[Dream car BMW]

Hi Guys,

I am very new to this form so please bear with me and this will be my first BMW car so I have tons of questions if someone can please help!

Long story short, previous owner was a mechanic so he changed all this by himself, current owner just changed few things and want to sell (didn’t had car for long after asking him) and upon asking no receipts he claims.. he calmly answers all the questions I am asking and learned the following….Also, this would be my 2nd car and possibly not a daily commute as I have SUV (but if I really like the car I will make it daily commute lol 40kms to/from work)

-Private sale at 200,000 kms on it 2007 328xi coupe, things changed are below,
-Valve cover gasket done last year
-Spark plugs last year
-AC blows cold (not sure if this is good or bad)
-no engine lights and car starts with no hesitation (I haven’t gone to check car but this is by owner)
-battery changed
-water pump changed
-Serpentine belt changed
-No modification to car
-break and rotors changed last year
-Transfer case fluid (NOT CHANGED/HE NOT SURE)
-OFHG (NOT CHANGED)
-Actuator motor (NOT CHANGED/NOT SURE)
-comes with 2 set of rims + tires (summer changed last year) + 3 keys

I am planning to go for test drive this week and this is a really white with orange interior (what I exactly wanted) asking price is $6k CAD but hopefully negotiation will play a role…he is open to providing VIN before I even go to check the car (good sign?)

I am really liking this car (from pics) but worried if what he is saying is true……Any thoughts on the reliability of this kms and above things changed would be? Shall I go for it ? Shall I take to BMW to check it out?

[e90yyc]

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1517476

This thread will address a lot of your questions.

The previous owner might seem like a chill guy, but then again, he might be a huge liar who just happens to be super baked on legal weed. Get it inspected. Worth every cent, because it could save you $1000’s if it’s facked.

[Dream car BMW]

Hi E90yyc

Yes i did read that. But I was more hoping if someone been to similar situation and what they did.
did it work out or did it not work out?

Thanks

[Pladi]

Originally Posted by ishanm

Hi E90yyc

Yes i did read that. But I was more hoping if someone been to similar situation and what they did.
did it work out or did it not work out?

Thanks

hahahahaha buddy you cant find a situation that will match your situation. He provided you with a good list, do your homework and cross ur fingers.. there will always be some risk. Its a 12 year old bmw..

What if i came along and said i had the exact situation and it worked out.. what would that mean exactly that you can go and buy the car and have no issues ? i dont understand ur logic

[Dream car BMW]

Originally Posted by Pladi

hahahahaha buddy you cant find a situation that will match your situation. He provided you with a good list, do your homework and cross ur fingers.. there will always be some risk. Its a 12 year old bmw..

What if i came along and said i had the exact situation and it worked out.. what would that mean exactly that you can go and buy the car and have no issues ? i dont understand ur logic

Ya your right.... meeting the guy Friday evening still haven't given me VIN i mentioned

Thanks

[nsjames]

I bought a 100K mile 328xi and drove it 25K miles over the next 6 months with nothing more than fluid maintenance and a new battery before I left my house for the other side of the continent.

but I've been turning wrenches for a long time.

go get it inspected.
but that era n52 car is pretty reliable, excepting the oil leaks and ESS.

[Dream car BMW]

Originally Posted by nsjames

I bought a 100K mile 328xi and drove it 25K miles over the next 6 months with nothing more than fluid maintenance and a new battery before I left my house for the other side of the continent.

but I've been turning wrenches for a long time.

go get it inspected.
but that era n52 car is pretty reliable, excepting the oil leaks and ESS.

Thank very much!!

I called quite a few BMW dealerships but they all say we don't do OBD reader unless there are signs on dashboard, my worry is what if the signs are cleared off without actually fixing the issue.

[nsjames]

call an independent euro specialty mechanic. ask in the regional forums for recommendations.
Pay them for an hour of labor to look over the car and scan it for BMW specific codes.

either meet the seller there ,at your appointment, or make sure they're ok with you taking it there prior to arriving to look at the car.

edit:
also, hearsay in a car sale is exactly that: hearsay.

if there's no documentation, it didn't happen. and you're not even talking to the guy that did the work. pay a price based on the car's condition, not was was possibly done two owners ago.

[Serf27]

You could take an obd reader with you can check for engine fault codes yourself couldn’t you?
If you do, check for engine faults and make sure all monitors are ok.
Inc monitors may mean the codes or “signs” may have been erased prior to you arriving.

Other than taking it in for an inspection, look at the condition of the car itself.

[nsjames]

there's a bunch of stuff that could be problematic elsewhere in the car that a standard obd reader isn't going to tell anyone about.

[Dream car BMW]

Yes your right if there no documentation its probably not done! they guy seems to be very nice and answering all the questions i am asking which is what making me nervous, either he is super nice or straight liar.

-good idea i will call local BMW mechanics and get it inspected for codes and overall condition of the car and find out what he is claiming is actually true

-ya OBD reader the ones we own don't scan for everything, specially with the ones you buy at Walmart or Canadian tire

Thanks guys for all your help!!!

[Dream car BMW]

UPDATE***

Hi Guys i went to see a car that i mentioned over the weekend, according to me I was told car was in top shape with no cosmetic damage when i got that below is what i found....

-front bumper was scratched due to car being low when I asked him he said ya its old car things like this happens
-underneath the car there was a hanging plastic and when I asked him he said ya this thing happens no big deal
-there was a broken vent to fix inside car, cup holder was broken again according to him no big deal
-however when I asked him if i were to take it I need to show to mechanic and get it inspected because you dont have the receipt for the repairs you did and his reply, "o no this is too far and I dont have time" it was like 20kms away from his place.
-another thing he didnt let me test drive the car lol reason being its not your car its my (his)car
-he owned the car for only 1 month
-all he kept saying its perfect car you dont have to worry about it

I felt really suspicious about this and left!!!!

[rick100]

i can see your complaint regarding the test drive and the mechanic , those are valid complaints and you probably should steer away from buying that car just because of that

however , you are being way to picky about the other complaints , like cosmetic stuff, this is a 12 year old car that you are getting for a bargain price , this is now consider a beater car , if you want the real thing , perfect condition type of car , you would be paying a lot more.

Like my car is near perfect condition , I have one small rust bubble at the bottom of my quarter panel , and there is 3 accidents on carfax , all of them were rear bumper replacement , less than 2500 $ each . If I were to sell my car for less than 10 000$ and someone started low balling me for a little scratch here and there, I would honestly walk away and tell him to stop wasting my time. I think that is the main reason I dont plan on selling mine , the money I would get for it and people trying to get a near perfect condition 10 year old bmw is getting just ridiculous. I think this is the reason a lot of people trade in their cars instead of selling them themselves, its a damn headache all the expectations people have on 10 + year old cars.

Ask yourself , would you sell your perfect running bmw that you have put so much money into to get it to run mint for a low ball price? , why not keep it at that point?... To me its a matter of principle , I rather trade it in my car, save some money in tax for the new car and maybe use my trade in for a better deal than give my car away to some guy who is going to be calling me everytime something goes wrong with a 10 year old car

I think you are expecting to find a near perfect BMW, with all the repairs done , no accidents , for 6k . Sorry but you need to lower your expectations , there is a reason why someone is selling their car for a low price . That is the reason you may see 2 335s same year and similar mileage selling for 2 different prices , one owner may ask for 8 k knowing that the car needs repairs and the other one may want 14 k , knowing his car is running perfect

its the used market, you get what you pay for ....

[Dream car BMW]

Originally Posted by rick100

i can see your complaint regarding the test drive and the mechanic , those are valid complaints and you probably should steer away from buying that car just because of that

however , you are being way to picky about the other complaints , like cosmetic stuff, this is a 12 year old car that you are getting for a bargain price , this is now consider a beater car , if you want the real thing , perfect condition type of car , you would be paying a lot more.

Like my car is near perfect condition , I have one small rust bubble at the bottom of my quarter panel , and there is 3 accidents on carfax , all of them were rear bumper replacement , less than 2500 $ each . If I were to sell my car for less than 10 000$ and someone started low balling me for a little scratch here and there, I would honestly walk away and tell him to stop wasting my time. I think that is the main reason I dont plan on selling mine , the money I would get for it and people trying to get a near perfect condition 10 year old bmw is getting just ridiculous. I think this is the reason a lot of people trade in their cars instead of selling them themselves, its a damn headache all the expectations people have on 10 + year old cars.

Ask yourself , would you sell your perfect running bmw that you have put so much money into to get it to run mint for a low ball price? , why not keep it at that point?... To me its a matter of principle , I rather trade it in my car, save some money in tax for the new car and maybe use my trade in for a better deal than give my car away to some guy who is going to be calling me everytime something goes wrong with a 10 year old car

I think you are expecting to find a near perfect BMW, with all the repairs done , no accidents , for 6k . Sorry but you need to lower your expectations , there is a reason why someone is selling their car for a low price . That is the reason you may see 2 335s same year and similar mileage selling for 2 different prices , one owner may ask for 8 k knowing that the car needs repairs and the other one may want 14 k , knowing his car is running perfect

its the used market, you get what you pay for ....

Yes i understand and I was fine with all those things i can get myself fixed, only major concern was not letting me test drive and take to mechanic.

[rick100]

Originally Posted by Dream car BMW

Yes i understand and I was fine with all those things i can get myself fixed, only major concern was not letting me test drive and take to mechanic.

yea no test drive no deal . The mechanic deal , i find it a lot of people do not want to waste their time taking it to the mechanic unless you put some type of deposit on the car. I sold a few cars in the past privately and never had to bring them to the mechanic , I also bought most of my cars privately and same deal.

As long as the car drives straight , no weird noises and no obvious leaks or rust everywhere , I m good. I always think that up to 2000$ may be put into a used car ( tires, brakes , etc ,etc) in the first few months , so I budget for it . Maintenance records is always a plus , but a lot of people dont keep receipts , its just the way it is .....

[OTO335i]

[QUOTE=Dream car BMW;25033214]

-AC blows cold (not sure if this is good or bad)

QUOTE]

This is a joke right?

[e90yyc]

[QUOTE=OTO335i;25063293]

Originally Posted by Dream car BMW

-AC blows cold (not sure if this is good or bad)

QUOTE]

This is joke right?

LOL.

Cold AC? Deal-breaker for me.

[OTO335i]

[QUOTE=e90yyc;25065841]

Originally Posted by OTO335i

LOL.

Cold AC? Deal-breaker for me.

LMAO same here, that shit better blow hot ass air.

When I put it on the heat setting it blows hot, not sure if that's good or bad though