Why SHOULD'T I buy an e63/e64 645ci?

[jamseniag]

I'm in the market for this car but I want to know why owning one for a few years would be a bad decision.
I will be driving the car 2 days a week for a bit of touring and a bit of RWD fun.
Let me know.

[parksie]

Well I've had my 650 for 12 months now, like you i only drive at the weekends but I often do a 600 mile return to watch my beloved football team.

They are not too bad on fuel but my tax is high £515!!!,servicing is like any other Bm

I love mine & for under £10k I can't think of anything I'd sooner have

[Shaoxter]

They're huge and heavy and the E60/63 electronics aren't the most reliable. But great VFM though, just make sure you get a looked after example.

[rockford22]

Lots of people have run them on here and many threads on the known issues - have a search.

Reasons not to get one? 24mpg, limited room in back seats, expensive repair bills for known issues, looks aren't to everyone's taste, fairly large.

Reasons to get one? Quick, V8 motor, look great for their age, a lot of car for not a lot of money.

Ran mine for nearly 12 months, spent a fair chunk on sorting out issues in that time. Would never consider it a fun car but it was great for wafting around and could shift (considering the size it only weighs 1600kg).

Personally - if you want a car for "RWD fun" and to only drive once or twice a week then you need to look elsewhere for thrills. It's a cracking long distance daily but I don't have any desire to own one again.

Edited by rockford22 on Wednesday 11th January 14:03

[Collectingbrass]

I have a 2004 645 E63, since Oct this year. I moved up from an E39 & have an E36 cab as well

Reasons not to? They're a GT car and have bills to match. As others have said there is not the DIY / Aftermarket range at all like the E39 / E36 and while there are some parts on Ebay they are definitely 2nd hand. So far I've had (all via BMW Costwold):

Centre brake light – sealed unit, back order from Germany £110
RHS door cill light - £100
Alternator earth strap - back order from Germany, £25 + 2 hours at indie to investigate fault & fit (Kudos to Carlos at CS Autos in Ley Hill, Herts for their help). On a side note a new starter motor is manifold off & half the suspension off so 9 hours plus £250 for the SM.

Tyres are 275/35/20s Run Flat so potentially £200 - £300 a corner & as others have said pre LCI models are thirsty.

They have a fibre optic network on the ICE so adding USB / Bluetooth streaming is not a trip to Halfords. That’s £300 for a Dension box and £50 for a coding box but it is a DIY fit and simple to do. BMW do sell an update kit to add USB but that doesn’t handle calls and is £250 plus 3 hours fitting and coding.

But that noise, man that noise. To quote the girlfriend "my, that's quite a leg opener"...

There’s a thread here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

And a buying guide here

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=162...

They are a lot of car for the money, no one wants big engine petrol cars any more - oh dear, how sad, never mind. I paid £7,500 on mine which had 75,000 miles, full MOT, full BMWSH and the stem seals done. It’s the most I’ve ever paid for a car, by some margin and I love it.

[hkwc104]

Because you'll end up wanting an M6...

If you want a 'weekend' car for touring as well as a bit of fun then if the budget allows it might be worth seriously considering. Prices seem to have firmed up so depreciation shouldn't be too much of an issue and then there's the sound of that V10!

[greghm]

I have been having one for a year, the convertible. My wife wants to sell it but I don't.

Firstly, I do not think the Mpg is an issue as you would use it only a couple of days a week. If you want to get a V8, you know where you are going: noise and consumption.

pros
- Torque, power, speed. Everytime you start it or when you want to get quickly in front, it is there.
- The look (I find it better than the new one... I hated it in the past)
- I would think than on these cars, most of these issues have been fixed now.

cons
- expensive repair bills. It is true. I had the head gasket and a leak in the gearbox, the whole sting cost me 1800 GBP.
- Tyres and wheels: the wheels that crack because of the run flat tyres is an issue.
- the look ... for others.

[Funk]

I very nearly bought a mint E64 645Ci from a fellow PHer; one of the best I've seen and loaded with kit. It would've been at the very top end of my budget and rinsed my savings; the potential running costs deterred me as I'd have been one big bill away from being off the road. I bottled it and bought an E46 330Ci for £3k less. I know they don't really compare but the 330 is the right car for me at the moment and perhaps I'll look at 6ers again in future.

[greghm]

Funk said:

I very nearly bought a mint E64 645Ci from a fellow PHer; one of the best I've seen and loaded with kit. It would've been at the very top end of my budget and rinsed my savings; the potential running costs deterred me as I'd have been one big bill away from being off the road. I bottled it and bought an E46 330Ci for £3k less. I know they don't really compare but the 330 is the right car for me at the moment and perhaps I'll look at 6ers again in future.

That is exactly the whole point of buying a car second hand or without maintenance included; I realized that recently.
I think one should have a budget of £ X and allocate 50% to 70% on the car itself and the rest kept in reserve for maintenance.

I would say that the total budget for a 645 is £ 12,000 .... £ 7,000 on the car itself.

[Funk]

greghm said:

Funk said:

I very nearly bought a mint E64 645Ci from a fellow PHer; one of the best I've seen and loaded with kit. It would've been at the very top end of my budget and rinsed my savings; the potential running costs deterred me as I'd have been one big bill away from being off the road. I bottled it and bought an E46 330Ci for £3k less. I know they don't really compare but the 330 is the right car for me at the moment and perhaps I'll look at 6ers again in future.

That is exactly the whole point of buying a car second hand or without maintenance included; I realized that recently.
I think one should have a budget of £ X and allocate 50% to 70% on the car itself and the rest kept in reserve for maintenance.

I would say that the total budget for a 645 is £ 12,000 .... £ 7,000 on the car itself.

Agreed, the one I was looking at was up for £8,750. Stunning car but I'd have wanted £3-4k in the bank for any unexpected bills - and as others have mentioned, the E6x isn't averse to throwing some big numbers around when it comes to repairs...

[T16OLE]

I ran one for a year, I loved it.

Great value for money, lovely V8, mpg isn't too bad.

Personally, I think they look good too and wear their age very well.

It wasn't without its issues, mainly oil leaks from the gearbox & engine which are very common and fairly costly.

I have a 640d now and I do miss that V8

[parabolica]

You should. I had mine for 3 years (2013 - 2016) and loved it, although given the way it ended I would be wary of anything with 90k+ miles on it. I had the dreaded valve-stem oil seal failure which was giving me smoke upon acceleration - and was quoted anywhere between £3k (to fix the specific issue) to £5k+ to overhaul the engine. Ended up trading it in for a 2012 640i.

Expensive to run (as expected) but not horrendous; I spent around £3k in servicing and parts during my 3 years, including 4 (non-RF) tyres, gearbox oil leak fix, engine oil leak fix and a replaced alternator which gave me no end of conflicting error messages before it ultimately failed. Great sounding engine though and really had road presence. Find a low mileage car and get an AM warranty and you'll enjoy it.

[greghm]

parabolica said:

You should. I had mine for 3 years (2013 - 2016) and loved it, although given the way it ended I would be wary of anything with 90k+ miles on it. I had the dreaded valve-stem oil seal failure which was giving me smoke upon acceleration - and was quoted anywhere between £3k (to fix the specific issue) to £5k+ to overhaul the engine. Ended up trading it in for a 2012 640i.

Expensive to run (as expected) but not horrendous; I spent around £3k in servicing and parts during my 3 years, including 4 (non-RF) tyres, gearbox oil leak fix, engine oil leak fix and a replaced alternator which gave me no end of conflicting error messages before it ultimately failed. Great sounding engine though and really had road presence. Find a low mileage car and get an AM warranty and you'll enjoy it.

Sounds like mine in terms of stuff to fix

I always ask myself this question: After we all have fixed the gearbox oil leak, the head gaskets, the cracked wheels, etc. isn't there a point in time when we have solved all the problems? Like isn't it better to have a 100k+ one which had everything sorted by the previous (sorry) owners ?
(that is what I am trying to pitch to my wife to keep it)

[parabolica]

greghm said:

Sounds like mine in terms of stuff to fix

I always ask myself this question: After we all have fixed the gearbox oil leak, the head gaskets, the cracked wheels, etc. isn't there a point in time when we have solved all the problems? Like isn't it better to have a 100k+ one which had everything sorted by the previous (sorry) owners ?
(that is what I am trying to pitch to my wife to keep it)

Sounds like the debate I was having with myself when deciding whether to fix the engine or not. I really didn't want to give it up, however I surmised that I would only feel good until something else inevitably reared its head. The only way to get complete peace of mind would be to overhaul front to back, top to bottom, which would inevitably cost more than my 2004, 100k mile 4.5 V8 was ever going to be worth

[greghm]

That is a very interesting question... Do you think there is that much to change? I wonder if there is a list of things that needs to have been changed, let's say after 100k miles, for it to last for another 50 or 100k miles.

- Head Gaskets
- Spark plugs
- Mechatronic
- Sensors for Convertibles
- Gearbox

Feel free to add there the costly jobs