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The want is proving very hard to resist and I've been spending too much time window shopping for a Chris Bangle design era BMW 😲

Z4 coupe could be a fun weekend/Euro hoon toy, if you squint enough it almost looks like a modern 240Z

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635D as I'm knocking on a bit, could make the perfect country gentleman's wafting toy, always hankered for a big 6 series, this could scratch that itch without the irritation of rust 

1627233614_BMW6.thumb.jpg.8b50866640619e188a62398f0ea45225.jpg

535D Touring, perfect for our family 1000 mile day drives across Europe and would make a more economical commuter car for me

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the BMW 3.0 twin turbo straight 6 diesel engine is a peach, bags of torque with great MPG and so is the 3.0i petrol, straight 6 engine

Never really thought of these cars being design classic's but this era of BMW design is really growing on me as they age against newer blander looking cars

 

 

 

 

 

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Had a 6 series of that vintage in the family, interior suffered greatly with only a years use. We don’t get the diesels over here so I’d guess the drivetrains would be less problematic. Folks rate the Z4M but I’ve never tried one. The touring would interest me the most.

if they sold some of the cool estate cars over here I’d be all over that as a daily. RS6 or some AMG variant. Saw a bunch in Germany and they were awesome. Also found it interesting they’re mostly debadged so quite discreet.

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Really like the Z4 coupe - one of the few cars I considered which would take the dog! Perceived wisdom when I was looking was to avoid the M"s and do a longer than normal test drive with heating to footwells - apparently bearing in steering column collapses which causes steering problems which only show after column gets hot - expensive fix. Could be earlier models but worth a check 

I went for a 987 Boxster for the folding roof to give a distance from the IB

Edited by Roy M
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E60/E61. Great cars. Really miss mine - covered very nearly 190k trouble free miles.

F series that followed it nowhere near as good a car - feels more built to a price (my wife currently runs an F11 dog bus).

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I’ve had a 06 630i for a few years now. It’s quick and surprising economical, although I usually just take things very leisurely. In 30K no big issues but parts are dear and even small stuff, like starter motor, suspension arms, shocks and PCV system, take a lot of time so get expensive. I wouldn’t like to have had to paid others to do the work. I briefly had a 645 before that but offloaded it quickly with a valve stem oil seal issue, common on that motor. The 630 lacks a little of the 645’s low end punch but feels very close at the top end. I’ve never driven a 635d but imaging similar performance. 

David 

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My daily is a E92 335i coupe with sports suspension, got it as an ex BMW press car at 3 months old as my company car in '06 with 6K miles. Now has 85K.

Only major issue in all that time was a failed electric coolant pump (£500 + 6 hours labour!).

I added a tunning "brain" that plugs between the sensor inputs and the ECU so at the press of a key fob it goes from the stock 306 bhp to just short of 400 bhp. On a dyno day it out powered a newer V8 M3, the poor guy was very deflated. To keep the wheels on the rollers we had to get two big guys in the rear seats and three in the boot.

So it is a great engine to have in any model. Real life fuel consumption over years is 22 mpg. It sounds like a diesel at tick over as the waste gates rattle, they always have, much to the alarm of BMW techs!

The other thing I have found is it does not like being driven sedately. With all the torque it is easy to "bimble" in a high gear. If you do this to much it throws an engine error when you floor it and it cuts out the turbos. Still runs as a 3.0 NA faster than most things and turning off and on clears it. Regularly using the full rev range and not cruising around town in too higher gear stops the waste gates gumming up and avoids the issue at the expense of mpg.

Mark

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We've been running an E61 530d touring for about 4 years now and we both love it.

Its got an economy map on it which lifts the power but also the economy, its about as quick as an unmapped twin turbo 535d and about as frugal as a 525d so best of both worlds wothout the added complexity of the TT setup on the 535d. I can regularly hit 45mpg average on a longer run.

Its quite leggy at 130k but have only had to do starter motor, a few wishbones and tyres during the 4 years. 

I've towed all sorts everywhere with it, fitted a spare engine and 4 wheels in the back - great chuggers.

Got to be m-sport for the seats and trim, lots of variation in spec too so picking a winner requires a bit of hunting.

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Having had the 3.0D X5, 40D X5 and 30D X3, I would say that the single turbo engine loses little to the twin.  Both great engines.

The current A6 with 3.0D is the best big miles, continent crosser I have owned, so 6 cylinder diesel estates get a thumbs up from me.

Similarly, I see nothing wrong with the Z4.  I have thought long and hard about an M-sportscar, though my focus has been on the E92 and E46 M3s.  In each case I ended up going Porsche in the end, namely 996TT and 987.  Having a more modern car for a roadtrip is different but not worse.  Having had the roof down with aircon still cooling my feet in Spain last year, I can highly recommend a little luxury.

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We have a BMW diesel daily (but not the big six) and nothing gone wrong at all in 100k miles. Although some of the interior plastics are not nice in the BMWs and maybe don't feel as lux as rivals, they are well screwed together cars in general - we've had loads over the years (E34, E36, E46, E90 etc. etc.) and none of them have ever failed to proceed.

Just bought a tow vehicle with the VAG 3.0D V6 and it's a peach of an engine, £200 map on it sees over 300bhp! Ridiculous. I think they put this one in the Cayenne?

 

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Always liked the Z4 but has to be the coupé. Had 3 BMW's in succession now but all 3 series. E90 320d M Sport, E91 330d M Sport Touring & My current one, F31 320d M Sport Touring. The 330d was & is, my favourite out of the 3 with the F31 second. F31 is a lovely car but doesn't feel as solid as the E91. Zero problems with any of them other than routine maintenance.

Current F31 :) 

 

16945156722_41f477a940_b.jpgBMW f31 320D M Sport by Kevin Frost, on Flickr

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16 minutes ago, reddevil said:

Just bought a tow vehicle with the VAG 3.0D V6 and it's a peach of an engine, £200 map on it sees over 300bhp! Ridiculous. I think they put this one in the Cayenne?

 

Interested.  Who remaps for £200?  Our Audi is out of manuf warranty in about 6 months...

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I'm afraid I'm yet another fan of BMW! Aside from the SC these two also occupy my petrolhead world. The Z3M is actually quite a rare bird. One of only 73 roadsters made with the later S54 engine from the E46 M3. Silky smooth with 325BHP, fantastic acceleration and all that fresh air! The F30 335D Xdrive is even more impressive in its own way. 0-60 under 5 seconds and yet is capable of post 50 mpg (obviously not at the same time). It's an awesome piece of kit albeit perhaps lacking the soul of the 911Sc or Z3M. 

Both my BMs happen to be Estoril Blue. Good job I chose something completely different for my 911. Minerva blue😀!! 

IMG_6146.JPG

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Just bought my 6th bimmer: May I present the land yacht aka: battlestar gallactica:

3d2c8b43d818ac80b8d6c1fd2075c066.jpg

Picked up bank holiday fine for £3,500 off the eBay sight unseen - a 740i sport - what a peach - love it; replaces the pcp money draining M2.

Used to have an e36 328i touring that cost me £100, which I chopped in for an m135i deposit - bmw gave me a grand!

Love a BMW

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2 minutes ago, Jim Rummy said:

Just bought my 6th bimmer: May I present the land yacht aka: battlestar gallactica:

3d2c8b43d818ac80b8d6c1fd2075c066.jpg

Picked up bank holiday fine for £3,500 off the eBay sight unseen - a 740i sport - what a peach - love it; replaces the pcp money draining M2.

Used to have an e36 328i touring that cost me £100, which I chopped in for an m135i deposit - bmw gave me a grand!

Love a BMW

Love it. One of my favourite shape 7s. Enjoy!

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Yeah that's eye wateringly horrible as is the X7. It even makes the bangle era 7 look attractive.

My daily is an 18 plate 420d MSport and I love it. I'll be doing 100k in it over the next 4 years and its a very pleasant place to spend the commute.

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Still loving my daily e92 M3 after 20 months and 28k miles.  It’s got presence, cruises very nicely and when you light it up goes like a train with huge grip. I also really like the look of it.

They are great things - any pictures Ian?
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