It was just so hard to resist. A 4.8-metre serving of slinky 55,000-mile, 362bhp, high-end V8 BMW coupé on offer for £5995. This was a car that cost over £60,000 back in 2005, now on sale for a tenth of that with an MoT, service history (allegedly) and in more than tidy condition.
Your reporter was succumbing… and has been in danger of doing so for several years, actually, having noticed the speed at which big German coupés not only consume miles, but race to the bottom of an especially precipitous depreciation curve.
As I write, the cheapest 6 Series Coupé on AutoTrader is a 2005, 98,000-mile 630i for £2995. Or there’s a very tidy 51,000-mile 650i V8 for £6900. If you fancy driving behind the three-pointed star, there’s a 2005, 136,000-mile CL500 in need of minor attention but with a long MoT for £2250. A likely better bet is the 2003, 56,000-mile example that’s had plenty of recent spend – including on Mercedes’ wallet-wasting ABC hydraulic suspension – for £5975.
