Looking for info

[97M62BimmerKid]

I've been looking for a fun car recently. Something that I can take out for 5-7k miles every year on the best days of the year, and then sit in the garage for the rest of the year on a tender. I've always wanted a convertible, yeah I know chassis flex and muh handling, I'm not concerned about that, if I wanted a car that handles I would get an e46. The 6 series has always been near to me, when I was younger my dad had a hooptie e24 633csi, and my first encounter with the e63 was on my way to High School. There was this auto body shop, and someone that worked there has an e64 M6, straight piped and repainted in this deep purple color, 14-year-old me may have known nothing about cars, but I knew I wanted one of those cars at some point. Alongside the e31 850ci and Porsche 928, it has the title of one of my first real interests in cars. Now 7 years later, I've got a nice paying job and extra income to kill on stupid things, so I started looking and I never realized how far the e64 M6 has depreciated.

I could just get a 650i or 645i and put all the M6 stuff on that, but then I'd just be a poser without the M6 badge or performance. Also, I've heard those cars still suffer from the timing chain guide issues that plagued the m62 as well as valve seal issues, which can lead to oil burning. Obviously, since the heads have to come off I imagine that's no cheap job, but is it really worth it? Those cars have depreciated a lot, if you're going by percentage, not nearly as much as the M6, but they're at the cost of a low mileage Toyota Solara nowadays. They cost less than the M6, and still have these expensive issues, with no hopes of these cars ever being worth something again, would it be worth it to buy one of them, or the more expensive M6? The M6 at least has some hope of regaining it's value, although the e36 M3 is a perfect example of an M-car that still isn't worth it's weight in scrap metal. In my mind, I'm left between if I think the M6 will be an e36 or an e46 in terms of future resale value.

Now, I know that these cars are as far from reliable as you can get. But I was wondering, what are some repairs (apart from rod bearings) that I should perform before even registering the car, and would the cost of these jobs at an indy BMW mechanic outweigh the value of the vehicle? I can't drive stick and I don't feel like learning on a 500hp V10, I guess that leaves my options to the SMG. I'm well aware that also has it's fair share of issues too. If I can get one $10k or below, would it even be worth it? Some people tell me these cars are at the bottom of their depreciation curve, and if that's the case I'd want to hop on this bandwagon before I get priced out of it. I've seen what happened to the e39 M5 and I don't want to end up as the guy that didn't buy right before they became worth something.

From what I'm told, the connecting rod bearings, Vanos pump, high pressure vanos line, SMG actuators/pumps are all the jobs that can put the most financially stable of people into bankruptcy. Obviously I don't want to drive a car with failing con-rod bearings, I'm familiar with the asking price of rebuilt S62 short-blocks, I don't even want to imagine what an S85 short-block could cost me. Before I do anything, I obviously want my mechanic to have a thorough go around of it, and probably should have the SMG and S85 removed and rebuilt. Let's say I find a car with 60k miles on it, and none of the expensive things have failed yet, once I get it to my mechanic, I decide to replace everything with high quality parts. Are the rod bearings and pumps going to fail in another 80k miles anyways? Or is there a solution from aftermarket companies for these longevity issues?

Any advice is appreciated

[328isblack]

I've been browsing too and have learned some things. Firstly, the M6 can cost you around 15k to buy and another 20k to maintain if you're unlucky. You will hear a lot of people talk about how they had no issues with theirs and others who have lost a good chunk of their savings. In my mind it is a special car but that's reflected in the cost of ownership, it's borderline exotic car prices. The car will absolutely go up in value, V10 BMWs is a first and a last. I think if you aren't afraid to lose some money it could be quite the experience. I would do the rod bearings immediately, that's a 3k job instead of 10k+ engine swap, which will need that done anyway. And set aside another 10k for throttle actuators, SMG etc. I absolutely would love to own one, but the thought of eating up my savings in maintenance horrifies me. The sweet spot for value in my mind is the facelift 650i, a lot of problems were addressed there. And those engines and transmissions are always available if worst case scenario happens. And you still have a NA V8 360 hp GT car. Some days I just want to say screw it and go get an M6 because it's the closest I'll get to a Carrera GT in this life, but I work too damn hard for my money to spend it on toy car repairs.

[jonare]

Hello 97M62BimmerKid,
Any action on your search? This would be a fun project car -as long as it's running!