Hi, looking for some advice.
I've recently bought a used 2012 328i X-Drive 2-door Coupe with ~120k miles from an official dealership. The car condition was described as "super clean", underwent all required/scheduled maintenance, no mechanical/cosmetic issues, and for the most part it seems to be true. But when driving the car back from the dealership, I noticed vibration while braking moderately at highway speeds (~50-60 mph) (no vibration with mild or strong braking). I am not sure where the vibration is coming from, but feels like it's coming from the wheels (not the brake pedal, not the steering wheel) - feels like driving on a very rough pavement. From searching the forum, seems like a classic symptom of failing thrust arm bushings, although also somewhat similar to "warped?" rotors/pad deposits on rotors. The salesman at the dealership offered to bring the car to their service and they will check it out (although most likely I will have to pay for it; the car was sold "as is", no warranty of any kind).
- does it indeed sound like thrust arm bushings? or rotor problem also possible?
- what would be the reasonable cost to replace them at the dealership? Is the inspection usually extra? And the alignment?
- if there is such a choice, should I ask to replace only bushings, not the whole thrust arms? Can I save a little, or is it better to replace the whole thing to prevent future problems?
- a broader problem is that I don't know what was already replaced in the car before me; it was serviced at the same dealership throughout its lifetime, so I was thinking to ask them for all the service records they have - is this a reasonable request? any reason why they wouldn't want to do that?
Thanks.
