Buying guide · 2005–2010 · S85 5.0 V10 · 507 PS
BMW M6 E63 / E64
Everything that decides whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
33-page guide, A4 and phone · 5-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included
In the guide
What the BMW M6 E63 / E64 guide covers
- 01Every fault this engine has, and how much work it is
- 02What the carbon roof, the aluminium bonnet and doors, the plastic wings and the SMC boot lid each mean for an accident repair — and how to tell a Convertible roof that is broken from one that is only hot
- 03Why rust on this car is a question about accident repairs rather than age, and where the water goes instead — the footwells, the boot floor and, on the Convertible, the roof compartment
- 04What is simply sixteen to twenty-one years old — and can be left alone
- 05The inspection card: the whole viewing on paper, in order, to take with you
- 06What to say to the seller, and what to keep to yourself
From the guide itself
This is how it reads
This is what one of the twenty-three looks likeLast Real Engines
13 · Brake discs and pads
Half a day per axle · expensive part, easy access
The M6 shares the M5's compound discs, by BMW's US material, with two-piston front calipers; the BMW M Registry describes discs with "an aluminum inner hat and a cast iron outer portion that are connected with steel pins." BMW's service bulletin SI B34 04 14 names the E63 M6 and E64 M6, and it saves money. Hairline surface cracks "have no negative influence on the durability or braking performance", and "The rotors should not be replaced only for their appearance reasons." Replace them "if surface cracks are found to be greater than 13 mm, or if the brake disc thickness is below the minimum thickness", always in pairs per axle, with new pads. Vibrations from corrosion "will diminish with normal everyday operation. Parts replacement is not required."
Within a year or two as normal wear. Now if a crack is longer than 13 mm or a disc is below its minimum thickness — measured on the lift, not guessed.
And this is how the card readsLast Real Engines
- 1 · Round the outside, before anybody starts it
- 2 · The boot and the floor
- 3 · The cold start · the seller starts it; nobody revs it
- 4 · The engine bay · look, don't touch
- 5 · The gearbox at a standstill
- 6 · The drive · DSC on; no M button, no launch control
What €24 buys, put next to what it saves
The rod bearings are two or three days in the workshop, and the money is in the labour — which is why, on an early engine, the VANOS gears are worth quoting for the same visit. A rebuilt cylinder bank after a dropped valve is a week or more. And the throttle actuators give little warning before they put the car in limp mode. The guide is €24. It will not stop any of that from being needed — but it does tell you which of them you are looking at before you agree a price, and that is the whole of the difference between paying for a car and paying for someone else's postponed maintenance.
VAT included · sold by Lemon Squeezy as merchant of record · questions first? buyersguide@lastrealengines.com
Start with the free guide
The six questions that decide whether this car is a good buy
- The rod bearings — done, or still to come?
- The VANOS pump drive — updated or not, and when was the engine built?
- Both throttle actuators — original, or replaced as a pair?
- What state is the SMG in — the pump, the accumulator, the clutch?
- Coupé or Convertible — and if Convertible, does the roof work properly?
- What has already been paid for?
Start with the free guide: what this car is, and the questions that decide whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
Before you buy
Questions
What exactly do I get?
The full guide as a PDF, 33 pages in A4, plus a phone edition to read at the car; and the inspection card, 5 pages to print and take to the viewing. €24, VAT included.
How is it delivered?
Straight after payment you get a download link for the guide, the phone edition and the card. No subscription, no account.
Can I get a refund?
EU consumer law gives you fourteen days to change your mind. For digital content that right ends the moment delivery starts, provided you agreed to that at the checkout. If the file will not open, or you were sent the wrong car, write to us and we will fix it or refund it.
Who handles the payment?
Lemon Squeezy, who sell the guide to you as merchant of record. They charge the VAT at the rate of your country, send the invoice, and email you the download link. We never see your card.
Why are there no prices in it?
Because a price we cannot verify is worse than no price, and because a price would be wrong for most of the people reading it: workshop rates across Europe differ by a factor of two or three. What does not change is how much work a job is, so every point says whether it is an hour, half a day, a day, or a week in the workshop. Ask your own workshop for its hourly rate, and every hour in the guide becomes your own number.
Is this advice about a specific car?
No. A guide tells you what to look at; it is general information about the model and not advice about a specific car. Have every car inspected before you buy by someone who knows the engine.
More BMW guides
Going to look at a BMW M6 E63 / E64?
Take the guide and the card with you.
33-page guide, A4 and phone · 5-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included