I do have a friend with a neglected 2006 630i that was bought from a dodgy backstreet dealer and then serviced by the lowest bidder yet its still here.

One of my customers, when I first started cleaning their windows, had a very forlorn looking (E63) M6 sitting outside the garage. Covered in a layer of grime and with mouldy stuff round the rear lights and badges. Again, not my cup of tea, but it did make me sad seeing this 500bhp V10 beast left like that. It has since been moved on, hopefully to someone with deep enough pockets to run it and keep it in clutches!.

The only 6 series I really liked was the E24, and even then, ideally the pre-facelift versions with the slim bumpers.

You need to recall an 80 000 car when new will have similarly expensive problems . Even if you buy it well used for a few thousand.

Depends on the car. Homework is essential when gambling on reliability. I have enjoyed my 'for-ever car' flagship Audi A8 for nearly seven years, now fifteen years old. All it has cost me apart from oil changes and front pads is a sway bar droplink. But it has developed a slow leak from a front suspension airbag, taking about 48hrs to deflate. I diagnosed a failing top 'O' ring. However, replacement (several hundred pounds) is not urgent, I merely leave it in 'jack mode' with a wooden block under the jack point, thus saving the compressor and its relay from overwork. It takes only a few seconds to cleverly lift itself off the block even before the engine is started, using air from the accumulator reservoir.

Edited by John F on 19/01/2021 at 11:40