Have you got shale oil welling up through your lawn? You might need it if you’re considering a BMW 6 Series (E63/64 generation) of 2003 to 2011. It loves the stuff, necking it when you least expect it and blowing it out through the exhaust, past rocker cover gaskets, through breather hoses, down cylinder bores…
Best to get that little problem on the table from the start. We wouldn’t want you thinking this was just another dewy-eyed tribute to a snazzy BMW GT powered by a choice of thumping V8s (a 4.4 and later a 4.8), a sweet straight six 3.0-litre and a sensible-as-brown-shoes 3.0-litre diesel with twin turbos.
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Who can forget its predecessor, the CSi of the 1980s? A car like that plays with your mind and wants you to see echoes of it in the one that follows. There were gasps of astonishment when the E63 did eventually turn up, 14 long years later. Folk couldn’t get enough of it. There was only the 328bhp 645Ci Coupé to begin, with a choice of manual (almost non-existent), sequential (rare) or automatic (plentiful) gearboxes. A convertible body style followed later.
The 6 Series’ four-seat cabin was even better made than the contemporary E60 5 Series’. It was not as roomy (no one older than five will thank you for sticking them in the back) but fit and finish were excellent, and remain so. The boot can take a couple of large suitcases.
The less juicy straight six 3.0-litre, producing 254bhp, arrived towards the end of 2004. A healthy 630Ci auto coupé will crack 0-62mph in 6.5sec compared with the V8’s 5.4sec, but will slurp much less fuel – one gallon every 30 miles, 10 more miles than the V8. Sweeter-handling (it’s 130kg lighter) and potentially less troublesome, it’s the one to buy.
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6 series
I don't think the E63 is as bad as most people make it out. Yes they do have there preventive maintenance but which car doesn't have faults. With that said if you are confident with a spanner most of the work can be carried out on the driveway. I say this from experience as in 2019 I took the plunge purchased 630i with 105k. Carried out the following works all 6 spark plugs, timing belt and tensioner with pulleys. Oil cooler gasket, pcv valve(oil separater) all filters and cabin filters. Vanos solenoid and vanos filters. Gearbox oil and filter change the only thing carried out in garage as I don't have a lift. In conclusion naturally aspirated engines are becoming rare to non existent as all new cars are turbocharged. There something really satisfying about N/A linage performance. These cars do need attention and don't like 3rd party parts if looked after they will last more than 200k can't say that to newer vehicles. This may sound like am a bmw fanboy prior to 630 I had Merc E270 that was riddled with electric faults and gearbox kept for 3 yrs sold with 180k before that Audi A6 2.0tdi again had it major faults. But the bmw E63 are getting rare on the roads and in my opinion have aged well and more pleasure to drive as they are a high revving engine and need to be revved past 6500rpm to keep the engine sweet. In my case for the performance and true mpg round town 26mpg motorways 38mpg isn't to bad and will surpass most cars on the road.
Does any other manufacturer
Does any other manufacturer other than BMW require the battery to be coded to the car. I appreciate this is to do with the different charging rates required by Lead Acid and AGM batteries, but surely an automatic demand detection system could have been fitted. Apparently Mr AA man is not allowed to jump start them either/
6 series
Have you ever seen a stricken 6 series by the side of the road? I haven't. I ran a 635d from 6 months old to 5 years old and the only thing that went wrong with it was a need to recharge the aircon just before I sold it. I averaged 38mpg (but that compares with 44mpg in my current 640d GC). I had two XK8s before the 635d and enjoyed them, notwithstanding the sometimes wayward tail (and 23mpg) but as soon as I saw how little usable luggage space there was in the successor XK I switched to the BMW.
[quote=johnhg]
[quote=johnhg]
Have you ever seen a stricken 6 series by the side of the road? I haven't. I ran a 635d from 6 months old to 5 years old and the only thing that went wrong with it was a need to recharge the aircon just before I sold it. I averaged 38mpg (but that compares with 44mpg in my current 640d GC).[/quote]
That's all very well but, you can't buy one that's only six months old now.
6 series reliability
No you can't buy a 6 month old one of this generation but mine showed no sign of stress after 5 years - and you should be able to buy a 6 year old one. As ever, check the service history. I'm sure some BMWs do 'go wrong' but we have driven close to 200,000 miles in various BMWs that have not skipped a beat.