My E46 M3 died, seriously considering a 640d

[matzie]

Hi

I've driven an E46 M3 for about the last ten years. It was a wild ride with all the usual superlatives you'd expect. A couple of weeks ago, it developed a loud rattle and a minute later had a catastrophic engine failure - presuming it was a VANOS bolt hitting the timing chain. It's dead. Considering that it was also due for subframe reinforcement as cracks had just begun to appear, and was generally shabby - it's staying dead.

Obviously I'm considering all the usual suspects as a replacement - I could theoretically afford anything up to an M2 Comp (and I've given closer thought to an M240i or an M4), but I'm also aware that I very rarely got anything like the best out of my M3. I hardly ever tracked it, and while I got as much fun out of it on the roads as I could legally - well, my limits as a driver were a lot lower than the car's! Also, I spent a lot of my time much further down the rev range than you need to in order to get the best out it. I covered a lot of miles - travelling up and down the UK most weeks for a while. I did spend a lot of time on the twisty back roads when I could, though :-)

I'm looking at a lot of other models and my search has taken me to a high-spec'd 640d. I think I've watched pretty much every YT video ever recorded about one now, and I think that for my purposes the low down grunt, coupled with the massive increases technologically, might make it a good fit.

So, I thought I'd ask for some opinions here. Obviously I know it's not an M car - but I don't really need an M car any more. I know it's going to be bigger, slower (though not so much in a straight line), and a lot less agile. I do want to be able to extract some fun from it though, even on twisty roads.

Any thoughts, suggestions and ideas welcome - thanks in advance.

[Mani59]

Welcome!

A few years ago, I went from a E90 M3 > F10 523i (N53) and I did miss the M3 greatly but did not regret it.

Do you do enough miles to warrant a diesel / DPF regeneration as otherwise, maybe consider the 640i or 650i?

In my opinion, you will find the cabin an absolute pleasure to be in. Whilst I do love my E46 330i and its engine, I adore my F06 cabin (especially with the pan roof).

High Peak Autos did a great review on the 640d and 640i on YouTube. Check it out if you have not yet seen it .

[matzie]

That's a good point about the DPF - thanks. I don't do as many miles as I used to as often as I used to, and for shorter trips (this will be my daily driver), this is definitely something to think about.

And yeah, I'd seen the High Peak vid. I'm particularly keen to hear from 6 series owners about a subjective sense of fun during spirited driving - but I guess I'm probably going to have to give it a try to see how it feels for me.

[TON-III]

Have you had a single test drive with F13/06 ?

This car is a whole different story compared your agile M3. I did move to my F13 640 D X-Drive M-Sport from a bit alike car like you ( Audi B7 2.0 TQ S-Line) and felt this 6'er to be as fat as a car can be. After some fine tuning ( lighter alloys/narrower tires/ Eibach springs/ gear box tuning) I've started to be satisfied with it. Frankly, it's a fast car which moves forward effortlessly as far as you're going straight, still you can cruise with it as slow you like.

In it's early days I thought this was a wrong move, now after riding it 4 years it has been more clear that it should not be anything else

Anyway, do have a trial ride first, even the weight difference is not 'that much' but still this car feels heavy, expecially in corners ( yeah, it's not a track car).

[deep_thought]

go for the 650 !!!! … I'm not sure if these other guys are talking from experience , the 6 is definitely agile … maybe not as agile as a smaller M car .. however you just mentioned how you stay far below the red dev range .. and you hardly ever push it to the limits … im guessing you're not an erratic driver cutting in and out in-between cars ? .. if my guess is correct , this car would more than satisfy your needs .. the 640 will not have that much power but will be sufficient .. just don't expect to "launch" in it like a 'rocket-ship'.. however do expect for it to cover ground fast …. if you i can whoever get the 650 (not the m6 as it omits plenty of daily driver stuff like panoramic moon-roof , xdrive, etc if you even need or want those features and others , which you likely will ) … you will not regret this car.. it's huge (outside , the interior is not very huge and is more cramped, it's more of a 2-seater even the gran coupe!.. however , it is sexy as fuck , unlike any BMW .. it is made with style and luxury first , then practicality etc .. it's a 'show' car

[JBF650]

the 6 series is no track car or even an M car in 640 / 650 guise. Instead what you have is a sure footed premium motorway cruiser par excellence. Sure pop it into sports + and it goes well enough around tight twisting roads but make no mistake its not its happy place. What it loves to do is be turned onto a good piece of road and given its head. motorways, country drives and B roads it will eat up easily. I love my 650 Coupe there is simply no alternative for the money that gives me what this car does. Do some research and buy a good one that's been well maintained and not mucked around with and you'll have a great driving car for all occasions.
If I'm reading your post correctly you haven't as yet driven one so I would say all the advice in the world is purely subjective atm. Go drive them all and see if you like them then decide on what powerplant and model you like. who knows you may end up with us all on here as a star struck owner ...

[TON-III]

Originally Posted by JBF650

What it loves to do is be turned onto a good piece of road and given its head. motorways, country drives and B roads it will eat up easily.

+1

It's pure luxury when driving straight what ever your speed is, while the speed may be most of the time under 70 mph / 120 km/h diesel with low end endless torque will meet your (and most of us) needs I think

[rasa bmw]

love my 640d,remapped is the way to go,,pretty quick for what they are,,around 4.5s 0-60 if that floats ya boat,,,mine is decent spec £14k of options added,,paid £13k over 2 years ago,,car was originally £81k,in my eyes they are the best looking coupe ever made the f13..and best bang for buck car out there,i mean they are cheaper than an f30/f31.i also have a f31 330d x drive