Did I get a good deal on this 650i Gran Coupe?

[Zwmack]

I'm new to the 6 series but I've always wanted one. My first BMW is a 2016 X5 with the msport and I've loved it. I bought the 35i in-line with 320hp and I've never been happier.

Fast forward 7 years, I needed a second car and was exploring the 550i and the 650i. I'm in the North East so I wanted xDrive for snow and weather.

I found a 2013 650i gran coupe with 1 owner, 47k miles, and over 40 service records, all done at the owners local BMW service center. It has the msport package, cold weather package, 20-way heated/vented/massage luxury seats, etc. I've attached the original sticker. I bought it for $30,000.

My question isn't so much about getting what I think is a steal for the price, but more so, was this a safe purchase? Given the cars service history with one owner and ultra low miles, I should not be inheriting any huge problems with the car, right? What are you guys thoughts? Thanks in advance. I'll be looking for mods and ideas soon 😁😁😁

[dream54ing]

with the given mileage and service history, its a decent good deal, imo....

We purchased our 2015 640i, about 55K miles with similar options for $39k a year ago. it was purchased from a BMW dealership, 1 owner with a 4 year warranty and in excellent condition. This was about the time when prices where some what high, but we needed a car. looking back, its a pretty good deal since it ran great without any issues so far.

[Opie55]

Depends on what you mean by "safe." You don't say what the 40 service records show. I personally don't put much stock in a car having had only one owner. Most 6 series cars were owned by people who took basic care of them - timely oil changes, fixing things that broke, etc. This site is full of people who swap out cars every year or two. When I buy a used car like this, cosmetics is everything. I'd way rather deal with replacing suspension parts or coil packs than a worn driver's seat or a rear seat permanently dented by a baby seat, or some scratch in the dash, etc. The things that start to pop up at the miles on your car don't depend on how many owners it had or how often or where it was serviced. Things like a leaky oil pan gasket or leaky valve covers or suspension bushings - particularly the oil filled bushings on the front thrust arms. Or leaks in the turbo coolant line connections. And I'd look to see if your car has the new style crankcase vent hoses. The original ones deteriorate and leak oil on top of the engine. You will need new plugs soon. Some people do coil packs as well - I just did plugs. And you need to think about a new belt - which you can't even see on a 650.
So what I'd ideally like to see in the 40 service records is that some of this upcoming stuff has been done already. If it's just oil changes, tire rotations, brake fluid flushes, air filters and wiper blades etc, then I would go over the car carefully for what it might need. As for the price, it seems about right. It does not appear to be a highly optioned car, but options don't affect used prices much.

[Zwmack]

[QUOTE=Opie55;29528417]Depends on what you mean by "safe." You don't say what the 40 service records show. I personally don't put much stock in a car having had only one owner. Most 6 series cars were owned by people who took basic care of them - timely oil changes, fixing things that broke, etc. This site is full of people who swap out cars every year or two. When I buy a used car like this, cosmetics is everything. I'd way rather deal with replacing suspension parts or coil packs than a worn driver's seat or a rear seat permanently dented by a baby seat, or some scratch in the dash, etc. The things that start to pop up at the miles on your car don't depend on how many owners it had or how often or where it was serviced. Things like a leaky oil pan gasket or leaky valve covers or suspension bushings - particularly the oil filled bushings on the front thrust arms. Or leaks in the turbo coolant line connections. And I'd look to see if your car has the new style crankcase vent hoses. The original ones deteriorate and leak oil on top of the engine. You will need new plugs soon. Some people do coil packs as well - I just did plugs. And you need to think about a new belt - which you can't even see on a 650.
So what I'd ideally like to see in the 40 service records is that some of this upcoming stuff has been done already. If it's just oil changes, tire rotations, brake fluid flushes, air filters and wiper blades etc, then I would go over the car carefully for what it might need. As for the price, it seems about right. It does not appear to be a highly optioned car, but options [...]

I see what you mean. I take delivery on the car in Friday and I've made an appt with my local BMW service center. I asked them to do a full diagnostic test to see if there are any glaring issues and if anything needs to be repaired in the near future. The car had a limited 30 day warranty so I'm hoping to utilize that right away if there are any issues.

Can you recommend any 3rd party warranties?

[Opie55]

I can't give you any recommendations for a warranty because I am one of those who never buys warranties on anything ever and am way ahead if anything ever happens. You can search on the forum and find lots of others naming various companies.

[Opie55]

Also, ask the dealer while you are there to confirm if you have the new or old style crankcase vent lines. They are under an extended 10-year warranty if they crack. They cracked because they were made of cheap plastic and ran over top of the engine where all the turbo heat is. The new ones are heavy rubber hoses. Once they crack they weep oil. If yours are old style and have started to crack that's a free repair you can get because you are still within the 10 years I assume.

[Opie55]

Deleted duplicate post.

[Zwmack]

Originally Posted by Opie55

Also, ask the dealer while you are there to confirm if you have the new or old style crankcase vent lines. They are under an extended 10-year warranty if they crack. They cracked because they were made of cheap plastic and ran over top of the engine where all the turbo heat is. The new ones are heavy rubber hoses. Once they crack they weep oil. If yours are old style and have started to crack that's a free repair you can get because you are still within the 10 years I assume.

Thanks a lot. I will definitely ask them. Appreciate the help

[Walt White Coupe]

Here are the 4 items that have the 10 year extended warranty:

[Zwmack]

Originally Posted by Walt White Coupe

Here are the 4 items that have the 10 year extended warranty:

Thanks so much for this!

[Zwmack]

Update!


Before I could take delivery on the car, the car failed emissions inspection and the check engine light came on. Seems like you guys were right not to trust that the car would be OK because of having one previous owner. Needless to say I canceled the order.

I have since placed an order on another car. I take delivery next week. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

I'm new to this forum. Can you guys point me to where I can find advice about caring for the car, scheduled maintenance, and mileage where I should be looking to replace parts before they go bad. Unfortunately I think this engine is also an N63 not an N63TU. Still going to take it to BMW for a full diagnosis.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by Zwmack

Update!


Before I could take delivery on the car, the car failed emissions inspection and the check engine light came on. Seems like you guys were right not to trust that the car would be OK because of having one previous owner. Needless to say I canceled the order.

I have since placed an order on another car. I take delivery next week. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

I'm new to this forum. Can you guys point me to where I can find advice about caring for the car, scheduled maintenance, and mileage where I should be looking to replace parts before they go bad. Unfortunately I think this engine is also an N63 not an N63TU. Still going to take it to BMW for a full diagnosis.

What is the new car? A 2012? And what do you mean by "also an N63?" The once you cancelled should have been a TU.

[Zwmack]

Originally Posted by Opie55

What is the new car? A 2012?

It's a 2013 650i. Here are pics of the car and the window sticker. What is the model of these wheels? Not sure if I want to keep these on or not.

[Zwmack]

[QUOTE=Opie55;29540586]What is the new car? A 2012? And what do you mean by "also an N63?" The once you cancelled should have been a TU.

I thought they switched to the TU in the 2014 650i. Am I wrong? I hope I'm wrong. I did some searches and found this information but if I'm wrong, let me know. Thanks in advance

[Opie55]

There is no one place for the maintenance advice you seek. You can find it all over the forum in bits and pieces like this thread. And not everybody agrees on things like oil change intervals. And not everybody ever does everything I will list below. Partly it depends on how long you will keep the car. This is what I do (all of which I DIY). Also, ignore the maintenance stuff on the iDrive screen except to track the year from last oil change and 2 years from last brake fluid flush. The brake pad info is useless.

1. Oil changes at 7,000 mi or one year. I use only Meihle (sp?) or Mann filters, which is what you get if you buy them at dealer, but can be had cheaper if not in a BMW box. Dealers are too expensive generally, but don't go to a Jiffy Lube type place ever.

2. Brake fluid flush is recommended every 2 years, but I've switched to 3 years because it is still clear at 2. It will get cloudy as it absorbs moisture.

3. I do engine air filters and cabin air filters as needed based on a visual inspection. For me cabin air is probably every 2 years, and engine air every 30,000 miles or so.

4. Brake pads I just monitor with visual inspections. When they get down to about 3mm pad thickness it's time to get new ones soon. They have wear sensors that will trigger, but I do them just before that.

5. Engine belts and pulley. I would do it by 75k miles, but I'll probably do mine in the next year when I'm bored because my car has been in service nearly 9 years even though I only have 50,000 miles. If you see any cracks do it right away. It's a big job on a 650 because of all the stuff under there. Very hard to even see the main belt for an inspection.

6. Plugs. I did mine at 50k miles. Some do coils at the same time but I did not.

7. You will have 2 coolant systems and two reservoirs. Check them periodically with the engine cold. These cars can evaporate some coolant even with no leaks.

8. If your car is XDrive, there are four other fluids underneath (two if not XDrive). At around 50k miles have the fluid changed in both the front and rear differentials by somebody who knows what they are doing. BMW actually specifies different fluids for them, but more importantly the front diff is the one thing under there that is not filled until fluid comes out the fill hole. It has to be just 600 ml. I'd bet nearly every guy at a shop overfills it. BMW says the tranny fluid and transfer case fluids are "lifetime" and never changed. Nonsense. You should do the tranny at around 50k and do the transfer case while under there. Again, you need somebody who knows what they're doing because the transfer case fluid is a bit of a pain if you do it in place. BMW's official instructions say to remove it.

9. Look periodically for coolant leaks by your turbos. There are plastic "T"s in the lines that can only take the heat for so long.

10. Check for oil leaks periodically underneath. Valve cover gaskets and oil pans leak on these cars eventually. If XDrive, the oil pan leak is a big job.

11. Monitor the car's oil useage between changes. Mine uses basically none, but some people have to add oil between changes. To some extent it's "normal" on these engines, but at some point it may need valve stem seals, valve cover or oil pan gaskets or even new turbo oil lines and seals. That last one is a huge job because they are buried deep under the turbos.

12. Inspect suspension parts for cracks and leaks (struts and oil filled rubber bushings) periodically. Some may need to be replaced at or before 50k miles.

[Opie55]

[QUOTE=Zwmack;29540604]

Originally Posted by Opie55

What is the new car? A 2012? And what do you mean by "also an N63?" The once you cancelled should have been a TU.

I thought they switched to the TU in the 2014 650i. Am I wrong? I hope I'm wrong. I did some searches and found this information but if I'm wrong, let me know. Thanks in advance

I have read that early 13s may have still had the original engine, but virtually all 13s are the TU, if not all.

[Opie55]

You can tell it's the TU just by the hp rating on the window sticker. The TU was 445. The original N63 was 400.

[Opie55]

Those look like aftermarket wheels. They are not original. I think they look fine.

[Zwmack]

Originally Posted by Opie55

There is no one place for the maintenance advice you seek. You can find it all over the forum in bits and pieces like this thread. And not everybody agrees on things like oil change intervals. And not everybody ever does everything I will list below. Partly it depends on how long you will keep the car. This is what I do (all of which I DIY). Also, ignore the maintenance stuff on the iDrive screen except to track the year from last oil change and 2 years from last brake fluid flush. The brake pad info is useless.

1. Oil changes at 7,000 mi or one year. I use only Meihle (sp?) or Mann filters, which is what you get if you buy them at dealer, but can be had cheaper if not in a BMW box. Dealers are too expensive generally, but don't go to a Jiffy Lube type place ever.

2. Brake fluid flush is recommended every 2 years, but I've switched to 3 years because it is still clear at 2. It will get cloudy as it absorbs moisture.

3. I do engine air filters and cabin air filters as needed based on a visual inspection. For me cabin air is probably every 2 years, and engine air every 30,000 miles or so.

4. Brake pads I just monitor with visual inspections. When they get down to about 3mm pad thickness it's time to get new ones soon. They have wear sensors that will trigger, but I do them just before that.

5. Engine belts and pulley. I would do it by 75k miles, but I'll probably do mine in the next years when I'm bored because my car has been in service nearly 9 years even though I only have 50,000 miles. If you see any cracks do it right away. [...]

Thanks for all the info. This is very helpful!

[Opie55]

This one has a couple things your last one didn't - HUD and ceramic controls. As for the seats with the "massage" feature, I predict you will try it once, laugh out loud, and never use it again except to ask passengers to try it so they can also laugh. It is weird as heck. It's only in the seat bottom, and what it does is very slowly inflate and deflate an air bag under one butt cheek and then the other so you slightly rock from side to side. It is not meant as a massage, but to relieve back stress on long trips. As some woman once said online, "It feels like I am being molested." I forget about it mostly. I will turn it on sometimes if I'm driving several hundred miles in a day, but I'm not sure it helps.

[Qsilver7]

If you use one of the online VIN decoder sites like www.mdecoder.com you can see what BMW wheels actually came with the car. The wheels pictured are not F-six series wheels. I don’t know if they are from another BMW model or aftermarket…but they are not wheels that were offered on this platform.

The active-seat feature is like Opie55 mentioned…really for long trips. The kneading affect of this feature rocks the pelvis bones from side to side (similar to what you do naturally when sitting in one position for a long time)..and basically gives some relief.

On long trips is about the only time I use it…and I do find that it helps because when you get to your final destination you don’t have that usual lower back pain where you want to stretch.

Two features that get panned a lot on the forums…I found how affective they are back in 2020 when I drove 600+ miles to check out the f15 X5 I did end up purchasing. I drove my f06 to check it out in July 2020 and the ambient temps where in the mid 90s to lower 100s…and the active (booty massaging) feature did help along with the ventilation feature..which helped keep the swamp butt & back at bay.

When I went back to pick up the f15, I rented a car that had neither and the ventilation feature was sorely missed as well as the active booty massage feature. The same with the f15…it doesn’t have booty massaging seats nor does it have the ventilation feature. The Nappa leather seats are “softer” but the high 90° F temps made it seem like the heating pads were on a very low setting…and at times I found myself sitting up sometimes to cool off my back and butt and let some of the AC air give some cooling affect…as well as missing the booty massaging feature.

The active seat feature has also helped a couple of times when my hip was sore…not sure if it was from just old age or what…but the rocking motion of the booty massage did give a little relief along with turning on the seat heater.

Just some antedotal testimony of two features that don’t get a lot of praise from owners.

[Zwmack]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

If you use one of the online VIN decoder sites like www.mdecoder.com you can see what BMW wheels actually came with the car. The wheels pictured are not F-six series wheels. I don’t know if they are from another BMW model or aftermarket…but they are not wheels that were offered on this platform.

The active-seat feature is like Opie mentioned…really for long trips. The kneading affect of this feature rocks the pelvis bones from side to side (similar to what you do naturally when sitting in one position for a long time)..and basically gives some relief.

On long trips is about the only time I use it…and I do find that it helps because when you get to your final destination you don’t have that usual lower back pain where you want to stretch.

Two features that get panned a lot on the forums…I found how affective they are back in 2020 when I drove 600+ miles to check out the f15 X5 I did end up purchasing. I drove my f06 to check it out in July 2020 and the ambient temps where in the mid 90s to upper 90s…and the active (booty massaging) feature did help along with the ventilation feature..which helped keep the swamp butt & back at bay.

When I went back to pick up the f15, I rented a car that had neither and the ventilation feature was sorely missed as well as the active booty massage feature. The same with teh f15…it doesn’t have booty massaging seats nor does it have the ventilation feature. The Nappa leather seats are “softer” but the high 90° F temps made it seam like the heating pads were on a very low setting…and at times I found [...]

Haha. Great info. I tried mdecoder and found some info on the car. Attached is a screenshot of what I found. It says the engine is an N63T, does that mean N63TU? Thanks in advance