There is something really special to be said about the saloon car platform. Having comfort being a top priority, combined with premium luxury materials and top of the line technology is a reflection of a manufacturer’s pinnacle of achievements. When you can take all of that, and combine it with performance and response, that truly creates a recipe for the ultimate driver experience.

Chris initially fell in love with saloon cars with his first Lexus LS400 several years ago. At some point there was an opportunity to graduate to a Lexus LS460L. That unfortunately was short lived due to the amount of poorly trained drivers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Given a suggestion from a co-worker who used to work at BMW, the pitch was what if you could have all of your creature comforts and luxury, and get the sports car response and feel when you wanted it. That was when serious considerations were given to the twin-turbo N63 v8 platform offered by BMW. The N63 platform is a sister platform to the S63 M variant offered in the M5, M6, and M8 platforms. These came in any BMW offering with a 50 at the end of it’s model variant. So the 550, 650, 750, and 850 all were offered with the N63 twin turbo v8, and a lot of them are in circulation.

Although the cars themselves have become relatively affordable to purchase, that is not the same thing as affordable to own. Chris being a season master technician, was willing to gamble and take on the potential challenge of maintaining and repairing an aging high end BMW. A car previously offered at an average MSRP of $110,000 USD, this vehicle was purchased for 1/10th of that price at 11 years old, and approximately 117,000 miles. Owning a car like this is not for the faint of heart. You truly have to be passionate about cars, which includes working on them yourself. Alot. Or, be willing to spend the money to have someone else constantly working on it. Aside from the financial aspect of it, if you can get into it for the right price, and have the means, either physically or financially to maintain it, this car will check all of your boxes for someone looking for ultra-luxury coupled with sports sedan response and performance.

Right after purchase, the vehicle did need a few things. Both under-seat subwoofers were completely blown out, and it had a few worn suspension components. No major oil leaks, a few small coolant leaks, and a few small noises here and there. All things being equal, for a used german car, we could have been in a far worse position. Over the first year of ownership, some front and rear suspension arms were replaced in favor of OE aftermarket replacements, Mahle adjustable upper control arms in the front, and Megan Racing adjustable control arms in the rear for additional camber and toe adjustments. At this time H&R lowering springs, and lowering links in the rear were installed to give it a better stance. The Aodhan AFF9 wheels originally purchased for the LS460L project ended up being the same lug pattern at 5x120, and the wheel specs were near perfect.

Later on a set of ARM downpipes were installed, along with a custom GRW built dual X-pipe exhaust, with Vibrant Street Power mufflers. At this time, a low mileage set of turbochargers were installed, and a modified set of Mamba stainless steel wastegate flappers were installed. This solved 2 problems, one being oil consumption with leaky turbo seals, and inconsistent boost pressure issues with poorly sealing OE wastegate flappers. Around this time, a set of M550i G30 front calipers were installed, with a set of EBC yellow stuff pads all the way around, and finished off with a set of R1 Concepts drilled and slotted brake rotors, completely transforming the braking ability of the car. At a curb weight of approximately 5,000 lbs, this car needs all of the braking help you can give it for how fast it is.

One of the most common warnings about this platform is the potential for engine trouble. Whether it is timing chain, valve stem seal, or flat out catastrophic rod or main bearing failure, the issue is very well documented. The main issues for these engines were actually from the first generation of N63, which ran from 2009-2012. This being a 2013 year model, it was the first to get the “TU” designation at the end of the engine code. This means it got a completely revised timing chain design, updated valve stem seals, valvetronic, and a host of other engineering upgrades that really exempt it from the traditional N63 reputation. You do need to be aware of it’s prior maintenance history, as lack of oil changes will kill this platform regardless. We did end up having to put a remanufactured engine in at 130,000 miles, but not for the reason you may think. Chris got caught up in a flash flood and the engine ingested water. During the tear down and subsequent replacement of the engine, we removed all of the main and rod bearings to sample them, and they were actually in damn near pristine condition. Considering this vehicle probably didn’t have the best maintenance history before Chris’ ownership, during his ownership he beat the absolute crap out of the car. The key factor here is the oil is changed religiously every 4,000 miles, and with high quality Motul 8100 oil, a key component in getting longevity out of any N63 engine platform.

This car has been owned and maintained by Chris for about 2 years now at the writing of this article, and this car has far exceeded his expectations, but the rumors of reliability problems and failure points actually were below the projected expectations when doing the research. In closing, these vehicles can be extreme money pits, but if you buy into it right, and buy the right car, if it has a decent history of being maintained, and you are willing to maintain it at a far more generous schedule than recommended by the manufacturer, these cars have the potential to be a great, reliable daily driver.