My M6 has gone!

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• sniff*

I'm writing this with some sadness. I know me and the M6 have had a funny history but these last few months have been automotive perfection since I had the new clutch installed. It felt like a brand new car and a total monster on back A and B roads. On the motorway it was as relaxed and as refined as a 7 series.

Car still under warranty, FSH (serviced last week), new clutch/flywheel/CPS and lots of warranty work been completed on it. It was in many ways a 'like new' car.

I know the new owner will love it and have many happy miles with a totally sorted car.

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RDMcG said:

Yes, I had very mixed feelings when I let mine go. It was an amazing autobahn stormer. In the end, I realized that I had no real opportunity to let it have its head at least legally, so after six years, I made the decision to part. The only V10 I have ever owned, and possibly will ever own. What an engine. In the long run I think the M6 will achieve classic status because of that V10.

No doubt. I genuinely think that in some 20 years time they'll be going to six figure sums.

There were far more E30 M3's than E63 M6's (cabs included) and that V10 engine is totally intoxicating; never to be seen again on any road car I feel.

At least I gave it a proper blast today as my way of sending her off. Think the new owner will be grinning from ear to ear know what the car is capable of

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Nothing on the immediate horizon. Hopefully an F10 M5 next year all being well. Wont have the same character as the V10 but they are a big step up in my opinion.

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TheAngryDog said:

Schermerhorn said:

Nothing on the immediate horizon. Hopefully an F10 M5 next year all being well. Wont have the same character as the V10 but they are a big step up in my opinion.

Nice choice!

Would love one myself, but £30 odd grand is a lot for me to spend on a car, especially when I dont have it, cant have it, and never will have it LOL

Thanks, the F series cars are mega and a step up from the E series models. The M touches obviously enhance that further.

However, I cannot help but feel that the old S85 V10 or S65 V8 can tickle your soul more than the latest offerings.

Perhaps this is seller's blues and a touch of nostalgia or maybe it is something else.

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ab-19 said:

Gutted when you replied on eBay and said you had sold it!! But congratulations.

It has at least given me things to look out for.

Quick question regarding the repair bills, did the warranty cover any of the items? I notice on the BMW website that as soon as the mileage goes over 60k it pretty much doubles in cost. Would you say its worth it to keep the warranty going?

Thanks,
Ash

Hi Ash

It is worth keeping purely because (a) it is a specialist car (b) parts are so expensive and (c) not enough techs who are familiar with them.

Here are the warranty items I had done

Feb 2014 - VANOS pipe and valve replaced. Dealer rates would have been over £4500 as it required a front end strip down (apparently)

August 2014 - new thermostat, cooling fan and parking sensor - estimated at £800

December 2014 - new power steering pump replacement - over £1000 estimated bill

April 2015 - new SMG pump and throttle actuator - estimated £1700

That is £7000 already.

The clutch, flywheel etc were changed at my cost from an independent. That was nearly £1500 if I recall correctly.

High maintenence cars but...Ferrari/Gallardo performance and unique parts means they are not cheap to run. Imagine it was a Gallardo though or a F430....those bills would have been much higher!

I would always recommend a warranty on the S85 V10 BMWs.

The F10 models seem to be much more reliable though fortunately.

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ab-19 said:

Thanks for the information. Warranty it is then!!

The person who purchased yours has got a very well sorted car now. I can't find one that has had all the parts mended like yours....guess I need to wait around for the right one. There really aren't a lot available though.

I'm test driving two at the weekend, feel like a big kid waiting for Christmas.

Thank you for your advice.

Regards,
Ash

Indeed, he has got a great great car. I had loads of low ball offers to which I just kept saying no to. I know what my car was worth (still think it was advertised cheap lol) and could afford to wait for the right buyer as I was in no rush to sell it.

For the money - heck even money aside - I think I had one of the most sorted M6's in the country.

However, warranty is a must.

Couple of other tips.

Make sure that your servicing and other consumables are at least 5000 miles away. The last thing you want is a big bill for £600+ soon after you buy the car.

This is all on the idrive too by the way. This was mine before I sold it (I had the oil service done - along with air filters and final SMG drive service, by the way so ignore the oil service light picture)


1

Service 'overdue'...exactly 400 miles



Brake fluid (every 2 years minimum)



Vehicle inspection



Exhaust inspection


Microfilter



Rear pads



Front pads


Spark plugs 33,000 miles




Major service




Or....wait for an AUC car to come along for around £20k or so. You know it'll have been prepped right and you can probably negotiate a good deal on it too (like a 2 year warranty, road tax thrown in, oil service if it'll need one soon).

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cosworth330 said:

Don't forget every 3rd oil service is the expensive one where diff oil and SMG oil require changing which is about £750. I've just had mine done at BMW. I wouldn't be without a Mondial warranty on the V10 either but I've never had to use mine in the 2 yrs I've owned it.

Yup, every 3rd oil change requires the SMG/diff oil changing. Here's mine from last week.

Not a pleasant experience. Being in the trade I'm used to servicing my cars for way less than £100.




Please ask for reciepts. They'll confirm mileage etc and show the car has been well looked after.

BDM said:

Sold mine as well. Glad I had the chance to own it.

I now have a CLS 63 AMG and have to say I do like the low down punch. Got my 4 doors and 4 real seats now.

Excellent news! I love the AMG punch but I have to say I'm going to remain a BMW M car for life

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I keep watching M5 and M6 V10 videos and asking myself 'did I do the right thing?'

I do miss it somewhat but the game has moved on a lot now with the F1x series M cars.

That V10 though. Utterly glorious. Don't think I'll get a car that sounds that good again unless its from Maranello.

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RDMcG said:

Schermerhorn said:

I keep watching M5 and M6 V10 videos and asking myself 'did I do the right thing?'

I do miss it somewhat but the game has moved on a lot now with the F1x series M cars.

That V10 though. Utterly glorious. Don't think I'll get a car that sounds that good again unless its from Maranello.

I have a Mezger with the GT3RS which is quite intoxicating. Like the M6 it if pretty boring at low revs but it is amazing at high revs…

good sense of the engine sound here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgoU6tebIHA

Edited by RDMcG on Friday 19th June 21:34

Wow, that sounds mental!

Is that a Sharkwerks design?

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ab-19 said:

So then......

Had my two test drives at the weekend and I think I may have fallen in love with the V10 engine. Jeeeeeze it was quick...3rd gear in M mode, I think a bit of wee came out.

First car was a 2005 Black with 66k miles - £19k

Good bits:
Full BMW Service history stamps, but not many receipts, would BMW have copies of these?
Engine was smooth.
Gear changes seemed ok.
Nice clean interior.

Bad bits:
No confirmation of running in service (even though all services had been done at BMW)
Seemed to be kicking out a lot of heat from underneath the car (compared to the second one).
Would be expensive warranty cost as over 60k miles.
Still on its first clutch but didn't struggle with reversing up hill or foot to the floor changes.



Second car 2007 Blue with 37k miles - £21k

Good bits:
Drove better than the first one
Engine seemed more responsive
Higher spec

Bad bits:
Not a full BMW service history - it had a full history just not at BMW. (It had run in service at 640 miles but next service wasn't carried out until four years later! Should I be concerned about that? Was still only at 22k miles at that point).
There seemed to be a larger gap in the bodywork from one side of the bonnet to the other, concerned it might have had damage although HPI check is ok. (pics below)
The exhaust seemed to be very pitted compared to other cars available that still have the shiny exhausts....again is this something to worry about?








Think I am going to take the advice of an earlier post and not jump in on the first few I have viewed. But wow what a car, I certainly have my heart set on one now.

Cheers,
Ash

Avoid both Ash, for different reasons.

The warranty on the first one (provided you can get one that is) will be minimum £1600 per year with a £250 excess per claim.

A clutch job will set you back between £1500-2000 depending on who you use.

The running in service should have been done before 1200 miles. It should be the very first stamp in the service booklet. If it hasn't been done, then it is a sign of neglect as the idrive will pester the hell out of you to get it done. Don't take anyone's word for it that it's been done. Ask to see the booklet and ring the dealership to confirm if they can.

The excessive heat may be a problem with the thermostat and/or the cooling fan. Cars like this tend to 'stall' a lot, ie they get too hot and the ECU shuts the car down to protect itself. Once I got my thermostat and fan changed it never happened again. This was under warranty.


The second car; 4 years between services. Wow. That's crazy. Again this is a sign of; neglect, short journeys only or the car having stood still for large periods of time. If the latter, you can expect electrical problems and sensors going off frequently.
Oil services need doing minimum every 2 years or 16,000 miles (whichever comes first). Otherwise the deposits in the engine can cause rod bearing problems and scoring in the engine. Both are potentially disastrous and the engine could implode big time on you.

If you find a low owner car, full dealer service history and under warranty this is a huge amount of reassurance.

Do not rush in. Check every week for an AUC car as they are popping up from time to time. They might be expensive but push hard enough and you'll get a 2 year warranty thrown in, mechanical preparation done (insist on it infact) and be assured of a better deal than private - unless you find a great deal.

People are still ringing me up for my car and when I tell them I have sold it they say "Oh mate, I would have paid more than that" to which I reply "Why didn't you then when it was on for sale?"

The more I think about it, the clutch is the least of my worries on a car like this. Full history that has been done on time is of far more importance and a sign of a no-cost approach to maintenance.

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Ashley, have you considered the E60 M5? Same brutal performance and for the same price you could probably pick up a facelift model too. Its also more practical and just as brilliant to drive.

I was going to go for an M5 at first but then my M6 came up. Had it not, the M5 was no bad alternative!

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BDM said:

Schermerhorn said:

Excellent news! I love the AMG punch but I have to say I'm going to remain a BMW M car for life

Same as the V10 i felt i needed to experience the 6.2L V8 AMG monster at least once

Did you get a good price for yours? I remember yours being in really lovely condition.

I got £16,750 for mine. Asking price was £16,995.