miles v8 examples appear and I'm hoping they'll drop to around the 25k mark - well the Fastbacks at least. Currently 15k odd examples are around the 30k mark - which might be helped by the fact newer ones are £140 p/a tax and the older ones ~£500. Once that happens, I think I'm going to have to jump. Possibly the last N/A v8 modern car that can be had.

 

One thing of note is that these RHD Mustangs have been so popular, that there is a long waiting list and Ford keep putting the prices up! Even better, most ordered are V8s.

 

I personally think a Mustang is a lot lower reliability risk than a 6-series. Not least that the Mustang is designed to be fixed by the average backyard mechanic, in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in the USA.

 

I mean which one would you like to work on, in terms of access:

 

 

 

Shouldn't this thread be in the moderns section?

This shape 6-series are older than quite a lot of cars on this section! I personally think they've aged well given the age of them nowadays.

[cort16]

The 3litrs loves to waz out oil from various places too .

I really like the mustang but I fear they're going to

Be expensive for a while . The v8 is awful on fuel and had s small tank . I think the ecoboost could be a real 30 mpg daily driver.

[Junkman]

In a nice metallic grey...

 

There is no such thing.

[Bren]

I also like the monaro - even though it looks like an astra coupe that has been sat on.