New to the forum and about the enter the BMW ownership ranks. I'm purchasing a used 2012 750LI with very low miles. The car is fully stocked and based on extensive research over the past month, this car appears to be a great deal. I would like advice on a couple of items from some knowledgable people on this board...
1. The car I'm purchasing is not in my state. I plan to fly one way to do a final inspection, test drive, and purchase. I'm then going to drive the car back (approximately 350 miles). I had the dealer take it to an independent BMW dealership and do a full certification checkout on the vehicle and I even talked to the technician that said the car was in great shape. Is there anything else I should do before I travel down?
2. Based on the car history report, the vehicle has only had one owner. However, the vehicle has been bought and sold at auction on 3 different occassions. Is this some type of red flag that I'm missing?
3. The car comes with the stock Pirelli Summer run flat tires. I live in Maryland, where we occassionally get snow. The other BMW's that I've drive locally all come with all season tires. Is this an issue?
tires are nevcer an issue as they can be changed, if the currunt ones are new or close put them up for sale here and buy the ones you like, auction 3x could be a flag, how close were the sale dates? P.s if the car is still under orig warrty which it should being a 2012 I think you should be ok as long as it wasnt a lemon buy back.
My `11 750i xDrive MSport came with all-season 19" Goodyear run-flats. I never had problems with these tires, but many here don't like them. I live in more of less the same area as you do and I would highly recommend all-season tires for your car. I would suggest in this connection Michelins or Continentals if you don't want to go with run-flats. Sounds like you're getting a great car by the way. Congratulations!
Well, if the car travels from the one auction to the other, it means that dealers cant get rid of the car for some reason. There can be couple of reasons like eg. car maybe too expensive for residents of particular town or state or there maybe something wrong with the car. But if the BMW dealer is certifing it - nothing to worry about. Its probably harder to sell a BMW in small towns with lower income than in lets say NY.
Take it to a body shop, check the paint, make sure it hasn't been in an accident. The body shop should have a paint meter (cheap), and they can determine whether parts were replaced or not.
check the interior for stains of water damage, etc. Not all damage is reported to carfax.
Take it to a body shop, check the paint, make sure it hasn't been in an accident. The body shop should have a paint meter (cheap), and they can determine whether parts were replaced or not.
I got myself one of these toys to measure paint thickness. I think its called a fendersplendor or cheaper version Highlinemeter.com. They work great. Man, that toy saved me from some bad choices. I was looking for a used car for my wife. I went to 6 acura dealers and out of 12 used (certified) cars I was looking at,10 of them had something repainted. 2 of them were almost all repainted. May have been scratches, may have been dents. I dont know. I had a bargaining chip at least but they didnt want to bargain once they saw me with a paint meter. They didnt even want to deal with me.
I think I paid abou $150 but I know I got a car that had no issues at least.
I just switched back to OEM run flat because dealer will not look at the problem I had with non-runflat tires. It is interesting that the problem(noise and humming vibration) solved by switch back to OEM run flat even though the ride is little harsh.
Anyway, I learned lesson that I will stick with OEM Run flat because I do not like dealer blame non run flat tire for the cause. By the way, dealer is very friendly and helpful to me and it is just that they can't warranty their car with non run flat.
If you hate run-flat, you should consider other brand.
I just switched back to OEM run flat because dealer will not look at the problem I had with non-runflat tires. It is interesting that the problem(noise and humming vibration) solved by switch back to OEM run flat even though the ride is little harsh.
Anyway, I learned lesson that I will stick with OEM Run flat because I do not like dealer blame non run flat tire for the cause. By the way, dealer is very friendly and helpful to me and it is just that they can't warranty their car with non run flat.
If you hate run-flat, you should consider other brand.
if you are having noise and humming and a vibration it could easily be a bad new tire or tires that aren't right for your car!
To the OP, make sure you pay BMW to do a Pre-Purchase Inspection on the car where they outline any issues on the car! Also have their bodyshop check the car out!
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