The importance of pre-purchase inspections/inspecting thoroughly

[andrewm 236]

Just a little story about a car I had inspected today

2005 bmw x3 from an auckland used car dealership, pictures looked great and no mention of issues in the trademe advert.

BMW auckland city came back with a list that included the below. The car only has 88,000km and is priced at $17k so wasnt expecting some of these. The quote for below was around $6k and another $3800 for full headlining replacement.

Thoughts? sounds in worse nick than my e39 and e46.

EDIT: just to clarify I am capable of doing the repairs myself but included the BMW quote for peoples interest.

Alternator not functioning

passenger electric mirror does not adjust

multiple oil and gearbox fluid leaks

driveshaft boot split

cracked and worn suspension bushes

headlining coming off

both rear tires at 1.5mm

broken shock absorber

boot and bonnet struts very weak

worn out engine mounts

xxx belt cracked - (cant read which one)

and some usual minor stuff

several small dents and scratches

interior light not working

weak aftermarket battery

driver mirror cover broken

wipers not good

Edited October 28, 2015 by andrewm

[dkonsta1 109]

I guess you can now negotiate with the dealer if you like the car anyway...

Interesting that they did not know about the alternator before.

[allan 295]

The title says it all. Buyers beware another well looked after vehicle

Edited October 28, 2015 by tim 325

[Breaker 980]

Half the dealers round think they can throw in a shitty mechanical insurance and then spray and walk away from this sort of sh*t.

You'd be pretty pissed if you bought this and come first service, if it got that far, had his crap to deal with.

[Michael. 2312]

Sometimes this kind of thing is the lord punishing those for buying cars like X1s, X3s, E90 320i, 120i and the like that are known to be cheaper, below par compared to a 'proper' BMW of the past.

I know a guy that asked me for advise on a new car, went against what I said and bought a 320i, 6 months later he has various problems the dealership don't want to know about.

[Driftit 1948]

Interesting. A guy at my work who liked my E60 then went and purchased an 05 X3.

It broke down on the way home from the dealer. Two coil packs had died.

Not more than a week later he went on a road trip and was stranded with his family in Keri Keri. Went into limp mode and gearbox was not sounding good.

Ended up costing around $5000 to sort that issue. Not sure what it was exactly.

With many an argument he returned the car for a full refund and they covered all his expenses of having to hire a rental car etc.

Went and purchased a Honda Acco..yawn.. But will not ever purchase another BMW due to this poor experience.

Just another neglected BMW

[NakiTouring 54]

I drove a black X3 2.5 last week, while I waiting impatiently for the dealer to put a WOF on my new car that I came to collect - don't ask me why they hadn't already done it. Anyway, the X3 was a complete PoS and that too had the headlining pulling free...maybe it's the same one. I think if I was buying a pretend AWD like that, I would get something newer, Jap or Korean, for the same money. Each to their own but.

You really have to wonder how dealers manage to get these things through compliance and get WOF's on them sometimes - you can bet if I tried it, they would fail it on every little detail.

Edited October 29, 2015 by NakiTouring

[jordan23 16]

Bet you are glad you got the PPI done. Even though you would be covered by the CGA if you had purchased the vehicle it would have no doubt ended in a sh*t fight being decided by the disputes tribunal. Head aches you don't need really.

[MD13 459]

I'd like to know who they got a WOF for that X3 from...

[gjm 3194]

I'd like to know who they got a WOF for that X3 from...

"'ere, Bert, it's Fred. Need a WoF. Rego is BMWX33 - get the details offa Carjam, eh? I'll buy yer a pint later. Churz."

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

When getting an older car inspected it can be a bit off putting receiving the overwhelming report of things that are not correct. When i picked up my new car I made a list of things to check prior. Big ticket items i.e brakes, suspension, body work, the engine.

Choice of tyre is usually a good indicator of how the po has looked after their 'Ultimate repair bill machine'.

[andrewm 236]

Update

Passed on the original car, dealer offered 3k off but I still wasn't happy.

Went above my initial budget and found an absolutely immaculate 2006 x3 Motorsport with 48,000km on it and looking every bit brand new. It's an import but has new brakes and near new dunlop sp sport maxx tires. I plan on keeping it immaculate. Underbody looks like new hard to believe the car is 9 years old.

[hybrid 1039]

They are out there and worth paying another few thousand for as its easier to replace a few things than a whole bunch.