Hi All - As I am browsing through some of the listings for a used x5 35d I am seeing some vehicles that I might be interested in but are at non-BMW dealers. They have clean carfax and 2+ years of original warranty remaining on them - what other issues should I be looking out for if I want to pursue buying such a listing? Thanks for your help!
Buying from a non-BMW dealer?Cons?
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Some problems are only covered under new car warranty for the 1st owner. After that the 2nd owner will get a run around.
Does Not matter much if the dealer is NON BMW, but if you already have a protocol at a BMW dealer, that would help at times of service or fix any of the numerous problems with X5s.
Does Not matter much if the dealer is NON BMW, but if you already have a protocol at a BMW dealer, that would help at times of service or fix any of the numerous problems with X5s.
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"BMW dealer" versus "non BMW dealer"...
Your query seems to be isolated to 'one establishment versus the other...
No difference per se. A dealer can CPO the car, but that is about it.
Any dealer can sell a dog. BMWdealers charge more becuase many people think it is 'safer' or 'a dealer wouldnt risk the wrath of BMWNA by pulling something'...(but we read daily about dealers behaving badly and BMWNA doing nothing)
They are all used car lots. Don't forget that...
A
Your query seems to be isolated to 'one establishment versus the other...
No difference per se. A dealer can CPO the car, but that is about it.
Any dealer can sell a dog. BMWdealers charge more becuase many people think it is 'safer' or 'a dealer wouldnt risk the wrath of BMWNA by pulling something'...(but we read daily about dealers behaving badly and BMWNA doing nothing)
They are all used car lots. Don't forget that...
A
Yes a couple I was looking at were lease returns. Good point regarding why they wouldn't be at a BMW dealer - is it possible that the 1st owner got better trade in value at a non-BMW dealer vs a BMW dealer, hence minimizing his losses? I think one of them was listed at a GMC dealers .. hmm food for thought how the vehicle ended up there ...
I was under the impression that the remaining original warranty transfers over to the new owner but wasn't aware that some problems are only covered for the 1st owner. I would like to read up more on it, can you point me to some literature on this? Thanks!
This is not true, the new car warranty is a warranty for a length of time, not number of owners. Unless BMWNA blacklisted the warranty for something specific that was done to the car (totaled in accident, etc, or voided due to mods or unauthorized work) the warranty is no different when the car changes ownership. A pre purchase inspection is recommended, as well as pulling the service records from the dealer.
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when i've been shopping for high end cars (M5, 996TT) you get a surprising number of dealer principles/family that buy these cars and try to sell them through their own retail outlets... A turbo at a GMC dealer in CIncy... etc.
Not that any of them tell you the truth on provenance.... they will lie to manipulate you even when they might not need to... and then oif course sometimes the salesmanager lies to them.
(And agree a usedf car has a full and 'undiluted' NEW CAR WARRANTY, first or second owner is immaterial- based on time and mileage. Oh, and cannot have a salvage or total loss title.)
Not that any of them tell you the truth on provenance.... they will lie to manipulate you even when they might not need to... and then oif course sometimes the salesmanager lies to them.
(And agree a usedf car has a full and 'undiluted' NEW CAR WARRANTY, first or second owner is immaterial- based on time and mileage. Oh, and cannot have a salvage or total loss title.)
I've bought several used BMW's from non-BMW dealers. Never had a problem with any of them. One, a smaller dealer, even provided a 3 month, 3K miles warranty with the car. The key is to know what you're buying. As already mentioned one of the best things to do is to obtain a PPI.
I went through this recently as we were shopping for an X5. I found a 2011 X5 Premium at a Land Rover dealer. It had 36K miles. The factory warranty still was in effect. The dealer did the full PPI and it had a clean Carfax. The only non-OEM mod was that the owner replaced the RFTs for conventional rubber. Apparently the owner lived on an unpaved road and the ride was punishing with the RFTs so they swapped them out. The only issue was that the car didn't have a spare tire, so would have had to purchase one.
The sales person had said that they thought that their sister BMW dealer, literally down the block, might be able to certify it since they did all the work necessary for certification. They just couldn't since they aren't a BMW store.
Well we called the BMW store (same owner mind you), and they said they don't certify it if they didn't take it in.
In the end the car sold while we were thinking about it. We ended up finding a nearly identical model, same color/trim options, brand new RFTs, a spare and less miles. The only difference was the wood trim was different. The first car had dark bamboo and the car we bought had dark burlwood.
The sales person had said that they thought that their sister BMW dealer, literally down the block, might be able to certify it since they did all the work necessary for certification. They just couldn't since they aren't a BMW store.
Well we called the BMW store (same owner mind you), and they said they don't certify it if they didn't take it in.
In the end the car sold while we were thinking about it. We ended up finding a nearly identical model, same color/trim options, brand new RFTs, a spare and less miles. The only difference was the wood trim was different. The first car had dark bamboo and the car we bought had dark burlwood.
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1. The dealer did a "full" PPI!?!? You NEVER rely on a PPI by the selling dealer...plus, know that there is no common definition on what is in a PPI. Most are superficial $200 profit makers. Unless you specify what is in the PPI, you really don't know what they are doing...IMO
2. The PO lived on a dirt road? Sure. Lemme guess, from the selling salesman?
3. BMW dealers must own the car to CPO it. Anyone calls out of the blue and they will get the party line... They'd have to transfer the car to the BMW dealer-And THEN CPO it. Why go through the hassle?...and clearly they didn't need to as the car sold.
Oh, they'd have to spend $1500 for new RFTs in order to pass the CPO inspection... Another reason the car was NOT sent to the BMW store....
Just FYI
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1. I was just posting what the dealer said. It never got to the point where I got the list of what was inspected because as I said the car sold.
2. That is correct. That's what the salesperson said. Allegedly the previous owner's wife drove the car and the sales lady said that the wife hated the ride so they swapped the tires. As I mentioned, the vehicle didn't have a spare. The previous owner also had a child as there were marks left in the leather by the child seat. We were in discussions with the dealer on how to get those marks out. The thing is that I can't imagine swapping out the RFTs in a car my wife drives (with a small child) and not having a spare in the car. Even though she would never change the tire herself, you want something there for when you call roadside assistance or AAA.
3. That is exactly what the BMW dealer said. They also said that they used to do that years ago, but it was too much of a hassle. As you said, the car sold, and the dealer must have sensed we had reservations as they never called us to tell tell us someone else was interested. The interesting thing though is that the car then sat on the lot for several days with a sold sign on it. They said it was a long distance sale. If so, someone may not have been told about the leather damage on the rear seat and the tire swap. They definintely weren't forthcoming about it to us. I was the one who noticed it.
For the vehicle we purchased, I was told the dealer put about $2K to certify it. Obviously $1,500 of that was in tires as you could still see the glue around the rims that they use when they mount the new tires. Also one set of brake pads were already replaced, I can't remember if they were the front or the rear.
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If you buying a used BMW or any high end lux vehicle. I recommend CARMAX. In June, I bought my off lease 2007 X5 4.8i (59K miles)and bought a $100K warranty through CARMAX(MAXCARE) for $2500 to 100K Miles. All I pay is $100 bucks and drop it off and no matter the cost of repair they fix it. They have BMW certified technicians on site too. The warranty does not cover normal wear and tear items such as scheduled maint( breaks, filters, oil, wipers etc.) When I went in to United BMW of Gwinnett, to register as the new owner, I was informed that my engine and transmission are warranted buy BMW until 100K miles too. You can't go wrong with CARMAX. I also bought a 2012 VW CC Lux from them last week and purchased the warranty too.
Check out the link for more info on MAXCARE. http://www.carmax.com/enus/maxcare/default.html
Check out the link for more info on MAXCARE. http://www.carmax.com/enus/maxcare/default.html
Thanks everyone for your input! After looking through the used car inventory (mostly 2011s/2012s x5 35d) and the prices they wanted on them I didn't see the discount I would have liked to buy a used car. I decided to order new instead and put in the order yesterday! Very excited!!
Thanks Jay! We are anxiously waiting for the car to be ready, can't wait to take delivery!
Any pointers on the auto insurance? This is our first BMW and I was wondering if we should be aware of anything in particular while getting auto insurance for a luxury car?
Any pointers on the auto insurance? This is our first BMW and I was wondering if we should be aware of anything in particular while getting auto insurance for a luxury car?
That sounds very familiar
You'll love it!!!!
Jay
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