BMW 630i thoughts

117

117

117

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Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
191
Location
Starcross, Near Exeter
Hi Guys,

My partner is considering an approved used 630i in the next few months, with a budget of approx 20k.

We tested a 2007 630i sport at the weekend, and found it to be an excellent car and surprisingly perky for its engine size, I have heard that the 2008- on car uses a different direct injection engine but can find no local examples of the revised 630i to test.

My question is are these direct injection engines less reliable in the facelift cars, and do they offer significant gains in MPG or performance? the biggest benefit seems at first glance to be reduced RFL cost.

Any input is appreciated.
 
The direct injection N53 engine is noticeably less reliable than the conventionally injected N52 engine before it. It would be foolish to run one without the backup of a BMW warranty. The older N52 engine is much more reliable but not as economical.
 
Thanks for your input fox.

We are looking at approved used anyway really - so BMW warranty will be in place for at least first year of ownership.

Is it worth a few thousand more for the improvements on the 08 car (from what I can see - sports auto transmission, slight facelift, potentially more MPG, less RFL and Efficient Dynamics (although not sure if auto start/stop on these) over a cheaper 07, taking into account the potential engine issues with the later car?
 
fendi said:
Is this a common problem with the 03 - 05 plate 4.5s Fox, or is it a different engine?
Click to expand...

Different engine, the N53 is a 6 cylinder engine, the 645Ci has a V8.


117 said:
Thanks for your input fox.

We are looking at approved used anyway really - so BMW warranty will be in place for at least first year of ownership.

Is it worth a few thousand more for the improvements on the 08 car (from what I can see - sports auto transmission, slight facelift, potentially more MPG, less RFL and Efficient Dynamics (although not sure if auto start/stop on these) over a cheaper 07, taking into account the potential engine issues with the later car?
Click to expand...

The facelift cars do look nicer - and if you don't want a facelift car there is a big case to be made for simply buying one of the £10-12k 04/05 plate cars instead as they are pretty much identical to a £20k prefacelift car.

Either get a facelift or don't spend £20k.
 
[TW]Fox;22015937 said:
Different engine, the N53 is a 6 cylinder engine, the 645Ci has a V8.




The facelift cars do look nicer - and if you don't want a facelift car there is a big case to be made for simply buying one of the £10-12k 04/05 plate cars instead as they are pretty much identical to a £20k prefacelift car.

Either get a facelift or don't spend £20k.
Click to expand...

Thanks Fox. The above reasons are why my buddy is going for an 04/05. You can pick up a convertible for around £12k. Looks like a lot of car for the £££. He runs an M3 which he is looking to trade in so doesn't expect the costs to differ greatly. I hope he is right :D
 
Oh they are not cheap, especially older ones where things might start to go wrong, but frankly if you can afford to buy a £20,000 one you can probably afford to run a £12,000 one.
 
I have heard the 645 engines are also known to be problematic, and to be honest we both expected to find that the 630i was underpowered however on driving it, the car felt like an excellent compromise between performance, handling (when considering the size of the car) and semi reasonable MPG (in comparison to other cars we own) - personally we would favour the 630 as I believe the lighter aluminium block contributes to all of the points listed.

I can see to where you are coming from WRT to the budget and tend to agree with you - we would be quite happy with say a a 13-14k 630i if we could find a good AUC example with Pro Nav and average miles, but if we were going to spend circa £20k we would push for a higher spec facelift.

Unrelated but do you know if BMW dealers are prepared to source approved used cars from elsewhere in the country, or is it strictly limited to their local dealer group?
 
I don't know if they will but if they did it would simply erode your bargaining position. You just need to be prepared to travel. I bought an AUC last year and travelled 200 miles to get after negotiating the deal by phone. With this, you can literally choose from anywhere in the country.

Top tip: Most dealers dont realise they can, but they can add an extra years warranty to AUC cars. I haggled 2 years.
 
Thanks for the advice, I will just have to keep checking the AUC site and be prepared to travel - the 2nd year warranty tip also sounds like a good move - thanks for the tip.
 
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