640d Pre LCI vs LCI

[Dr-RS]

I'm starting to look at buying a 640d m sport convertible to replace my E93 which I have been using as a daily but I will soon be retiring and I would like to do it in a bit more style. A local dealer has a 2012 Pre LCI and 2016 LCI in stock 40,000 miles vs 20,000 miles and £20k vs £30k. 

My questions are:

1). What is the difference in spec between the two. Is it just a cosmetic facelift or are there mechanical differences? I see the LCI gets a digital dash, what else was there?

2). There is massive early depreciation, how much does that slow down on Pre LCI cars?

3). What are the desirable extras to have? I've read adaptive drive, variable damper control, driving assistant plus, comfort seats head up display and harman kardon are all nice although the first four are quite rare. What was included in the M Sport Plus package?  

4). What are the common faults to look out for? My E93 is getting on a bit so I'm paranoid about timing chains and roof failures. How reliable is the F12 roof? 

Any advice gratefully received. Thanks in anticipation, Keith. 

[Greydog]

Hi Keith

640d Lucky boy !! As far as I know the facelift LCI is mainly cosmetic but also has some power upgrades and efficiency improvements. Though the couple of people I know who have 640's give them so much stick they don't tend to see much in the way of efficiency?

Depreciation with all cars is worse in the first 3 to 5 years then tends to level out (doesn't go away just levels out a bit)

The only issues I have read about are folding roofs on early cars had issues with sensors which gave a "roof not closed" warning.

Are the spec's and options not available on the BMW web site?

Like the X5's these are complicated beasts so making sure everything works as it should is paramount in my mind. I do mean everything every button gadget and switch make certain they all do as they are supposed to do. Test drive make sure that the gearbox functions in all modes and find a stretch of road to stretch its legs and check for smoke under hard acceleration and lift off. Probably teaching Granny to suck eggs but those are my thoughts

Good Luck

Dave