Buying advice sought - BMW 650i Sport cab
Discussion
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I'm looking at buying an '06 plate 650i Sport cabriolet and am looking for any help/advice/guidance from anyone who's owned one previously on its performance, reliability, key things I should look out for, any issues with that model etc etc. Any thoughts?
I'm looking at buying an '06 plate 650i Sport cabriolet and am looking for any help/advice/guidance from anyone who's owned one previously on its performance, reliability, key things I should look out for, any issues with that model etc etc. Any thoughts?
Hi
I changed my 650i sport in march this year, great car but with a few downsides.
Always check for stone chip damage, the chip really badly just in front if the rear wheel arches and front bumpers.
I drive on mine was very slow and needed updating, if buying auc def check this.
Fuel is silly, but hey it's a v8!
Mine had the alpina wheels on which were a mare to keep away from kerbs, so def check these for poor repairs.
Inside, arch out for wear on the seat bolsters.
Hope this helps
I changed my 650i sport in march this year, great car but with a few downsides.
Always check for stone chip damage, the chip really badly just in front if the rear wheel arches and front bumpers.
I drive on mine was very slow and needed updating, if buying auc def check this.
Fuel is silly, but hey it's a v8!
Mine had the alpina wheels on which were a mare to keep away from kerbs, so def check these for poor repairs.
Inside, arch out for wear on the seat bolsters.
Hope this helps
I've had my 650 coupe since may now and its been great. Superb GT car, that needs the big v8 for completeness IMO.
Nothing major to look for in terms of reliability. I'd want warranty though, any problems will be electrical and thus expensive.
Oh, look out for bird s
t damage on the paint. It is as bad as any BMW and marks badly within hours if not minutes.
Nothing major to look for in terms of reliability. I'd want warranty though, any problems will be electrical and thus expensive.
Oh, look out for bird s
t damage on the paint. It is as bad as any BMW and marks badly within hours if not minutes. Thanks all.
Am looking at buying from BMW Approved scheme so gets their once-over and comes with 12 months warranty, MOT, tax etc. Will check to see if iDrive updated and am thinking about getting some paint protection for the vunerable areas.
@ Griff Boy, know the fuel will be silly but have been very sensible for last few years with a couple of diesel E60 5-series so thought it was time to push the boat out... will be on first name terms with our local petrol station!
Am looking at buying from BMW Approved scheme so gets their once-over and comes with 12 months warranty, MOT, tax etc. Will check to see if iDrive updated and am thinking about getting some paint protection for the vunerable areas.
@ Griff Boy, know the fuel will be silly but have been very sensible for last few years with a couple of diesel E60 5-series so thought it was time to push the boat out... will be on first name terms with our local petrol station!
If you're buying AUC then no real problem. I had my idrive updated under warranty as it was "locking up" 
i hear slowness of the system is also fixed by an update.
Fuel in real world terms, I put about £70 in a week and get 290-310 miles from it.
Oh, go for Logic7 if you can, its the best car stereo I've had.
i hear slowness of the system is also fixed by an update.Fuel in real world terms, I put about £70 in a week and get 290-310 miles from it.
Oh, go for Logic7 if you can, its the best car stereo I've had.
Cheers, 5678. This is the fella... www.pistonheads.com/sales/1981699.htm ...think it's a cracking car for the money, mileage and spec (inc. the Logic 7 hifi). Just need to get an iPod connector retro fitted.
Make sure you ask for a complete breakdown of the service status from I-drive. There are about 10 items there and the most expensive ones are the brakes. An AUC should make sure nothing is due within the next 5k or so but if you get 2 or 3 in short succession then it adds up. Make sure tyres are healthy as £300 a corner and ask for 12 months tax thrown in with purchase as that is £430.
The i-drive connection is great, but that is about £400 so haggle and the snap in phone connector for the arm rest is brilliant.
As others have said, the I-drive can become a bit slow - you should be getting the latest DVD buying from an AUC but if you can push them to update the software then the display is nicer and does work quicker. It actually takes a whole day for them to download the update, so not a minor job at all. If you do any motoway mileage then the optional wind protector is great but costs about £300 so again haggle
Enjoy the car - have done 35,000 faultless miles in mine since buying it 18 months ago and still averaging 25mpg across mainly motorway mileage which as a grand tourer these cars excel at.
One final tip - buy yourself a good hood proofer like the Autoglym which makes water bead on it for a while as really helps protect the fabric over the winter months
The i-drive connection is great, but that is about £400 so haggle and the snap in phone connector for the arm rest is brilliant.
As others have said, the I-drive can become a bit slow - you should be getting the latest DVD buying from an AUC but if you can push them to update the software then the display is nicer and does work quicker. It actually takes a whole day for them to download the update, so not a minor job at all. If you do any motoway mileage then the optional wind protector is great but costs about £300 so again haggle
Enjoy the car - have done 35,000 faultless miles in mine since buying it 18 months ago and still averaging 25mpg across mainly motorway mileage which as a grand tourer these cars excel at.
One final tip - buy yourself a good hood proofer like the Autoglym which makes water bead on it for a while as really helps protect the fabric over the winter months
Fantastic input, much appreciated, thegreatdogwood. I'll bear the hood proofing point in mind and also give Dick Lovett a call tomorrow to check on the iDrive software update and get them to run me through the service status items too. Know tyres are pricey, had the same size on my E60 530d Sport, and seemed to go through them at a rate of knots... lots of roundabouts in Basingstoke! ;-)
Tax is part of the deal too and think it has the wind protector so that's a bonus. And 25mpg is better than I was expecting although it won't match the 50+ mpg from the Golf diesel hire car I'm currently thrashing around in.
Tax is part of the deal too and think it has the wind protector so that's a bonus. And 25mpg is better than I was expecting although it won't match the 50+ mpg from the Golf diesel hire car I'm currently thrashing around in.
Hey Lostprophet, thought I'd reply with my experience with my 650. I can safely say it's my favourite car to date. After owning a string of 3- and 5-series BMW sports saloons I took the plunge - it puts a grin on my face every time I start it up and I take every opportunity to drop the roof! I've run it for the last six months or so and it's been a faultless drive, no issues at all, and relatively practical (I've used it for trips to the tip etc and having the option to drop the roof helps with awkwardly-sized items!). It's great at cruising but is deceptively quick when the need arises and seems to hardly ever suffer from any scuttle-shake. My only gripe is the i-Drive seems slower than on my last 5-series but it has the latest software update so perhaps it's just a perception thing. Sure, it's juicy on fuel but that's to be expected with a 5.0 litre V8 - I'm averaging 23mpg but it does better than that on motorway trips (25mpg). The last oil service was pricey but again was to be expected bearing in mind there are 8 cylinders involved. If you thinking about getting one I'd heed the advice of the previous contributors and bear in mind it's not cheap to run.
No worries, Lostprophet. Running costs to date have been the oil service (£275, inc. 8 litres of Castrol!) and new rear brakes (£285). All done at a main BMW dealer - for convenience/proximity to my office but you can probably get it done cheaper at a specialist. Before I bought mine I asked the dealer to summarise what was coming up on the i-Drive's Service list so I had a good idea of what would hit me in the months ahead. Having had the above work done, mine's currently showing nothing major is due until 30,000 miles time (next oil service in 14,000 miles) which seems pretty reasonable.
Hope that helps.
Hope that helps.
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