BMW 630i E63 adventures
Discussion
Having had many many performance cars over the years , some at 500hp in Road trim, I had a clear out to buy a house nearly three years ago. After 3 boring years in a 3.0 Tdi Touareg when not in my van, the itch started returning. I’ve always had a massive love/hate for the E63 shape as one minute I think they are ugly as hell, then I see a decent one and think it’s actually not that bad.
Started browsing M6 variants but thought I really don’t need the agro of big repairs and bills, so then thought about the 650i , until I found the plethora of oil leaks and valve stem seals issues that plague the V8’s.. all very laborious and costly. Finally I asked myself what was it I really wanted. It was simple, just a nice comfortable decent looking car with a big’ish petrol engine, in grandad spec with slushbox and now only wanting to throw around 5k at a car that will sit around most the time. The 630i was the all rounder I was after. My days of swapping turbos and ripping out AWD gearboxes on the drive are over.. too old for that lark now !
Biggest issue was leg room, every article and forum said it’s basically a two seater. I have 10yo daughters who are car nuts too and would most definitely want to go out in the 630i rather than Touareg. I went and looked at one and it was dog rough.. 2008 with 90k for £5000, had even washed or hoovered it. It was only 6 miles away though and gave me the opportunity to look round one properly and see if it’s what I want in a car. I’m not a 7foot PH PBD so in my driving position there was an acceptable amount of room in the back for kids.. winner !
Next up was the search for the right car... found a lovely 58plate with 80k on eBay, turns out Stirling cars are still shill bidding and then relisting cars . Found a perfect car 80miles away at a dealer, advertised as mint inside and out with only one tiny scratch on rear arch... drive over and parked near it, before I had even opened my door I could see the key mark down the entire length of the car. Get out and it had been done down entire drivers side and 3 times back and forth across the boot lid. All wheels corroded and needing refurb, and a massive lip on discs even though brand spanking new pads were fitted. Happy feckin days ... back in my car and left in under a minute, salesman couldn’t work out why I was so pissed !??
Then found another lovely grey one another 40miles from last car so phone guy and said I’m already miles from home so can I pop passed his (another hour away). His car again was right colour and most the spec I wanted but cream leather. When I got there the car was beaut inside and out, however I realised there was no ways I could live with cream interior, no matter how much I tried to convince myself. I was dead honest with the guy and explained exactly that to him, he accepted and agreed he loved it but appreciated it was not for everyone.
270 miles later we returned home peed off and deflated. Got to about 10pm and having I cuppa I fired up the laptop.. hit good old PH classifieds and second car down , there she was ! Sport model, 2 previous owners, 2 keys, 57k genuine miles, FSH and all the options I wanted. I loved it, typical “ghetto spec” like all my cars, black black and more black. This did have a couple of little curve balls though, it was nearly 3k over budget , and not ALL black
Brain went into overdrive and back on vin decoder to look at what options it had etc. Ran an HPI check, ran an MOT history check, nothing I could fault it on !
Emailed the garage Saturday night around 10:30pm with my mobile number asking a few more questions and asking for a viewing Sunday afternoon. Within 10minutes I had a reply stating car was still available and he could meet me there at 2pm. Drove there Sunday and despite being nice and sunny when we left, it chucked it down when we got 5 miles away , great ! Trying to view a black car in pooring rain was going to be interesting. The chap couldn’t me more helpful though, stood there with an umbrella and wiping one panel at a time so I can check paint, not ideal but it was very obvious the paint was immaculate. The night before I asked him not to start the car as I wanted to do a cold start, he said no problem, when I arrived they were all standing around the car and immediately I thought here we go. Turns out the 630i was blocking in another car they wanted to get out, but didn’t want to start and move it because I had asked for a cold start. I actually felt quite bad but that’s the level of service these guys gave me !
Next up was test drive, guy took me down some 30 residential roads, then through a local Asda with big horrible speed bumps to check for knocks or creaks, and finally a little blast down a DC on the way back. Out can the OBD scanner AFTER all the driving and no faults or codes stored , winner. It was everything I was after and more so after a feeble attempt at haggling given there was literally nothing wrong at all, a deal was done for £250 less than the £7999 price tag inc private plate and 6 months warranty up to the value of the car.
After paying we went back out to the car with him armed with a massive PDI style check list, I said don’t worry I’m happy with the car and it’s faultless, no he said, we must check every single switch and function to make sure everything works as it should and you are 100% happy. Baring in mind I had already parted with the money and he STILL wanted to make sure I was happy and there were no issues. Another 20 minutes later and we were done. AC ice cold, sat nav up today and worked, every switch dial or knob did what it should. Shook hands and off I went. Naturally with a used car the first stop was nearest garage
. Touareg was low too after all the running around so filled both up..£200 thank you very much . Reset both trip meters and headed home, I drove the 630 and Mrs Fb in her Touareg. Mooched through town thinking it was reasonably nippy, hit the motorway on-ramp and thought I would give it some wellie, well it really surprised me ! For 260odd ponies it just pulled and pulled and pulled until I realised I was at licence losing speeds before I knew it.
Swapped halfway home so Mrs Fb could have a go... yeah looks like I’ve inherited a Derv Touareg
The moment of truth was when we got home and compared OBC’s. 3.0TDI Touareg did 28.6mpg average one the way home which was some town, some ‘progress’ on motorway and a couple of traffic light Gp’s for a laugh. 3.0 petrol 630 did 28.2 mimicking the same trip!! Happy with that for sure
The car has a lovely spec list including wide screen nav, premium hifi with Logic 7 and factory DAB, FSH at BMW apart from 2, sport model with sports seats etc.
Full decode list below..
475 black-sapphire metallic
LCCH Leather "Dakota"/chateau
S1CA Selection of COP-relevant vehicles
S205 Automatic transmission
S2C BMW LA star spoke 218 w flat-runn. prop.
S302 Alarm system
S320 Deleted, model lettering
S403 Glass roof, electrical
S414 Parcel net, passenger side
S423 Floor mats velours
S428 Warning triangle and first aid kit
S441 Smoker package
S481 Sports seat
S508 Park Distance Control (PDC)
S540 Cruise control
S601 TV function
S609 Navigation system Professional
S612 BMW Assist
S620 Voice control
S633 Preparation, mobile phone, Business
S654 DAB tuner
S677 HiFi system Professional DSP (Logic 7)
S698 Area-Code 2 for DVD
S710 M leather steering wheel
S760 High gloss shadow line
S775 Headlining anthracite
S8SA Navigation access request,country-spec.
S8SP Control unit COP
S431 Interior mirror with automatic-dip
S434 Interior trim finishers
S459 Seat adjustment, electric, with memory
S502 Headlight cleaning system
S522 Xenon Light
S534 Automatic air conditioning
The condition is remarkable and came with 4 recently refurbished 19” wheels in graphite grey, 4 new run flat Bridgestone Potenza’s that are correct star rated for BMW, new pads all round and recent discs, original paint that has no blemishes a light polish wouldn’t cure, interior is unmarked and still smells like new leather, and a private plate which hides the age nicely. Overall I’m happy as can be with a sub 8k 14 year old car but still have a few things to get it to my standard. This thread will hopefully document my trials and tribulations as we move forwards
Previous Ghetto spec cars
Home brew Mitsubishi GTO which I twin turbo’d the stock NA engine and ran on 20% methanol daily. Ran 500hp and 11sec 1/4 in full road trim with ac nice an cold
Ghetto spec E60 530d daily dog.. 10k a year on school runs taking vermin to school alone !
Slightly less ghetto spec Touareg but equally used and abused !
Well finally I guess you can see the theme... here is some advert pics of the 630i
And the only photo I’ve actually been able to take in between rain showers
Started browsing M6 variants but thought I really don’t need the agro of big repairs and bills, so then thought about the 650i , until I found the plethora of oil leaks and valve stem seals issues that plague the V8’s.. all very laborious and costly. Finally I asked myself what was it I really wanted. It was simple, just a nice comfortable decent looking car with a big’ish petrol engine, in grandad spec with slushbox and now only wanting to throw around 5k at a car that will sit around most the time. The 630i was the all rounder I was after. My days of swapping turbos and ripping out AWD gearboxes on the drive are over.. too old for that lark now !
Biggest issue was leg room, every article and forum said it’s basically a two seater. I have 10yo daughters who are car nuts too and would most definitely want to go out in the 630i rather than Touareg. I went and looked at one and it was dog rough.. 2008 with 90k for £5000, had even washed or hoovered it. It was only 6 miles away though and gave me the opportunity to look round one properly and see if it’s what I want in a car. I’m not a 7foot PH PBD so in my driving position there was an acceptable amount of room in the back for kids.. winner !
Next up was the search for the right car... found a lovely 58plate with 80k on eBay, turns out Stirling cars are still shill bidding and then relisting cars . Found a perfect car 80miles away at a dealer, advertised as mint inside and out with only one tiny scratch on rear arch... drive over and parked near it, before I had even opened my door I could see the key mark down the entire length of the car. Get out and it had been done down entire drivers side and 3 times back and forth across the boot lid. All wheels corroded and needing refurb, and a massive lip on discs even though brand spanking new pads were fitted. Happy feckin days ... back in my car and left in under a minute, salesman couldn’t work out why I was so pissed !??
Then found another lovely grey one another 40miles from last car so phone guy and said I’m already miles from home so can I pop passed his (another hour away). His car again was right colour and most the spec I wanted but cream leather. When I got there the car was beaut inside and out, however I realised there was no ways I could live with cream interior, no matter how much I tried to convince myself. I was dead honest with the guy and explained exactly that to him, he accepted and agreed he loved it but appreciated it was not for everyone.
270 miles later we returned home peed off and deflated. Got to about 10pm and having I cuppa I fired up the laptop.. hit good old PH classifieds and second car down , there she was ! Sport model, 2 previous owners, 2 keys, 57k genuine miles, FSH and all the options I wanted. I loved it, typical “ghetto spec” like all my cars, black black and more black. This did have a couple of little curve balls though, it was nearly 3k over budget , and not ALL black
Brain went into overdrive and back on vin decoder to look at what options it had etc. Ran an HPI check, ran an MOT history check, nothing I could fault it on !Emailed the garage Saturday night around 10:30pm with my mobile number asking a few more questions and asking for a viewing Sunday afternoon. Within 10minutes I had a reply stating car was still available and he could meet me there at 2pm. Drove there Sunday and despite being nice and sunny when we left, it chucked it down when we got 5 miles away , great ! Trying to view a black car in pooring rain was going to be interesting. The chap couldn’t me more helpful though, stood there with an umbrella and wiping one panel at a time so I can check paint, not ideal but it was very obvious the paint was immaculate. The night before I asked him not to start the car as I wanted to do a cold start, he said no problem, when I arrived they were all standing around the car and immediately I thought here we go. Turns out the 630i was blocking in another car they wanted to get out, but didn’t want to start and move it because I had asked for a cold start. I actually felt quite bad but that’s the level of service these guys gave me !
Next up was test drive, guy took me down some 30 residential roads, then through a local Asda with big horrible speed bumps to check for knocks or creaks, and finally a little blast down a DC on the way back. Out can the OBD scanner AFTER all the driving and no faults or codes stored , winner. It was everything I was after and more so after a feeble attempt at haggling given there was literally nothing wrong at all, a deal was done for £250 less than the £7999 price tag inc private plate and 6 months warranty up to the value of the car.
After paying we went back out to the car with him armed with a massive PDI style check list, I said don’t worry I’m happy with the car and it’s faultless, no he said, we must check every single switch and function to make sure everything works as it should and you are 100% happy. Baring in mind I had already parted with the money and he STILL wanted to make sure I was happy and there were no issues. Another 20 minutes later and we were done. AC ice cold, sat nav up today and worked, every switch dial or knob did what it should. Shook hands and off I went. Naturally with a used car the first stop was nearest garage
. Touareg was low too after all the running around so filled both up..£200 thank you very much . Reset both trip meters and headed home, I drove the 630 and Mrs Fb in her Touareg. Mooched through town thinking it was reasonably nippy, hit the motorway on-ramp and thought I would give it some wellie, well it really surprised me ! For 260odd ponies it just pulled and pulled and pulled until I realised I was at licence losing speeds before I knew it. Swapped halfway home so Mrs Fb could have a go... yeah looks like I’ve inherited a Derv Touareg
The moment of truth was when we got home and compared OBC’s. 3.0TDI Touareg did 28.6mpg average one the way home which was some town, some ‘progress’ on motorway and a couple of traffic light Gp’s for a laugh. 3.0 petrol 630 did 28.2 mimicking the same trip!! Happy with that for sure The car has a lovely spec list including wide screen nav, premium hifi with Logic 7 and factory DAB, FSH at BMW apart from 2, sport model with sports seats etc.
Full decode list below..
475 black-sapphire metallic
LCCH Leather "Dakota"/chateau
S1CA Selection of COP-relevant vehicles
S205 Automatic transmission
S2C BMW LA star spoke 218 w flat-runn. prop.
S302 Alarm system
S320 Deleted, model lettering
S403 Glass roof, electrical
S414 Parcel net, passenger side
S423 Floor mats velours
S428 Warning triangle and first aid kit
S441 Smoker package
S481 Sports seat
S508 Park Distance Control (PDC)
S540 Cruise control
S601 TV function
S609 Navigation system Professional
S612 BMW Assist
S620 Voice control
S633 Preparation, mobile phone, Business
S654 DAB tuner
S677 HiFi system Professional DSP (Logic 7)
S698 Area-Code 2 for DVD
S710 M leather steering wheel
S760 High gloss shadow line
S775 Headlining anthracite
S8SA Navigation access request,country-spec.
S8SP Control unit COP
S431 Interior mirror with automatic-dip
S434 Interior trim finishers
S459 Seat adjustment, electric, with memory
S502 Headlight cleaning system
S522 Xenon Light
S534 Automatic air conditioning
The condition is remarkable and came with 4 recently refurbished 19” wheels in graphite grey, 4 new run flat Bridgestone Potenza’s that are correct star rated for BMW, new pads all round and recent discs, original paint that has no blemishes a light polish wouldn’t cure, interior is unmarked and still smells like new leather, and a private plate which hides the age nicely. Overall I’m happy as can be with a sub 8k 14 year old car but still have a few things to get it to my standard. This thread will hopefully document my trials and tribulations as we move forwards
Previous Ghetto spec cars
Home brew Mitsubishi GTO which I twin turbo’d the stock NA engine and ran on 20% methanol daily. Ran 500hp and 11sec 1/4 in full road trim with ac nice an cold
Ghetto spec E60 530d daily dog.. 10k a year on school runs taking vermin to school alone !
Slightly less ghetto spec Touareg but equally used and abused !
Well finally I guess you can see the theme... here is some advert pics of the 630i
And the only photo I’ve actually been able to take in between rain showers
Edited by fastbikes76 on Wednesday 11th March 13:42
Edited by fastbikes76 on Friday 20th March 13:12
Lovely motor and a great write up.
Wheels aren't top my taste, but if you like them then great; least they'll be uber easy to clean & keep clean
I test drove a 650i and 630i; on bypass, motorway and windy country B roads and in all honesty, apart from the V8 growl, I'd have gone with the 630i... It handled better IMO and it liked to use the rev range
Alas I couldn't cope with only 2 doors as at 6ft4 and 21 stone, there is no way anyone would fit behind me in that car and the wife & I do share out the taxi duties if we're out & about with family etc
Keep the thread going, more pics needed
Wheels aren't top my taste, but if you like them then great; least they'll be uber easy to clean & keep clean
I test drove a 650i and 630i; on bypass, motorway and windy country B roads and in all honesty, apart from the V8 growl, I'd have gone with the 630i... It handled better IMO and it liked to use the rev range
Alas I couldn't cope with only 2 doors as at 6ft4 and 21 stone, there is no way anyone would fit behind me in that car and the wife & I do share out the taxi duties if we're out & about with family etc
Keep the thread going, more pics needed
ChapmanC said:
Can imagine, my E61 feels the same. Might go for E63 when i dont need the diesel life!
My E60 was quite a nice place to be, this is certainly a step up though 
d_a_n1979 said:
Lovely motor and a great write up.
Wheels aren't top my taste, but if you like them then great; least they'll be uber easy to clean & keep clean
I test drove a 650i and 630i; on bypass, motorway and windy country B roads and in all honesty, apart from the V8 growl, I'd have gone with the 630i... It handled better IMO and it liked to use the rev range
Alas I couldn't cope with only 2 doors as at 6ft4 and 21 stone, there is no way anyone would fit behind me in that car and the wife & I do share out the taxi duties if we're out & about with family etc
Keep the thread going, more pics needed
Thanks, I think for the little compromise on power and the vast reduction on known issues, the 630i is a cracking compromise. If I wanted a fast car I would have just bought one, this as you say is more that adequate.Wheels aren't top my taste, but if you like them then great; least they'll be uber easy to clean & keep clean
I test drove a 650i and 630i; on bypass, motorway and windy country B roads and in all honesty, apart from the V8 growl, I'd have gone with the 630i... It handled better IMO and it liked to use the rev range
Alas I couldn't cope with only 2 doors as at 6ft4 and 21 stone, there is no way anyone would fit behind me in that car and the wife & I do share out the taxi duties if we're out & about with family etc
Keep the thread going, more pics needed
There will be plenty of pics for sure, I’m an OCD kinda guy so like to clean all the places often forgotten.
First up was removing the factory floor mats that looked a little grubby. When scrubbing and washing them in Luke warm water the amount of filth brown scum that came out was disgusting!! Anyways we now have 4 lovely clean floor mats again that have lightened in colour by at least 15 shades of grim
Before...
And now pretty much dry
cerb4.5lee said:
That 500bhp Mitsubishi GTO! 
Enjoy the 630i.
It has a lovely silky smooth engine for sure and I used to have that engine in a 330i.
Yours looks a lovely example.
Missed this one, yeah the GTO was a beast. 172mph gps which was gear ratio limited rather than power, 0-60 down a smidge under 3.5 seconds .Enjoy the 630i.
It has a lovely silky smooth engine for sure and I used to have that engine in a 330i.
Yours looks a lovely example.
The straight 6 in this is lovely. So so smooth and quite you can barely tell it’s running. Open the bonnet and all you can hear is the injectors ticking away quietly. Big change from loud shouty cars of my past haha
paradigital said:
E63 has certainly been a "grower" in terms of looks, I think it actually looks quite good these days. Really like the interior colour!
Not sure why you'd "blank" out your numberplate though, given you can still read what it says.
They certainly do grow on you as they get older, The interior really sets it off for me. I wasn't actually looking for a red interior but the whole package of this car was just spot on. Not sure why you'd "blank" out your numberplate though, given you can still read what it says.
Numberplate is just habit..it really isn't any big secret but just something Ive just done. Im no tin foil hat type though
Macron said:
Looks good!
What options did you want specifically? Not cream leather obvs!
First and above anything before I even thought about a car..factory Xenons. Standard halogen lights on cars should be illegal, the standard halogens on E60's were downright lethal as are halogens on Touaregs. Every car I buy must have factory xenons to start with.What options did you want specifically? Not cream leather obvs!
Other spec of MUST have's were pano roof, black or poss Stratus Grey, black or red leather, sport model with sport seats, leccy memory seats, auto, logic 7 hifi, fsh, 2 keys and reasonable mileage.
The would be nice list was heated seats, folding mirrors and that's pretty much the only thing mine didn't have .
confucuis said:
Didn't realize these came in manual!
I was/am looking at possibly buying one of these but over here in Ireland, they all tend to be automatics!
mine is an auto, but yes you could get them in manual. In fact there was a lovely manual one I was going to look at until I saw it was manual. I don't want a big cruiser like this and then have to bugger around with those gear thingies I was/am looking at possibly buying one of these but over here in Ireland, they all tend to be automatics!
MikeM6 said:
That is a lovely looking thing. I haven't driven a 630i, but I have heard that the lighter engine makes them quite a sweet steer.
I think the E63 have aged really well.
Thanks ! They are a surprisingly light car for the size. Book specs mine at 1575 kerb with 90% fuel tank and 75kgs load. As you know, wings are plastic, bonnet and boot are aluminium, engine is Magnesium alloy, all suspension and subframes are Ali etc. I think the E63 have aged really well.
In terms of driving, I've not driven it since buying it. I did about 30 miles home before swapping with the wife who drove the rest of the way back, then its just sat outside my house looking pretty. I will probably take it for a drive on the weekend though.
gf15 said:
Lovely car. I ran my 650 to over 200k miles with no real issues.
Drop me a PM if you want me to send you the brouchere pack.
If you want to buy the BMW fitted dog cover for the e63, check ebay...;)
Thanks ! Ive got all the full book packs and manuals that came with the car, is the brochure pack different from those ? If so, yes please I would love them. Was that meant to be car cover ? or dog cover for seats ? Drop me a PM if you want me to send you the brouchere pack.
If you want to buy the BMW fitted dog cover for the e63, check ebay...;)
gf15 said:
If you search "bmw 6 series brouchere pack" on ebay, you should only get 1 result. This is what I have and am happy to post foc.
It is a dog cover for the rear seats on eBay, check sellers other items.
Cheers
Yes please kind sir, I would love the brochure pack and happily part with some beer tokens. It is a dog cover for the rear seats on eBay, check sellers other items.
Cheers
I will fire off a PM in a minute
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