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BMW 650 Convertible (E64)

49K views 153 replies 32 participants last post by  andy665 
#1 ·
Kind of done my usual trick of deciding to sell a car and things happening rather quickly.

As the Westfield was hopelessly impractical (no surprises there) as having recently getting back with my wife after an 8 month separation there are three of us rather than just me and our son it was time to sell and buy a 2+2 convertible that was still ideally a V8 so that no one would be left at home when 2nd car days were in the diary.

Numerous cars were considered, not all of them convertibles (C5 RS6, M6 coupe, Cayenne GTS, CL500, CLK55, 147GTa etc), only real criteria was to be cost neutral including all incidentals after selling the Westfield.

After doing some research the car that seemed to tick most boxes was a BMW 650 convertible.

Wanted to buy on condition and history rather than colour, mileage, spec or age and after much searching came up with a shortlist of cars, some LCI, others not but to be honest I was not really hung up on it needing to be an LCI.

Top of the list to view was a 2005 car 80 miles away from me (unusually close by my standards), so after the Westfield was collected on Saturday (a whole 6 days after being put up for sale and realising my full asking price) up the M6 I set.

All I can say is that if Carlsberg did buying experiences it would be this one - what an epic BMW specialist, knowledgeable, friendly, incredible prep (who ensures all hubs and calipers are cleaned and repainted prior to sale!!!) and reasonably priced.

The whole afternoon had been set aside for us but I knew within a couple of minutes I was buying the car - exactly as described. After a lengthy test drive a deal was done at the full asking price - I figured it simply was not worth losing any goodwill for the sake of maybe a couple of hundred pounds price reduction - it was also fairly priced to start with.

Spec is decent - nappa leather, HUD, heated steering wheel, comfort seats on top of a pretty lengthy standard spec

Only a 2 owner car, full BMW history, brand new Goodyears and the valve stem seals only just done (with paperwork to support)

Was not sure about Mineral Silver in the pictures - I feared it might be a very pale Jewish Racing Gold but in the metal its a lovely warm silver, neither did I think I'd like the wheels but again, in the metal they really suit the car

So I went from deciding to sell the Westfield through to its sale, collection and purchase of a replacement in 6 days - quietly impressed with myself.

Will be collected on Saturday and a leisurely drive home will ensue, have some plans for it but these will unfold and be shared in due course

Couple of the advert pics below

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#7 ·
Got it booked in for a full paint correction and hood clean and protect next week - not sure whether to go for the ceramic coating on offer (IGL) or stick with the standard sealant that I can use as a base for future layering.

Then its off to have its exhaust tickled - nothing too loud, just a subtle enhancement of what is already there and with the same design tailpipes to keep it looking OE
 
#8 ·
@Andy665 Looks lovely, as the others have said ^^ :thumb: :driver:

What's the full, factory spec? The reason I ask is when I bought the e60 [Comfort seats are awesome btw :thumb:] the Dealer didn't know and had omitted in his advert(s) to mention many of the 'extras' which had been specc'd when new. This worked in my favour, actually......;)

There are sites which will decode your VIN for you, the one I used to use seems to have disappeared, but Google is your friend.
 
#9 ·
I have decoded the VIN and got the spec - as is always the case with BMW it does not necessarily make clear what equipment is standard and what was optional - been able to work out the below are options fitted at extra cost (some were standard as part of the Sport spec)

Sport spec additions - Style 218 alloys, M Sports steering wheel, Shadowline exterior trim, electric four way lumbar support

Professional navigation

Head Up Display

Dimming and folding exterior mirrors

Heated front seats

Heated steering wheel

High beam assist

Nappa leather
 
#12 ·
No, looking at either swapping out the back boxes or possibly going to full X pipe and losing front resonators but conscious of the fact that there is a risk of a drone at certain RPM which I really do not want.

Hopefully the mid section is in good condition and can be left and the replacement back boxes create the noise I'm after, something like the below

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...1C0C2BD6CFADB4E2797F1C0C2BD6CFAD&&FORM=VRDGAR
 
#13 ·
Yes that is a risk re drone the guy on cutters does loads of very cost effective alterations to loads of beemers all seem pleased and he travels I believe.
I suppose with roof down will be great to hear that noise, for me it’s more retro classic of the future:thumb:
 
#17 ·
As is always the case with a car that was expensive when new there are a lot of really ropey ones out there where the maintenance has slipped away.

Also both the 4.4 and 4.8 litre engines suffer from valve stem seal issues as a result of the inlet valves sitting in a pool of oil when the engine is not running - almost a job that has to be done every 80k miles or so - not as expensive as it used to be but still a £800-1000 job (£4k + by BMW)
 
#20 · (Edited)
Banks Motor Company of Ormskirk - one man band who is an ex BMW technician and has been dealing in used BMW for about 15 years now. Superb service, vehicle exactly as described, plenty of time allowed for us (complete afternoon), zero pressure. I work in the automotive industry specialising in the area of customer service and sales techniques and how I was treated is what I have been preaching for the last 20+ years - could not fault it
 
#30 ·
The CL500 looks a fine car but I fear they won't age as gracefully as an E63/64.

Yes, such a shame when these sorts of cars fall into the hands of people that don't consider the full cost of ownership and therefore scrimp on maintenance.

Which coating are you going for? I've got Feynlabs on mine which I've been very impressed with although not got anything to compare it against.

Enjoy pick up day :thumb:
 
#33 ·
Yesterday was collection day and everything went as smoothly as I had expected / hoped for.

Pleasant journey home and managed to stop off at a place and get a photo of the car parked outside the pub where I took my dad for his last pint and had his last ever photo taken before succumbing to a brain tumour.

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Car is completely as expected- comfortable, quick enough and loaded with equipment

Looking through the address list on the sat nav its clear that the car has spent much of the last 5 years in Switzerland and the South of France - quite befitting of the car - few pics of the car

Really liking the Mineral Silver, so much warmer than the more common Titanium, looking round the car I can only find two little stone chips on the front bumper and a very small shallow scratch behind the passenger door about 2cm long

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#37 · (Edited)
All cleaned out and checked today, fortunately there is a history of them being replaced a couple of years ago in the paperwork as well

Its only when you get a car home and start to look at the small things do you realise how well some cars are made - amazed to find a tiny gas strut for the glovebox, its the small touches that make a difference
 
#40 · (Edited)
Much jealousy for you V8 BMW owners at the moment!
Kerrs straight 6 is none too shabby either :)

Bit more work done at lunchtime today - the engine bay was pretty clean to begin with but a liberal dosing of Surfex followed by Auto Allure trim dressing has smartened it up

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Noticed the scuttle panel has missing clips so a set of 8 ordered from BMW for £18

And a couple of roof down pics - disguises its 15 years and 2 tons of weight pretty well

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Had my leather trimmed centre console delivered today and taken the plunge and ordered a Dension Gateway 500S to allow Bluetooth audio streaming and iPod connection together with an aux in and USB ports. As the car already has a CD changer fitted it should be a pretty straightforward fit requiring no coding - cars without the CD changer need to be coded to enable operation
 
#41 ·
Interested to see how you get on with the Denson. I opted for the OEM iPad unit to swap out vs the CD player. Haven’t tried it yet, not had time to read the unintuitive instructions yet!

Looking forward to seeing the console. I’ve also been on the hunt for a second hand one but never sourced one for a pre-LCI car.
 
#42 ·
Great car; I confess I'm not usually one for Silver cars, but that looks really tasty!

Your engine bay looks incredible - BMW certainly designed that well.

What a stunning car!
 
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#43 ·
I did not want a silver, black leather pre facelift car and that's exactly what I got

The Mineral Silver is a lot more appealing than the more common Titanium Silver, a lot warmer

Not much choice of colour on the used market, most are either Titanium or black and as much as I did not want silver, I knew I would never have a black one - too much effort to keep clean

The black leather actually works really well with the Mineral Silver, only other option was red (very rare) or cream which simply does not work on a silver car (awesome on a black one)

Facelift only really brings hard drive navigation, LED rear lights, paddles and a different gear selector - none of them deal breakers for me to be honest
 
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