650i Purchase Advice

[Opie55]

OK, I just decoded the VIN. I see it is citrin black metallic - another individual item that cost about $3,500 extra. And it does have adaptive drive. You have no idea how rare that car is. Pretty much one of a kind. You should buy it.

[WildWilly1100]

Originally Posted by Opie55

Is it regular black, or one of the variants? It looks to be regular black. Since the original owner was not shy about spending on options, do you know if it has adaptive drive? The three rarest options are adaptive cruise, night vision and adaptive drive. If there is a 2015 convertible with adaptive cruise on the planet I have yet to see it. Night vision I have seen three times - my car, this one, and one other for sale a year or so ago. Adaptive drive you need to decode the VIN to see (or look under the car). In case you don't know, adaptive drive adds a motor to the middle of your sway bars that exerts a twisting force as you corner to keep the car flatter. It's nice on a car the size of an aircraft carrier. I think it's even rarer than night vision.

Yes indeed those are very rare options, the one we really want is the adaptive cruise and this one has it. We had that option on an Acura and it was great, on long drives it really is one of the best options to have and when going through big cities, it really reduces the stress/fatigue. Our next car will have it for sure, no matter now long we have to wait to find one

The other two options are that important to me, we don't do a lot of night time driving and my canyon carving days are over, plus I can't afford the tickets!

[WildWilly1100]

Originally Posted by Opie55

OK, I just decoded the VIN. I see it is citrin black metallic - another individual item that cost about $3,500 extra. And it does have adaptive drive. You have no idea how rare that car is. Pretty much one of a kind. You should buy it.

We're very seriously considering it, I've reached out to them with questions, I'll keep everyone updated.

[Opie55]

I did not even notice the cruise control. That makes it even more rare. If I were in the market now I'd buy that car. The one thing I prefer more is the champagne individual leather. I love that color.

[JBF650]

My 2015 F13 has adaptive cruise and adaptive drive but no night vision. You are right Opie I had no idea it had adaptive drive until I searched the VIN code. I don't know what it does but hey according to my VIN its got it.

Like most other parties have said … I think you are worrying about something that in all likelihood may never happen if you purchase the right car and look after it.
Cars that have been through multiple hands /chipped or overly modded , worked and thrashed id stay well clear of! you can tell these cars....

I can speak for our BMW network here in Australia, all cars service records are held electronically. prior to purchasing my 650 ( it was a private sale ) I rang BMW Australia gave them the cars VIN and they told me the service history was spot on and perfect. They did not divulge personal information just that the car had ALL the services it was meant to and no major issues. It had been subject to a recall for an airbag which they told was done at the same BMW dealer it had always been serviced at.
Clearly this gave me the confidence to buy the car. Once the car was mine I took it to the BMW dealer and asked them to go through it for piece of mind. they did this and all was fine and has been fine ever since.
I was luck the previous owner had keep every single service invoice the car had in a folder so again this backed up the excellent provenance.
As most of you know these cars don't come with a 'stamped service log books' anymore so if you cannot get confirmation from a dealer about its service history and the seller cannot supply evidence of correct service maintenance, it does become a concern.
Again these cars aren't crazy rare however they aren't common and id agree finding the right one can be a challenge. it took me 12 months... but when it did come up, I did my research and snapped it up.
Trust your gut, the right car is 'the right car' if you get me drift. If it looks unloved, beat up or other.... walk away. if it looks good you like it then get a pre-purchase inspection from a trusted mechanic or BMW dealer. this is really the only advice any of us can give you. these cars are very well engineered however some have been terribly abused and like any performance car they can suffer for it at the hands of dunderheads.

happy hunting

[WildWilly1100]

Originally Posted by JBF650

My 2015 F13 has adaptive cruise and adaptive drive but no night vision. You are right Opie I had no idea it had adaptive drive until I searched the VIN code. I don't know what it does but hey according to my VIN its got it.

Like most other parties have said … I think you are worrying about something that in all likelihood may never happen if you purchase the right car and look after it.
Cars that have been through multiple hands /chipped or overly modded , worked and thrashed id stay well clear of! you can tell these cars....

I can speak for our BMW network here in Australia, all cars service records are held electronically. prior to purchasing my 650 ( it was a private sale ) I rang BMW Australia gave them the cars VIN and they told me the service history was spot on and perfect. They did not divulge personal information just that the car had ALL the services it was meant to and no major issues. It had been subject to a recall for an airbag which they told was done at the same BMW dealer it had always been serviced at.
Clearly this gave me the confidence to buy the car. Once the car was mine I took it to the BMW dealer and asked them to go through it for piece of mind. they did this and all was fine and has been fine ever since.
I was luck the previous owner had keep every single service invoice the car had in a folder so again this backed up the excellent provenance.
As most of you know these cars don't come with a 'stamped service log books' anymore so if you cannot get confirmation from a dealer about its service history and the seller cannot supply evidence of correct service maintenance, it does become a concern.
Again these cars aren't crazy rare however they aren't common and id agree finding the right one can be a challenge. it took me 12 months... but when it did come up, I did my research and snapped it up.
Trust your gut, the right car is 'the right car' if you get me drift. If it looks unloved, beat up or other.... walk away. if it looks good you like it then get a pre-purchase inspection from a trusted mechanic or BMW dealer. this is really the only advice any of us can give you. these cars are very well engineered however some have been terribly abused and like any performance car they can suffer for it at the hands of dunderheads.

happy hunting

Thanks for this info, it helps a lot. I sent the VIN to a dealer about an hour away, he ran it and sent me back the service record. All service was completed, as maintenance was included in the lease. A few issues were resolved under warranty - nothing serious, the Natural Vacuum Leak Detection module was replaced and 3 things have an extended warranty until 2025 or 192,000 kms. I'm really thinking about buying this one, we really like it. It's a days drive away, so not easy to get with all the covid restrictions here and driving it back (summer tires) in the middle of a Canadian winter is not perfect either.

[WildWilly1100]

Here is the info...

In Service Date: Jan 15, 2015
Oil Change: Sep 23, 2015, 14,693 kms
Oil Change: Jun 9, 2016, 29,438 kms
Oil Change: Nov 3, 2016, 38,524 kms
Oil Change: Aug 15, 2017, 53,354 kms
Oil Change: Jun 20, 2018, 66,055 kms
Oil Change: Feb 7, 2019, 74,294 kms


Current Mileage: 81,628 kms

Almost 2 years since an oil change, but not many miles, need to do a full service as soon as we get it home.

[WildWilly1100]

It also had a $7,000 accident/repair early on, but I'm thinking $7K on this car is not much damage, trying to find out what the actual damage was.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by WildWilly1100

It also had a $7,000 accident/repair early on, but I'm thinking $7K on this car is not much damage, trying to find out what the actual damage was.

Hard to know what the accident was. Curious how you know how much the damage cost. But you are right, a broken headlight and a new front bumper cover would approach $7,000. If you are planning to go see it in person before buying, look at the paint in good light from various angles and see if any look off in color. Bumpers can often look a different shade from the factory so don't worry too much about that. Look for panels where the paint does not look as smooth. But I bet you find nothing. It was probably repaired well. If you see nothing amiss on the body, and it drives straight, I would not let that stop me. If it were a common color with a common interior and common options I might move on to the next one since I will go anywhere in the country for a car. But that one is just too cool and rare to pass up IMO.

Since it is a 2015, I can tell you one minor thing that might be wrong with it that you can check. But maybe not since that one was made several months after mine. It has been discussed here, but up through sometime in 2015 they used crankcase breather lines that were made of flimsy accordion plastic that baked in the heat under the hood and cracked. They changed the design to be heavy rubber hoses. They are covered under an extended warranty in the US - not sure about Canada. You can search threads here for pics. All you have to do is pull off the decorative engine cover to see what type is there. It's not a big deal - they will just cause some oil seepage up top. They run over a silver metal "tray". If it has the old type and they are cracked, there will be oil on the tray. If you see no oil, then they are good for now. But you may well have the new type. Since I don't like mechanics touching my cars unless I can't avoid it, I ignored the warranty and replaced them myself. It's not hard.

[Luftpost]

Here is the link Opie is referring to.

Very nice car you are looking at btw. My 2016 CPO N63TU, 60,000 miles, no issues whatsoever. Changed plugs recently as a preventative measure, but that's it!

L

Originally Posted by Opie55

Hard to know what the accident was. Curious how you know how much the damage cost. But you are right, a broken headlight and a new front bumper cover would approach $7,000. If you are planning to go see it in person before buying, look at the paint in good light from various angles and see if any look off in color. Bumpers can often look a different shade from the factory so don't worry too much about that. Look for panels where the paint does not look as smooth. But I bet you find nothing. It was probably repaired well. If you see nothing amiss on the body, and it drives straight, I would not let that stop me. If it were a common color with a common interior and common options I might move on to the next one since I will go anywhere in the country for a car. But that one is just too cool and rare to pass up IMO.

Since it is a 2015, I can tell you one minor thing that might be wrong with it that you can check. But maybe not since that one was made several months after mine. It has been discussed here, but up through sometime in 2015 they used crankcase breather lines that were made of flimsy accordion plastic that baked in the heat under the hood and cracked. They changed the design to be heavy rubber hoses. They are covered under an extended warranty in the US - not sure about Canada. You can search threads here for pics. All you have to do is pull off the decorative engine cover to see what type is there. It's not a big deal - they will just cause some oil seepage up top. They run over a silver metal "tray". If it has the old type and they are cracked, there will be oil on the tray. If you see no oil, then they are good for now. But you may well have the new type. Since I don't like mechanics touching my cars unless I can't avoid it, I ignored the warranty and replaced them myself. It's not hard.

[WildWilly1100]

Originally Posted by Opie55

Hard to know what the accident was. Curious how you know how much the damage cost. But you are right, a broken headlight and a new front bumper cover would approach $7,000. If you are planning to go see it in person before buying, look at the paint in good light from various angles and see if any look off in color. Bumpers can often look a different shade from the factory so don't worry too much about that. Look for panels where the paint does not look as smooth. But I bet you find nothing. It was probably repaired well. If you see nothing amiss on the body, and it drives straight, I would not let that stop me. If it were a common color with a common interior and common options I might move on to the next one since I will go anywhere in the country for a car. But that one is just too cool and rare to pass up IMO.

Since it is a 2015, I can tell you one minor thing that might be wrong with it that you can check. But maybe not since that one was made several months after mine. It has been discussed here, but up through sometime in 2015 they used crankcase breather lines that were made of flimsy accordion plastic that baked in the heat under the hood and cracked. They changed the design to be heavy rubber hoses. They are covered under an extended warranty in the US - not sure about Canada. You can search threads here for pics. All you have to do is pull off the decorative engine cover to see what type is there. It's not a big deal - they will just cause some oil seepage up top. They run over a silver metal "tray". If it has the old type and they are cracked, there will be oil on the tray. If you see no oil, then they are good for now. But you may well have the new type. Since I don't like mechanics touching my cars unless I can't avoid it, I ignored the warranty and replaced them myself. It's not hard.

That's great info, thanks. The carfax shows the $7,000 estimate for repairs, doesn't say it was repaired, just an estimate. The might mean that he took the money and had it repaired on his own. I'll check for the breather lines, but they are covered by the 10 year, 192,000 kms warranty in Canada as well.

[WildWilly1100]

Originally Posted by Luftpost

Here is the link Opie is referring to.

Very nice car you are looking at btw. My 2016 CPO N63TU, 60,000 miles, no issues whatsoever. Changed plugs recently as a preventative measure, but that's it!

L

Thanks, I took a screenshot of that one. It's also noted in the BMW service record that I have. This car is looking better and better all the time

[AccordTR]

Originally Posted by WildWilly1100

That's great info, thanks. The carfax shows the $7,000 estimate for repairs, doesn't say it was repaired, just an estimate. The might mean that he took the money and had it repaired on his own. I'll check for the breather lines, but they are covered by the 10 year, 192,000 kms warranty in Canada as well.

Had someone bump my car while parked. I needed a new adaptive headlight and bumper cover. By the time the parts were ordered, painted and installed the insurance claim was $14k. The headlight alone was $4300. Never under estimate BMW prices lol.

[WildWilly1100]

Originally Posted by AccordTR

Had someone bump my car while parked. I needed a new adaptive headlight and bumper cover. By the time the parts were ordered, painted and installed the insurance claim was $14k. The headlight alone was $4300. Never under estimate BMW prices lol.

Yeah, it can be crazy for sure. We do know that the drivers door and rear quarter have been painted, Probably minor damage and that was the cost of paint and repair. Hoping to go to Montreal this week and bring her home!!

[jackliu0527]

Originally Posted by WildWilly1100

And that is exactly what scares the hell out of me. What year is your GC?

its a 13, with the N63TU engine, all 4 door models are running TU

So a bit more detail on the repairs, of course this may or may not happen.

Engine replacement: ~$35,000 CAD parts and labour
so the rod bearing failed, and the piston made contact with the head, when they drained the oil I was about 2L short, so when they pulled the code, there was a oil level sensor fault, however that didnt trigger the chk engine light, so no way of knowing unless you scanned the car, so they deemed it was 2L short of oil on high engine output that cause the rod bearing to fail, that job consisted of long block engine (including the heads), main rad, the warranty company took a chance on the turbos, if there was shrapnals in the turbo after they put in a new engine it woulda write that one off too

DME replacement: ~$9000 CAD parts and labour
apparently one of my coil split prob due to high temp or other reason cause a short, and it back fed the voltage to the DME and fried both of them, that job consisted of 2x DME replacement, 8 coil replacement.

With all that being said, no regrets about this car, I love it, but owning one out of warranty is dicy unless you know the previous owner condition.

[WildWilly1100]

Originally Posted by jackliu0527

its a 13, with the N63TU engine, all 4 door models are running TU

So a bit more detail on the repairs, of course this may or may not happen.

Engine replacement: ~$35,000 CAD parts and labour
so the rod bearing failed, and the piston made contact with the head, when they drained the oil I was about 2L short, so when they pulled the code, there was a oil level sensor fault, however that didnt trigger the chk engine light, so no way of knowing unless you scanned the car, so they deemed it was 2L short of oil on high engine output that cause the rod bearing to fail, that job consisted of long block engine (including the heads), main rad, the warranty company took a chance on the turbos, if there was shrapnals in the turbo after they put in a new engine it woulda write that one off too

DME replacement: ~$9000 CAD parts and labour
apparently one of my coil split prob due to high temp or other reason cause a short, and it back fed the voltage to the DME and fried both of them, that job consisted of 2x DME replacement, 8 coil replacement.

With all that being said, no regrets about this car, I love it, but owning one out of warranty is dicy unless you know the previous owner condition.

Thanks for this, it's good info. The one I'm looking at doesn't have warranty, and I'm not sure I could even purchase one, now that it's 6 years old. From what I've been able to find, if I could put the BMW warranty on it, it would be over 10K. I know this is a gamble, really hoping that I'm not unlucky enough to lose two BMW engines one after the other. That's just rotten luck

[jackliu0527]

Originally Posted by WildWilly1100

Thanks for this, it's good info. The one I'm looking at doesn't have warranty, and I'm not sure I could even purchase one, now that it's 6 years old. From what I've been able to find, if I could put the BMW warranty on it, it would be over 10K. I know this is a gamble, really hoping that I'm not unlucky enough to lose two BMW engines one after the other. That's just rotten luck

mine was a third party warranty purchased from BMW

[evil-G-nius]

THis is all good info. I have been on the fence between a 650i GC or a M6 GC. I am still leaning towards the 650 for some reason. But this info is indeed helpful

[WildWilly1100]

Originally Posted by jackliu0527

mine was a third party warranty purchased from BMW

Would you mind sharing the cost of that warranty? The length? Deductible? Thanks.

We also have a 2017 Porsche Cayenne, they have a great warranty program. We bought it used, it had 1 year left on the original warranty and they added a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty, so 3 years total, unlimited mileage. The best part is, I can continue to buy the unlimited mileage warranty up to 10 years, which we will do. Imagine a 9.5 year old Cayenne, with 300,000 kms and a full Porsche warranty. Wish BMW had a program like this.

[jackliu0527]

Originally Posted by WildWilly1100

Would you mind sharing the cost of that warranty? The length? Deductible? Thanks.

We also have a 2017 Porsche Cayenne, they have a great warranty program. We bought it used, it had 1 year left on the original warranty and they added a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty, so 3 years total, unlimited mileage. The best part is, I can continue to buy the unlimited mileage warranty up to 10 years, which we will do. Imagine a 9.5 year old Cayenne, with 300,000 kms and a full Porsche warranty. Wish BMW had a program like this.

$6000 ish CAD, I think 5 or 6 year cant remember, $200 deductable, EVERYTHING other than wear and tear items are covered, it even covers $100 for tires if it fails lol. KM was something really high that didnt matter

[WildWilly1100]

Originally Posted by jackliu0527

$6000 ish CAD, I think 5 or 6 year cant remember, $200 deductable, EVERYTHING other than wear and tear items are covered, it even covers $100 for tires if it fails lol. KM was something really high that didnt matter

That's not too bad, do you mind telling us who is the warranty company? I would consider that. Thx.

[WildWilly1100]

Just put a deposit on the car, hoping to get to Montreal later in the week and bring her home!!!