With its ZF-sourced six-speed manual gearbox and a third pedal crowding the driver's footwell, today's Nice Price or No Dice 650i is a rare bird. See if its price tag has you wanting to make its appearance in your driveway a frequent occurrence.
Labor actions have shaped the auto industry globally. In the U.S., work stoppages over what were seen as unfair conditions led to the rise of powerful labor unions, giving individual workers a collective voice. In 1970s Great Britain, labor strikes seriously constrained production and were arguably one of the most deleterious factors in the decline of the nation's auto industry. To be sure, cars and work stoppages don't mix well.
That's why we all took extra caution when we looked at the 1985 Volkswagen Scirocco 16V last Friday. While it was reasonably clean and complete, the seller reported it as "non-operational." The reason for that immobility was left to the fertile imaginations of potential buyers. At $4,999, few of us were willing to let our imaginations run wild, leaving the seller to deal with it themselves, and the Scirocco with an overwhelming 82% 'No Dice' loss.
Coupe d'état
Happily, today's clean-title 2006 BMW 650i E64 runs and drives. Plus, it's optioned with a ZF six-speed gearbox behind its powerful N62 V8.
BMW introduced the E63 6 Series coupe in 2003, while the beach-cruiser E64 drop-top arrived the following year. This was the prime period of Chris Bangle's reign over BMW's design studios, and while he'd previously created some innocuous designs for Opel and Fiat, Bangle seemed to have a vendetta against the Bavarian carmaker.
The result was a series of controversial designs and the dreaded "Bangle Butt" rear end, scarring both the 6 Series and 7 Series. That's a rounded, sloping fender line that is capped with a taffy-pulled boot lid that looks like it's hiding a much more attractive design underneath. It didn't look good then, and it doesn't look good now. The front end of the car also drew criticism for its weird, eyebrowed headlight design that makes the car look perennially confused. At least it has proper twin-kidney grilles, unlike whatever the hell BMW is doing with its cars today.
Flame wars
Bangle and BMW dubbed the controversial design "flame surfacing," and while portly and peculiar, it's obviously not too off-putting, as this car has had two owners so far. They seemed to like the car enough to take good care of it and keep it at least clean and tidy.
That tidiness shows in the ad's pictures: the silver-gray metallic paint looks to be in great shape, and the 19-inch Style 121 alloys show only a minor bit of curb rash. Those wheels are wrapped in Michelin rubber, another sign the car's previous owner took good care of it.
The passenger compartment looks just as nice, even if it too is sullied with some questionable design choices—check out that crazy cup holder. It's also saddled with BMW's execrable iDrive wobble-knob infotainment system. The all-black cabin with silver accents offers little joy. Still, we work with what we've got.
Laudably, this was a heavily optioned car from the factory. It's equipped with pretty much every bell and whistle, along with the Shadowline exterior trim and both the sport and cold-weather packages.
A history of service
Also on the plus side, the car comes with a mere 96,258 miles under its belt and the promise of an extensive service history and a current state safety inspection. This is a dealer-offered car, and that dealer is providing a three-month, 3,000-mile powertrain warranty as an added enticement. That offers a bit of peace of mind in buying a used, very complicated German car of a certain age.
Of course, a powertrain warranty doesn't cover things like the hydraulics for the top, or the potential gremlins infesting the electrical system, both of which could be issues on a two-decade-old car like this.
To steer us away from those prospects, let's look at the car's specs. The all-alloy N62 V8 under the 650i's sloping snoot produces a stout 362 horsepower. Torque from the engine maxes out at an almost equal 361 pound-feet. As noted, that's all routed through a six-speed manual ZF gearbox to a limited-slip rear end. Disc brakes provide stopping power at all four corners. Based on the picture of the instrument cluster with the car running, the engine is throwing no codes or CELs. The only issue, in fact, appears to be a low-tire-pressure warning, though that could simply be a dead sensor.
Worth a look?
I know what you're thinking: "This 650i is beginning to grow on me." Also, your desire to give Chris Bangle a piece of your mind should you ever run into him is fading. Time wounds all heels and all that.
With that in mind, we now need to consider this well-cared-for, nicely equipped BMW's price. That's $12,499, which the seller points out is a far cry from the over $84K the car cost new. To be fully transparent, big BMWs like this do tend to have some of the most egregious depreciation on the market.
The question, of course, is whether that now puts it squarely in the sights of people who can appreciate it, but who could never previously afford it. What do you think, is this 650i convertible a drop-top drop-dead deal at that $12,499 asking? Or does the car's reputation and looks make it not worth the effort?
You decide!
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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