E63 650....how ruinous are they to run?

[Court_S]

Currently contemplating getting rid of my M140i whilst values are strong from WBAC etc and buying something cheaper / older now that my car usage has changed (there are too many days where my car doesn’t move at the mo and more working from home means this will be more common).

Initially I went straight to looking at 130i’s but they’re terrible value for mo eh when you look at other stuff. The E63 had caught be attention, a 630i is clearly the sensible choice but I’m worried that it’ll feel slow after my car, hence the 650 getting my attention.

Oil leakage seems to be the big one with these, particularly the valve stem seals if I recall. Other than that are they fairly solid or would I be walking into a world of financial pain?

[DanL]

The running costs of my one are in my profile. Had it for around 4 years, and it was fine. I didn’t do too many miles (~4K a year) so MPG wasn’t a worry. It did drink a bit of oil, and I’d imagine that this is a bad sign, but no issues in my ownership.

I did run it with the BMW warranty, because if / when something does go wrong the potential expense is huge, and paying a set amount a month for peace of mind was worth it to me.

Liked mine so much I bought the current shape one afterwards.

[fastbikes76]

As you know with Mrs Fb’s one, we’ve had a few teething issues but tbh nothing drastic given it’s already had the dreaded valve stem seals done.

All oil leaks are quite DIY’able if you are handy with spanner’s and the parts them selves are a pittance in comparison to labour.

I don’t regret buying her one, but it is VERY easy to hit the 155mph limiter and will achieve licence losing speeds without any effort or realising it’s up there. The 630 is by far the sensible choice but a 650 is a must at some point, even just for the noise !!

[Court_S]

fastbikes76 said:

As you know with Mrs Fb’s one, we’ve had a few teething issues but tbh nothing drastic given it’s already had the dreaded valve stem seals done.

All oil leaks are quite DIY’able if you are handy with spanner’s and the parts them selves are a pittance in comparison to labour.

I don’t regret buying her one, but it is VERY easy to hit the 155mph limiter and will achieve licence losing speeds without any effort or realising it’s up there. The 630 is by far the sensible choice but a 650 is a must at some point, even just for the noise !!

My current car gets to license losing speeds very quickly and with ease.

Can’t say I’m particularly handy with spanner’s but I’m getting better.

There’s definitely a few that appeal.

[fastbikes76]

Court_S said:

My current car gets to license losing speeds very quickly and with ease.

Can’t say I’m particularly handy with spanner’s but I’m getting better.

There’s definitely a few that appeal.

Depending where your based there is a good Indy in the midlands somewhere who does the VSS and rocker gaskets for around a grand, Chuck a few more Bob at it while it’s apart and have coolant stent and alt bracket gasket done at the same time. That’s all the weaknesses covered for well under 2k I would think, given you can pick these up from as little as 4k, it makes cheap motoring.

Fuel wise, did 400 miles motorway last week, most of which was early hours and most was cruising around a ton, long term average when I got home was 26.4mpg . Her long term average before that was sitting at 18ish and that was after months of virtually zero motorway and all local town/school run traffic stuff.

Bizarrely enough it’s more economical than her deisel Touareg or my deisel eco Van .

Get one.. it’s a must

[d_a_n1979]

Following & interested…

The 650i is a car that’s of serious interest to me if/when I decide to sell my E39 touring…

I want to go for a V8 next and they’d suit what I want… A lovely GT

[g3org3y]

JayEmm likes them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTBkYL4t2L0

This chap on Youtube runs a 650i, lots of helpful info: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKiF9zvj9h_6NR7ga...

fastbikes76 said:

As you know with Mrs Fb’s one, we’ve had a few teething issues but tbh nothing drastic given it’s already had the dreaded valve stem seals done.

All oil leaks are quite DIY’able if you are handy with spanner’s and the parts them selves are a pittance in comparison to labour.

I don’t regret buying her one, but it is VERY easy to hit the 155mph limiter and will achieve licence losing speeds without any effort or realising it’s up there. The 630 is by far the sensible choice but a 650 is a must at some point, even just for the noise !!

You seem very handy though tbf! I don't mind doing work on the E91 330i but messing with the E70 stresses me out.

As you mention, cheap parts, expensive labour.

I never planned to get an N62 engined X5, I really wanted the N52 but they are few and far between and the ones that were around had rubbish spec. I was a bit wary of the V8, given the horror stories primarily on the US YouTube channels, however all the problems are well known and can be sorted. Fingers crossed.

.

[Court_S]

fastbikes76 said:

Depending where your based there is a good Indy in the midlands somewhere who does the VSS and rocker gaskets for around a grand, Chuck a few more Bob at it while it’s apart and have coolant stent and alt bracket gasket done at the same time. That’s all the weaknesses covered for well under 2k I would think, given you can pick these up from as little as 4k, it makes cheap motoring.

Fuel wise, did 400 miles motorway last week, most of which was early hours and most was cruising around a ton, long term average when I got home was 26.4mpg . Her long term average before that was sitting at 18ish and that was after months of virtually zero motorway and all local town/school run traffic stuff.

Bizarrely enough it’s more economical than her deisel Touareg or my deisel eco Van .

Get one.. it’s a must

Prices are all over the bloody shop which makes it hard; are the cheaper ones nails o are the expensive ones over priced?

The other car on the radar is a 335; am I brave enough to take on an N54?

[g3org3y]

Court_S said:

Prices are all over the bloody shop which makes it hard; are the cheaper ones nails o are the expensive ones over priced?

The other car on the radar is a 335; am I brave enough to take on an N54?

There was one posted on the Smoker Barge thread:

d_a_n1979 said:

E63 650i

Have we had this?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102209...



Some clever bartering it could be had for not far off thread budget

Looks in good nick overall

Very clean MOT history.

The 650s find themselves in an odd position in that they are top spec engine (M6 apart) but known problems so both desirable and not! I think a good SH is essential. I understand regular oil changes are important in trying to maintain the VSS.

For context, I paid a touch above £5000 for my 2006 630i but with fewer miles, Pearl leather, ProHiFi and HUD.

IMO spec is everything on these. Yes, they are better spec'd than then equivalent E60s, but quite a few out there don't have much more than the basic kit (+/- heated seats).

[Court_S]

This is that has caught my eye, about as much as I’d want to pay though

https://www.hardwicksportsandprestige.com/used-bmw...

At there other end of the scale, there’s two 630’s that are less than half that which looks to be ok and is a slightly less scary prospect. Both black with cream interior.

[g3org3y]

Court_S said:

This is that has caught my eye, about as much as I’d want to pay though

https://www.hardwicksportsandprestige.com/used-bmw...

At there other end of the scale, there’s two 630’s that are less than half that which looks to be ok and is a slightly less scary prospect. Both black with cream interior.

Blue is an uncommon colour and goes great with the cream interior but imo, too much money, especially for a pre-facelift. Does have Pro Hifi though (but no HUD).

[Court_S]

g3org3y said:

Blue is an uncommon colour and goes great with the cream interior but imo, too much money, especially for a pre-facelift. Does have Pro Hifi though (but no HUD).

I agree, it feels like an awful lot if money. I think I’d be happier with a £5k 630 because I think there’s less long term risk, it does feel like they can get much cheaper.

[d_a_n1979]

This one caught my eye; but it's a goof few £k overpriced:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324610208830?ssPageName...

But that'd be about the right spec car for me to consider; not at that price though!

[Court_S]

d_a_n1979 said:

This one caught my eye; but it's a goof few £k overpriced:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324610208830?ssPageName...

But that'd be about the right spec car for me to consider; not at that price though!

Seen that too. Looks nice but it’s a lot of money for what it is. To be honest, most cars look expensive at the moment.

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

d_a_n1979 said:

This one caught my eye; but it's a goof few £k overpriced:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324610208830?ssPageName...

But that'd be about the right spec car for me to consider; not at that price though!

Seen that too. Looks nice but it’s a lot of money for what it is. To be honest, most cars look expensive at the moment.

Yeah; some are just at a pisstake price IMO

Then again they seem to have been selling

I could understand it listed at c£7.5k maybe, but not nearly £10k!

The one I mentioned that's on AT is priced about right IMO; for a 650i; some wiggle room there I'd say. Aim to start at £6k and settle for just above; wouldn't pay asking

[Court_S]

d_a_n1979 said:

Yeah; some are just at a pisstake price IMO

Then again they seem to have been selling

I could understand it listed at c£7.5k maybe, but not nearly £10k!

Stuff is really shifting which I’m guessing is why my car is worth decent cash. But equally tats why I don’t want to spend too much, I don’t want to over pay by too much and be left exposed.

There’s a late 335 manual that’s caught my eye but it’s really strong money and I can’t help feeling that I’d take a bit of a bath on it.

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

d_a_n1979 said:

Yeah; some are just at a pisstake price IMO

Then again they seem to have been selling

I could understand it listed at c£7.5k maybe, but not nearly £10k!

Stuff is really shifting which I’m guessing is why my car is worth decent cash. But equally tats why I don’t want to spend too much, I don’t want to over pay by too much and be left exposed.

There’s a late 335 manual that’s caught my eye but it’s really strong money and I can’t help feeling that I’d take a bit of a bath on it.

That's my thinking... That's why I'm sitting on my touring for now (unless a REALLY silly offer comes in for it)

I don't want to buy a car currently; pay over the odds and know I'll never get that back if/when I come to sell it on etc

[Court_S]

d_a_n1979 said:

That's my thinking... That's why I'm sitting on my touring for now (unless a REALLY silly offer comes in for it)

I don't want to buy a car currently; pay over the odds and know I'll never get that back if/when I come to sell it on etc

That’s a concern especially on an old barge with a sodding great V8. Aside from the bork factor, I don’t think paying £10k is a good idea. A £5k 630 for example is a hell of a lot less risky because they can’t get too much cheaper.

[parabolica]

g3org3y said:

Court_S said:

This is that has caught my eye, about as much as I’d want to pay though

https://www.hardwicksportsandprestige.com/used-bmw...

At there other end of the scale, there’s two 630’s that are less than half that which looks to be ok and is a slightly less scary prospect. Both black with cream interior.

Blue is an uncommon colour and goes great with the cream interior but imo, too much money, especially for a pre-facelift. Does have Pro Hifi though (but no HUD).

My 645ci was blue with cream interior - it’s what made me buy the car in the end!



I keep thinking about going back to a 645/50 but making sure the VSS has been done is a tough job - you have to take people at their word unless they’ve got invoices. I let go of mine at 99k because of VSS; every time I see a nice one in the classifieds they’re always around 100k mileage and the dread takes over and I move on!

[Touring442]

I never drove a 650i but a few 645i's and tbh I preferred the 630i. They aren't as fast of course but they go well enough and can return impressive economy if driven carefully enough. They feel distinctly lighter on their feet as well. I'd look for a low mileage FSH N52 car. A few manuals about as well if you like that sort of thing. They are basically an E60 in drag so normal wear and tear bits aren't dear.

The V8 sounds a nice idea but too many are just oil leaking old st just waiting for the next expensive drama. And for £5000, a 630i will not be a cream puff either although it should be in reasonable nick.