Saying Hello - new M6 GC on the way!

Saying Hello - new M6 GC on the way!

Author
Discussion

windymissile

276 posts

129 months

Sunday 2nd July 2017
quotequote all
Hi Mike.

In a curious twist of fate, I'm considering swapping my pristine 335i N54 for a M6GC.
How has it been if you don't mind me asking? Highs and lows?

Cheers.
WM

mikeN54

Original Poster:

607 posts

181 months

Monday 3rd July 2017
quotequote all
Hi WM,

...In a strange twist of fate I've been hankering after my old 335i manual tourer. smile

Which TBH was a better drive than the M6 and sounded WAY better and cost a fraction to buy and run, but a bit long in the tooth now and I find the E9x interior dated very badly (IMO).

I fell for the looks and the interior on the M6GC which are spectacular. I really need a two seater sports car as well for fun drives, but can't afford both.

It is a lovely thing, mores so to look at than drive. I still prefer manual cars and the S63tu engine is completely silent from inside the car except for electronic noise which is not special sound at all. They sound great from OUTSIDE so windows open helps a lot to get some noise in. My wifes new Golf GTI sounds much more dynamic than an M5/M6 ever could from inside.

So, in short it is a great GT, beautifully built and amazing interior, and a great family car with a big boot. Goes bloody quick in a straight line but too heavy for the B roads. Very big, a bh to park, v poor visibility. Great for posing in.

An autobahn blaster then, except we don't have any autobahns...

No reliability issues with it, just defective leather on a door card, except it took the dealers 2 months to fix it. I've done my own coding etc, it is a frightfully complex car so i think you'd have to pay for extended warranty if you get one.

What sort of age / spec are you looking at? If I was buying used I'd try for a comp pack and carbon brakes.

Mike


Edited by mikeN54 on Monday 3rd July 14:57

JMBMWM5

2,283 posts

198 months

Monday 3rd July 2017
quotequote all
kippaxking said:
Haha! That's the showroom...

Amazing car, it will be worth the wait.

Any other GC owners on here? It seems a very rare car.
Sold mine, to big for London Parking/driving.
Bought the 2017 M3 Comp Pack, love it.



windymissile

276 posts

129 months

Monday 3rd July 2017
quotequote all
mikeN54 said:
Hi WM,

...In a strange twist of fate I've been hankering after my old 335i manual tourer. smile

Which TBH was a better drive than the M6 and sounded WAY better and cost a fraction to buy and run, but a bit long in the tooth now and I find the E9x interior dated very badly (IMO).

I fell for the looks and the interior on the M6GC which are spectacular. I really need a two seater sports car as well for fun drives, but can't afford both.

It is a lovely thing, mores so to look at than drive. I still prefer manual cars and the S63tu engine is completely silent from inside the car except for electronic noise which is not special sound at all. They sound great from OUTSIDE so windows open helps a lot to get some noise in. My wifes new Golf GTI sounds much more dynamic than an M5/M6 ever could from inside.

So, in short it is a great GT, beautifully built and amazing interior, and a great family car with a big boot. Goes bloody quick in a straight line but too heavy for the B roads. Very big, a bh to park, v poor visibility. Great for posing in.

An autobahn blaster then, except we don't have any autobahns...

No reliability issues with it, just defective leather on a door card, except it took the dealers 2 months to fix it. I've done my own coding etc, it is a frightfully complex car so i think you'd have to pay for extended warranty if you get one.

What sort of age / spec are you looking at? If I was buying used I'd try for a comp pack and carbon brakes.

Mike


Edited by mikeN54 on Monday 3rd July 14:57
Thanks for the detailed response Mike.

I love my 335i. But as you said, it's showing its age now. The interior is not so much an issue for me. I still find it a nice place to be, although it is dated when comparing to the new offerings.
I expect the M6 to be a lot less connected but I'm surprised to hear you think the E90 offers a better general driving experience.
I have my eye on a 15reg in a colour combo I like. It's a few preferred options missing but they are so rare it's almost impossible to find a perfect one. No carbon brakes. I think comp pack was std on 2015 onwards..?

Cheers,

WM

M5 London

259 posts

101 months

Monday 3rd July 2017
quotequote all
Comp. Pack was not standard at any point.

I have a Dec 2015 car with no comp. pack.

windymissile

276 posts

129 months

Tuesday 4th July 2017
quotequote all
M5 London said:
Comp. Pack was not standard at any point.

I have a Dec 2015 car with no comp. pack.
Ah, right. I must me miss understanding something.
How do you find yours? Has anyone swapped the exhaust to try and get a bit more cabin noise? I'm not after anything intrusive but a little rumble when pressing on the loud peddle would be nice.

WM

RichardM5

1,736 posts

136 months

Tuesday 4th July 2017
quotequote all
There was a big spec change in 2015 where several things that were cost options became standard, but Comp Pack was not one of them. The two main items were full leather and the M multi-function seats, there was also a redesign of the headlights and the later versions support selective beam (where the headlights don't dip for on coming traffic but move out of the way).

M5 London

259 posts

101 months

Tuesday 4th July 2017
quotequote all
windymissile said:
M5 London said:
Comp. Pack was not standard at any point.

I have a Dec 2015 car with no comp. pack.
Ah, right. I must me miss understanding something.
How do you find yours? Has anyone swapped the exhaust to try and get a bit more cabin noise? I'm not after anything intrusive but a little rumble when pressing on the loud peddle would be nice.

WM
I love my M6 GC. 22K miles in about 18 months. No issues whatsoever. Rear tyres were replaced at 13K miles. Still on the original fronts. Rear brake pads changed at about 20K miles.

Its not a sports car. But if you want to travel in style, comfort and at ridiculous speed (when conditions allow) then it fits the bill perfectly.

Its a big car for sure, but I can't think of any car of its size keeping up with it in the twisties. I have now driven a couple of F10 M5s and the M6 GC feels a lot more hunkered down, agile, with better traction and more driver focused than the M5 and the interior is in a different league.

Interestingly I live in Central London and use it as a daily driver, and although its big, I don't find parking to be a huge issue at all, especially with the excellent surround view cameras.

It is also super exclusive (RichardM5 knows all the production numbers) and thus adds to the 'special' feel when cruising around.

I have the exhaust meister gadget that allows me to remotely open/close the exhaust valves at will, which makes a slight difference. It is very quiet on the inside but I can assure you it sounds menacing at wide throttle openings on the outside, even with a completely stock exhaust setup. Personally I feel that exhaust noises created by AMG sound a bit shouty U.S. Chevy V8....whereas the M6 GC is an acquired taste and very much in line with the ///M car pedigree, German high performance with some class.


JMBMWM5

2,283 posts

198 months

Tuesday 4th July 2017
quotequote all
One point I would like to add, the M6 GC CP hides it's speed better than my M5 LCI, the M5 always felt quicker.

mikeN54

Original Poster:

607 posts

181 months

Wednesday 5th July 2017
quotequote all
windymissile said:
Thanks for the detailed response Mike.

I love my 335i. But as you said, it's showing its age now. The interior is not so much an issue for me. I still find it a nice place to be, although it is dated when comparing to the new offerings.
I expect the M6 to be a lot less connected but I'm surprised to hear you think the E90 offers a better general driving experience.
I have my eye on a 15reg in a colour combo I like. It's a few preferred options missing but they are so rare it's almost impossible to find a perfect one. No carbon brakes. I think comp pack was std on 2015 onwards..?

Cheers,

WM
WM, I think my E91 with the birds kit, quaife, JB4, DPs and all that was a more engaging and involving drive than the M6GC, but as M5London says the M6GC is a pretty spectacular car and it does defy physics for a 2 ton+ vehicle. The front end grip is remarkable, in fact my front tyres are more worn than the rears at 10.5K. (more corners than in London).

And again there is probably no better "multi purpose" car on the road for having a bit of fun on some (wider) twisties then hammering down the motorway GT style, and arriving in perfect comfort and style, with 4 people (5 if one is short) and a good boot of luggage. Inevitably such versatility comes with trade offs, you have to drive one to see how it fits your expectations.

Thing is it is SO fast, 3rd gear will get you banned in a few seconds, it's hard to feel like you're using the car as intended in the UK. 4th gear is all you need for blistering pace from 40-140. A quick blast, and a then a light throttle will hold 120/130 feeling like 80 in anything else.

I also have the exhaustmeister gadget http://exhaustmeister.com/ which opens the exhaust flaps on demand and allows more noise at more regular driving speeds, and does nice pop-bang noises on upshifts. I ordered it from the US direct, only about $150USD all in at the time.

We love the electric rear window and door blinds, so do rear passengers. I only wish i'd gone for rear 2-zone aircon over comfort access. I thought CA was needed to make starting keyless, but it's already keyless start, so it just adds a fiddly keyless unlock - for £800, which needs 3 or 4 grabs at the handle to unlock, then it unlocks and locks again, E91 worked better.(no wavy foot boot open either). So I just use the button on the key - waste of £800!

As said, summer 15 gets facelift (LCI) and loads of free stuff, inc full leather (5K), LED headlights (2.5K), alcantara/leather headliner (1K) etc..

Anyway, get some test drives to see what you think.


Edited by mikeN54 on Wednesday 5th July 14:29

windymissile

276 posts

129 months

Friday 7th July 2017
quotequote all
Loads of great information in this thread. Thanks for the info and advice guys.

I flew into the local airport close to the dealer today where the car I am looking at is for sale.
I thought it would be a great opportunity to pop in and have a look at it in the flesh as the sale ad is very poor.

The colour (San Marino Blue) is stunning. It really suits the car. The vehicle looks as good as I thought it would and I didn't think it was that big when stood up close. I have only seen 2 others on the road and they were black and green. The SM blue is definitely the best one I have seen in the flesh IMO.
We were wandering around the car (my colleague was with me as it was a business trip) having a good look round and there was no sign of a pushy salesman coming to pester us, so we walked inside to get someone to bring the keys so we could have a look inside.
As luck would have it, the salesman we got was the actual one I had had a brief email conversation with about the vehicle but he went quiet. Anyway, he was friendly enough and opened up the vehicle for us to have a look inside. The contrasting Sakhir Orange interior was brighter than I expected as I have the same on my E90 and that is definitely a shade duller (more orange..?) but it was a lovely place to be. I was surprised by the lack of all-round visibility from the drivers seat. I guess that's the trade off for having the "coupe" with the shorter glass and lower roof line.
I had spotted a few minor bits that needed attention and pointed them out. I mentioned a few extras that were missing from my perfect spec but couldn't grumble as there aren't many about. The vehicle hasn't moved for 3 months and it looks like it's had the chamois pushed over it every day by the apprentice. The disks were completely covered in surface oxidisation and the wheels were black with dust. A scuff on the front lower corner had been sprayed out and there was actual masking tape still left on the car. They had not even bothered to put the plastic trim back on the bottom of the bumper properly. All minor points and easily sorted before a potential collection. But really? On a 50k car on the forecourt? Alarm bells are starting to tingle..
Anyway, onto the money.
I have no time for car salesmen. I will confess to that from the outset. It's not a personal attack, I just don't like being deceived and I have a inbred assumption that that's what they are all trying to do. To be fair to the lad that was dealing with me today, he was not at all pushy and I was clear with him from the start of my intentions, so I think we all knew where we stood.
I went through my finance plans with him and asked him if he could match my current offer. I also asked if he could provide a valuation of my car for PX as this would form part of the deposit. He promptly delivered both via email.
He couldn't match the APR% I have already been offered through a personal non secured loan (no surprise there). It would be an extra £1400 over the term..... Not small change..
What i was surprised by was the ridiculously low PX value he gave for my car. 50% of a fair private sale price!
This was the end of the road for me. I genuinely believe they must not want to sell the car. Although it's been sat there for at least 3 months and discounted by a good few £K in this time.
There's another one just come up for sale up the road so I think i'll pop in next weekend and see what they can do for me. It has the perfect spec but it's Black on Black leather. Not really what I set out for...

Edit: sorry for the hijack. It seems all the knowledgable chaps are in here though.

WM

Edited by windymissile on Friday 7th July 22:02

JMBMWM5

2,283 posts

198 months

Saturday 8th July 2017
quotequote all
windymissile said:
Loads of great information in this thread. Thanks for the info and advice guys.

I flew into the local airport close to the dealer today where the car I am looking at is for sale.
I thought it would be a great opportunity to pop in and have a look at it in the flesh as the sale ad is very poor.

The colour (San Marino Blue) is stunning. It really suits the car. The vehicle looks as good as I thought it would and I didn't think it was that big when stood up close. I have only seen 2 others on the road and they were black and green. The SM blue is definitely the best one I have seen in the flesh IMO.
We were wandering around the car (my colleague was with me as it was a business trip) having a good look round and there was no sign of a pushy salesman coming to pester us, so we walked inside to get someone to bring the keys so we could have a look inside.
As luck would have it, the salesman we got was the actual one I had had a brief email conversation with about the vehicle but he went quiet. Anyway, he was friendly enough and opened up the vehicle for us to have a look inside. The contrasting Sakhir Orange interior was brighter than I expected as I have the same on my E90 and that is definitely a shade duller (more orange..?) but it was a lovely place to be. I was surprised by the lack of all-round visibility from the drivers seat. I guess that's the trade off for having the "coupe" with the shorter glass and lower roof line.
I had spotted a few minor bits that needed attention and pointed them out. I mentioned a few extras that were missing from my perfect spec but couldn't grumble as there aren't many about. The vehicle hasn't moved for 3 months and it looks like it's had the chamois pushed over it every day by the apprentice. The disks were completely covered in surface oxidisation and the wheels were black with dust. A scuff on the front lower corner had been sprayed out and there was actual masking tape still left on the car. They had not even bothered to put the plastic trim back on the bottom of the bumper properly. All minor points and easily sorted before a potential collection. But really? On a 50k car on the forecourt? Alarm bells are starting to tingle..
Anyway, onto the money.
I have no time for car salesmen. I will confess to that from the outset. It's not a personal attack, I just don't like being deceived and I have a inbred assumption that that's what they are all trying to do. To be fair to the lad that was dealing with me today, he was not at all pushy and I was clear with him from the start of my intentions, so I think we all knew where we stood.
I went through my finance plans with him and asked him if he could match my current offer. I also asked if he could provide a valuation of my car for PX as this would form part of the deposit. He promptly delivered both via email.
He couldn't match the APR% I have already been offered through a personal non secured loan (no surprise there). It would be an extra £1400 over the term..... Not small change..
What i was surprised by was the ridiculously low PX value he gave for my car. 50% of a fair private sale price!
This was the end of the road for me. I genuinely believe they must not want to sell the car. Although it's been sat there for at least 3 months and discounted by a good few £K in this time.
There's another one just come up for sale up the road so I think i'll pop in next weekend and see what they can do for me. It has the perfect spec but it's Black on Black leather. Not really what I set out for...

Edit: sorry for the hijack. It seems all the knowledgable chaps are in here though.

WM

Edited by windymissile on Friday 7th July 22:02
Just remember depreciation is heavy , they loose loads , good luck with your search but bargain hard.

windymissile

276 posts

129 months

Sunday 9th July 2017
quotequote all
JMBMWM5 said:
ust remember depreciation is heavy , they loose loads , good luck with your search but bargain hard.
What's the general perception on residuals? The cheapest one for sale at the moment is £42k, that's a 4.5 year old car. If my future vehicle was worth that at that age I'd be happy. That's a forecasted loss of only £7-8k in 3 years. Buying new, even with the huge discounts available the hit is large. But I see them as a bit of a used bargain.

WM

JMBMWM5

2,283 posts

198 months

Sunday 9th July 2017
quotequote all
windymissile said:
What's the general perception on residuals? The cheapest one for sale at the moment is £42k, that's a 4.5 year old car. If my future vehicle was worth that at that age I'd be happy. That's a forecasted loss of only £7-8k in 3 years. Buying new, even with the huge discounts available the hit is large. But I see them as a bit of a used bargain.

WM
LOL I think they are dreaming, factor £800/Month from date of purchase, I would say that's about right.
I lost £16K in year ONE. I bought new @ discounted price of £76600:00, from £97K retail.
So I got £60K for the car one year on, I bought the LCIM3 for that same amount at the time.
That was 2015. You can get £30K Off a new high spec one today.
So if you spend £60K today, it aint going to be worth £43K in 4.5 years..............NO WAY


Edited by JMBMWM5 on Sunday 9th July 17:16



Edited by JMBMWM5 on Sunday 9th July 17:17

windymissile

276 posts

129 months

Monday 10th July 2017
quotequote all
JMBMWM5 said:
OL I think they are dreaming, factor £800/Month from date of purchase, I would say that's about right.
I lost £16K in year ONE. I bought new @ discounted price of £76600:00, from £97K retail.
So I got £60K for the car one year on, I bought the LCIM3 for that same amount at the time.
That was 2015. You can get £30K Off a new high spec one today.
So if you spend £60K today, it aint going to be worth £43K in 4.5 years..............NO WAY


Edited by JMBMWM5 on Sunday 9th July 17:16



Edited by JMBMWM5 on Sunday 9th July 17:17
Well, they are only worth what people are willing to pay. It would be good to know what has been paid for one recently.
The GC just seems to be holding it's residuals better than the coupe.

The year one loss is not an issue for me as I am looking at a Sept 2015 car.

WM

JMBMWM5

2,283 posts

198 months

Monday 10th July 2017
quotequote all
windymissile said:
Well, they are only worth what people are willing to pay. It would be good to know what has been paid for one recently.
The GC just seems to be holding it's residuals better than the coupe.

The year one loss is not an issue for me as I am looking at a Sept 2015 car.

WM
3 year old cars are booked @ 42K retail , you should get them down too 37K easy IMO. They just don't sell.

obaluba

72 posts

158 months

Monday 9th October 2017
quotequote all
mikeN54 said:
Here it is, just arrived.

What a thing of beauty it is too. Amazing interior, so driver focused. Tol many gadget's to mention.

First mods done, black grills and side markers.

Also carbon exhaust tips to replace the naff chrome ones, but they're not in the photos.

Enjoy...


Edited by mikeN54 on Tuesday 1st March 09:48
Sorry to resurrect an old thread. I'm in the process of purchasing an M6 GC and was wondering if you had any photos of the carbon exhaust tips you added to the rear of your old car? I'm keen to do the same but would love to see what they look like.

thanks!

cogsy80

67 posts

162 months

Monday 9th October 2017
quotequote all
mikeN54 said:
What is it about leasing you don't like? Is it the perceived ownership issue?

Interior snaps below, and a nice US pic of an SM blue GC. (I've got the black grills ordered already)...







Edited by mikeN54 on Sunday 1st November 20:27
Good luck doing your grilles!! I bought the gloss black BMW ones and had a fun few hours fitting them!

If you need any pointers give me a shout!