A V8 at last - my BMW 645Ci
Discussion
After much research and deliberation, a useful thread on here and some email conversation with a fantastically helpful owner, I took the plunge on this baby last week:
This is a 2004 E63 645Ci, with 118,000 miles. I had at one point discounted every single V8 E63 for sale as "not quite right", but when this car came up it immediately caught my eye. Rare and excellent colour, proper interior combination with glass roof, "correct" 19" ellipsoid alloys, sensible mileage, very cheap... When I went to see it the reasons for that price point became apparent. It's been smoked in, the service history is somewhat questionable, there are bits of interior trim hanging off, and the dealer had been using it as his personal car for the last six weeks with near zero mechanical sympathy - I took it for a test drive, did thirty miles without going especially easy, and when I got back the range was reading two miles further than when I'd set off! But I fell for it nonetheless. With an agreement to change the gearbox oil, get the plainly wrong geometry corrected and put a fresh MOT on it, a deal was done and I picked the car up a few days later.
It is absolutely magnificent. The journey home made it clear exactly what this car was built for - making a 120-mile drive in heavy traffic and appalling weather feel like a ten-minute pop down the road. So refined, so composed, so effortless. It feels special from the moment you turn the key, with a big flare at startup and a muscular, deep-chested sort of growl even when just rolling around at town speeds. Part of the reason I needed a V8 in my life was that the inline sixes I owned sounded plain or even dull until being properly revved out, and I wanted something that was pleasing under all conditions. I also wanted flexibility, performance without demanding drama for my daily drive. This car delivers, on all levels.
It's hard to express without demonstrating it. You can drive it gently without a single care for what the engine or gearbox are doing and it'll be smooth, quiet and capable - but if you ask it a big question, you get a big answer. There's a sort of controlled rage about this engine when you've got it fully opened up, it sounds angry but it really loves what it's doing, and pulls harder and harder the further you let it rev. Third is the naughty gear - this is the first car I've owned that pulls harder beyond 80mph, because it's really getting into its powerband. It's extremely impressive.
Giving in to lead-footed temptation aside, the breadth of ability is what's so brilliant about this car. Nothing you ever do seems to bother it, and it feels like you're only ever using half its capability. You can get on the motorway, stick the cruise on and hear nothing but the (rather good with optional Logic7) radio for your whole journey. Or you can make driving in traffic no bother at all, with the auto 'box and bags of torque everywhere. You can even make a pretty good fist of flying down a B-road, the Sport mode giving you weightier steering, sharper gear selection and a more aggressive throttle map - it belies its size, feeling smaller and more agile the faster you go, and the body is always very well controlled. It feels like serious money has been spent on the dampers, and despite 19" wheels allowing very little tyre sidewall, the ride's pretty good. Road noise could be better but most of it is the notorious "Bridgestone howl", and I expect it to be far quieter on 18" winters in a few weeks' time.
There's a long to-do list to get through before the car's right, but I knew that before I bought it and it still represents great value. I'm really looking forward to putting the time into it and getting it perfect - it deserves it, because you can feel that there's a truly great car underneath the little faults. I'm still thoroughly enjoying driving it, or even just seeing it parked on the drive! Stay tuned for updates as things develop..
This is a 2004 E63 645Ci, with 118,000 miles. I had at one point discounted every single V8 E63 for sale as "not quite right", but when this car came up it immediately caught my eye. Rare and excellent colour, proper interior combination with glass roof, "correct" 19" ellipsoid alloys, sensible mileage, very cheap... When I went to see it the reasons for that price point became apparent. It's been smoked in, the service history is somewhat questionable, there are bits of interior trim hanging off, and the dealer had been using it as his personal car for the last six weeks with near zero mechanical sympathy - I took it for a test drive, did thirty miles without going especially easy, and when I got back the range was reading two miles further than when I'd set off! But I fell for it nonetheless. With an agreement to change the gearbox oil, get the plainly wrong geometry corrected and put a fresh MOT on it, a deal was done and I picked the car up a few days later.
It is absolutely magnificent. The journey home made it clear exactly what this car was built for - making a 120-mile drive in heavy traffic and appalling weather feel like a ten-minute pop down the road. So refined, so composed, so effortless. It feels special from the moment you turn the key, with a big flare at startup and a muscular, deep-chested sort of growl even when just rolling around at town speeds. Part of the reason I needed a V8 in my life was that the inline sixes I owned sounded plain or even dull until being properly revved out, and I wanted something that was pleasing under all conditions. I also wanted flexibility, performance without demanding drama for my daily drive. This car delivers, on all levels.
It's hard to express without demonstrating it. You can drive it gently without a single care for what the engine or gearbox are doing and it'll be smooth, quiet and capable - but if you ask it a big question, you get a big answer. There's a sort of controlled rage about this engine when you've got it fully opened up, it sounds angry but it really loves what it's doing, and pulls harder and harder the further you let it rev. Third is the naughty gear - this is the first car I've owned that pulls harder beyond 80mph, because it's really getting into its powerband. It's extremely impressive.
Giving in to lead-footed temptation aside, the breadth of ability is what's so brilliant about this car. Nothing you ever do seems to bother it, and it feels like you're only ever using half its capability. You can get on the motorway, stick the cruise on and hear nothing but the (rather good with optional Logic7) radio for your whole journey. Or you can make driving in traffic no bother at all, with the auto 'box and bags of torque everywhere. You can even make a pretty good fist of flying down a B-road, the Sport mode giving you weightier steering, sharper gear selection and a more aggressive throttle map - it belies its size, feeling smaller and more agile the faster you go, and the body is always very well controlled. It feels like serious money has been spent on the dampers, and despite 19" wheels allowing very little tyre sidewall, the ride's pretty good. Road noise could be better but most of it is the notorious "Bridgestone howl", and I expect it to be far quieter on 18" winters in a few weeks' time.
There's a long to-do list to get through before the car's right, but I knew that before I bought it and it still represents great value. I'm really looking forward to putting the time into it and getting it perfect - it deserves it, because you can feel that there's a truly great car underneath the little faults. I'm still thoroughly enjoying driving it, or even just seeing it parked on the drive! Stay tuned for updates as things develop..
Well done, the car looks great. Having owned a number of BMW V8's I can appreciate the new found joy you must be feeling when piloting that beast, it does not wear off either....! When looking to change tyres, consider swapping out those style 121's too for a set of Alpinas or deep dish 95's and you'll achieve a more pleasing stance...
Runflats as standard but changing to normal tyres made mine feel a lot smoother on bumpy roads. You can get a tyre inflation kit from BMW (or ebay) that fits into the foam stuff under the boot floor.
I'm 10 months into ownership of mine and it still feels special to drive. I'm usually starting to look around for the next car by now but don't really feel the need so far.
I'm 10 months into ownership of mine and it still feels special to drive. I'm usually starting to look around for the next car by now but don't really feel the need so far.
Thanks for the kind words, guys 
the wood is my biggest question mark so far too, I have dark walnut in my E46 with an otherwise very similar interior and really like that, I believe this one is birch. It is a lot better in the flesh, and fits the character of the car quite well but I'm still pondering going to a darker wood. I think it would really benefit from sports seats too, if a really nice set appear on eBay I'll get them.
Speaking of things appearing on eBay, looks like my winter wheels are sorted:
8Jx18 Style 118s, cosmetically not perfect but no serious damage and pretty good for £250. I'm thinking 245/45R18 Dunlop Wintersport 5s for these. I'm curious to find out what it does to the ride quality - naturally there'll be an improvement, but if it's really substantial the car might find itself on 18s for summer too!
They were indeed runflats as standard, Bridgestone RE050As in 245/40R19 for the front and a quite ludicrous 275/35R19 for the rear. This car has three (!) non-runflat RE050As and one Michelin Pilot Supersport. I expect road noise to be rather better on 18" winters, and it might well cure the slight vibration I have at high speed, it feels like it could well be a wheel imbalance or tyre imperfection. Getting the 19s off will give me a chance to investigate the front left which is losing pressure, important to check that out as the ellipsoid wheels are known for issues with cracking.
the wood is my biggest question mark so far too, I have dark walnut in my E46 with an otherwise very similar interior and really like that, I believe this one is birch. It is a lot better in the flesh, and fits the character of the car quite well but I'm still pondering going to a darker wood. I think it would really benefit from sports seats too, if a really nice set appear on eBay I'll get them.Speaking of things appearing on eBay, looks like my winter wheels are sorted:
8Jx18 Style 118s, cosmetically not perfect but no serious damage and pretty good for £250. I'm thinking 245/45R18 Dunlop Wintersport 5s for these. I'm curious to find out what it does to the ride quality - naturally there'll be an improvement, but if it's really substantial the car might find itself on 18s for summer too!
They were indeed runflats as standard, Bridgestone RE050As in 245/40R19 for the front and a quite ludicrous 275/35R19 for the rear. This car has three (!) non-runflat RE050As and one Michelin Pilot Supersport. I expect road noise to be rather better on 18" winters, and it might well cure the slight vibration I have at high speed, it feels like it could well be a wheel imbalance or tyre imperfection. Getting the 19s off will give me a chance to investigate the front left which is losing pressure, important to check that out as the ellipsoid wheels are known for issues with cracking.
stewies_minion said:
The dull car cleaning fanatic in me would be interested to see how the smell of smoke is removed?
With enormous difficulty, I'm told - but luckily for me there isn't a perceptible smell in this car, it's just some light staining to the seats that's giving it away in this case. I'm hoping it's nothing some Gliptone cleaner and conditioner can't deal with.TR4man said:
Very nice and so different than the usual silver grey that 80% of 6 series seem to be.
Part of what sold this car to me! It also helps that this colour (as far as I know, at least) wasn't available on the 650i, and I really like it, so that helps justify the tradeoff with the engine.I found some tips on the site below that were useful for going some way to removing smoke smells from a car I previously owned.
http://www.clean-image.co.uk/odour-kill.htm
I'm very jealous of your 645...threads like this one and the on below (CLS500) present a clear and present danger to my bank balance.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.clean-image.co.uk/odour-kill.htm
I'm very jealous of your 645...threads like this one and the on below (CLS500) present a clear and present danger to my bank balance.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
No smoke smell in this car, no problem there! Just minor staining. Interesting to know how it could be dealt with for future reference though.
CLS500s were on my radar, similarly ridiculous value but I prefer the character of the E63 in any guise, and I was never terribly impressed with Mercedes' output from their five litres. I can't imagine 30mpg on a run in one of those.. not exactly why I bought this car but it's nice for it to be reasonable!
CLS500s were on my radar, similarly ridiculous value but I prefer the character of the E63 in any guise, and I was never terribly impressed with Mercedes' output from their five litres. I can't imagine 30mpg on a run in one of those.. not exactly why I bought this car but it's nice for it to be reasonable!
Fartgalen said:
For me, these have aged very well. I wasn't keen on the looks when launched, but I could quite easily see myself taking a punt on one of these to barge around in.
Looking good OP.
Cheers! That's exactly how I feel, to be honest. I was never impressed when they came out, but it's really grown on me and now I can only find a couple of awkward angles. It's better in the flesh than in photos too, perhaps because it's so rare. It turns out the "Bangle Butt' is useful for some things, too.. All four of those wheels fit with room to spare!Looking good OP.
I wasn't keen on the looks when they were new. While I was waiting around for an appointment a few years ago there was a black one with brown leather and I spent a while walking around the car decided in black with that leather it was quite smart. Their appeal is also related to how affordable they now are used.
What's the deal with run flats come MoT time? Do they have tyre sensors that will flag up errors during the MoT test?
What's the deal with run flats come MoT time? Do they have tyre sensors that will flag up errors during the MoT test?
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