[b92]

I'm in the market for a new daily and looked at a 2007 E90 335ix 6MT this weekend, the car is 100% stock and is pretty base with just heated seats and xenon/adaptive headlights. Car has 100k miles but the CarFax doesn't list a single maintenance service, not even an oil change. The current seller has the original window sticker, but not a single service record from the 100k miles.

2007 was the first year of the N54 and we all know the issues that came with the early N54s; HPFP, injectors, turbos, water pump, various gaskets, etc. The car is a 2 owner, and the first owner owned the thing for the first 90k miles. I test drove the car – it ran beautifully and idled steady, no WG rattle, strange noises or visible oil leaks. The car shows two recent maintenance inspections, one at BMW of Warwick and another at South Shore BMW in MA.

I’m so perplexed by the lack of service history, what are your guys’ thoughts on this? What options do I have to learn more about this car's history? I’m thinking the original owner was a BMW master tech and self-serviced the car its whole life, but this might just be wishful thinking.

CarFax:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6S...ew?usp=sharing

[drawz]

Not all shops get reported to carfax, even some dealerships. Reporting rules seem to vary by state too.

[martinm0]

Originally Posted by b92

I'm in the market for a new daily and looked at a 2007 E90 335ix 6MT this weekend, the car is 100% stock and is pretty base with just heated seats and xenon/adaptive headlights. Car has 100k miles but the CarFax doesn't list a single maintenance service, not even an oil change. The current seller has the original window sticker, but not a single service record from the 100k miles.

2007 was the first year of the N54 and we all know the issues that came with the early N54s; HPFP, injectors, turbos, water pump, various gaskets, etc. The car is a 2 owner, and the first owner owned the thing for the first 90k miles. I test drove the car – it ran beautifully and idled steady, no WG rattle, strange noises or visible oil leaks. The car shows two recent maintenance inspections, one at BMW of Warwick and another at South Shore BMW in MA.

I’m so perplexed by the lack of service history, what are your guys’ thoughts on this? What options do I have to learn more about this car's history? I’m thinking the original owner was a BMW master tech and self-serviced the car its whole life, but this might just be wishful thinking.

CarFax:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6S...ew?usp=sharing

Can you ask the seller this info? I assume the seller is the second owner on the CarFax, and only had the car for a short period?

I've had similar results with some CarFax reports I bought for cars I was looking at. Though, there had always been some info listed, and being a new car bought from BMW, you'd think the original owner would have been taking it under warranty to BMW for things, so that's strange.

I guess the price is the one thing that would negate the lack of records. Is it low enough to risk it? I would get a PPI done, but honestly, I had one done for a N55 I just bought and it was mostly a waste of money (came back clean as I expected).

My only hesitation would be that its an '07/first gen model. But again, for the right price and the internet at your fingertips, you can fix anything that goes awry along the way.

[b92]

Originally Posted by martinm0

Can you ask the seller this info? I assume the seller is the second owner on the CarFax, and only had the car for a short period?

I've had similar results with some CarFax reports I bought for cars I was looking at. Though, there had always been some info listed, and being a new car bought from BMW, you'd think the original owner would have been taking it under warranty to BMW for things, so that's strange.

I guess the price is the one thing that would negate the lack of records. Is it low enough to risk it? I would get a PPI done, but honestly, I had one done for a N55 I just bought and it was mostly a waste of money (came back clean as I expected).

My only hesitation would be that its an '07/first gen model. But again, for the right price and the internet at your fingertips, you can fix anything that goes awry along the way.

Current owner doesn't know much about its history, he just got a new job and went out and bought a 2017 WRX but kept the BMW because they only offered him $5k for trade-in.

I honestly don't think there's anything wrong with the car now, but knowing how these N54s are I want to know more about its service history before I make the purchase. I think I'm going to pass on this one and continue my search for a <100k mile E46 330.