I'm here.
I've owned a 645Ci Convertible from new since August 2005.
The car has now done 20,000 miles and will be replaced in the next 4-6 months or so, after giving me the best ownership experience (and longest) of any car I have ever had. If someone had told me I'd keep a car 3 years I'd have laughed at them.
Before I get on to the ownership stuff though, a few things about the car you're looking at. I'm presuming it's an Auto. There are a few manuals out there, and a few SMGII's, but the Auto is the most suited to the car in my opinion (and certainly much better for residuals). The Convertible hold's pretty much the new price difference over a Coupe when Used, so about £5,000. I've been offered £37,000 for mine in part exchange on a variety of cars, bearing in mind it's a Cab in the winter period. In July that'll be the same (pretty much assuming the summer months see the car rise in price as it has done for the past 2.5 years and cancel out any depreciation). The 645 is mileage sensitive. At 20,000 mine is attracting the upper end of values. The same car with 40,000 on would be worth £5,000 less.
With 55,000 miles I'd say £24,000 is actually a very good price indeed. Is it a private sale? I'm presuming it is, because dealers would sell that on at £25,995 all day long. So in respect of the sale price I'd say it's a bloody good price. I'm no 540i expert but my sources say a 1999 Auto with 70,000, in excellent condition, would fetch £5,000 maximum privately, so I'm not sure where that leaves you with yours. Good luck with that though.
The first thing to say about the 645Ci is I can't fault it. Not in any major respect. So it's a bit pointless for me to go into raptures about this and that when my thoughts on the cars astonishing Jekyll & Hyde capabilities are well known. The engine takes anything you throw at it and the transmission is the best of any car I have ever driven.
So what are the downsides?
Well it's not going to be a cheap car to run. Despite it being a bargain at £24,000 it'll still attract £54,000 car running costs - and that's a lot on the 645. I got service inclusive for 3 years on mine, and certainly knew the value of it.
Oil inspection - £270
Inspection I - £660
Inspection II - £1,000
That's without parts. You might get a dealer you have a good relationship with who can do you a few favours on the costs, but it's still not going to be cheap.
Tyres - the car sits on Bridgestone RE050A run flats as standard and if I was you I'd make sure it still have them on. I have suffered a flat on the 6 and the RF's saved me. Some owners complain about the ride on RF's but I've got to say I don't see the problem. At £900 for a full set they're not the cheapest, but they are the right choice in my opinion. You'll get 14,000-15,000 miles out of the rears and about 18,000 out of the fronts.
Check the alloys though. I've had a cracked alloy and I'm not the only one. They're not the strongest there is and buckles are common. At £500 per wheel they're not cheap to replace.
Fuel consumption is excellent in my opinion. Over 20,000 miles I have averaged 20.9 mpg. On a long run I've had it to 27.4 mpg after 680 miles with an average speed of 69.3 mph.
If the car has a 6 disc CD changer - ask if it has ever been changed. The originals had a known fault that can hit you at any time and the only way of fixing it is to buy a new one. I had 3 in mine before BMW acknowledged the fault and agreed to give me the latest model.
Make sure the iDrive display starts up without a problem too, and ask if it has ever had the CID (central information display - the screen) replaced. It's a problem area on some 5 and 6 series and at £1,200 to replace it's not one you want to suffer failure on. Mine was replaced under warranty about a year ago.
Check the bonnet and valance for chips of course, because as with all BMW's the paintwork isn't as good as it used to be and they'll chip up like hell if it's been thrashed or done heavy motorway miles. The same applies to the section ahead of the rear wheels, low down. If you look carefully you'll see BMW have reinforced it with a strange shaped panel. That's because the front wheels throw up stones and they hit that very section. It'll no doubt have a few little marks on it - just check for it being peppered as a sign of the driving style the car has been subjected to. There's not much you can do about it, but it's worth checking.
Inside, make sure the glovebox takes a good 5 or 6 open and closes without a problem. The locking mechanism is crap in my opinion.
Ideally the car should have the M Sports seats, wheel and heated bums - that's the ideal configuration anyway. They make a huge difference too in my opinion.
Lastly, switch the lights on and check that the headlight washers come on automatically when you spray the windscreen. They're exposed and some have been known to block up. Not many, but I've heard of a few.
Hope that helps anyway.
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