2016 M6/S63 Reliability?

[Cincinnatus]

Howdy, folks.

A friend is looking to trade into a 2016 M6 and has asked me if that model year engine is reliable as the 2013 M6 that I own.

I've referred him to this post (CLICKY) and it's my premise that given there were no changes that I know of to the engine, it should be at least as reliable in the '16 model year as it was in the '13 model year.

Can you guys verify and share your thoughts?

[MelbourneFinn]

My hypothesis is that there is nothing in our cars that fundamentally would make them unreliable, on the contrary, but there are a number of people who make them unreliable by abusing them. So, when buying one, the history of the car (and the owners) is more important than mileage...

[mastatikle]

Way too many variables. Maintenance history, driver abuse, LUCK is a big one. Knowing what I know now I wouldn’t touch an M6 or any M car again unless it was under warranty the WHOLE time I owned it. As soon as my warranty expired, random EXPENSIVE electronic repairs started to arise.

[Kxux]

Originally Posted by mastatikle

Way too many variables. Maintenance history, driver abuse, LUCK is a big one. Knowing what I know now I wouldn’t touch an M6 or any M car again unless it was under warranty the WHOLE time I owned it. As soon as my warranty expired, random EXPENSIVE electronic repairs started to arise.

Originally Posted by Cincinnatus

Howdy, folks.

A friend is looking to trade into a 2016 M6 and has asked me if that model year engine is reliable as the 2013 M6 that I own.

I

@Cincinnatus thank for posting. I've been frequenting this forum more than the M3 section in the last few weeks and learned a lot from the experienced M6 owner.

Originally Posted by MelbourneFinn

My hypothesis is that there is nothing in our cars that fundamentally would make them unreliable, on the contrary, but there are a number of people who make them unreliable by abusing them. So, when buying one, the history of the car (and the owners) is more important than mileage...

Thanks @MelbourneFinn. History and previous ownership is one of the key things I looked at (as much as one can) along with the service history and the fact that my particular vehicle will be CPO which gives me a lot more confidence than buying without warranty.

Originally Posted by mastatikle

Way too many variables. Maintenance history, driver abuse, LUCK is a big one. Knowing what I know now I wouldn't touch an M6 or any M car again unless it was under warranty the WHOLE time I owned it. As soon as my warranty expired, random EXPENSIVE electronic repairs started to arise.

Thanks @mastatikle. Warranty is one of the big considerations. Will get 2 years of the CPO warranty and I'm even considering to add extended service contract to minimize maintenance costs as well. But the cost of this contract is quite a bit higher than what I paid on my M3. Wonder if it's worth it on vehicle with 25k miles.

[EnVe46]

People should expand on what they mean when referring to abuse. Driving a high performance car the way it was designed to and doing maintenance when it calls for it, isn't abuse. Driving it hard and not doing maintenance would be abuse. A car that's been babied and never taken through the ringer isn't one I'd like to have. I'd rather have a car that's been well documented in maintenance and if it was driven like an M car was designed, so be it

If you're afraid of expensive repairs, you shouldn't own an M car out of warranty. Or any high performance German car. It's just reality. And it's more so the costs not reliability, generally speaking.

[mastatikle]

Originally Posted by EnVe46

People should expand on what they mean when referring to abuse. Driving a high performance car the way it was designed to and doing maintenance when it calls for it, isn't abuse. Driving it hard and not doing maintenance would be abuse. A car that's been babied and never taken through the ringer isn't one I'd like to have. I'd rather have a car that's been well documented in maintenance and if it was driven like an M car was designed, so be it

If you're afraid of expensive repairs, you shouldn't own an M car out of warranty. Or any high performance German car. It's just reality. And it's more so the costs not reliability, generally speaking.

In regards to expensive repairs. I’m talking about the random electronic module spontaneously failing and costing $4000 to fix. Or a random dead wire in the CAS module that goes bad and takes 20hrs of labor just to R&I the dash plus the the new module. I don’t care how much money I have. I don’t consider a car reliable if it costs me a random $10,000 in electronic issues in a couple years. Again this could all be my crap luck, but I don’t think anyone should plan for expensive repairs. Unless it’s due to lack of maintenance or driver error.

[EnVe46]

Originally Posted by mastatikle

In regards to expensive repairs. I’m talking about the random electronic module spontaneously failing and costing $4000 to fix. Or a random dead wire in the CAS module that goes bad and takes 20hrs of labor just to R&I the dash plus the the new module. I don’t care how much money I have. I don’t consider a car reliable if it costs me a random $10,000 in electronic issues in a couple years. Again this could all be my crap luck, but I don’t think anyone should plan for expensive repairs. Unless it’s due to lack of maintenance or driver error.

Fair enough, everyone has their opinion and I can't argue that. Guess my point is out of all the M cars I've owned, they've all had expensive repairs that are frustrating, but I've become accustomed to it. And I ask myself would it be worth getting some not as fun or engaging and be bored everyday? I tried it on a brand new Rubicon and immediately sold for a $5k loss and got an Rs7, sold that four months later for this M6. I accepted the fact something may occur but the reward of driving these beautiful M cars outweighs it, for me of course

[mikerx5]

Originally Posted by EnVe46

Fair enough, everyone has their opinion and I can't argue that. Guess my point is out of all the M cars I've owned, they've all had expensive repairs that are frustrating, but I've become accustomed to it. And I ask myself would it be worth getting some not as fun or engaging and be bored everyday? I tried it on a brand new Rubicon and immediately sold for a $5k loss and got an Rs7, sold that four months later for this M6. I accepted the fact something may occur but the reward of driving these beautiful M cars outweighs it, for me of course

Truth be told this all BMWs, yea the M tag is higher - but I have always had random annoying unplanned expenses.

[Kxux]

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge. Went ahead with the purchase and I'm happy to Introduce the new to me M6 in Sapphire Black. It will be fun car to drive for sure.

[LuvMyE92]

Sweet! Congrats Kxux

[Cincinnatus]

Originally Posted by Kxux

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge. Went ahead with the purchase and I'm happy to Introduce the new to me M6 in Sapphire Black. It will be fun car to drive for sure.

I'm seeing custom plates in your future, brother.

[mikerx5]

Originally Posted by Kxux

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge. Went ahead with the purchase and I'm happy to Introduce the new to me M6 in Sapphire Black. It will be fun car to drive for sure.

Congrats!

[Jims M3]

There is always a time to sell a car, most of these give you a warnings when they start to be a problem. Mine has been solid except for the typical iginition issues these cars all seem to have with tunes.

[messiry]

congrats on the car, do you daily drive your car, I am in the market for M6 GC for a DD but I don't know how reliable these cars for DD. Thanks for sharing.

[Kxux]

Originally Posted by messiry

congrats on the car, do you daily drive your car, I am in the market for M6 GC for a DD but I don't know how reliable these cars for DD. Thanks for sharing.

That's the plan. I'm still taking care of color correction and Xpel and new tires. Once all that is done it will be my daily driver.

Originally Posted by Jims M3

There is always a time to sell a car, most of these give you a warnings when they start to be a problem. Mine has been solid except for the typical iginition issues these cars all seem to have with tunes.

Good suggestion. Didn't think of that.

Originally Posted by Cincinnatus

I'm seeing custom plates in your future, brother.

That may indeed happen. The car looks awesome after the color correction.

[NorthCountryGuy]

Nothing like a beautiful coupe.
Well done.

[Reggie_2005]

Resurrection:

Do most of you guys only keep these rides under warranty?

I guess I’m the drive it til the wheels fall off kind of guy.

[castlesteve]

i have catastrophic warranty on my X5M and M6. Both have stage1 tunes. I also turn wrenches so daily maintenance and minor bugs are worked out for free. I know that at any time, the car could have a major issue, but it's worth the risk. To be fair, I've tracked my M6 3 times last year and plan to do another 5 this year. The car has been spot on reliable so far whereas all my friend's rides have had issues at the track (GT4, GT3).

I don't however like using this car as a daily, as I think daily driving is more abusive than weekend drives and track days. But that's my 0.02

[patchesj]

Originally Posted by castlesteve

I think daily driving is more abusive than weekend drives and track days. But that's my 0.02

Right tool for the right job.... I agree with your opinion on this. Cars that are tracked are also usually taken care of regularly and their owners are more " in touch" with the normal vs not performance of the car, always optimizing performance and picking up on things before they fail. They change fluids regularly, they warm up before pushing the car, etc. etc.

M cars are race bred. Stop and go traffic and short trips will kill them much faster than ringing the engine out on a track.