6er Longevity

Has any one kept their 6er past the 4 years warranty and not encountered any problems ?
I really haven't seen any old 6 series on the road and wondered if most people lease their vehicles rather than buy them and keep them a long time.

Originally Posted by bokmeipai

Has any one kept their 6er past the 4 years warranty and not encountered any problems ?
I really haven't seen any old 6 series on the road and wondered if most people lease their vehicles rather than buy them and keep them a long time.

I'm planning to keep mine for a long time at least 10 years. Right now I'm at 60,000 miles with 3 years and 8 months going strong. I do have extended warranty and extended maintenance to 100,000 miles or 6/2012 (whatever comes first). So far under the extended warranty I had a faulty evaporator fuel pump. No major issues to report or complain. Love this car and it will be a classic. Knock on wood!!!

I'm on year 6 with my CPO up in August. Anyone in here with a 645 is around 5 years old at least.

Mine is a 2004 and I have no warranty. I have owned it for 16 months and no issues at all. I plan on upgrading to the M6 in maybe another year. It does get me worried sometimes because you only ever hear about the problems with these cars when reading through the forums. It would be nice if people chimed in once in awhile that have never had any problems.

Hey billsbmx! No problems here. Only things I had done where little things that the dealer took care of but no major issues to speak of. I see some folks have problems with theirs but I am happy with mine. Touching to 46000 mile mark on it and it's an 04 and I have seen folks with major issues that have a newer 650 with less mileage. Even though I am looking to upgrade, I wonder if I am giving up a solid car for a newer one with bugs. Makes me think sometimes

I think these cars are generally trouble free. I think some guy on the forum has over 120k on him odometer but no issues.

I did a ton of research and talked to several dealers before I purchased my 650. From everything I could learn it seems that mechanically these cars are really solid - but electronics and "software" issues are the majority of the service issues going forward. I am ok with that as my X5, my old 540, and my m3 had a ton of mechanical issues that drove me insane
On the x5 the entire engine could be brought to its knees in the winter from a 50 dollar plastic oll separator - and don't even get me going about the cooling system or valley pan / valve cover gaskets
Same cooling issues on my e39 540 plus the climate control system would regularly melt down and all sorts of assorted electrical issues - and it was a 50/50 shot on any given day if
I would break a window regulator.

My e46M3 was pretty good until the SMG transmission started acting up at 30k miles -- thank goodness I had a CPO warranty.

On the 650 I looked long and hard for a one owner well maintained vehicle. I have every record from day one and it has never been out of warranty - so I pulled the trigger and haven't looked back.

Yes, the IDRive can be infuriating -- but it still isn't enough to take the big grin off my face as I rev that beatiful engine up and feel it press me back in the seat...

My friend and myself both have 645 and I have another friend with a 650. The biggest problems my friend with the 650 and myself had are with cracking rims and tire problems. I had to get a valve in the transmission replaced and I also have an antifreeze leak. According to the mechanic he says that all 645s at some point will have this antifreeze leak. He says it cant be avoided. The problem is you have to half remove the engine to get to it. I also had a antiroll bar support fail. The I drive sometimes freezes but I hear that is common. My other friend with the 645 had to have his alternator replaced...they said it was due to lack of him driving it. I love the car...but it can be tempermental at times.

Originally Posted by smoothrideronli

My friend and myself both have 645 and I have another friend with a 650. The biggest problems my friend with the 650 and myself had are with cracking rims and tire problems. I had to get a valve in the transmission replaced and I also have an antifreeze leak. According to the mechanic he says that all 645s at some point will have this antifreeze leak. He says it cant be avoided. The problem is you have to half remove the engine to get to it. I also had a antiroll bar support fail. The I drive sometimes freezes but I hear that is common. My other friend with the 645 had to have his alternator replaced...they said it was due to lack of him driving it. I love the car...but it can be tempermental at times.

Strange that an alternator had to be replace from lack of driving. I have heard battery cells going bad because of this and never an alternator failure. As for the transmission valves, antifreeze leak, rollbar support, these are not from normal wear & tear. Was the cars high mileage?

Originally Posted by bokmeipai

Strange that an alternator had to be replace from lack of driving. I have heard battery cells going bad because of this and never an alternator failure. As for the transmission valves, antifreeze leak, rollbar support, these are not from normal wear & tear. Was the cars high mileage?

i have the antifreeze issue now i still have yet to repair it but since the car is pretty much parked up for the winter it doesnt bug me mines only leaks when the temp gets high.. didnt think any leaking of fluids would b considered normal..

I think most trade up as the warranty expires. Repair bills can get very costly. I would never purchase one without an extended warranty. Just for my own peace of mind! Good luck to you!

Originally Posted by bokmeipai

Strange that an alternator had to be replace from lack of driving. I have heard battery cells going bad because of this and never an alternator failure. As for the transmission valves, antifreeze leak, rollbar support, these are not from normal wear & tear. Was the cars high mileage?

Sorry for the late reply. I have never heard of that as well with regard to the alternator. From what the mechanic has told me these are all things that tend to go bad once the car goes beyond 60k or so. He also mentioned the clutch plates on the SMG sometimes go bad in the 50-60k range.

Mine was leaking antifreeze from the tube running across top of radiator, it's hard plastic and wad cracked, I replaced it with a flexible one. Mine has 60,000 on it and have not had any major issues.

Originally Posted by feriors

I think these cars are generally trouble free. I think some guy on the forum has over 120k on him odometer but no issues.

I've got late 2004, with 148K miles on it - no problems

I sold my 645Ci as warranty time ran down on it. All the electrical gremlin problems people were having spooked me. Software updates that took days not minutes. I hated to do it because I really loved the car. Traded it on an SL 550 and really regretted it.

I am first in line at the dealer for an F12, but with no ordering guide, I cannot even pick colors yet.

I've had mine for three and 1/2 years exactly, and I've had NO problems. That said, I'm still under 30k total miles on the car, even though I drive the car regularly. I rarely drive my car in dense urban traffic, and most of my trips are highway miles to and from the airport. So far, I have only good things to say about the car's reliability==Really, it just seems to be getting better and better.

Edit: One minor issue I am now encountering is that both keys appear to be losing their ability to maintain a battery charge. Minor matter, but something I notice is happening just as I approach the four year mark.

No problems here... 2005 with 5000 miles.

I've had mine two years now, still under extended warranty. I've had my iDrive software updated, the trunk pistons replaced and my SA replaced my interior door panels due to the weather stripping tearing the upper corners of the panels. The iDrive was upgraded so I could get bluetooth functionality. The pistons were just worn out. It was nice of my SA to replace the panels but I was ready to pay.

In all, >20k miles, the car has been great. I plan on keeping it out of warranty but who knows?

I own a 2004 645Ci and rolled off my warranty about a year ago. I have averaged $700, yes $700, a month in repairs since with chronic convertible roof sensor errors, a rear window motor failure, front passenger seat sensor error, and a serious lag in the manual sports mode that kicks my butt when a stop up from a stop. My problems may stem from my BMW certified dealership service department, but as sexy as the car looks and drives - it's not worth it unless your under warranty.

This is a heart felt warning . . . still interested in a used 2004 645Ci?

interestingly... in that case the cost of ownership under warranty (loan payment) and the cost of ownership out of warranty (repair costs) is similar and the performance is the same except you have an older car...

if it costs that much, I'd go and upgrade to a newer year model or find a CPO... which is what most people do...

Keep in mind you can get a BMW backed (or so they say) extended warranty as well... I bought my 04 from a BMW dealer and it included a 2 year 24,000 mile "bmw backed" extended warranty which... is essentially a direct extension of the original bumper to bumper warranty (in terms of whats all covered) with a 50$ per visit deductible.