[Cozy]

Hi all,

Me again . Itching for a 335i once more and have my eyes open, seriously this time.

I came across this car on PH, what are your thoughts? Something screams to me that it's dodgy but the car looks fantastic. Too good to be true? Usually is.

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/c...es-only/906587

Don't get me wrong, I love my 135i, the 335i will never match it for fun factor I doubt (without good suspension mods) but once you've had a 335i before, it's hard to love its baby brother as much.

[P 5UML]

6.5k miles on a 4 year old car....that doesnt sound right...could be genuince! only way to check it find out where its been serviced and call them up to verify! on a car like that it should really have been seen by BMW for the first 3 years for anything i guess...

seems like a very tidy car...just the miles dont seem right...who would buy a 335i and not want to drive it? lol

[Kerr]

I wouldn't buy a wrapped car personally.

[Cozy]

Maybe I'll research it a little more but Kerr I guess you're right, who knows what lays underneath?

[Hotcoupe]

It's a stonking car JJ,but as others have commented the mileage doesn't add up,however thats easy enough to check out,and the seller seems honest enough in his ad

The wrap wouldn't put me off,as the mods done to it are those of an enthusiast,rather than someone trying to hide something.

The numberplate's clearly visible,so you can quite easily do some checks before going too far.

Go for it,bring it round,and we'll make it look even better

[Kerr]

There has been a few cars unwrapped on detailing world in recent months.


Underneath one car was found to have countless serious scratches.

The other the adhesive from the wrap had made the paint flat and sticky.

I don't think the price is too good to be true given the spec. It is good but not silly I take your money by western union and I will send the car over to you later.

I've seen a lot of similar age cars going for quite a few thousand less with 20-30k on the clock.

It would be good to get a really fresh car though.

[SteveC]

But definitely so good it needs to be checked.

Indicate your interest in the car but state that you'd like to check its history, and understand
1. Why its wrapped and
2. Why the mileage is so low

If its genuine, the seller should have no problem giving you the dealer's name where the car was bought and serviced and the name of the previous owner. You can then check mileage and maintenance work with BMW. Also need to check to make sure there's no serious warranty work or involvement in any accidents, as well as outstanding finance

May also like to get an AA test especially chassis and wheel alignment.

If you detect hesitancy on the part of the seller to checks you'd like make, back off

[The_Bear_Yid]

I don't think the price is that great for what it is. You could probably go AUC for that money (granted not as low miles).

I wouldn't necessarily agree that the mods are enthusiast. White wrap and black wheels can be boy racer.

The mileage is low but it could be genuine, if its spent most of its life as a weekend toy.

Personally I'd leave it.

[dxb335d]

Wouldn't be interested at all in a car that's covered that sort of mileage in 4 years..

[andy9188]

Should have hadlb at least two oil changes by now if done every two years at that mileage

[jrah]

As has already been said, the mileage would concern me. 6,500 in 4 years is ridiculously low even if it's only been used at the weekend for example.

[AWBimmer]

Far too suspicious! Why not just buy another 335i, save up and mod as you go along and enjoy the satisfactiopn of its transformation. 335i values have dropped considerably so might aswell get something with higher mileage (even 20-30k on the clock) less money and peace of mind that you've got a legit car.

Yes we could all be wrong and that car could turn out a real bargain / deal however, the cons outweigh the pro far more IMO. You can get around the genuiness of mileage by doing a free check on dvla website (you'll need the car reg and Vin number / last MOT number) however, how will you ever check the paint work under the wrap....?? hmmm..

[SteveC]

Originally Posted by BMW-Power

As has already been said, the mileage would concern me. 6,500 in 4 years is ridiculously low even if it's only been used at the weekend for example.

I can give you at 2 personal experiences of low mileage

I bought a 2007 BMW GS1200 in 2010 with 1170 miles. The guy had 4 cars plus the bike and his own business. The receipt he gave me from his purchase of the bike showed he'd traded a 3 year old FireBlade with 700 miles. I once bought a 1 year old Honda CBX six with 300 miles. The guy had been out twice and scared himself silly both times!

My nextdoor neighbour works on contract in various middle eastern countries. In order to avoid UK tax he spends less than 90 days in the country each year. He has a BMW1300 bike and an XK something or other that hardly ever see the light of day. When he sells either one someone is going to get a pretty tasty deal of a well depreciated car or bike with absolutely no wear and tear. Bike and car are serviced every year.

There are plenty of people around with money and no time. In the old days we used to spend time to save money. These days we spend money to save time

[The_Bear_Yid]

Originally Posted by AWBimmer

335i values have dropped considerably so might aswell get something with higher mileage (even 20-30k on the clock) less money and peace of mind that you've got a legit car.

They seem to have gone up on the AUC site.

Originally Posted by SteveC

I can give you at 2 personal experiences of low mileage

I bought a 2007 BMW GS1200 in 2010 with 1170 miles. The guy had 4 cars plus the bike and his own business. The receipt he gave me from his purchase of the bike showed he'd traded a 3 year old FireBlade with 700 miles. I once bought a 1 year old Honda CBX six with 300 miles. The guy had been out twice and scared himself silly both times!

My nextdoor neighbour works on contract in various middle eastern countries. In order to avoid UK tax he spends less than 90 days in the country each year. He has a BMW1300 bike and an XK something or other that hardly ever see the light of day. When he sells either one someone is going to get a pretty tasty deal of a well depreciated car or bike with absolutely no wear and tear. Bike and car are serviced every year.

There are plenty of people around with money and no time. In the old days we used to spend time to save money. These days we spend money to save time

I get your point but I don't think bikes are a great example as they always have less/low miles. 300 miles in two rides?

[Kerr]

The value of the 335i has been steadily rising for quite a while.

[SteveC]

Originally Posted by The_Bear_Yid

I get your point but I don't think bikes are a great example as they always have less/low miles. 300 miles in two rides?

South Africa, Sunday breakfast run....75 miles, breakfast, look at all the bikes, 75 miles back. Great Sunday morning out
Not my bike but exactly the same model & colour....sounded amazing anywhere near the redline

[AWBimmer]

I never check AUC prices so maybe I'm mistaken, however up until recently I found 335i prices were decreasing....

[a11y]

I wouldn't buy a wrapped car, simply put there's no way of knowing what's uhderneath if you ever wanted to remove the wrap and go back to the original finish.

[Adil]

the spec seems a bit crap? No sat nav, only half electric seats? doesnt state if it has front and rear sensors or just rear. Re sale of a 335i without sat nava nd full electrics is gone be awful IMO base don e46 experiences.

[Cozy]

There's one thing for certain and that's not that 335i prices are going up. Pre-Sept 07 drop like a stone due to £470pa tax bracket and let's face it, age is a factor also & immenent 435i release, the later ones with ED hold up a little better but mileage is the subjective factor in all cases. I notice that cars with 50k+ cannot fetch a value anywhere near the 30k examples and if you go above 70k someone is going to virtually steal it from you. 100k? You may as well give up, I've seen so many of these just sit on the same websites unsold month in and month out.

I think I'm going to pass on this car, I love the colour which is honestly the attraction here as well as the mileage. It may be genuine but I can't chance that the paint underneath isn't vandalised.

[AlanYoro35i]

Originally Posted by JamJay

There's one thing for certain and that's not that 335i prices are going up. Pre-Sept 07 drop like a stone due to £470pa tax bracket and let's face it, age is a factor also & immenent 435i release, the later ones with ED hold up a little better but mileage is the subjective factor in all cases. I notice that cars with 50k+ cannot fetch a value anywhere near the 30k examples and if you go above 70k someone is going to virtually steal it from you. 100k? You may as well give up, I've seen so many of these just sit on the same websites unsold month in and month out.

I think I'm going to pass on this car, I love the colour which is honestly the attraction here as well as the mileage. It may be genuine but I can't chance that the paint underneath isn't vandalised.

sigh...i paid 23k a year and a half ago for my car then 2.5 year old which i thought was fanastic deal since it had 23k and almost all options..now the miles at 56k i doubt i would get 15k..depreciation is a bitch

[phil200tdi]

I paid £17k for a 2YO E90 LCI with 57k in Jan 2011

Now at 93k, might get £10-11k, I'm gonna run it into the ground instead of worrying about further depreciation. Annual depreciation gets less the longer you have the car!