640d GC 4days in (possibly still the best car in real world)

[kambites]

"In the real world" seems to simply be a slightly odd way of saying "for what I use my car for". Interesting to read your experiences though, BMW certainly seem to have done a decent job with the current 6-series.

[Ares]

AshCos said:

Currently doing these for 5k deposit 599 per month for a 640D SE coupe

You'll get a lot better if you push!! Mine is the MSport, Gran Coupe with options taking to over £10k over the list for the 2-door SE. I put £12k in but my monthly payments are over £100 less each month, plus I'm on 50% higher annual mileage.

....it's a good starting point though!

[Ares]

milu said:

It's a car forum. About owners of/users of cars.
If you don't want to read a topic then leave well alone!

OP,glad you like it,I'd love one.

Thanks Milu.... Thats kind of how I figured forum would be. Seems its not a universal opinion.

(or is it because the schools are on holiday....?)

[Ares]

Fox- said:

Ares said:

No. £2k cheaper, but a lot more expensive to run,

I don't think it is, is it? It's got the same running costs bar a little more fuel - and not a huge amount more I don't think.

btw, I think the 6GC is the finest car in the BMW range at the moment. I'd take one over anything else and that includes the M5. Fantastic cars.

Edited by Fox- on Tuesday 8th April 20:15

You'll see close to half the mpg... Thats a lot of cost on 10/12k per year and the road tax is £345 rather than £145!

[sparks_E39]

Like I said in the other thread, the 6GC is an awesome car and I'd take it over an M3/M5/M6 any day. It's gorgeous, spacious and practical. It's probably my favourite current all round car, not just in the BMW line up, but over any other current normal car. If I was lucky enough to be in the position to get one I'd investigate more into the 640i, unless I was doing a fair few miles per year. But like the OP says, the petrol model will probably depreciate a lot quicker, and that diesel is still a fantastic engine.

I'm not sure why talk of alternatively buying an Aston etc for £75k is in this thread? Lovely as they are, they're completely different cars, with eye watering running costs compared to the BMW, purchased for different reasons than why the OP went for his GC I imagine.

[Motorrad]

Ares said:

Real world is the world in which you live. 10mpg V8s, unobtainable SuperModels and cars with zero-practicality don't factor in it. The comments re girlfriend are not pathetic - it is a display of what the real world is. If you'd never entertain ever being proud to sleep with anything other than a supermodel, you are going to live life unhappy.

When it comes to the read world - actual ownership, hacking up and down the motorway, using daily, ferrying family/etc about, parking at the supermarket..etc etc - I can't think of a better car than that which I bought. I would rather take my old M3 down a b-road, and certainly rather take my old caterham or Exige across the moors or round a track....but when it comes to a real world car, my choice is my 640d.

But back to my question to you.... Rather than slag of what I chose, what is YOUR opinion on the best car for the real world?

My point wasn't to slag off your car as I said earlier if you'd bothered to read it's a fine car. However best in the 'real world' is just a bks phrase to rationalise compromise.

I know a bloke who owns a share in a gas field in Peru. His daily driver, used for what you describe, is a 360CS. The rest of the time some bloke drives him around in an ageing Lincoln Town car. I don't think a diesel 6 series would do it for him.

I think a better way of describing your 640D is 'the perfect car for me' as opposed to the hyperbole filled phrase 'the real world'.

My perfect car doesn't exist so I drive an old BMW diesel estate, a supercharged mustang and own several motorcycles.

[Ares]

lamboman100 said:

The 6 Series is a good range. Ticks most of the right boxes. Definitely a good allrounder.

For 75k, an Aston Martin Vantage or DB9, plus an M3 or 1M, could have been within budget. Two for one etc.

True... but you are comparing new, with 3 years warranty, 5 years free servicing, and peace of mind with an old (very old?) car with none of the support and the risk of massive running costs!

....plus neither of the Aston's really make a sensible 4-seater car! (unfortunately.... )

[Ares]

cerb4.5lee said:

I really like big engined petrol motors I love the sound and smoothness but for me they just don't make that much sense in this country as a daily so I can absolutely say a powerful diesel is the best choice it has power when you need it but economy when you don't.

There is nothing more frustrating than being stuck in traffic running a relatively large V8 as you may as well throw your wallet out of the window, I still ultimately personally prefer petrol over diesel as I just don't like the sound of a diesel ticking over but when you are in the car its hard to tell which fuel feeds it (unless its a 4 pot diesel).

I'm with you 100% - that is why my daily drivers have been diesel for the past 3 cars and comfortable 'barges' for as long as I can remember. I ran an Exige as a daily driver pre-family - great car, but 99% of the time is was an uncomfortable car to sit in traffic or sit at 60mph on an A-Road. (the 1% did make up for it though...!)

Getting real driving pleasure in this country, on a daily basis, is ever more difficult.

[chrispmartha]

kambites said:

"In the real world" seems to simply be a slightly odd way of saying "for what I use my car for". Interesting to read your experiences though, BMW certainly seem to have done a decent job with the current 6-series.

Agree with your first point 'real world' is just a nonsense really.

My 'real world' is totally different to the OP's.

I for example don't need 4 seats, don't do huge miles, need a bit of boot space, travel on a lot of B roads, and can claim a fair bit of the running costs of my daily car through my business.

So... for now my Cayman is the best car in the 'real world'.

[Devil2575]

fjord said:

Fair play, each to their own, your money blah blah blah, (and don't take this as negative), but... holy fking stballs, 75 grand on a car which will get lost amongst all the other diesel repmobiles out there on the motorway.

There's no way that money justifies what it is.

I just think that 75k could have got you so much more.

How so? Is your measure of how much a car is worth based on how much it stands out from the crowd? Does a car that cost £75K need to say "Look at me"?

Is how it drives not more important?

Your comment about the diesel rep mobiles, is that really based on how it looks or a comment about it being a diesel?

The 6 series looks nothing like the other Diesel rep mobiles and if you think it does you need glasses.

[kambites]

chrispmartha said:

I for example don't need 4 seats, don't do huge miles, need a bit of boot space, travel on a lot of B roads, and can claim a fair bit of the running costs of my daily car through my business.

So... for now my Cayman is the best car in the 'real world'.

And for mine, it's my Elise, which is why I own it.

[Devil2575]

berlintaxi said:

sc0tt said:

So much Jealousy.

Of a diesel BMW on a PCP, yes we can hardly control the green eyed monsters within us.

The anti Diesel bks on this forum really got old a long time ago.

[Vladimir]

kambites said:

And for mine, it's my Elise, which is why I own it.

Same here with the M135i

What did stand out about the 6 GC I looked at was the interior; it's a big step up from the 1,2,3,4,5 (!) series. The former all look pretty similar which for a 1 owner is good but for a high end 4/5 series owner, must be irksome.

The 4 series we had for a week had an almost identical interior to our 1 but with less toys. It did have much better sunblinds though; the 1 series ones are shocking!

[Ares]

chrispmartha said:

kambites said:

"In the real world" seems to simply be a slightly odd way of saying "for what I use my car for". Interesting to read your experiences though, BMW certainly seem to have done a decent job with the current 6-series.

Agree with your first point 'real world' is just a nonsense really.

My 'real world' is totally different to the OP's.

I for example don't need 4 seats, don't do huge miles, need a bit of boot space, travel on a lot of B roads, and can claim a fair bit of the running costs of my daily car through my business.

So... for now my Cayman is the best car in the 'real world'.

Jeez.... OK, in order to factor in pedantry, please take the phrase 'Real World' to mean 'My Real World'.

Tomato/Tomato

Now perhaps you can pretend this is a car forum for petrol-heads rather than a forum to discuss the nuances of the English Language and Vernacular.

[chrispmartha]

Ares said:

Jeez.... OK, in order to factor in pedantry, please take the phrase 'Real World' to mean 'My Real World'.

Tomato/Tomato

Now perhaps you can pretend this is a car forum for petrol-heads rather than a forum to discuss the nuances of the English Language and Vernacular.

Jeez... you made a (bold) statement about a car and we are discussing it, or do you just want people to say how amazing your new '£75K' car is.

Its a discussion forum people will have differing opinions.

[J4CKO]

Dont know what is wrong with showing you have something nice and new, deciding someone is a "show off" when really he is just eager to talk about his new car, which is a big deal to him, like it is to all us car perverts, are we only able to mention our new wheels if under two grand and a bit dog eared ? however you cut it, with a 50 grand car it can come across a bit look at me, so what ?

A mate of my middle lads dad came round to pick his lad up the other day in his new FFRR, he was dead eager to show it off, I really enjoyed having a nosey, no edge, no one upmanship, just a bloke who has done well, chosen wisely, involving me and enjoying my feedback (the new RR is truly a stunning machine), like two big kids with a new toy.

I dont get jealous, I am happy with my lot, at the end of the day it is a car, a very nice one but they all do broadly the same thing, some a bit faster, some a bit comfier, all part of the game but dont get too wrapped up in envy, I think a little tiny bit is a good thing that spurs us on to better ourselves but too much and thats how people end up running their keys down a nice car just to spoil someone elses day.

[E65Ross]

chrispmartha said:

Ares said:

Jeez.... OK, in order to factor in pedantry, please take the phrase 'Real World' to mean 'My Real World'.

Tomato/Tomato

Now perhaps you can pretend this is a car forum for petrol-heads rather than a forum to discuss the nuances of the English Language and Vernacular.

Jeez... you made a (bold) statement about a car and we are discussing it, or do you just want people to say how amazing your new '£75K' car is.

Its a discussion forum people will have differing opinions.

I agree, which is why I earlier said my slightly tongue-in-cheek comment about the M6 being better than the 640d (which it is, if you factor in everything except for running costs - which don't make the car itself worse)

640d is a lovely car and may be the best car in the OPs world, but all our worlds differ. Lets use the M6 as an example and say it's not the best car in the real world because of its running costs (including fuel economy) then couldn't you say a 640d isn't very good to someone who can only afford to run a little toyota aygo?

For all round practicality, wouldn't a 550i touring be rather nice?

[Devil2575]

J4CKO said:

Dont know what is wrong with showing you have something nice and new, deciding someone is a "show off" when really he is just eager to talk about his new car, which is a big deal to him, like it is to all us car perverts, are we only able to mention our new wheels if under two grand and a bit dog eared ? however you cut it, with a 50 grand car it can come across a bit look at me, so what ?

A mate of my middle lads dad came round to pick his lad up the other day in his new FFRR, he was dead eager to show it off, I really enjoyed having a nosey, no edge, no one upmanship, just a bloke who has done well, chosen wisely, involving me and enjoying my feedback (the new RR is truly a stunning machine), like two big kids with a new toy.

I dont get jealous, I am happy with my lot, at the end of the day it is a car, a very nice one but they all do broadly the same thing, some a bit faster, some a bit comfier, all part of the game but dont get too wrapped up in envy, I think a little tiny bit is a good thing that spurs us on to better ourselves but too much and thats how people end up running their keys down a nice car just to spoil someone elses day.

A good post.

I agree.

[Vladimir]

Wise words JACKO.

This is a car forum; are people supposed to keep new cars to themselves? New cars are EXCITING and enthusiasts like me want to READ about them. If we don't like them, we can keep it to ourselves, not shoot the OP down in green gilled flames.

Beautiful driving conditions across the UK; who is off for a fun blast, free of judgement (if you avoid the Police...), keyboard warriors and negativity.

I believe that's why we are all "here" after all.

[Ares]

chrispmartha said:

Jeez... you made a (bold) statement about a car and we are discussing it, or do you just want people to say how amazing your new '£75K' car is.

Its a discussion forum people will have differing opinions.

Indeed. When I don't lambast you for yours. Why lambast me for mine?