VinceM
Well-known member
Coming up!
Well, the garage residents have changed in the past couple of years.
Sold:
E70 X5: Sold it out of panic, had done 260k kms. Took it in for service and was told of a R90k repair. In hindsight, knowing what I know today, could have cost half the quotation. This was a great car to own. Made trips to Builders warehouse easy.
F30 320i: Sold this in order to free up funds to make a property purchase. Car had only 68k kms, spot less condition. My wife’s favourite. Didn’t experience any of the N20 woes. Goodnews, it went to a forumite.
F25: Sold this to free up funds to purchase the F10 530d LCI. Had been lusting over a luxury car (all the bells and whistles), when a 530d became available, the F25 was available source of funding. Don’t like financing cars.
If I had adequate cash, would have kept this one. It was a 3.0d MSport fully loaded with options. Sold it for a song! Still in the dogbox with my wife on this one.
E46 MSport sedan: This one had to “just go”, needed to free up garage space. Wasted lots of money on it and never recouped it. Many lessons learnt (huge learning curve). No regrets selling it. Just regrets on over capitalising on it.
The stalwarts:
The twins remained. My beloved CI’s. I could never recoup what I spent on them. Selling them is the last option. Had done a feeler thread at some point but I couldn’t let the car go. Old BMW quality, easy to work on. Easy to maintain. Sweet straight 6 sound! Love it!
F10: Very nice cushy car, doesn’t handle as well as the 3 series, but enjoying the comfort. Have many options in this vehicle and its very light on fuel. 7.1l/100km. The F10 shape has grown on me. Like it more than I did when I first bought it. Nice for long distance trips. Best seats ever!
The new comer: the *Great White Shark*
This, is the BMW 650i, E63 LCI. A Naturally aspirated 4.8l engine. No turbos, less that can go wrong with it. Perfect fit for someone like me who has never owned a V8 before. This spec, is rare, like hens teeth, I have not seen one in flesh as far as I can remember. The PRE-LCI seems common though. It oozes the quality of the old BMW, when its motto was “The Ultimate Driving Machine”. It feels solid everywhere. Drives like a small car, all thanks to the Dynamic Drive and Active Steering options. The LED lights keeps it modern and LCI came with Idrive 3 which is not as outdated as Idrive 2 in pre-LCI. It flies, get to 240km/h in no time and yet doesn’t feel like it. I have set up a speed warning chime at 128km/h. The rumbling cold start! Mymymy…..
As the saying goes, most opportunities comes with difficulty: There is lot to do here, but its a good base to work off.
1. Suspension (would like to do the full monty on it….shocks, mounts, control arms, tie rods, bushes, etc).
2. Gearbox (Its a DCT …I might be wrong, anyhow, want to do a gearbox service on it)
3. Exhaust. Its too muted for a V8. You get it to sound like one when you press the Sport button, and its a best temperature. I have some nasty ideas on this! Hhhhhmmmmm
4. Cosmetics (realign front bumper, it seems it caught a pavement on the right bottom, and it was never aligned since).
Fortunate that the previous owner did all the oil leaks (tappet gaskets, rear main seal, etc.)
It was in one family for the past 7 years.
I welcome ideas and thoughts.
Well, the garage residents have changed in the past couple of years.
Sold:
E70 X5: Sold it out of panic, had done 260k kms. Took it in for service and was told of a R90k repair. In hindsight, knowing what I know today, could have cost half the quotation. This was a great car to own. Made trips to Builders warehouse easy.
F30 320i: Sold this in order to free up funds to make a property purchase. Car had only 68k kms, spot less condition. My wife’s favourite. Didn’t experience any of the N20 woes. Goodnews, it went to a forumite.
F25: Sold this to free up funds to purchase the F10 530d LCI. Had been lusting over a luxury car (all the bells and whistles), when a 530d became available, the F25 was available source of funding. Don’t like financing cars.
If I had adequate cash, would have kept this one. It was a 3.0d MSport fully loaded with options. Sold it for a song! Still in the dogbox with my wife on this one.
E46 MSport sedan: This one had to “just go”, needed to free up garage space. Wasted lots of money on it and never recouped it. Many lessons learnt (huge learning curve). No regrets selling it. Just regrets on over capitalising on it.
The stalwarts:
The twins remained. My beloved CI’s. I could never recoup what I spent on them. Selling them is the last option. Had done a feeler thread at some point but I couldn’t let the car go. Old BMW quality, easy to work on. Easy to maintain. Sweet straight 6 sound! Love it!
F10: Very nice cushy car, doesn’t handle as well as the 3 series, but enjoying the comfort. Have many options in this vehicle and its very light on fuel. 7.1l/100km. The F10 shape has grown on me. Like it more than I did when I first bought it. Nice for long distance trips. Best seats ever!
The new comer: the *Great White Shark*
This, is the BMW 650i, E63 LCI. A Naturally aspirated 4.8l engine. No turbos, less that can go wrong with it. Perfect fit for someone like me who has never owned a V8 before. This spec, is rare, like hens teeth, I have not seen one in flesh as far as I can remember. The PRE-LCI seems common though. It oozes the quality of the old BMW, when its motto was “The Ultimate Driving Machine”. It feels solid everywhere. Drives like a small car, all thanks to the Dynamic Drive and Active Steering options. The LED lights keeps it modern and LCI came with Idrive 3 which is not as outdated as Idrive 2 in pre-LCI. It flies, get to 240km/h in no time and yet doesn’t feel like it. I have set up a speed warning chime at 128km/h. The rumbling cold start! Mymymy…..
As the saying goes, most opportunities comes with difficulty: There is lot to do here, but its a good base to work off.
1. Suspension (would like to do the full monty on it….shocks, mounts, control arms, tie rods, bushes, etc).
2. Gearbox (Its a DCT …I might be wrong, anyhow, want to do a gearbox service on it)
3. Exhaust. Its too muted for a V8. You get it to sound like one when you press the Sport button, and its a best temperature. I have some nasty ideas on this! Hhhhhmmmmm
4. Cosmetics (realign front bumper, it seems it caught a pavement on the right bottom, and it was never aligned since).
Fortunate that the previous owner did all the oil leaks (tappet gaskets, rear main seal, etc.)
It was in one family for the past 7 years.
I welcome ideas and thoughts.
Last edited:
talk about old tech! 
….The 650i 4.8l engine is a fuel guzzler of note, I am finding the 330ci to be also very nimble (small chassis and short front end) vs the V8 GT cruiser. The E46 steering is hands down one of the best, my wife doesn’t like it as its too road sensitive (more road feel). I like it. 
