BMW 645Ci Manual - V8 German Muscle

[W00DY]

Much better.


The only warning light was one for the rear right hand foglight which seems to have been fixed by some bumpy backroads. Saves me taking the bumper off just yet.

PurpleTurtle said:

Nice find! I didn’t know they did the V8s with a manual box.

I’ve just had a similar tear fixed on the seat bolster of my E46 M3 by Trimmania in Berkshire, looks as good as new. Well worth doing to rejuvenate the cabin and not as much ££ as I was expecting.

Thanks. I'm torn on whether to get the bolster repaired or find some sports seats, but I appreciate the recommendation.

Edited by W00DY on Saturday 20th August 12:21

[d_a_n1979]

W00DY said:

Thanks for all the comments! It's great to get back into something interesting and find my car mojo again.

Stick Legs said:

Loved these when they came out.

I had an E24 at the time & they use so many design cues.

Great car & I’ll look forward to spotting it!

Thanks. I'd love an E24, but they're a lot of money now if you want one that doesn't have horrendous rust.

Mr Tidy said:

That is just wonderful, and what a great collection trip!

Shame it doesn't have the M-Sport seats, but manual 645s must be pretty rare and the red leather looks fantastic.

Thanks, it was as smooth a trip as I could've hoped for really. Much more pleasant than heading East as I've done a couple of times recently. If anyone sees any good deals on some good condition sports seats in the right shade, please let me know. I think they'd need to be out of an early car to be plug and play.

Carlososos said:

Lovely lovely. Wanted one as an upgrade to my e46 coupe but family came first. One day.

Cheers, Definitely not a car for a family. My seat almost touches the rear bench.

leef44 said:

Congrats on the purchase. That looks like a tidy car.

What is it about the Hartge short shift which you don't like?

Is it that it makes it feel racy when the character of the car is more a cruiser and that you feel it should have a longer throw?

My only experience of BMW manuals was from the 80's and 90's era. I used to love the feel of the shift - a slight spring action and a precise notchy slot into each gear.

Thanks, it's not perfect, but for 157k miles it's surprisingly good. It's very short (70% I think) and I think probably robs the car of some smoothness of shifting. A less aggressive short shift kit may be the way forward.

Court_S said:

Looks good OP and well done on putting on your big boy pants and buying a V8….when I looked at them I stuck to 630’s!

Love the colour of the leather. I bet it was a lovely place to do the trip back in. Despite being an older design, I still think they’re really well made and a lovely place to sit. Enjoy.

Time will tell if it was the right move, but compared to anything similar I won't be too upset if it throws me a bill or two.

d_a_n1979 said:

Oh; that's brill. Well done Woody!

A great car to get into your first V8 and a manual too...

Get some heated seat covers off Amazon; they work brilliantly and they're comfy too

We're both in our first V8s; it had to happen sometime

Thanks Dan, hadn't seen you'd bought a 540i (not on here much these days). Looks like a lovely example and I'll definitely give the thread a good read through. Not sure I could bring myself to cover any of the red goodness with a seat cover.

Northbrook said:

Looks nice!

Thanks. It's definitely a bit marmite aesthetically, but I reckon it's aged well.

MarkJS said:

Excellent! It also looks very tidy overall and a little adventure in the collection/drive home.

Congratulations and I look forward to the updates on your ownership experience. That must also be a very rare car being manual.

It does seem to be tidy (although I haven't washed it yet which is my usual assessment method). I will definitely keep this thread updated since no doubt I will need the collective wisdom of PH at some point soon.

Manuals are definitely rare which is a shame as the cars themselves aren't really the heavy golf club cruiser they appear to be.

BenjiA said:

Fantastic purchase Woody - looking forward to reading many trouble free updates.

Thanks. Those will be my favourites too!

Jimmy No Hands said:

Gorgeous. That interior design does not look 17 years old, at all. I knocked about in a 645 for a few weeks when one came in as part exchange, and I loved it. Proper bruiser underneath a gentle cruiser.

The interior does look pretty fresh (even if the I drive system is a bit cumbersome at times), still has the classic BMW smell though!

B'stard Child said:

Lovely paint trim combo - manual on a V8 must be fairly rare

Thanks, it definitely pushed me over the edge in making the purchase. It'd be interesting to know the numbers on the manuals, tehy do seem very scarce.

For the time period you'll use them, they're worth it believe me

[NiceCupOfTea]

Rear legroom does concern me. I'm 6ft+, my wife's much shorter, but my 9yo daughter is tall for her age so even behind my wife I worry it's going to be an issue... I take it front passenger legroom is good?

[sdh2903]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Rear legroom does concern me. I'm 6ft+, my wife's much shorter, but my 9yo daughter is tall for her age so even behind my wife I worry it's going to be an issue... I take it front passenger legroom is good?

They're very comfy as a 3 seater. My 11 y/o has giraffe legs and she really enjoyed the rear buckets with plenty of leg room behind the mrs. No chance behind my seat tho!

[V1nce Fox]

That’s cracking as a manual, really excellent. An intelligent muscle car.

I’m probably going to eat st for this but have you thought about a tasteful, bmw branded wheel upgrade?

[Court_S]

Re the CCC system which time really hasn’t been kind to, the Andream screens are a good upgrade for £245 giving you CarPlay and Android Auto and up to date maps etc

Looks much better without the chrome washer jet covers.

[W00DY]

V1nce Fox said:

That’s cracking as a manual, really excellent. An intelligent muscle car.

I’m probably going to eat st for this but have you thought about a tasteful, bmw branded wheel upgrade?

We'll see how intelligent it becomes, but I have my fingers crossed!

I quite like the wheels and think spacing out the rear a bit would improve things, but given the tyres are dreadful (Davantis on the front lock up too easily in the dry, that PH guy lied to us all) I am open to the idea of different wheels. Not sure what would work though. I like the Ellipsoid style for their concept car look, but they perhaps make the E63 a touch too cartoonish. CSL type wheels look nice, but I'm not sure on replica wheels and real ones are too expensive.

Court_S said:

Re the CCC system which time really hasn’t been kind to, the Andream screens are a good upgrade for £245 giving you CarPlay and Android Auto and up to date maps etc

Looks much better without the chrome washer jet covers.

That looks a great system. The previous owner spent £300-odd on fixing the original system recently, but actually using it isn't great.


I'm already obsessing over bits and this scuff was annoying me, so a quick wet sand and polish made for an easy win.

[Court_S]

W00DY said:

V1nce Fox said:

That’s cracking as a manual, really excellent. An intelligent muscle car.

I’m probably going to eat st for this but have you thought about a tasteful, bmw branded wheel upgrade?

We'll see how intelligent it becomes, but I have my fingers crossed!

I quite like the wheels and think spacing out the rear a bit would improve things, but given the tyres are dreadful (Davantis on the front lock up too easily in the dry, that PH guy lied to us all) I am open to the idea of different wheels. Not sure what would work though. I like the Ellipsoid style for their concept car look, but they perhaps make the E63 a touch too cartoonish. CSL type wheels look nice, but I'm not sure on replica wheels and real ones are too expensive.

Court_S said:

Re the CCC system which time really hasn’t been kind to, the Andream screens are a good upgrade for £245 giving you CarPlay and Android Auto and up to date maps etc

Looks much better without the chrome washer jet covers.

That looks a great system. The previous owner spent £300-odd on fixing the original system recently, but actually using it isn't great.


I'm already obsessing over bits and this scuff was annoying me, so a quick wet sand and polish made for an easy win.

I’ve been running CSL reps since April and haven’t died yet. Not all reps are equal but the CM Wheels jobbies seem pretty good with minimal weights etc to get them balanced. I’m too tight / poor for genuine ones!

The Andream screens are great. I never touch the CCC system now other than to check oil etc.

[cerb4.5lee]

A manual 6 series with a V8! My hat is off.

Such a lovely rare car. Enjoy it.

I'm a really big fan of the N62 engine, and I can't tell you how much I would've loved a manual in the E53 X5 4.8iS I had(even though it arguably wouldn't have suited it).

A great choice.

[mattman]

Looks like a nice car OP

I had 19” ellipsoids on my 645 and they cracked as expected, I bought this style with the added benefit of decent non-RFT tyres on them - still 19’s and although they weren’t my first choice of design they seemed to suit the car well

[MikeM6]

Great purchase! It is always good to see some E63 appreciation on here, they have matured well it seems.

[Zephyr Speedshop]

I love it OP, I've often looked at these when the odd manual has popped up forsale. But never been the right time. Hope your really enjoy it.

What's it like handling wise as alot of the body on these is aluminium isn't it? I had a 840 a few years back and it was a surprisingly well balanced and grippy, car upto about 7-8 tenths it was great, above that you really strated to feel the nearly 2 tons moving about.

[W00DY]

Court_S said:

I’ve been running CSL reps since April and haven’t died yet. Not all reps are equal but the CM Wheels jobbies seem pretty good with minimal weights etc to get them balanced. I’m too tight / poor for genuine ones!

The Andream screens are great. I never touch the CCC system now other than to check oil etc.

Thanks, will give them a look, but I'm hoping to get something used with decent premium tyres on for a bargain price (with free moon on stick included).

cerb4.5lee said:

A manual 6 series with a V8! My hat is off.

Such a lovely rare car. Enjoy it.

I'm a really big fan of the N62 engine, and I can't tell you how much I would've loved a manual in the E53 X5 4.8iS I had(even though it arguably wouldn't have suited it).

A great choice.

Thanks. Nice to see someone is a fan of the N62, it does seem like a lovely engine, but we'll see how I feel if it starts misbehaving. I always fancied a Cayenne GTS with the manual so I understand your desire.

mattman said:

Looks like a nice car OP

I had 19” ellipsoids on my 645 and they cracked as expected, I bought this style with the added benefit of decent non-RFT tyres on them - still 19’s and although they weren’t my first choice of design they seemed to suit the car well

I do like those, presume you had no cracking issues with them?

MikeM6 said:

Great purchase! It is always good to see some E63 appreciation on here, they have matured well it seems.

Thanks, it is nice to see the appreciation, I'm almost disappointed at the lack of hate here. I bet your M6 is an absolute monster.

Zephyr Speedshop said:

I love it OP, I've often looked at these when the odd manual has popped up forsale. But never been the right time. Hope your really enjoy it.

What's it like handling wise as a lot of the body on these is aluminium isn't it? I had a 840 a few years back and it was a surprisingly well balanced and grippy, car upto about 7-8 tenths it was great, above that you really strated to feel the nearly 2 tons moving about.

They are surprisingly light with aluminium and plastic panels as you say and I assume with a manual and no glass roof this should be one of the lighter ones too. Handling wise it feels good so far, but I haven't really pushed it much yet since I'm wary of the tyres.

[d_a_n1979]

W00DY said:

Thanks, will give them a look, but I'm hoping to get something used with decent premium tyres on for a bargain price (with free moon on stick included).

Go for these Woody: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144666116937?hash=item2...

Offer £400 inc delivery; get them refurbed and fit new tyres

Alloys & tyres currently aren't cheap; the whole used car parts market has changed over the last few years, there's nowt cheap anymore!

[mattman]

[quote=woody


[/quote]


I do like those, presume you had no cracking issues with them?


[/quote]
No problems at all - seemed to be mainly the ellipsoid design that was the weakest. That design are meant to be a polished face but most have been refurbed silver at some point

[dscam]

Congratulations W00DY - lovely car and just enough wee issues to keep you busy getting it how you like it.

[RDMcG]

Bought one of these new in 2004, manual six-speed- this is it below. Very comfortable highway cruiser and lovely engine note!!

[W00DY]

On the journey back I could only get the air con to work by putting it on max and then reducing the fan speed. Turns out you have to change the temperature colour indicator in the I drive, not just the temp on the dial. Such an unnecessary complication.

mattman said:

No problems at all - seemed to be mainly the ellipsoid design that was the weakest. That design are meant to be a polished face but most have been refurbed silver at some point

Thanks. Will keep an eye out. They do look better polished, but it's also a finish that never seems to last.

d_a_n1979 said:

Go for these Woody: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144666116937?hash=item2...

Offer £400 inc delivery; get them refurbed and fit new tyres

Alloys & tyres currently aren't cheap; the whole used car parts market has changed over the last few years, there's nowt cheap anymore!

Nice, but once I've added a refurb and tyres then it's a lot pricier than just getting some decent tyres for the 18s and having abit more in the bork fund.

dscam said:

Congratulations W00DY - lovely car and just enough wee issues to keep you busy getting it how you like it.

Cheers. That's what I'm hoping for, lots of small improvements and not too many big jobs.

RDMcG said:

Bought one of these new in 2004, manual six-speed- this is it below. Very comfortable highway cruiser and lovely engine note!!

Awesome, especially with the plate to match. Fair play for speccing a manual from new, are they more common in the US?

Edited by W00DY on Sunday 21st August 22:38

[parabolica]

That’s a nice colour combo OP; every time I see someone post about picking up a 645 it makes me pine for my old car that I had in 2014. Alas the oil seals sealed its fate, and it had its fair share of gremlins (mostly caused by a dodgy alternator) but I still miss it, and the sound.

Surprised to hear about the ellipsoids failing/cracking - I did about 40k in mine (60k up to 100k) and they never gave me any issue.

[RDMcG]

W00DY said:

Awesome, especially with the plate to match. Fair play for speccing a manual from new, are they more common in the US?

Edited by W00DY on Sunday 21st August 22:38

Not at all - this was a very minority decision. I replaced it with an M6
and very recently saw one very like the one below that I had owned.

To my great surprise it was a manual!....apparently BMW made a handful of them in 2008. I would love to have had one.