safulop

In my quest for a suitable younger car to replace my beloved S4 one of these days, I came upon the BMW 645/650 coupe. Pre-2010 models are in my price range, and seem to be quite rare. A search for anything from 2006-2010 for sale turned up zero in my region. The closest example is a high-miler for sale down in Pismo Beach.

Can anyone give an opinion from experience?

Imo000

Go for the M6.

safulop

The 2005-2010 M6 might be out of my price range -- not to mention that has about a million horsepower. I think the basic 650i with the V8 would be satisfactory.

Petza914

Heavy, and unusable back seat if either of those matter. M3 is a better choice.

safulop

^^^^^^^^

As long as the back seat is as big as a 928 or 911, I'm good.

The M3 looks like an old Ford Thunderbird.

Petza914

It's actually not, which is why I bought my 928 instead. I'm 6'1" and When I set the front seat where I'd want it to drive comfortably, there was no back seat leg room at all. My 997 has more and my 928 more than the 997.

safulop

^^^^^^^
Aw dang, we'll have to see it for ourselves then. For me it's pretty much a toss-up between a BMW 650 and a 996, whatever I can come across that's in the best condition. Using the 928 is not really an option long term, I have to get out of that.

Carsly

I used to own an E60 550i, same 4.8L V8 engine as the 650i and it's got good punch down low. On the body, I'd go with the 5 series over the 6, looks more balanced, has usable rear seats and doesn't have luxo-barge proportions. The doors on the 6 series are absurdly long (try it in a tight parking space and you'll see what I mean) and the front-end also feels a mile long. I just didn't get that 6 series, and apparently very few other folks did as well which is why you don't find many used ones around. For the money, you're very close to a 2006-2008 M5 which is a far better car and the ultimate sleeper.

safulop

^^^^^^^^^^
I will look into the M5 on your thoughts. To be honest, the absolute rarity and non-desirability of the 650i is a huge selling point for me -- similar to why I bought my 928! And I love that stupid long door long nose thing about big coupes. I'm just an imbalanced person.

Now, I don't see how the 650 back seats could be smaller than those of a 928, since modern cars are no longer allowed, by safety regulations, to be made with "half-size" back seats. The seats all have to be regulation size to accommodate a child car seat etc.

Plus, it seems that a 650i can get special treatment at the car wash (see photo).

squid42

The 645i and 650i look like great opportunities to get a manual RWD with a v8.

In practice I didn't quite like the driving, that v8 isn't my favorite, they are front-end heavy and dip pretty deep on sharp turns. The shifter is like what you'd expect on a farming machine. A pretty raw feeling car.

Another problem is that it only takes huge wheels which can be annoying if you want to get a winter set or want to track it.

Mechanical problems include the famous coolant transfer pipe and constantly fighting the suspension to fix vibrations, never knowing exactly what needs fixing. So pretty mild overall. Keep all the fluids in and ignore the suspension and you are all set.

It is still a great opportunity to have a manual RWD v8 car, especially if you want a convertible.

Petza914

I'm not sure about this. What I was really planning to buy as a DD before ending up with my 928, which is not really a DD, was a nissan GTR - all weather AWD, tons of power, total reaiability, even if very little character - was even willing to deal with a flappy paddle gearbox even though I don't really like them. Took my son with me to look at one, and it's back seat was even smaller than the M6. So in order of rear seat spaciousness once I select my ideal driving position from largest to smallest was:
928
997
M6
GTR

Now my 928 may not be representative since it's a convertible, which means a thin fabric top attached at essentially the top of the windshield header. I would guess that a normal bodied 928 with fixed roof and especially one with a sunroof, would require my seat angle to be more reclined, encroaching into some of that rear seat space I have with mine, because it's a soft-top coversion. You can see the rear seat room I have though and this is with my seat where I keep it.







Not sure if it's worth considering, since I know very little about them, but another car I really liked the looks, feel, & sound of that fits the character of a larger 2-door GT style is the Maserati Gran Turismo and you can get that in a coupe or cab version as well. It has truly usable rear seats as well, but the wrong crest on the hood so I had to eliminate it

My brother has an older M5 and it's a great German 4-door muscle car with a MT, and real back seats, though the upkeep isn't cheap. I think he's put about $10,000 into it over the past 3 years and it is far from in perfect condition.

Good luck with your search.

safulop

Yeah, this is starting to sound like what I'm after. I started out wanting a 996, and then I bumped right into that awful engine design flaw with the intermediate shaft. Shameful! I'm too frightened about that, and it's just generally a disgrace that Porsche "corporate" took a perfectly great engine design and gave it an Achilles heel to save a few bucks.

Jack-Porsche

Had the opportunity to drive a 2016 650 for the weekend recently...unimpressed. It was the convertible version, so that added a pleasurable element, but the overall feel and handing felt more like a performance sedan than a sports car...
Heavy

squid42

The F12 650i is meh. And the early versions are affected by that not-a-recall recall done on the N62 (not N62TU) on the turbo v8 engines. That recall that just shifts the problem to a later date without actually fixing the problem. Well, there are revised injectors, maybe they do a bit better. But the injectors before the revision seem to be very similar to those that Mercedes put it and doesn't have problems with.

M6 or nothing here.

raaizin

N63 has battery issues

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...ns-bmw-n63-v8/