640d Gran Coupe
Discussion
Hi all
Hope everyone is doing OK with the lockdowns etc
Looking for some advice if possible..have been having a search through the forum but most of the threads are quite old.
I currently have a 67 plate E220d SE on lease going back in a few months. Looking at replacements for it I have been all over the shop. Shortlist became:
6 series gran coupe
530d or 540i new shape
Audi S4 Avant
Alfa Giula Veloce - although probably not very comparable to above and no decent dealers in Scotland etc pretty much discounts this.
For whatever reason, the 6GC keeps going to top of the list. The prices just now seem very good for the amount of car you get. Budget is ideally £400/m
Are there any major issues people are aware of with the 6GC, in particular the 640d? Any watchouts or reliability issues
Are the sport seats good enough or do you absolutely need comfort seats?
Any advice much appreciated!
Hope everyone is doing OK with the lockdowns etc
Looking for some advice if possible..have been having a search through the forum but most of the threads are quite old.
I currently have a 67 plate E220d SE on lease going back in a few months. Looking at replacements for it I have been all over the shop. Shortlist became:
6 series gran coupe
530d or 540i new shape
Audi S4 Avant
Alfa Giula Veloce - although probably not very comparable to above and no decent dealers in Scotland etc pretty much discounts this.
For whatever reason, the 6GC keeps going to top of the list. The prices just now seem very good for the amount of car you get. Budget is ideally £400/m
Are there any major issues people are aware of with the 6GC, in particular the 640d? Any watchouts or reliability issues
Are the sport seats good enough or do you absolutely need comfort seats?
Any advice much appreciated!
Are you talking new? as the grand coup doesn't exist any more in 6 form, it is now basically the the 8 series GC, The only 6 series is what they call the Gran Turismo - the ugly hatch back thing.
If not new, and for your general info, I have a 5 year old 640D GC for that last 2 years and it is bloody great. No significant issues, super comfortable, fast enough and real world mpg of just over 40mpg. It looks special too.
Good luck on your search - come end of lock down I guess the best idea is to try a few of your options to decide what feels best for you.
If not new, and for your general info, I have a 5 year old 640D GC for that last 2 years and it is bloody great. No significant issues, super comfortable, fast enough and real world mpg of just over 40mpg. It looks special too.
Good luck on your search - come end of lock down I guess the best idea is to try a few of your options to decide what feels best for you.
Sorry yes should have clarified, all above would be used.
Sounds good re your experience! Does yours have the sport or comfort seats? Also VDC or anything? Conscious the options are vast.
Trying to weigh up the cost/benefit of getting a slightly newer one i.e. post April 2017. Really annoying the tax jumps from £200 to £450 pretty much for exactly the same car for sake of a few months. Trying to weigh up if getting one young enough to still be under warranty justifies this tax hike.
Sounds good re your experience! Does yours have the sport or comfort seats? Also VDC or anything? Conscious the options are vast.
Trying to weigh up the cost/benefit of getting a slightly newer one i.e. post April 2017. Really annoying the tax jumps from £200 to £450 pretty much for exactly the same car for sake of a few months. Trying to weigh up if getting one young enough to still be under warranty justifies this tax hike.
mine does not have many extras, but the base level 6 series ("flagship") is pretty good. Mine is "M" sport version - slightly better looks.
Thought I would be unhappy with not having head-up display or reversing camera, and although good if you can get them, they are not essential. But buying secondhand means someone else has taken the extras cost and depreciation!
Mine are std seats and seem fine but I am sure comfort seats might better suit a former Merc driver!
Two points of note:
1. I hear concerns over ride and fragility of the largest 20" wheel option - mine are 19" and fine
2. I changed the run flats to regular tyres and this improves things to some extent - like in all beemers, plus cheaper too
Thought I would be unhappy with not having head-up display or reversing camera, and although good if you can get them, they are not essential. But buying secondhand means someone else has taken the extras cost and depreciation!
Mine are std seats and seem fine but I am sure comfort seats might better suit a former Merc driver!
Two points of note:
1. I hear concerns over ride and fragility of the largest 20" wheel option - mine are 19" and fine
2. I changed the run flats to regular tyres and this improves things to some extent - like in all beemers, plus cheaper too
I've been using a 640d coupe (not gran coupe) as a daily for the last 2.5 years (and 35k miles) and it's been great and faultless.
As previous poster says, comfortable, fast and frugal.
Bear in mind the older ones are not ULEZ compliant (if that affects you). I think post 2015'ish are OK, which I'm guessing is what you are looking at anyway.
Mines on 20 inch wheels and run flats and I find it fine, but compared to a Mercedes it's likely to be a slightly harsher ride.
As previous poster says, comfortable, fast and frugal.
Bear in mind the older ones are not ULEZ compliant (if that affects you). I think post 2015'ish are OK, which I'm guessing is what you are looking at anyway.
Mines on 20 inch wheels and run flats and I find it fine, but compared to a Mercedes it's likely to be a slightly harsher ride.
I have a '14 plate 640d MGC and it really is such an improvement over my previous E61 & E93.
I agree with the previous comment about the 20" wheels though. You hit a pothole and you'll have a tyre bulge at best but most likely a buckled or cracked wheel more likely.
I too have replaced the runflats for normal tyres which does make quite a difference due mostly to the very thin sidewall.
Mine has comfort seats so can't compare the standard ones but they are a really lovely place to rest your bum. Remember the car is a coupe still so you do tend to lay down more than sit upright. Something that took a bit of getting used to compared to the E61 before it (I never did long distances in the E93 but the feel is similar).
The 40d engine is very capable when you want it to be, and coupled with the gearbox that changes as quick as you'll ever need a diesel to, it's an impressive combination. Remaps are possible as with everything these days but I've not hankered for more power after just a year with the car. Usually I'll set it to ECO PRO and leave it there so that I can drive Essex-Cornwall-Essex on a single tank. 1,000 miles is genuinely possible from a full tank if you're mile munching (I did Essex-Germany-Netherlands-Belgium-France-Essex with just 2 overnights last September).
Issues of note are water ingress due to the yellow grommet (Google F10 water ingress and you'll find the simple 'how-to'), weak boot springs and the previously mentioned 20" wheels.
There is also a concern with annoying vibrations around 70mph which some overcome by standing behind the tyre balancing guy and asking him to 'do better.' Others have replaced wheels with new (BMW or aftermarket) and the problem has mysteriously gone away.
Boot is huge but awkward due to the depth and rear seats have little leg room for such a long wheelbase. Head up display is one of those pointless gadgets that I wasn't bothered about but I just cannot bring myself to switch off now I have it. Only option I really wish I had is the panoramic roof. The doors are large and the glasshouse is quite small. Cream leather really lifts this a lot and the 'extended leather' in mine even more so, so if you're thinking of black leather then I'd personally find it a bit nauseous after a while without a pano roof.
Overall a really good package and I'm very glad I bought mine instead of going for what my head was telling me - F11.
If you're interested in long term ownership, ask me in a few years. I'll be keeping this one until something breaks that doesn't warrant the cost. That's how much I like this car.
I agree with the previous comment about the 20" wheels though. You hit a pothole and you'll have a tyre bulge at best but most likely a buckled or cracked wheel more likely.
I too have replaced the runflats for normal tyres which does make quite a difference due mostly to the very thin sidewall.
Mine has comfort seats so can't compare the standard ones but they are a really lovely place to rest your bum. Remember the car is a coupe still so you do tend to lay down more than sit upright. Something that took a bit of getting used to compared to the E61 before it (I never did long distances in the E93 but the feel is similar).
The 40d engine is very capable when you want it to be, and coupled with the gearbox that changes as quick as you'll ever need a diesel to, it's an impressive combination. Remaps are possible as with everything these days but I've not hankered for more power after just a year with the car. Usually I'll set it to ECO PRO and leave it there so that I can drive Essex-Cornwall-Essex on a single tank. 1,000 miles is genuinely possible from a full tank if you're mile munching (I did Essex-Germany-Netherlands-Belgium-France-Essex with just 2 overnights last September).
Issues of note are water ingress due to the yellow grommet (Google F10 water ingress and you'll find the simple 'how-to'), weak boot springs and the previously mentioned 20" wheels.
There is also a concern with annoying vibrations around 70mph which some overcome by standing behind the tyre balancing guy and asking him to 'do better.' Others have replaced wheels with new (BMW or aftermarket) and the problem has mysteriously gone away.
Boot is huge but awkward due to the depth and rear seats have little leg room for such a long wheelbase. Head up display is one of those pointless gadgets that I wasn't bothered about but I just cannot bring myself to switch off now I have it. Only option I really wish I had is the panoramic roof. The doors are large and the glasshouse is quite small. Cream leather really lifts this a lot and the 'extended leather' in mine even more so, so if you're thinking of black leather then I'd personally find it a bit nauseous after a while without a pano roof.
Overall a really good package and I'm very glad I bought mine instead of going for what my head was telling me - F11.
If you're interested in long term ownership, ask me in a few years. I'll be keeping this one until something breaks that doesn't warrant the cost. That's how much I like this car.
Wow thanks all, seems quite positive overall!
The SE sprung Merc I must admit is very comfortable and smooth, obviously not very sporty but it has been a great car. The new gen 2l diesel engine is excellent and the car has been faultless, just time for it to go back to lease co. Fancy something a bit more special now.
I went for the Merc to save a bit of money tbh with a wedding etc to pay for! Very good lease deal at the time. So also now keen for something a bit more sporty. I think it sounds like the 6GC ticks the boxes.
I was a bit concerned about rear seat space, then I remember I very rarely have anyone in the back!
Commute is about 25 miles each way per day so diesel probably just about works out.
The car I am considering is Ivory interior, not my first choice but good to know re lack of sunroof and avoiding black leather ^. Would just need to try to get something on them to stop stains from jeans etc.
Also thank you for the watch outs around the wheels, a bit concerning but can cracks be repaired? Believe it or not I have never had a cracked alloy in 17 years of driving.
I would hope that any vibration would be sorted by the garage if a warranty still exists and I catch it early enough.
Also good shout re RFT's, I would be planning on switching those out definitely.
Sounds like I need to try to get to see the car then and test out the sport seats. I think that's the main worry atm as I know the comfort ones exist! haha
The SE sprung Merc I must admit is very comfortable and smooth, obviously not very sporty but it has been a great car. The new gen 2l diesel engine is excellent and the car has been faultless, just time for it to go back to lease co. Fancy something a bit more special now.
I went for the Merc to save a bit of money tbh with a wedding etc to pay for! Very good lease deal at the time. So also now keen for something a bit more sporty. I think it sounds like the 6GC ticks the boxes.
I was a bit concerned about rear seat space, then I remember I very rarely have anyone in the back!
Commute is about 25 miles each way per day so diesel probably just about works out.
The car I am considering is Ivory interior, not my first choice but good to know re lack of sunroof and avoiding black leather ^. Would just need to try to get something on them to stop stains from jeans etc.
Also thank you for the watch outs around the wheels, a bit concerning but can cracks be repaired? Believe it or not I have never had a cracked alloy in 17 years of driving.
I would hope that any vibration would be sorted by the garage if a warranty still exists and I catch it early enough.
Also good shout re RFT's, I would be planning on switching those out definitely.
Sounds like I need to try to get to see the car then and test out the sport seats. I think that's the main worry atm as I know the comfort ones exist! haha
I can echo the comments above. I have a '13 plate 640d M GC. It is my first diesel and replaced a 2009 530i E61. I have owned for 3 years and it is definitely the best car I have owned. It is very fast when you want it to be and a comfortable cruiser and mile muncher when required my overall long-term MPG is 39.
I spent a while looking for the right spec. But gave up trying to find a 640i and actually have no regrets the 40d is that good. I have HUD, reversing camera, comfort access and soft close doors. I love the HUD and the reversing camera is great to have. My car has 20" and runflats they have been fine for me. I bought a set of 18" bmw wheels and snow tyres from ebay for winter and the car went anywhere even in 4" snow a couple of winters back.
My car is black with black leather and standard sport seats - never had an issue with them even over long distances. The only thing I may have liked in addition is a sunroof and vdc but you cant have everything.
I have had a couple of issues with mine to do with the EGR before the recall but all under warranty and the comfort access handles have been replaced when they played up but apart from that it has been faultless.
Approaching 60K miles now but plan to keep for at least another couple of years as nothing else comes close in my eyes. I had a look at the new 8GC but it is no looker compared the 6 sadly
I spent a while looking for the right spec. But gave up trying to find a 640i and actually have no regrets the 40d is that good. I have HUD, reversing camera, comfort access and soft close doors. I love the HUD and the reversing camera is great to have. My car has 20" and runflats they have been fine for me. I bought a set of 18" bmw wheels and snow tyres from ebay for winter and the car went anywhere even in 4" snow a couple of winters back.
My car is black with black leather and standard sport seats - never had an issue with them even over long distances. The only thing I may have liked in addition is a sunroof and vdc but you cant have everything.
I have had a couple of issues with mine to do with the EGR before the recall but all under warranty and the comfort access handles have been replaced when they played up but apart from that it has been faultless.
Approaching 60K miles now but plan to keep for at least another couple of years as nothing else comes close in my eyes. I had a look at the new 8GC but it is no looker compared the 6 sadly
I've had a 640d M-Sport Gran Coupe as my daily driver for about 2 years.
I've gone from 48k miles to 96k miles and nothing (and I mean nothing) has gone wrong with it (which is almost annoying as I kept the warranty going).
As said, I would avoid 20s and fit non-RFT tyres as well otherwise the ride is shockingly firm and not in character with the Gran Touring type of car it is. Adjustable suspension may help but was oddly a very rare option (less than 20% of cars have it fitted).
Mine has been to Italy for a 2 week trip with teenage children in the back. The boot is smaller than a 5 series, but is enough.
I sought out a car with heavy options, so mine has £23k of options fitted. The best options in my opinion are Full Merino Leather (an expensive upgrade that covers almost all the interior in extra leather and Alcantara), HeadsUp Display, Active Cruise and Surround View (it's a big car to park with poor rear visibility). The least useful options are TV and NightVision.
Mine has averaged 38mpg (living in the countryside) over about 50k miles I have driven. On a long motorway run it gets 45-50mpg with a range of up to about 650 miles.
I've gone from 48k miles to 96k miles and nothing (and I mean nothing) has gone wrong with it (which is almost annoying as I kept the warranty going).
As said, I would avoid 20s and fit non-RFT tyres as well otherwise the ride is shockingly firm and not in character with the Gran Touring type of car it is. Adjustable suspension may help but was oddly a very rare option (less than 20% of cars have it fitted).
Mine has been to Italy for a 2 week trip with teenage children in the back. The boot is smaller than a 5 series, but is enough.
I sought out a car with heavy options, so mine has £23k of options fitted. The best options in my opinion are Full Merino Leather (an expensive upgrade that covers almost all the interior in extra leather and Alcantara), HeadsUp Display, Active Cruise and Surround View (it's a big car to park with poor rear visibility). The least useful options are TV and NightVision.
Mine has averaged 38mpg (living in the countryside) over about 50k miles I have driven. On a long motorway run it gets 45-50mpg with a range of up to about 650 miles.
I went for a 640i GC, Melbourne red with ivory leather. Looks better than it sounds. It came with 20’s and RFT’s and I am changing them as the ride is too harsh . Only 6 months in but fine so far, I average 32 to 34 mpg, but on a motorway run high 30’s max so a lot lower than the diesel on a long run. But it costs me £10 a week more than a diesel on the miles I do so no big deal. Only option I wanted and it doesn’t have is the pan roof, but it’s very light inside with the leather choice.
It feels large to drive, but dimension wise isn’t that different to a 5 series overall.
If your budget allows, have a look at the nice blue colour (sprint blue ?, similar to estoril on the m135 etc) on some of the later cars. I really like mine, great value used for what you get.
It feels large to drive, but dimension wise isn’t that different to a 5 series overall.
If your budget allows, have a look at the nice blue colour (sprint blue ?, similar to estoril on the m135 etc) on some of the later cars. I really like mine, great value used for what you get.
I’m 6 weeks into owning a 2017 640d GC SE.
Mine has Comfort Seats, Nappa Leather, HUD, Soft Close Doors, Heated Steering Wheel, Rear Camera and probably more that I’m not aware of.
My previous car was a F31 330d Touring that was a BMW show car so had every option possible. The one thing that I miss is adaptive suspension.
The 6 GC is a big car that is just effortless in the way it drives. It’s no quicker than the 330 from a start but once underway it’s all too easy to be doing rather silly speeds.
My interior is very light and the seats have black inserts which look very nice. I just wish it had black carpets like my 330 had as the cream mats are a pain to keep clean.
On a run I get low 40’s mpg where the 330 may have crept into the low 50’s. Overall the display is saying 36 mpg but this lockdown means most of my journeys are 6 miles each way to my office.
It also more to insure than the 330 so worth calling a specialist broker rather than just going online.
The list price new was £71k and I after just under 3 years it had lost well over £40k and that was at a main BMW dealer. It had 24k miles on it.
As others have said you do sit very low and initially the car feels huge. I regularly park next to an M5 CS and that towers over the GC.
Mine has Comfort Seats, Nappa Leather, HUD, Soft Close Doors, Heated Steering Wheel, Rear Camera and probably more that I’m not aware of.
My previous car was a F31 330d Touring that was a BMW show car so had every option possible. The one thing that I miss is adaptive suspension.
The 6 GC is a big car that is just effortless in the way it drives. It’s no quicker than the 330 from a start but once underway it’s all too easy to be doing rather silly speeds.
My interior is very light and the seats have black inserts which look very nice. I just wish it had black carpets like my 330 had as the cream mats are a pain to keep clean.
On a run I get low 40’s mpg where the 330 may have crept into the low 50’s. Overall the display is saying 36 mpg but this lockdown means most of my journeys are 6 miles each way to my office.
It also more to insure than the 330 so worth calling a specialist broker rather than just going online.
The list price new was £71k and I after just under 3 years it had lost well over £40k and that was at a main BMW dealer. It had 24k miles on it.
As others have said you do sit very low and initially the car feels huge. I regularly park next to an M5 CS and that towers over the GC.
Blu3R said:
Usually I'll set it to ECO PRO and leave it there so that I can drive Essex-Cornwall-Essex on a single tank. 1,000 miles is genuinely possible from a full tank if you're mile munching (I did Essex-Germany-Netherlands-Belgium-France-Essex with just 2 overnights last September).
To do 1000 miles on a 70 litre tank, I make that over 65mpg.Is that really possible over a full tank in one of these ?
RUSSELLM said:
To do 1000 miles on a 70 litre tank, I make that over 65mpg.
Is that really possible over a full tank in one of these ?
No not a chance in hell. I've done long journeys on cruise at 70mph or lower due to traffic and the best I've ever averaged on a long run is just around 50mpg and that was when I was actually trying to get best mpg for fun as a way to pass the time on the 30th time doing the same 120mile all motorway run...............Is that really possible over a full tank in one of these ?
Normal max tank range on a 640d is 550-650 miles.
Great to hear re no issues and good MPG!
The car I am looking at currently has the newer 20's but also VDC which I assume should help?
Also looking for as many options as possible but I guess you can't have everything. Key for me would be surround view, m sport + and VDC I think. Comfort seats also a big attraction but I'm hopefully going to get a seat in the sports ones to see if they are OK.
Love the sonic blue, but the only car nearby that is in that colour doesn't have VDC and missing a couple of other options which the price doesn't really reflect.
Carbon black looks great, sure it'll be a pain to keep it that way though! haha
For those that have owned/still own the 6GC do you have it served @ main dealer or are independents just as good with these cars? Guess it depends on the garage but looking in to service packs etc.
Also winter wheels, not sure what best options there are? Assuming they are probably really needed
The car I am looking at currently has the newer 20's but also VDC which I assume should help?
Also looking for as many options as possible but I guess you can't have everything. Key for me would be surround view, m sport + and VDC I think. Comfort seats also a big attraction but I'm hopefully going to get a seat in the sports ones to see if they are OK.
Love the sonic blue, but the only car nearby that is in that colour doesn't have VDC and missing a couple of other options which the price doesn't really reflect.
Carbon black looks great, sure it'll be a pain to keep it that way though! haha
For those that have owned/still own the 6GC do you have it served @ main dealer or are independents just as good with these cars? Guess it depends on the garage but looking in to service packs etc.
Also winter wheels, not sure what best options there are? Assuming they are probably really needed
Edited by Chris0288 on Friday 1st May 11:43
Edited by Chris0288 on Friday 1st May 11:45
To answer your question on the winter wheels I grabbed a bargain from a main dealer 4 immaculate 18" wheels with Pirelli Sottozero runflats for £420 including delivery via ebay the August after I got the car. They are original fit square set up for the 5 series / 6 series. And I have only ever used the main dealer for this car. They have always looked after me very well and been a reasonable on price.
With regards to fuel 550 - 600 miles to a tank is about right.
I knew it would be slightly worse on fuel than the 330. At the end of the day it's bigger, heavier and had had a big power increase on the previous car so anytime I get over 40mpg I'm happy.
My 330d averaged 42.1 over the 70k miles that I did so if I can get the 640d close to 40 I will be happy with that.
I have a warranty for a year and do intend to take to my local main dealer at least until that runs out. I'm hoping that still do the cheaper servicing for 3 year old cars that they use dot do.
I knew it would be slightly worse on fuel than the 330. At the end of the day it's bigger, heavier and had had a big power increase on the previous car so anytime I get over 40mpg I'm happy.
My 330d averaged 42.1 over the 70k miles that I did so if I can get the 640d close to 40 I will be happy with that.
I have a warranty for a year and do intend to take to my local main dealer at least until that runs out. I'm hoping that still do the cheaper servicing for 3 year old cars that they use dot do.
I did 70k miles in a 640d Coupe and took it from 15k to 85k miles and it was completely faultless. They offer a great performance/economy mix I reckon(40 mpg for me). Mine was Deep Sea Blue with Ivory White leather and I loved the light interior.
My main bugbear was the 20" wheels with the runflats and the ride was really poor on broken tarmac/potholes. I did swap to normal tyres which improved the ride massively, however I suffered 3 punctures over a short space of time so I wished that I'd just stuck to the runflats with hindsight.
They do feel a big car in car parks etc and the steering is vague to say the least, other than that though it was a fantastic car and I'd certainly have another one.
My main bugbear was the 20" wheels with the runflats and the ride was really poor on broken tarmac/potholes. I did swap to normal tyres which improved the ride massively, however I suffered 3 punctures over a short space of time so I wished that I'd just stuck to the runflats with hindsight.
They do feel a big car in car parks etc and the steering is vague to say the least, other than that though it was a fantastic car and I'd certainly have another one.
I preferred the black metallic (sapphire?) to carbon black and originally wanted black. Only looked at the red one as it was close by and it looked far nicer in the flesh than the pics, so I bought it.
I didn’t like the look of the comfort seats, but equally find the sport seats comfortable on long motorway runs (3 hours).
Mines a 2015 facelift, I use my local independent bmw specialist, but have done so on all previous BMW’s so know and trust them.
I didn’t like the look of the comfort seats, but equally find the sport seats comfortable on long motorway runs (3 hours).
Mines a 2015 facelift, I use my local independent bmw specialist, but have done so on all previous BMW’s so know and trust them.
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