M6 vs M6 CP -- F06 Gran Coupe

[hirkaismyname]

Dear fam,

So I've been growing increasingly frustrated by lack of product available to purchase for the m6 GC. I know, I know, patience is the key; but, I've been searching for this car -- literally hounding every outlet possible available to the consumer -- now for 5 months.

Albeit that I require a particular set of requirements (1200 mi SVC, CPO, Full Leather, B&O, Exec Pkg, LED Light Pkg, CF trim, and Comp Pkg -- non-MCCB steelies are good for me) I just can't seem to find the right vehicle for the right price.

In one situation I was willing to pay 12K more over the fair price of where the vehicle would be position square with the market. In another I said screw it I can live with extended leather. (This holds the same for the m5 as well btw -- however, they're more susceptible to being a flogged performance car in my region -- yes, I'm looking @ you GA & SC, even FL dealers )

But, I guess beyond this semi-of-a-rant, the real questions is -- well...IS IT really worth it? Like the waiting around? Because my mind has been casually browsing everything from a new Alfa Gulia QF, to a 997 Turbo S, all the way down to a 2014 r8 4.2 (or 5.2 if I'm lucky -- but has to be gated shift). And even down to the extent of just hitting up the EAG guys for a used mint e39.

But more technically, beyond the patience and ADD thing, is the Comp Pkg worth the wait? Or, differently phrased, for you owners already out there, if you'd purchase the m6 GC what would you give up on. My pecking order is as follows:

1. CF trim
2. an Older vehicle (16 is first choice, 15 2nd...and so on; not anything older than 15)
3. extended leather
4. CP

I don't need the night vision, nor the MCCB; I just want that car to be available long enough so that I can test it, and make the deposit. I've found in some situations that within 48 of the car's listing, a purchase has already been made.

Maybe you guys can help me hack the searching tools? You know, help me find an "off-market" deal?

Your help is truly appreciated . Hope to hear from ya'll soon.

Regards,
H

[rsuhandy]

My 2 cents:

1) CF Trim-I personally could live without it-if I really needed it it would be easy to either get the trim and replace myself.
2) I just purchased an 2014 M6 GC for ~59K, the only thing missing is that it wasn't CPO'd. But it still had 1 year of factory warranty and it qualified for the BMW extended warranty so it's covered till the end of 2021. I want to buy my cars around 3 years old due to depreciation considerations so I actually prefer really minty 3-4 year old vehicles with less than 35K miles.
3) Extended leather I could not live without, I love leather so this was a must have for me.
4) CP-I wouldn't give this up, but if you want a supple ride and a quieter M6 experience then you wouldn't want this as it provides exactly the opposite.

What is your budget? Btw if you want to know if a vehicle has received it's 1,200 mile service you might have to give a BMW dealership a call. It does not always show up on the CarFax.

Best of luck hunting

[mjposner]

CPO add $$, you can always extend and existing BMW warranty to get the same effect.
Extended leather doesn't do much for me.
Comp package can be replicated in part by a tune and new wheels (I sold my bmw oem 19s for $1000 and bought bmw oem 20s for $1500, lots of guys here go aftermarket so oem wheels to be had)
B&O is nice, depends if you are a listen to engine guy, talk/podcast guy or audiophile (I still added a sub to my B&O setup)
CF Trim is nice but is easily added Or get the trim wrapped)
Most should have the exec package

[mjposner]

CPO add $$, you can always extend and existing BMW warranty to get the same effect.
Extended leather doesn't do much for me.
Comp package can be replicated in part by a tune and new wheels (I sold my bmw oem 19s for $1000 and bought bmw oem 20s for $1500, lots of guys here go aftermarket so oem wheels to be had)
B&O is nice, depends if you are a listen to engine guy, talk/podcast guy or audiophile (I still added a sub to my B&O setup)
CF Trim is nice but is easily added Or get the trim wrapped)
Most should have the exec package

[Flying Ace]

So what prices are you offering (and milage). Trying to gauge how far off market you are. IMO 2015s are great value in terms of mileage, warranty and price. You can get ready good ones for high $60s.

[Flying Ace]

Is competition package worth it? Heck yes. Read this: http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1166364

The biggest difference you'll notice is tighter steering and exhaust note.

Also note 2016 competition package has 600 HP vs 575 for prior years competition package.

[ace32x]

i know you say 15 is as old as you want to go. but i have a loaded 14 with every option possible. white on black cf trim alcantara headliner, night vision, b&o, comp,drivers,exec package, carbon ceramic brakes. and mild mods. downpipes, jb4, h&r sport springs, vorsteiner lip and diffuser, adv1's etc

[Db750]

I am wondering how many of the guys claiming changing out the M6 interior trim have actually done it? I'm guessing none, as I have, and it is incredibly difficult. I have done all the maintenance on over 100 units of my families rental properties for close to 15 years to give you an idea of how "handy" I am, and this is a job I would never do again! I did the work myself, along with the help of a friend that has similar skill level (and has also done a lot of trim work on other cars/bmws) and we couldn't believe how difficult it was! I can definitely sympathize with you though as I went through the same thing when looking for my CPO M6 a couple years ago (along with my previous V10 M6 years before), and CF trim is one thing I would make sure the car has going in. There are just so few cars out there to begin with, pricing can be all over the place, and when you add in a few colors and options you want it can very easily take 6 months to a year plus to find your car!

Not only is the trim very difficult to remove, but there is also some irreversible damage that you will have to do to remove the existing trim. This M6 is very very well built much more so than previous versions and lower models. I had the M perf CF trim on my E92 M3 and that all just snapped in and out - not the case for the M6! The door panel trims are screwed in from the back of the door panel with four screws each which means each door panel has to be completely removed. In addition to the normal pegs/clips that hold the door panels on there is also a line of adhesive around the exterior of each panel which greatly helps with that solid feeling as well as rattles and this has to be broken to take the panels off. There are several other things like this which there is just no way that you can put back together on the door panels alone. It's not something myself or anyone else would be able to tell on a random car, but when you have felt your own car before and after you will notice a small difference! I can't even remember how exactly we went about taking apart the center console, I remember there were screws in places you would never guess, but it was a bitch too! Bottom line I would highly recommend finding a car with the CF trim stock!

I got my trim off Ebay in brand new condition. I actually bought two different sets, each which had some new parts and some that were new but may have had weave that wasn't perfectly straight or other factory issues and I mixed and matched pieces from each set using the best ones. I ended up spending about $1k or so on the trim which was a great price compared to new, but no way I would ever attempt this again on a car like the M6! CF trim is also a 100% no compromises must have on an ///M car so for me this is one of the several must have's.

Our car is my wife's DD and has every option besides full leather and night vision (CP not available on 13s). I really wanted full leather, but like you I had already searched for about six months for this car and it was getting close to time that we had to make a move so on that option I was willing to comprimise because this car will get used pretty heavily and my wife wont make any effort to maintain the extra leather. If it were my DD full leather would be 100% absolute must have (as my 991 has beautiful two tone leather dash with contrast stitching) and quite frankly I am pretty surprised at how cheap many parts of the M6 interior are without the full leather such as the bottom half of the doors (and even more so on the convertible which lacks the alcantera headliner and has cheap plastic A pillars). CP was not a must have or really much of a concern for several reasons. One with it being the wife's car being lowered was not good at all. Also at the time we purchased there were next to no CP cars, and the few that were out there were $30k+ more than our car and with how many miles we put on the car (20k+ per year) that was out of our range. Finally, since we were going for the already very heavy convertible, on top of how the car will be used, it just didn't make sense to try and make this 4.5k pound boat more sporty. Having said that, if the car were for me instead of my wife, once again CP would be an absolute must, and I would be getting the coupe only.

So in summary, most importantly CF interior is a must on an ///M car, and I highly recommend not trying to change this yourself. While the M6 is the top of the line BMW it comes in several different specs, and no option spec in many ways is not much nicer than a 3 series. I would want the car fully optioned up if it were for me and this would include full leather, CP, and B&O speakers (not so much for the better sound, but the illuminated metal speaker grills take the interior up to the next level). Really the only advice that I can give you is to try and stay patient and know that the right car will come along. You can try to compromise, but in my opinion at this level of car it is not worth it, and I think if you do you will always wonder what if, and the short comings or missing options will always stand out to you! While it's not the snarling beast the old V10 was, it is probably the best all around car I have ever owned, and I can assure you that it is truly worth the wait!

[ace32x]

Originally Posted by Db750

I am wondering how many of the guys claiming changing out the M6 interior trim have actually done it? I'm guessing none, as I have, and it is incredibly difficult. I have done all the maintenance on over 100 units of my families rental properties for close to 15 years to give you an idea of how "handy" I am, and this is a job I would never do again! I did the work myself, along with the help of a friend that has similar skill level (and has also done a lot of trim work on other cars/bmws) and we couldn't believe how difficult it was! I can definitely sympathize with you though as I went through the same thing when looking for my CPO M6 a couple years ago (along with my previous V10 M6 years before), and CF trim is one thing I would make sure the car has going in. There are just so few cars out there to begin with, pricing can be all over the place, and when you add in a few colors and options you want it can very easily take 6 months to a year plus to find your car!

Not only is the trim very difficult to remove, but there is also some irreversible damage that you will have to do to remove the existing trim. This M6 is very very well built much more so than previous versions and lower models. I had the M perf CF trim on my E92 M3 and that all just snapped in and out - not the case for the M6! The door panel trims are screwed in from the back of the door panel with four screws each which means each door panel has to be completely removed. In addition to the normal pegs/clips that hold the door panels on there is also a line of adhesive around the exterior of each panel which greatly helps with that solid feeling as well as rattles and this has to be broken to take the panels off. There are several other things like this which there is just no way that you can put back together on the door panels alone. It's not something myself or anyone else would be able to tell on a random car, but when you have felt your own car before and after you will notice a small difference! I can't even remember how exactly we went about taking apart the center console, I remember there were screws in places you would never guess, but it was a bitch too! Bottom line I would highly recommend finding a car with the CF trim stock!

I got my trim off Ebay in brand new condition. I actually bought two different sets, each which had some new parts and some that were new but may have had weave that wasn't perfectly straight or other factory issues and I mixed and matched pieces from each set using the best ones. I ended up spending about $1k or so on the trim which was a great price compared to new, but no way I would ever attempt this again on a car like the M6! CF trim is also a 100% no compromises must have on an ///M car so for me this is one of the several must have's.

Our car is my wife's DD and has every option besides full leather and night vision (CP not available on 13s). I really wanted full leather, but like you I had already searched for about six months for this car and it was getting close to time that we had to make a move so on that option I was willing to comprimise because this car will get used pretty heavily and my wife wont make any effort to maintain the extra leather. If it were my DD full leather would be 100% absolute must have (as my 991 has beautiful two tone leather dash with contrast stitching) and quite frankly I am pretty surprised at how cheap many parts of the M6 interior are without the full leather such as the bottom half of the doors (and even more so on the convertible which lacks the alcantera headliner and has cheap plastic A pillars). CP was not a must have or really much of a concern for several reasons. One with it being the wife's car being lowered was not good at all. Also at the time we purchased there were next to no CP cars, and the few that were out there were $30k+ more than our car and with how many miles we put on the car (20k+ per year) that was out of our range. Finally, since we were going for the already very heavy convertible, on top of how the car will be used, it just didn't make sense to try and make this 4.5k pound boat more sporty. Having said that, if the car were for me instead of my wife, once again CP would be an absolute must, and I would be getting the coupe only.

So in summary, most importantly CF interior is a must on an ///M car, and I highly recommend not trying to change this yourself. While the M6 is the top of the line BMW it comes in several different specs, and no option spec in many ways is not much nicer than a 3 series. I would want the car fully optioned up if it were for me and this would include full leather, CP, and B&O speakers (not so much for the better sound, but the illuminated metal speaker grills take the interior up to the next level). Really the only advice that I can give you is to try and stay patient and know that the right car will come along. You can try to compromise, but in my opinion at this level of car it is not worth it, and I think if you do you will always wonder what if, and the short comings or missing options will always stand out to you! While it's not the snarling beast the old V10 was, it is probably the best all around car I have ever owned, and I can assure you that it is truly worth the wait!

Great summary. Couldn’t have worded it better myself. Was in a similar boat searching for a long time before I found mine. Wasn’t the exterior color I wanted but as stated above the options were much more important. Found a fully loaded every option white on black. Cf trim and full leather were musts.

[hirkaismyname]

Shout out to Db750 for re-arranging my pecking order. CF indeed has been a bit rare to find, and yes, I did ponder about having it changed out. BUT, as you have just confirmed my suspicions, it does seem like a daunting task. Specifically because the center piece is matte grey. The route initially was to wrap the panels, but the wraps out there by 3M lackluster. Thus, overall bringing down the quality of the interior finishes.

The alternative route was the .02 cents imparted upon me by my CPA bro: you're buying the car for its performance and not for the interior looks. I think Jeremy from Top Gear also concurs with this school of thought. But, I'm different as Two Chains would say.

With that being said, I think I may have to settle for a m5 since a lot have been coming to market, and the m6GC's on the market as we speak are not of my taste, nor with CP, or under CPO coverage.

How does the forum feel about the 997 turbo s? or r8 gated shift?

[rsuhandy]

Originally Posted by Db750

I am wondering how many of the guys claiming changing out the M6 interior trim have actually done it? I'm guessing none, as I have, and it is incredibly difficult. I have done all the maintenance on over 100 units of my families rental properties for close to 15 years to give you an idea of how "handy" I am, and this is a job I would never do again! I did the work myself, along with the help of a friend that has similar skill level (and has also done a lot of trim work on other cars/bmws) and we couldn't believe how difficult it was! I can definitely sympathize with you though as I went through the same thing when looking for my CPO M6 a couple years ago (along with my previous V10 M6 years before), and CF trim is one thing I would make sure the car has going in. There are just so few cars out there to begin with, pricing can be all over the place, and when you add in a few colors and options you want it can very easily take 6 months to a year plus to find your car!

Not only is the trim very difficult to remove, but there is also some irreversible damage that you will have to do to remove the existing trim. This M6 is very very well built much more so than previous versions and lower models. I had the M perf CF trim on my E92 M3 and that all just snapped in and out - not the case for the M6! The door panel trims are screwed in from the back of the door panel with four screws each which means each door panel has to be completely removed. In addition to the normal pegs/clips that hold the door panels on there is also a line of adhesive around the exterior of each panel which greatly helps with that solid feeling as well as rattles and this has to be broken to take the panels off. There are several other things like this which there is just no way that you can put back together on the door panels alone. It's not something myself or anyone else would be able to tell on a random car, but when you have felt your own car before and after you will notice a small difference! I can't even remember how exactly we went about taking apart the center console, I remember there were screws in places you would never guess, but it was a bitch too! Bottom line I would highly recommend finding a car with the CF trim stock!

I got my trim off Ebay in brand new condition. I actually bought two different sets, each which had some new parts and some that were new but may have had weave that wasn't perfectly straight or other factory issues and I mixed and matched pieces from each set using the best ones. I ended up spending about $1k or so on the trim which was a great price compared to new, but no way I would ever attempt this again on a car like the M6! CF trim is also a 100% no compromises must have on an ///M car so for me this is one of the several must have's.

Our car is my wife's DD and has every option besides full leather and night vision (CP not available on 13s). I really wanted full leather, but like you I had already searched for about six months for this car and it was getting close to time that we had to make a move so on that option I was willing to comprimise because this car will get used pretty heavily and my wife wont make any effort to maintain the extra leather. If it were my DD full leather would be 100% absolute must have (as my 991 has beautiful two tone leather dash with contrast stitching) and quite frankly I am pretty surprised at how cheap many parts of the M6 interior are without the full leather such as the bottom half of the doors (and even more so on the convertible which lacks the alcantera headliner and has cheap plastic A pillars). CP was not a must have or really much of a concern for several reasons. One with it being the wife's car being lowered was not good at all. Also at the time we purchased there were next to no CP cars, and the few that were out there were $30k+ more than our car and with how many miles we put on the car (20k+ per year) that was out of our range. Finally, since we were going for the already very heavy convertible, on top of how the car will be used, it just didn't make sense to try and make this 4.5k pound boat more sporty. Having said that, if the car were for me instead of my wife, once again CP would be an absolute must, and I would be getting the coupe only.

So in summary, most importantly CF interior is a must on an ///M car, and I highly recommend not trying to change this yourself. While the M6 is the top of the line BMW it comes in several different specs, and no option spec in many ways is not much nicer than a 3 series. I would want the car fully optioned up if it were for me and this would include full leather, CP, and B&O speakers (not so much for the better sound, but the illuminated metal speaker grills take the interior up to the next level). Really the only advice that I can give you is to try and stay patient and know that the right car will come along. You can try to compromise, but in my opinion at this level of car it is not worth it, and I think if you do you will always wonder what if, and the short comings or missing options will always stand out to you! While it's not the snarling beast the old V10 was, it is probably the best all around car I have ever owned, and I can assure you that it is truly worth the wait!

Agreed that it is not an easy job to swap out the CF interior trim. But it is possible, and if you pay someone to do it then it really is just extra money. My point is if you need CF interior and you find a vehicle that doesn’t have it, you CAN change it.

[brad850csi]

Just a few things:

Extended leather is really just the seats and comes standard. Full leather replaces the 3 series style dash, top of door trims and so on. With the beautiful curved line from the glovebox down to the centre console in particular I think you'd be nuts to get extended.

Have some of the posters seen grey poplar trim? While I'd still prefer the carbon I don't mind the grey too much as it is quite dark and doesn't have a color to distract with. If definitely wouldn't make me reject a car.

If you're looking at my15 cars as a maximum age, one thing I would consider is the the headlight design changed with the LCI to a much better design IMO.

[pdips]

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

Is competition package worth it? Heck yes. Read this: http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1166364

The biggest difference you'll notice is tighter steering and exhaust note.

Also note 2016 competition package has 600 HP vs 575 for prior years competition package.

I thought it was 2015 and newer got the 600 hp bump with CP?

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by pdips

I thought it was 2015 and newer got the 600 hp bump with CP?

2016 got 600 HP, LCI headlights

2015 got NBT Touch controller

2014 got the original Competition Package

[hirkaismyname]

Nice -- thanks Flying Ace; Seems like '16's are the way to go now.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by hirkaismyname

Nice -- thanks Flying Ace; Seems like '16's are the way to go now.

If you have money to burn, sure. Note, the extra HP is hard to extract. It's all up in the top range.



The more important features of CP over standard are the revised steering ratio, suspension, MDM retune and exhaust. The first two cannot be retrofitted without massive costs incurred. The third theoretically could be retrofitted with minimum effort.

List pricing currently are:
16: $90k
15: $67k
14: $60k

You have to determine if that extra 25 HP is worth it to you. You can easily tune 25 HP with Dinan for $1000 or so.

Also, I forgot in 2016, all 6 series got LCI headlights.
Try as you may, if you don't currently own the car and see it everyday, you won't be able to tell which one is LCI and which one isn't. (The top is LCI)

[Flying Ace]

Also while the 2015 got the NBT touch controller and higher res screen, the 2014s got the NBT software without the touch controller. Not sure if the added function matters to you.

After owning a CCC and CIC BMW for a few years, the novelty of the then current idrive wears off and you end up only using 2-3 shortcut functions you have saved. That's why I elected to go 2014 and not put too much emphasis on the 2015's touch controller.

[Acexxon]

In the place I live now, all CP models are required to update the ECU and automatically changes to the 600hp version.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought our CP models have different suspension (shocks and springs)

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by Acexxon

In the place I live now, all CP models are required to update the ECU and automatically changes to the 600hp version.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought our CP models have different suspension (shocks and springs)

And where do you live? Also you weren't clear in your comment, you mean "now" as today, all CP models are already 600 HP cars? There's no other options for CP. Or did you mean "now" as you live in CAN "now" and back in 2015 you were forced to upgrade?

This isn't the first time I heard of this. In Europe, owners who ordered CP options by mid-2015 were eligible (though you can assume that it was "required") to get the 600 CP ECU tune from the factory. The 2014 CP and 2015 CP had like a $500 USD difference. I think it was done more so for customer friendliness thing than anything. Also, rules for what constitutes a "model year" differs country by country, so those cars could have been considered 2016 MY cars, ordered in 2015.

From what I read, all US model 2015s still had the 575 HP power and the 660 HP upgrade was not even an option.

Regarding suspension tuning, yes, the spring and dampening rates were increased, CP cars also got a stiffer front and rear sway bar and stiffer bushings. Also, there will be revised MDM Read this:


http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=873975

[Taheemr]

I too heard about that BHP upgrade here in the UK and some dealers doing an upgrade depending on what terms you on with them

[hirkaismyname]

So what you're saying is that these stats only apply to '16 CP's right, not 15 CP's? Or if not, then there is a possibility of purchasing a '15CP and tuning to get to the HP gain?

Thanks,
H

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

And where do you live? Also you weren't clear in your comment, you mean "now" as today, all CP models are already 600 HP cars? There's no other options for CP. Or did you mean "now" as you live in CAN "now" and back in 2015 you were forced to upgrade?

This isn't the first time I heard of this. In Europe, owners who ordered CP options by mid-2015 were eligible (though you can assume that it was "required") to get the 600 CP ECU tune from the factory. The 2014 CP and 2015 CP had like a $500 USD difference. I think it was done more so for customer friendliness thing than anything. Also, rules for what constitutes a "model year" differs country by country, so those cars could have been considered 2016 MY cars, ordered in 2015.

From what I read, all US model 2015s still had the 575 HP power and the 660 HP upgrade was not even an option.

Regarding suspension tuning, yes, the spring and dampening rates were increased, CP cars also got a stiffer front and rear sway bar and stiffer bushings. Also, there will be revised MDM Read this:


http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=873975

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by hirkaismyname

So what you're saying is that these stats only apply to '16 CP's right, not 15 CP's? Or if not, then there is a possibility of purchasing a '15CP and tuning to get to the HP gain?

Thanks,
H

let me clarify. The only difference between the '14/'15 CP and the '16 CP are:

1. HP (575 vs 600)
2. LCI headlights

All other CP features carry over from '14/'15 to '16 including:
1. revised MDM
2. stiffer springs
3. stiffer dampening
4. stiffer sway bars
5. 601M wheels (if optioned)
6. CP exhaust
7. tighter steering ratio

You can certainly tune a '15 CP. But the dealer will not sell you the factory 600 HP tune (not in US at least). Dinan is the ONLY aftermarket company that is recognized by BMW and anything done at a Dinan certified shop will not void the original factory warranty.

Dinan's cheapest and least aggressive tune is currently $3100. Raises peak figures to 695 HP, 644 lb-ft of torque.

https://www.dinancars.com/products/?...=engine-tuning

This is a really good tune and it increases power throughout the entire rev range, which means, you'll use it more often. There's a decent 50-70 HP bump throughout the entire range. The current CP power bump only increase HP in the last 1000 RPMs prior to redline, so you got to get up to the redline to realize that increase. This reason alone is why I wouldn't seek out the 2016 just for the 600 vs 575 bump. In all CP cars, you need to be driving the highest part of the range to get that 25 HP bump over last CP and 40 HP bump over standard M6.

There's a stage 2 tune that ups it another 20 HP over stage 1 figures.