Living with a 645/650
Discussion
I thought I'd do an update since owning the car.
The previous owner mentioned he'd struggled to get more than 26mpg. I managed to get 32 (wet, windy and raining hard) driving it back approx 100 miles on the A303 towards north Hants but after that it sat around 22. Playing with the settings when "trying" to set up bluetooth I saw the mpg was set to USA.
I had the middle boxes cut out and an x pipe welded in - it doesn't drone and nor is the noise intruding but a nice little roar letting you know it's a V8 when you boot it. The ride is the usual "runflat" ride but seen as the tyres are nearly new I'll have a re think of going to NRFT's when they need replacing.
Thinking about it, there is one other thing that annoying is the fan blower. When you start the car it comes on. Press it turn it off after it been on auto, it will come back on it's own.
All in all with just over 1k miles clocked up it's been a hoot. It's a 13 year old car that still turns heads and starts conversation in petrol stations. It drives well, handles well and returns good mpg apart from when you kick it's head in but that's to be expected with any car.
The previous owner mentioned he'd struggled to get more than 26mpg. I managed to get 32 (wet, windy and raining hard) driving it back approx 100 miles on the A303 towards north Hants but after that it sat around 22. Playing with the settings when "trying" to set up bluetooth I saw the mpg was set to USA.
I had the middle boxes cut out and an x pipe welded in - it doesn't drone and nor is the noise intruding but a nice little roar letting you know it's a V8 when you boot it. The ride is the usual "runflat" ride but seen as the tyres are nearly new I'll have a re think of going to NRFT's when they need replacing.
Thinking about it, there is one other thing that annoying is the fan blower. When you start the car it comes on. Press it turn it off after it been on auto, it will come back on it's own.
All in all with just over 1k miles clocked up it's been a hoot. It's a 13 year old car that still turns heads and starts conversation in petrol stations. It drives well, handles well and returns good mpg apart from when you kick it's head in but that's to be expected with any car.
Edited by Nath911t on Tuesday 17th October 07:59
I loved my 650, like you I was considering different cars but found a low mileage decent spec up in Dundee (I live in Colchester). A quick flight up there (they paid for the hotel and a full tank of fuel) and I had the best drive back ever.
Only reason I got rid of mine was due to the 600 miles a week I was doing on my commute (at the time it was costing me £185 per week on fuel).
I have had a couple of 640d's since then, both Gran Coupes and whilst they were lovely they still didn't give that buzz from the v8.
On to an X6 atm and once I stop doing as many miles I will be going back to a big petrol engine as there is just no comparison.
The biggest bill for me was tyres, my 2007 LCI had 9k on the clock when I got her, I did 20k on the same set of tyres (they were wrecked when I sold the car) but man I loved it.
Only reason I got rid of mine was due to the 600 miles a week I was doing on my commute (at the time it was costing me £185 per week on fuel).
I have had a couple of 640d's since then, both Gran Coupes and whilst they were lovely they still didn't give that buzz from the v8.
On to an X6 atm and once I stop doing as many miles I will be going back to a big petrol engine as there is just no comparison.
The biggest bill for me was tyres, my 2007 LCI had 9k on the clock when I got her, I did 20k on the same set of tyres (they were wrecked when I sold the car) but man I loved it.
An advert later and it's now gone.
Very good car but I should of held out for the E64 which was what I originally started looking at. There was just something about the Coupe that just didn't do it for me and the convertible does.
Maybe it's another mid life crisis
I'm also looking at ML320 & CLS320/350 dervs now as well.
Very good car but I should of held out for the E64 which was what I originally started looking at. There was just something about the Coupe that just didn't do it for me and the convertible does.
Maybe it's another mid life crisis
I'm also looking at ML320 & CLS320/350 dervs now as well.
Edited by Nath911t on Friday 13th October 08:45
After a lot of looking online/mulling and some tests, I now have a 2005 645 sat outside.
The tyres are getting on a bit. The car currently wears Alpina wheels, with 255/35/R20Ys on the front, 285/30/R20Ys on the back. PZeros all round.
The ride is maybe a little firmer than I might prefer but nothing I cannot live with. The Alpinas look good but it wouldn't break my heart to replace them. Open for discussion and (gratefully received) advice - should I reshoe the Alpinas or replace with 19s or 18s?
The tyres are getting on a bit. The car currently wears Alpina wheels, with 255/35/R20Ys on the front, 285/30/R20Ys on the back. PZeros all round.
The ride is maybe a little firmer than I might prefer but nothing I cannot live with. The Alpinas look good but it wouldn't break my heart to replace them. Open for discussion and (gratefully received) advice - should I reshoe the Alpinas or replace with 19s or 18s?
Lotusgone said:
After a lot of looking online/mulling and some tests, I now have a 2005 645 sat outside.
The tyres are getting on a bit. The car currently wears Alpina wheels, with 255/35/R20Ys on the front, 285/30/R20Ys on the back. PZeros all round.
The ride is maybe a little firmer than I might prefer but nothing I cannot live with. The Alpinas look good but it wouldn't break my heart to replace them. Open for discussion and (gratefully received) advice - should I reshoe the Alpinas or replace with 19s or 18s?
Nice one and well done and as just mentioned. Get some pictures up The tyres are getting on a bit. The car currently wears Alpina wheels, with 255/35/R20Ys on the front, 285/30/R20Ys on the back. PZeros all round.
The ride is maybe a little firmer than I might prefer but nothing I cannot live with. The Alpinas look good but it wouldn't break my heart to replace them. Open for discussion and (gratefully received) advice - should I reshoe the Alpinas or replace with 19s or 18s?
I agree that the Alpinas do look good but sacrificing for a smoother ride may well be worth it. There is a 645 not far from me that I still admire to this date and do wonder if I'd still have had the the E64 had it not been for the faults I found when I first bought it. I've been a CLS55 and couple of other cars since then though.
Lotusgone said:
After a lot of looking online/mulling and some tests, I now have a 2005 645 sat outside.
The tyres are getting on a bit. The car currently wears Alpina wheels, with 255/35/R20Ys on the front, 285/30/R20Ys on the back. PZeros all round.
The ride is maybe a little firmer than I might prefer but nothing I cannot live with. The Alpinas look good but it wouldn't break my heart to replace them. Open for discussion and (gratefully received) advice - should I reshoe the Alpinas or replace with 19s or 18s?
Congrats. The tyres are getting on a bit. The car currently wears Alpina wheels, with 255/35/R20Ys on the front, 285/30/R20Ys on the back. PZeros all round.
The ride is maybe a little firmer than I might prefer but nothing I cannot live with. The Alpinas look good but it wouldn't break my heart to replace them. Open for discussion and (gratefully received) advice - should I reshoe the Alpinas or replace with 19s or 18s?
Are they genuine Alpina alloys? If so, prob worth a decent amount of cash.
19s seem to be the most common wheel size IME. 18s look a bit small on the E63 IMO (but I'd wager superior ride, esp if matched to non RFTs).
I suppose it depends how much you like the Alpinas.
OK, some not-wonderful photos. I'll make a better attempt another day.
Other than the usual mechanical checklist (Pistonheads buyers guide and Timm on Youtube), preferences were not silver, not galactic mileage, pan roof and cream leather. Chuffed to find a good one that ticked the lot.
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/SqtHkfFq.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/MhrNMTWb" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/MhrNMTWb.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/EZ6ejKS2" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/EZ6ejKS2.jpg)
Other than the usual mechanical checklist (Pistonheads buyers guide and Timm on Youtube), preferences were not silver, not galactic mileage, pan roof and cream leather. Chuffed to find a good one that ticked the lot.
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/MhrNMTWb.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/MhrNMTWb" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/MhrNMTWb.jpg)
FWIW, I really like the Alpina wheels.Lotusgone said:
OK, some not-wonderful photos. I'll make a better attempt another day.
Other than the usual mechanical checklist (Pistonheads buyers guide and Timm on Youtube), preferences were not silver, not galactic mileage, pan roof and cream leather. Chuffed to find a good one that ticked the lot.
Other than the usual mechanical checklist (Pistonheads buyers guide and Timm on Youtube), preferences were not silver, not galactic mileage, pan roof and cream leather. Chuffed to find a good one that ticked the lot.
Saw this on ebay, I was very interested in this as it was quite close to me, the price was great too. Then I saw the advert was taken down. Does look like a very good buy! A44RON said:
pound-for-pound I don't think there is a better car than a well-maintained 650i. Colossal amount of car for the money.
I spent £6k in bits and bobs maintenance over 18 months on a 70k mile fsh very tidy example and plenty still needed doing.You need to be comfortable with doing work yourself or having a big maintenance budget if you don’t want to rely on being lucky.
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