Would you buy a Performance Delivery Center demo car?

Been looking for a nice 2010 M5 and have seen a couple on the market with low miles and fully optioned out. Was going to pull the trigger on one last night, but as we got to the paperwork, the dealer pulled out a disclaimer that stated the car had been used at the Performance Delivery Center. I got up and walked out to think about it.

What do you think? Good deal or giant bag of trouble ?

Depends if it was a shuttle like the 7 series are I'd be ok with it. If it was anywhere near the track NO. It would have to be a big enough discount that I could cover a MAJOR part or two if it failed. I.E. if it was 10k+ better than every other m5 I'd be ok with it.

Somehow I doubt the M5s were used as the parking lot shuttles... !

The dealer doesn't have any service records from the PDC days --- outside of the fact that the car had several of the exterior panels repainted when it was prepped for sale. Apparently, the car was never officially titled and there are no service records in the normal dealer accessible tracking systems. There is, however, a note bold notice in the formal records specifically stating that BMW will not allow CPO for the car. This made me pretty concerned.

I figured the PDC would be pretty diligent on maintenance, but the car will have been flogged hard on the track. Even in the best scenario, if it left with new clutch, new brakes, new rotors (which may or may not be the case - would have to confirm) --- wouldn't that just put intense wear on everything?

Originally Posted by mcwoods

Somehow I doubt the M5s were used as the parking lot shuttles... !

The dealer doesn't have any service records from the PDC days --- outside of the fact that the car had several of the exterior panels repainted when it was prepped for sale. Apparently, the car was never officially titled and there are no service records in the normal dealer accessible tracking systems. There is, however, a note bold notice in the formal records specifically stating that BMW will not allow CPO for the car. This made me pretty concerned.


I figured the PDC would be pretty diligent on maintenance, but the car will have been flogged hard on the track. Even in the best scenario, if it left with new clutch, new brakes, new rotors (which may or may not be the case - would have to confirm) --- wouldn't that just put intense wear on everything?

That to me says pass

That was my immediate reaction - if BMW won't stand by the car, why would I buy it?!

It's hard to even think of a "screaming deal" price that would be attractive - as a couple of significant malfunctions mean you'll be swimming in $$$$ for repairs. Pushing you to break even on difference in original cost awfully quickly. Not to mention the nuisance of having the car in-and-out of the shop.

Originally Posted by mcwoods

That was my immediate reaction - if BMW won't stand by the car, why would I buy it?!

It's hard to even think of a "screaming deal" price that would be attractive - as a couple of significant malfunctions mean you'll be swimming in $$$$ for repairs. Pushing you to break even on difference in original cost awfully quickly. Not to mention the nuisance of having the car in-and-out of the shop.

CPO, Prepaid maint, T&W protection, proof clutch, tires, brakes were all new and a price of 27k

Think you're onto something there, SuperTerp!

What was the mileage and asking price? Just curious, as I would only buy this car as a track rat, and even then it would be a questionable purchase.

Jay

Mileage is ~10k, asking price is $58,999. Based on whats out in the market, it's really priced as a one-owner, low mile, well-cared for car.

Looks like the Performance Delivery Center sold off a whole batch of cars as there seem to be several of them with low miles, exact same build, and nearly sequential VIN numbers.

ouch... that's way more then I expected, it would have to be in the high 30's low 40's for me to even think about it.

It would not be absurd to think that >75% of those miles were track time and driving school miles.

I know how I treated the C6 I drove down at Bondurant racing school, and I would seriously consider it having a branded title for pricing comparison. After the autocross circuit I could feel the heat coming off of the entire vehicle.

Sure they are made to handle some abuse, but you can only engineer in so much quality and keep a price point livable.

Jay

On another forum, one of the members, mdyaman, posted a great video from the Performance Delivery Center showing what they do with the cars. Awesome to watch, though should give anyone pause about buying one of the cars - unless you want to turn it into a track rat. Think I saw all the cars in this video out for sale over the past month!

Best line:
Instructor: "We'll just throw it over the top here..."
(car launches into the air over a ridge in the track)
Guys in car: "Aaaaaagggghhhh"

Originally Posted by mcwoods

Mileage is ~10k, asking price is $58,999. Based on whats out in the market, it's really priced as a one-owner, low mile, well-cared for car.

Looks like the Performance Delivery Center sold off a whole batch of cars as there seem to be several of them with low miles, exact same build, and nearly sequential VIN numbers.

It's like 10,000 miles of almost beaten to death dog years. Offer them 25 if you really want it.

Oh. Ask them for the data logs (BMW loves DME data logs). Tell them you want to know how many times launch control was used lol

Originally Posted by mcwoods

Mileage is ~10k, asking price is $58,999. Based on whats out in the market, it's really priced as a one-owner, low mile, well-cared for car.

Looks like the Performance Delivery Center sold off a whole batch of cars as there seem to be several of them with low miles, exact same build, and nearly sequential VIN numbers.

Man, $59,000 is a lot for a used demo car that has seen a lot of redlines, launches, and suspension wear in such a short time. I would definitely pass as this car could be a money pit. If you really want it, I'd give them $25,000 or $28,000 max.