645Ci - Talk me out of it
Discussion
I've found one, a 53 plate manual with 106,000 miles.
Now the car looks great, I'd prefer a manual or am I misguided in that? Most importantly I want to know about servicing - My experience of BMWs is the old oil service/insp1/insp2 based system while this will be condition based. Fuel consumption isn't a problem, but a money pit might be. How much a year would I typically be looking at?
Any help on this and other suggestions greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Darren.
Now the car looks great, I'd prefer a manual or am I misguided in that? Most importantly I want to know about servicing - My experience of BMWs is the old oil service/insp1/insp2 based system while this will be condition based. Fuel consumption isn't a problem, but a money pit might be. How much a year would I typically be looking at?
Any help on this and other suggestions greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Darren.
mattman said:
Brilliant cars - do it, if nothing else for the glorious sound of that V8
Spuffington said:
No need to talk you out of it......it's got a thwacking great big V8, what's not to like?! 
I know that bit 
It's the unknowns I want to know about, this condition based servicing for one thing - How much is this likely to cost per 10,000 miles for example?
I can get the car and fuel it, but is the servicing and any bills it's likely to throw up going to ruin me?
£450?? 
Whilst that isn't out of the question (how "relatively few" miles exactly?), it does add up to not far off the price of the car per year - Might have to rethink this
Not looked at your blog though, can't get it on the phone and not at home - Will try on the laptop later, cheers.
Whilst that isn't out of the question (how "relatively few" miles exactly?), it does add up to not far off the price of the car per year - Might have to rethink this
Not looked at your blog though, can't get it on the phone and not at home - Will try on the laptop later, cheers.
LikesBikes said:
£450??
Whilst that isn't out of the question (how "relatively few" miles exactly?), it does add up to not far off the price of the car per year - Might have to rethink this
Not looked at your blog though, can't get it on the phone and not at home - Will try on the laptop later, cheers.
Talking to a mate who's a BMW workshop foreman. and he claimed the S62 V8 in the E39 M5 was the best BMW ever made. And an E39 M5 was his car of choice.Whilst that isn't out of the question (how "relatively few" miles exactly?), it does add up to not far off the price of the car per year - Might have to rethink this
Not looked at your blog though, can't get it on the phone and not at home - Will try on the laptop later, cheers.
Because I'm not a 4 door person I'd still prefer a 6 series. Just a late one. They were face lifted in 2008
Edited by creepy coupe on Wednesday 12th June 13:23
Admittedly I have only done 5k miles so far since buying it in November last year. I also incurred a bit of cost getting a few things right (KDS @ BMW, which could've been done cheaper elsewhere and coolant refresh as preventative maintenance), but by the same token I also managed to 'avoid' the 850quid bill for the major service which was covered under the Service Pack Plus. So, all in all, it's probably pretty representative.
Fuel-wise I'm spending around 150quid a month, so the other 300 or so quid is tax, insurance and other maintenance / upgrades. I think it's probably about spot-on though.
Depreciation is around 400 per month, which is down to buying a 19k, 2008, heavily depreciating car; that will eventually flatten out. So all in costs are about 850 per month. So far only 25quid per month more than my 535d cost me at a similar age (but admittedly doing double the monthly mileage - there's a 7p per mile difference in fuel costs between the two).
Fuel-wise I'm spending around 150quid a month, so the other 300 or so quid is tax, insurance and other maintenance / upgrades. I think it's probably about spot-on though.
Depreciation is around 400 per month, which is down to buying a 19k, 2008, heavily depreciating car; that will eventually flatten out. So all in costs are about 850 per month. So far only 25quid per month more than my 535d cost me at a similar age (but admittedly doing double the monthly mileage - there's a 7p per mile difference in fuel costs between the two).
Edited by Spuffington on Wednesday 12th June 15:12
The other thing to bear in mind and not sure how prolific it is, but you can find a lot about it on US websites, is the so-called "valley leak" where one of the main coolant pipes in the valley between the 'V' can let go. There are workarounds which reduce the labour time & cost and are engineered retrofits, but the BMW solution is to remove both heads and strip back to the block, replace the coolant pipe and put it all back together again. Circa 18hrs labour!
I'm going to keep mine on the BMW Mondial Warranty for that reason alone (but I always do keep my BMW's on that warranty anyway). But just something else to think about if you're trying to prevent surprises.
I'm going to keep mine on the BMW Mondial Warranty for that reason alone (but I always do keep my BMW's on that warranty anyway). But just something else to think about if you're trying to prevent surprises.
Spuffington said:
...so the other 300 or so quid is tax, insurance and other maintenance / upgrades.
Ah, didn't realise you we're including insurance. I thought it was just fuel/servicing. I've already worked out insurance and fuel - it's the servicing that makes me worry. I only started thinking about a 6 to avoid the "M tax" on an E39
Okey dokey, on that basis, servicing costs are ''ok". Oil service around £250 with BMW and then anything up to £850 for the "biggy" every three oil services, which includes spark plugs and a collection of filters (BMW prices BTW).
Expect av mpg of c 22 (as a good, rough guesstimation)
Brakes c. £450 for pads and discs (each axle, maybe slightly more for fronts - again BMW prices)
Excepting the valley leak mentioned above, they're good strong engines and not much will phase them if well cared for. Regular (every two years) coolant changes recommended to help guard against engine probs (£240 BMW price) otherwise all good.
E6x otherwise pretty solid IMO.
Expect av mpg of c 22 (as a good, rough guesstimation)
Brakes c. £450 for pads and discs (each axle, maybe slightly more for fronts - again BMW prices)
Excepting the valley leak mentioned above, they're good strong engines and not much will phase them if well cared for. Regular (every two years) coolant changes recommended to help guard against engine probs (£240 BMW price) otherwise all good.
E6x otherwise pretty solid IMO.
To be fair surely any bmw v8 is going to have similar servicing costs. The M will be even more as they tend to require more regular maintenance.
Any car can throw up a massive bill at anytime, but if you keep worrying about it you'll never buy anything.
If your heart is set on a 6 series, get the best you can afford with full service history and have a car inspection as well for peace of mind. Or pay a large chunk more and get a bmw auc car.
Life's too short, enjoy while you can
Any car can throw up a massive bill at anytime, but if you keep worrying about it you'll never buy anything.
If your heart is set on a 6 series, get the best you can afford with full service history and have a car inspection as well for peace of mind. Or pay a large chunk more and get a bmw auc car.
Life's too short, enjoy while you can
I had the same concerns as you OP, then a month ago I took the plunge on a 60k mile 04 645Ci for just over £9k. So Far so painless; it's even giving me around 24 to the gallon :-o and that's with a fair bit of London traffic. It needs one or two small service items (micro filter and oil change) which I'll need to sort out soon, but otherwise it's all going well, and its a very, very nice car to drive
Edited by parabolica on Wednesday 12th June 23:37
Mine has been relatively painless over 18 months. I commute in it so fuel bills are high but I get 25-27mpg on the OBC which is tolerable. Had an alternator changed under warranty. Mine was AUC yet cost £ 10500 with 55000 miles for an 04 plate. Cheaper than most non-AUC cars at that time. Mine is a very early car with a no Bluetooth so try and avoid that if you can.
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