2005 630i

First proper drive, different... In a good way, very smooth, comfortable, makes a good noise, certainly nippy.
Work starts tomorrow, both dipped beam bulbs, (came with car) access via wheel arch, polish head/fog lights... Try and work out iDrive...🤔

It was under 3k, it feels like my old 3.0 V6 gtv's (220) but more refined, it's by no means SUPER fast, certainly not a tortoise, I'll settle in adequate.
I think I may grow to love it, time will tell.

Oo right that's interesting to know, my more detailed BMW engine knowledge stops pretty much when they went from the "M" engines to the "N" engines 😅

Great color combo! My dad had a 750i E65 for 10 years and my brother had a 545i E61 for 6 years. Both drove great and are related to your 6.

These are the colours for the 6 series for that year. You were probably right with Monaco but I'd still want to be finding the code just to be sure.

Angry.

Confirmed as Monaco Blue and Dakota Leather 😇

The 6s in these are more powerful and exciteable than their ancestors, so it wouldn't be quite as bad as you think.

The N52 makes 255BHP, and I'm sure it made almost 270 in some applications, like the BMW E89 Z4. They're lusty, sound nice and with a careful right foot, can even do reasonable MPG. A mate with an E90 330i N52 was getting 33 doing in excess of 80 to make a ferry from Switzerland.

When I took the M3 to Spain, a mate brought along his '09 E89 Z4 30Si. Yes, we were keeping to the speed limits, but he was getting around 35/37MPG to my 30-33 out of the M3! From what I've heard from others, bar Auto Alex, the M54s would struggle to do that MPG, and IMHO are a little flat for what they are.

I'm not sure the N62s are bad as folks think. They did do a 635d, if a derv is your thing, which had the twin-turbo M57 lump ; early ones were iron blocks, where later blocks I think were ally, which does make them less of a pudding in the corners. My dad had an E61 535d, and that was a stunning car. It had true pace, and relentlessness. It just didn't feel like a diesel prior to that. The power was everywhere! They map very well, but TBH, even in stock form, they are impressive. The fuel economy isn't however. They'll struggle to do 40MPG on a run at around 70-80ish. My mate who had mine before me was getting 31, but if I am being honest, he did enjoy the pace.




630is when you consider what they have are a great choice.

Not sure the N62s are that bad. Bear in mind, they are now old, so neglect is always going to play a part. Some issues are pricey to fix on them, yes (the coolant hose seal, and the alternator bracket seal).

Same for the iDrive. BMW want £1k for a new iDrive unit. Aftermarket solutions are closer to the £300 mark to fix, which my dad had to do in his 535d.

You ain't kidding about the gongs! My E91 is no different! It does have a load of gongs. albeit most are silly/Americanised. From memory, I've had the following go off, with the top ones being the most common, when the ignition is on:

-Door open
-Tyre Pressures ; these have a passive tyre monitoring setup, which with leaky rims, will always go off, as the tyres will simply be getting flat too soon
-Service or MOT due ; it has an interval for the brake pads etc. regarding inspecting them. The MOT one is an Inspection light, albeit that's for the TuV in Germany. With the pads, that was annoying, but I figured a way around it, and knew not to use aftermarket sensors again, which was part of the problem.
-Lights being out ; It did this with a trailer I once towed that definitely wasn't akin to a KFW contraption, where an iffy lighting board connector had it picking faulys with the trailer lights, which were as iffy as I expected, fo a trailer that sat doing nothing for 6 years. It also did this when I bought it. I have now idea why folks can live with about 4 lights out on their cars. It doesn't help these do funky things to 'keep' a set of brake lights working etc. so folks live with the light errors on the dash
-Glow plug ; This is only when it's cold and the coolant temp has dropped below 15 degrees C, so it's a very rare light to come on. The rest of the time, they work on a 'smart' heating system, which BMW have had since around the '80s from the E30 324td.

But most of those aren't any different to the Mondeo MkIV my dad has, or the VAG products. The M3 isn't quite as bad, but it still shares many over the above features in the control centre, like the TMPS, lights, Car services due.

That said, I'm not going to say much about the reliability, but then again, these are an old car, and mine has got me back home .

Anyway, back to Wayne .

Apologies for taking over before!

The E6x and some engines get quite the wrap for not living up to their successors. Yes, they have issues, but in reality, they are not too different to their predecessors, which do now love to rot anyway.

A nice fix on the dash (y).