6 Series BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe First Drives/Reviews

[K-A]

Did you take any pictures of this? If it is as bad as you say it is ("old American Pickup Truck"), it should have shown up in reviews and pictures.

I did not, unfortunately. I will try and find a picture on the web that shows it. You can see a nice large chunk of the cold, hard metal peeking out from in between the B-Pillar and door panel. Very unrefined, in an otherwise superb interior and fit and finish.

 

[Sunny]

The reason for the jump in 6-series sales is because of the big incentives on them. they've been giving them away...
http://www.eastbaybmw.com/bmw-mini-price--10-000-off-msrp-6-series-dealer-5636-sid-30458.html

There was even bigger incentives on the older one in it's last year...

I really don't get your argument... on one side you argue it is overpriced and on other you argue they are giving them away. Either way, the free market is doing it's thing. How the heck does it matter what the sticker says? What matters is what the consumer pays in the end and the market will almost always determine that.

 

[chonkoa]

There was even bigger incentives on the older one in it's last year...

I really don't get your argument... on one side you argue it is overpriced and on other you argue they are giving them away. Either way, the free market is doing it's thing. How the heck does it matter what the sticker says? What matters is what the consumer pays in the end and the market will almost always determine that.

I think what Ekaru is trying to say is that the second-hand market suggest they may be overpriced. To augment that point, he referenced cases where dealers are offering high discount to move them out of their inventory.

 

[Zafiro]

I think what Ekaru is trying to say is that the second-hand market suggest they may be overpriced. To augment that point, he referenced cases where dealers are offering high discount to move them out of their inventory.

The claim from Ekaru that sales arent good is false though.

 

[deity]

In all honesty, if there is nothing wrong with the car (fit/finish, design etc), then I actually prefer the sales to be low. I don't know why anyone in the right mind would want their car to be a blockbuster hit...go buy a Civic if you want to show off the quality of your car from sales numbers.

 

[Sunny]

I think what Ekaru is trying to say is that the second-hand market suggest they may be overpriced. To augment that point, he referenced cases where dealers are offering high discount to move them out of their inventory.

The links he posted for the cars is not second hand market, they are new cars. Which then brings me to the point that the market is doing it's thing. So I don't know what people are complaining about?

Of course an aside, in this market, very few cars are going at Manufactrer Suggested Retail price. You get almost 9k off a E class, 7k off GLK for walking into Mercedes dealership, almost 7k off Q5 and 8k off E90 335d and 2k off F30 328i, I know cause I was there two weeks ago to help my sister in law buy a new car. Market is what it is.

 

[Guibo]

I did not, unfortunately. I will try and find a picture on the web that shows it. You can see a nice large chunk of the cold, hard metal peeking out from in between the B-Pillar and door panel. Very unrefined, in an otherwise superb interior and fit and finish.

Here, I'll help get you started. Red exterior on a white interior should stand out like a fresh gunshot wound:


Yet I'm not seeing it. Perhaps it's a crapload less obvious than you're trying to make it out to be. You had already made up your mind months ago that the 6GC was overpriced; what made you think it would be any different when the dealer orders one optioned up?


The point about 2nd hand market is next to useless. It might merely tell us that there are a lot of cars to go around for 2nd hand buyers who are obviously not well off enough to have comfortably purchased new to begin with. This may be an oversupply issue for the 2nd hand market, not an indicator of original list prices being wrong. If we make a correlation between the 2nd hand market and MSRPs (and conveniently ignore the very important role that volume plays in this), we'd have to conclude that Ferrari underpriced the Enzo by $400k. We'd have to conclude that a few short years after the CGT was introduced, Porsche overpriced that car by many 10's of thousands of dollars; nowadays in various parts of the world, we'd have to conclude that Porsche got the MSRP all wrong and should have priced it higher, as the car has appreciated beyond MSRP in some markets.
The reality is that the MSRP is a function of long-term purchasing contracts, locked in between manufacturers and their suppliers years in advance, based primarily on the planned volume. Which is why in bad times, you don't see manufacturers lowering their MSRPs; some have actually increased in price like the GT-R. Whatever profit schemes the manufacturers have, they will enjoy/suffer them as they've already got their profit from selling to the dealer ("invoice"); or they will take the hit in lower volumes and "learn from their mistake" the next time around. Considering BMW is following the same pricing scheme as the last 6er, we can conclude there was no mistake to begin with.
It is up to the dealers, who are independent entities from the manufacturers to make whatever deals are necessary for in-stock items. Many of these premium-marque cars are ordered to customer specifications, so there is little to no wiggle room for negotiating.

And yeah, MB's are discounted too.
http://mbworld.org/forums/cls-coupe-c218/431191-cls550-4matic-discounts-off-msrp.html
http://mbworld.org/forums/general-mercedes-discussion/394847-discount-bmw-owners.html
http://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w204/405837-left-over-2011s-dealers.html
http://mbworld.org/forums/4995305-post86.html
(Interestingly, the member "K-A" on that forum seems to support my view about purchasing decisions often being based on emotional, not purely rational, factors. Quite a different view from the "K-A" posting within this thread.)

 

[K-A]

That's a different "K-A" than this this "K-A".

No, I'm not saying that all car pricing should be rationale at all, etc. However, by "emotional", I mean that paying $60K for an E-Class when you get can something that does technically the same thing (or more, or less, but similar enough in the grand scheme of things) for much less. It doesn't justify some cars that are priced just way too conceitedly. The 6 GC is just several levels up on this notch. I don't think it's worthy of S-Class pricing yet, and I think the depreciation which will be far more vast than a similarly priced S (talking about an Optioned out 6 GC).

However, artificially priced up give you artificial exclusivity. Which is part of the whole charm and reason for the 6 GC. Jack the price up, and you have a more rare car.... which in turn makes it exclusive. Marketing 101. Count me in as someone who will be all over it once the initial depreciation woes are over. The fact that they'll be less on the roads will make me like it even more.

As for the 6 GC's metal showing through the door. It WAS that bad. In fact, ANY peep of metal through the door is unacceptable, especially when it's large enough to fit your finger through the panels enough to touch. Maybe there was something wrong with that car though.

 

[Zafiro]

As for the 6 GC's metal showing through the door. It WAS that bad. In fact, ANY peep of metal through the door is unacceptable, especially when it's large enough to fit your finger through the panels enough to touch. Maybe there was something wrong with that car though.

I don't recognize this issue with the car I've been inside.

 

[K-A]

I should have gotten a picture. It was an eye sore, especially being a white car with black interior (you could see that white cold metal beaming at you from the inseams.

Maybe there's a piece that goes in there that wasn't put on during production on that particular car or something. I find it hard to believe that the buyers especially spending that kind of dough would allow that to slide.

 

[Merc1]

^^ The most beautiful BMW interior there is.


M

 

[klier]

^ Too swoopy perhaps, but pretty flawless either way...

 

[Guibo]

No, I'm not saying that all car pricing should be rationale at all, etc. However, by "emotional", I mean that paying $60K for an E-Class when you get can something that does technically the same thing (or more, or less, but similar enough in the grand scheme of things) for much less. It doesn't justify some cars that are priced just way too conceitedly. The 6 GC is just several levels up on this notch. I don't think it's worthy of S-Class pricing yet, and I think the depreciation which will be far more vast than a similarly priced S (talking about an Optioned out 6 GC).

Are you talking about the mere $200 lost on a $12900 Malibu after 30k miles? In any rational sense, short of comparing against ultra-lux cars like Bentley/Rolls, all of these cars are hideously overpriced, especially when bought brand new. I don't think there is any objective defense that can "justify" an E-Class costing 4 times more than a Malibu. The decision to buy the Merc is a hugely emotional one, which is rooted in one's perception of quality, status, design, regard for history, etc. To compare pricing between a 6GC and perceived competitors is to merely further split hairs among those that are already ridiculously priced on purely objective grounds.
The market will decide if some cars are priced way too conceitedly. It doesn't have to be worthy of S-Class pricing on technical grounds. It can be worthy of S-Class pricing on exclusivity grounds. And someone buying in the price class may find the S-Class too old hat, the conventional obvious choice, and one that does not look as sleek and pleasing to to the eye. For them, the satisfaction from the emotional appeal of the car may be worth the hit in depreciation. That the S-Class is considered the benchmark for its class has not stopped people from buying alternatives that are no better technically, and which depreciate worse.
BTW, my comments above were mostly about the US market. In other markets (UK, for example), I've read that sometimes manufacturers do adjust the price accordingly. But this has applied to all of the major premium marques.

However, artificially priced up give you artificial exclusivity. Which is part of the whole charm and reason for the 6 GC. Jack the price up, and you have a more rare car.... which in turn makes it exclusive. Marketing 101. Count me in as someone who will be all over it once the initial depreciation woes are over. The fact that they'll be less on the roads will make me like it even more.

I think if the production numbers are much less than perceived competitors (and they appear to be just that), then it's not artificial exclusivity. It's actual exclusivity. This could be a part of BMW's plan to move slightly upmarket, and happens to fall right in line with wealthy people's penchant for having that which is rare.

That's a different "K-A" than this this "K-A".

That's what I was thinking, as the viewpoint of each seemed irreconcilably at odds with the other.

 

[DeDe]

[scans] Automobilismo 09/2012 - BMW 640d Gran Coupé Futura

• Dyno-power: 314 hp/265 hp (engine/wheels)
• Weight: 1995 kg
• 0-50 km/h: 2,4 s
• 0-100 km/h: 5,7 s
• 0-130 km/h: 8,8 s
• 0-160 km/h: 13,4 s
• 0-200 km/h: 22,5 s
• 400 m: 14,0 s (166 km/h)
• 1 km: 25,5 s (209 km/h)
• Vmax.: 249 km/h
• Braking (100-0 km/h): 35,4 m

 

[K-A]

Here's the door panel in question. This is another white 6 GC that I checked out. Really? $100+K for a 640 GC and you guys can't even cover up the crude naked metal on the door?! This is old Pickup Truck grade. You can even see the black rubber at the top, and on the drivers side, you can see some manufacturing sticker randomly plastered on it. Pathetic.

Aside from that, with the M Pack, I do really like the car, much better than the CLS for me, since the CLS is not only goofy looking with those nonsensical lines, but because the CLS gives me NO front headroom and the 6 GC actually HAS MORE HEADROOM THAN MY E-CLASS!!!!

I'm pissed at M-B for not catering to the taller torso people. Even the gargantuous CL has too cramped of headroom for me. Therefore, it is probable that I will stop supporting M-B next and move to BMW, Porsche, or something.

IMO, since the 6 GC looks like a swoopier 5 Series, as I predicted, to my eyes at least, it sometimes threatens to render the 5-Series visually obsolete, overtly boring, homely and plain, though, this is just speaking of a GC with M Pack (not big on it without that package), as I would probably rather have a 5er with M Sport than a GC without M Sport (more visually complete). IMO, the CLS and E have a better dynamic, since each look so different. The E with the luxury face and standup star, stately stature, and CLS with the sporty swoopiness. They don't cross into each others lanes like the 6 GC does to the 5er so heavily. Frankly put, the 6 GC looks like what you'd expect the next generation 5 Series to look like.

 

[Human]

Here's the door panel in question. This is another white 6 GC that I checked out. Really? $100+K for a 640 GC and you guys can't even cover up the crude naked metal on the door?! This is old Pickup Truck grade. You can even see the black rubber at the top, and on the drivers side, you can see some manufacturing sticker randomly plastered on it. Pathetic.

Unfortunately this is the case with all recent BMW's I share your sorrow K-A, I mean even that ^ lower B-pillar normally nasty cheap plastic) is covered with stitched leather! Why not cover up the exposed paint!?

Same for M-B on the new A-class Upper B-pillar that agitate us both Exposed here BLUE paint and even the C-Pillar...
Given this is a entry-level car it's still from a Premium manufacturer and the Chevy Cruze for example does not have this!
Maybe you and me both must apply as tactile and perceived quality control advisers @ the respective German firms

 

[K-A]

It's sad to see that the GERMANS of all are cutting corners where it counts, where their hallmark was: In the details, the minute areas that show you their pride in craftsmanship and engineering.

The A-Class is bad enough, but the upper level, price-gauged 6er is just so ridiculous. Especially in an otherwise practically faultless and beautiful interior.

I mean, it's bad enough to where if I got that car, in white especially, I'd have to put some vinyl wrap over that area to tone it down. Huge eyesore.

 

[Human]

It's sad to see that the GERMANS of all are cutting corners where it counts, where their hallmark was: In the details, the minute areas that show you their pride in craftsmanship and engineering.

Indeed! And that ^ EXACTLY defines Premium and justifies Premium Price tag!

Are you listening German Premium Automobile manufacturers???

 

[K-A]

Unfortunately this is the case with all recent BMW's I share your sorrow K-A, I mean even that ^ lower B-pillar normally nasty cheap plastic) is covered with stitched leather! Why not cover up the exposed paint!?

Lol, that's a good point. The B-Pillar which is normally cheap on about every car from a 5 Series to an E Class, etc., plastic, is actually STITCHED with the 6 GC. Great attention.... but then.... WHAT?! Exposed crude cold metal and ugly rubber? Why ruin such a good thing?

 

[K-A]

Aand just going through 6 Series listings, I saw these unfortunate sights. C'mon BMW, you're so much better than this. Ford was showing this much naked metal through their lower B-Pillar portions on their 1985 F150's.