Carry on. Fear not.
M6 purchase advice! Your thoughts?
Hi all,
Like so many others, I have been browsing the board because I'm looking to purchase an M6. I would truly appreciate your input on my following thoughts.
I'm looking for a 2009 M6 convertible in Silver or Gray. A 2009 because there is some factory warrantee left, has the newer iDrive and is more affordable than a 2010.
Here is my story and experience:
I looked at 2 different CPO'd 2009's. Both, ofcourse, at official BMW dealers. Both showed a fairly long Carfax history of service performed outside of the normal service internals. When I checked more thoroughly (simply calling the dealers that performed the service), I found out that one had almost constant electrical problems and the other had a tire replaced, followed by quite a bit of problems associated by that tire replacement (wheel alignments, another tire, etc). So much for CPO's.
The vehicle I'm looking at now is a 2009 with 17000 miles. Available at another luxury brand dealer, so not CPO'd. I did test drive this vehicle and found the following:
- Regular 15K service was performed. At 5K the suspension was checked. Nothing else out of the ordinary logged in CarFax.
- Did not feel much difference between P400, P500 and P500sport modes. Also was disappointed in the accelerating in general. Could this be because I didn't want to rev the engine over 4500rpm when cold?
- The SMG was clunky, both in manual and automatic mode. Hesitation and when it shifts, it was like being rear ended. No abnormal noises coming from either engine or transmission. So if I'm going forward with this vehicle, I will do another test drive and reset the SMG to see if that solves it. If it does not, I'll stay away from it.
- Tires still had some thread left on them, they also appear to be the original tires. An indication the car was not driven hard.
- Average MPG was indicating 14mpg, I know this can be reset, but during my test drive, the number did not change a bit, an indication that it was not reset recently and that the car has not been driven very hard (nobody knows what happened before a reset).
- Oil level was showing +1, which surprised me a little bit. Not sure what conclusion to draw from that. I test drove for 20 miles and found this +1 when playing with the board computer at around 7 miles.
- Car is reasonably priced, around $70K.
What are your thoughts on what I found above?
Also, some generic questions:
- This board has scared the living crap out of me and actually makes me more hesitant to purchase an M6. I only see posts with 'mine is in the garage once every two months', 'expect high maintenance cost', 'transmission problems', etc, etc. Almost to a point that I'm thinking that people have more problems than fun with this car. Am I overly pessimistic here? I'm a person who prefers to keep a car stock, will not abuse the vehicle, but will drive daily for about 30 miles.
- What maintenance can I expect, now that the car has 17K miles on it? Typically this is nothing for a vehicle. It should barely be broken in!
- This one is missing an option I would really like: HD radio. Can it be retrofitted? It has Sat Radio.
Thanks!
Alexander
Like so many others, I have been browsing the board because I'm looking to purchase an M6. I would truly appreciate your input on my following thoughts.
I'm looking for a 2009 M6 convertible in Silver or Gray. A 2009 because there is some factory warrantee left, has the newer iDrive and is more affordable than a 2010.
Here is my story and experience:
I looked at 2 different CPO'd 2009's. Both, ofcourse, at official BMW dealers. Both showed a fairly long Carfax history of service performed outside of the normal service internals. When I checked more thoroughly (simply calling the dealers that performed the service), I found out that one had almost constant electrical problems and the other had a tire replaced, followed by quite a bit of problems associated by that tire replacement (wheel alignments, another tire, etc). So much for CPO's.
The vehicle I'm looking at now is a 2009 with 17000 miles. Available at another luxury brand dealer, so not CPO'd. I did test drive this vehicle and found the following:
- Regular 15K service was performed. At 5K the suspension was checked. Nothing else out of the ordinary logged in CarFax.
- Did not feel much difference between P400, P500 and P500sport modes. Also was disappointed in the accelerating in general. Could this be because I didn't want to rev the engine over 4500rpm when cold?
- The SMG was clunky, both in manual and automatic mode. Hesitation and when it shifts, it was like being rear ended. No abnormal noises coming from either engine or transmission. So if I'm going forward with this vehicle, I will do another test drive and reset the SMG to see if that solves it. If it does not, I'll stay away from it.
- Tires still had some thread left on them, they also appear to be the original tires. An indication the car was not driven hard.
- Average MPG was indicating 14mpg, I know this can be reset, but during my test drive, the number did not change a bit, an indication that it was not reset recently and that the car has not been driven very hard (nobody knows what happened before a reset).
- Oil level was showing +1, which surprised me a little bit. Not sure what conclusion to draw from that. I test drove for 20 miles and found this +1 when playing with the board computer at around 7 miles.
- Car is reasonably priced, around $70K.
What are your thoughts on what I found above?
Also, some generic questions:
- This board has scared the living crap out of me and actually makes me more hesitant to purchase an M6. I only see posts with 'mine is in the garage once every two months', 'expect high maintenance cost', 'transmission problems', etc, etc. Almost to a point that I'm thinking that people have more problems than fun with this car. Am I overly pessimistic here? I'm a person who prefers to keep a car stock, will not abuse the vehicle, but will drive daily for about 30 miles.
- What maintenance can I expect, now that the car has 17K miles on it? Typically this is nothing for a vehicle. It should barely be broken in!
- This one is missing an option I would really like: HD radio. Can it be retrofitted? It has Sat Radio.
Thanks!
Alexander
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
+1Carry on. Fear not.
Done!!!!!
Picking her up tomorrow!!!
Hope I can get some sleep tonight!
Picking her up tomorrow!!!
Hope I can get some sleep tonight!
Congrats! There will be plenty of time for sleep after the first week's driving is done. You are going to love it.
I'm sure!
I'm sure there will be! Just cleaned out the trade in. I'm ready!!!!
I'm sure there will be! Just cleaned out the trade in. I'm ready!!!!
Congrats! Please post pictures after you pry yourself out of the drivers seat! That is the hardest part about owning an M6: not driving it!:flag:
I am also thinking about getting a M6 I am going tomorrow to look at two new 2010 M6s. I have a 10 650i which I love but not enough get up and go for me. There are some great deals going on with new left over Ms. I look forward to test driveing these tomorrow.Good luck with your search.
Best of luck in your quest. You will not believe the difference betwixt the M6 vs. the 650i.
ArjanPlomp, as someone who just purchased a 2008 M6 2 weeks ago, I can honestly tell you your concerns were my exact concerns....did I want to purchase an M6 that might have mechanical issues, costly to keep? Hell, the board scared me some as well, but I tell you I'm glad I did my homework here as I felt much better knowing what "might" come.....I say might...and unlikely to happen...but be prepared to risk. I was fortunate that mine still had the original factory warranty and was a CPO
That said, I hope you will feel the same as me when I say this .........the fear of regretting that I didn't pull the trigger, and rolling the dice on the M6, was far much greater than what issues I might run into to keep this beast running. I love this car and it's the reward I get for busting my *** day in and day out to bring home the bacon. I know now without a doubt I would have been miserable if I had held back, wavering on to do it or not....then having the car purchased by someone else.
Like a famous board member here has correctly said....when I turn my car on, she returns the favor each and every time.
That said, I hope you will feel the same as me when I say this .........the fear of regretting that I didn't pull the trigger, and rolling the dice on the M6, was far much greater than what issues I might run into to keep this beast running. I love this car and it's the reward I get for busting my *** day in and day out to bring home the bacon. I know now without a doubt I would have been miserable if I had held back, wavering on to do it or not....then having the car purchased by someone else.
Like a famous board member here has correctly said....when I turn my car on, she returns the favor each and every time.
I also had similar concerns when i got my 06 with 40k miles on it. I kept reading horror stories of the smg tranny going out and all this other stuff. mainly it seemed to happen to non u.s. versions which made me feel a little better but i just justified it by thinking, No way BMW is gonna put out a $100k car that people are gonna buy and its not going to be bulletproof. There is no reason why the clutch should fail at 40k miles or the tranny should go out,etc... it can always happen based on how you treat the car but it seems like these problems are rare for those who dont race much. I dont see how any company can charge so much for a car and not make it bulletproof.
CPO'd M6? No brainer!Hi all,
Like so many others, I have been browsing the board because I'm looking to purchase an M6. I would truly appreciate your input on my following thoughts.
I'm looking for a 2009 M6 convertible in Silver or Gray. A 2009 because there is some factory warrantee left, has the newer iDrive and is more affordable than a 2010.
Here is my story and experience:
I looked at 2 different CPO'd 2009's. Both, ofcourse, at official BMW dealers. Both showed a fairly long Carfax history of service performed outside of the normal service internals. When I checked more thoroughly (simply calling the dealers that performed the service), I found out that one had almost constant electrical problems and the other had a tire replaced, followed by quite a bit of problems associated by that tire replacement (wheel alignments, another tire, etc). So much for CPO's.
The vehicle I'm looking at now is a 2009 with 17000 miles. Available at another luxury brand dealer, so not CPO'd. I did test drive this vehicle and found the following:
- Regular 15K service was performed. At 5K the suspension was checked. Nothing else out of the ordinary logged in CarFax.
- Did not feel much difference between P400, P500 and P500sport modes. Also was disappointed in the accelerating in general. Could this be because I didn't want to rev the engine over 4500rpm when cold?
- The SMG was clunky, both in manual and automatic mode. Hesitation and when it shifts, it was like being rear ended. No abnormal noises coming from either engine or transmission. So if I'm going forward with this vehicle, I will do another test drive and reset the SMG to see if that solves it. If it does not, I'll stay away from it.
- Tires still had some thread left on them, they also appear to be the original tires. An indication the car was not driven hard.
- Average MPG was indicating 14mpg, I know this can be reset, but during my test drive, the number did not change a bit, an indication that it was not reset recently and that the car has not been driven very hard (nobody knows what happened before a reset).
- Oil level was showing +1, which surprised me a little bit. Not sure what conclusion to draw from that. I test drove for 20 miles and found this +1 when playing with the board computer at around 7 miles.
- Car is reasonably priced, around $70K.
What are your thoughts on what I found above?
Also, some generic questions:
- This board has scared the living crap out of me and actually makes me more hesitant to purchase an M6. I only see posts with 'mine is in the garage once every two months', 'expect high maintenance cost', 'transmission problems', etc, etc. Almost to a point that I'm thinking that people have more problems than fun with this car. Am I overly pessimistic here? I'm a person who prefers to keep a car stock, will not abuse the vehicle, but will drive daily for about 30 miles.
- What maintenance can I expect, now that the car has 17K miles on it? Typically this is nothing for a vehicle. It should barely be broken in!
- This one is missing an option I would really like: HD radio. Can it be retrofitted? It has Sat Radio.
Thanks!
Alexander
I have a 2007 M6 with 45xxx mi now, I STILL LOVE THIS CAR
Regards to HD Radio, I turn it off in Houston because 97.9 boxx does not really work well
On the plus side, aux port + Android phone (Pandora, Music, Tinyshark, Spotify, etc) = best audio source
As far at maint, It seems like every third oil change will cost an extra few hundred due to tranmission, smg fluid, differential fluid (if I remember service manual right), car on board system will tell you microfilter, pads, etc but it's quite .... liberal in maint schedules
+1 means +1 quart when dealer did top off probably
SMG takes a while to understand and get used to, ultimately the car gives the most feedback and is most rewarding in S6, but it's much tougher and requires more focus to execute the fastest kind of shifts -- which is what the SMG is most effective IMO. If you are doing under 7/10ths, you have to be very understanding with the car because it is trying to read the drivers throttle input to coordinate the shifting (A modes, even S modes)
You definitely have to have the car completely warmed up, remember 8250 redline, 10w60 heavy weights take a while to warm up
I won't comment on the price Good luck
glad I found this thread. I'll be looking to get one by the end of the year.
I find that when driving in the city its best to keep the car in auto mode, switch all the bars down to 1 and its great. RPM's are usually always below 2000 and your mpg is great. Perfect for stop and go traffic. Even clicking one bar up i notice a big diff. Dont like how the car shifts,etc.. for me its either auto mode with bars set as low as possible or S6 anywhere else but the city.
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
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