What to look for in a used car?

[bluexcrush]

Hey guys, my friends about to buy a car 323i, a used 100k km car... if she were to inspect the car.. what should she look for? (aside from carfax)

Like a full interior, exterior, engine, maintenance scehdule lookthrough. Any known concerns about the bimmer past 100k km?

Thanks :)

[pcdawg]

Ians and I can give you tons of examples of an BMW.

ian unfortunately still has his while I got rid of mine before the cost of maintaining it goes higher.

The main thing is the engine and its components, th suspension. Actually all working parts. Dont expect high quality craftsmanship

The only way to know about the BMW is if the car being sold does have a regular maintenace schedule log.

Carfax doesnt do squat. Cars can be in accidents etc and if it doesnt get reported it wont show on any records at all.

I knew of someone that brought a used CERTIFIED BMW from a BMW dealership and it said clean. 6 months later, he found out that the car was in a major front end accident and alot of parts were replaced. Went through hell of 2-3 months to finally get BMW canada to buy back his car close to what he paid for since it was their neglect to not fully inform the customer.

Just be wary of where you are buying one. I also know many people that have leased BMWs treated them like trash and return thme back to the dealer. I knew my wife did LOL

[MemphisRheins]

Just be wary of where you are buying one. I also know many people that have leased BMWs treated them like trash and return thme back to the dealer. I knew my wife did LOL

Well that's the problem with any used car, especially returned Leases... My Dad had a lexus LS430 on Lease, and didnt give a crap about it, had the car for 4 years, was in two accidents never reported, it should of been declared totaled after the first one, but wasnt... He also never changed the Oil on the car once, just kept on adding when it ran low, as much as that pains me ((the schmuck changes his oil every 4500 miles)) He asked me to detail it the day before he gave it back even, so the car looked fantastic... lexus took it back without thinking twice about anything... im sure it sold no problem either...

[robert_tg]

oh my goodness a 100K km BMW
That's just asking for pain & suffering & hole in the pocket

[Zeeshan]

Okay, this is kinda up my alley since this is what I do for a living....I'm a wholesale dealer and i have to look for area where the car has been in an accident when buying from private parties.

Anyway, lets begin...first thing you need to do is run your fingers around the edges of the vehicle. edges that are rough to the touch are NOT FACTORY PAINT! Go out to your tsx right now and feel all the edges around the hood, fenders, quarter panels, and doors. Feel how smooth it is. If an edge is not that smooth on the bimmer, its been painted there. Doesnt necessarily mean it was in an accident, but it was def. painted. Now for example, if both front fenders and the hood are painted, that things been in a front end accident...be VERY careful. I would personally run the other way.

If for example, the rear door and quarter panel are painted, it's been side swiped or hit on that side...usually not that big a deal. Rear or front end damage is more to worry about. Front for obvious reasons (engine, etc), Rear because if you're rear ended hard enough, there could be frame damage. You can get under the car with a flash light and check the frame yourself for damage.

When you pop the hood, also check the bolts that are holding both fenders on....if they look live they have been opened (and you can tell easily by the marks the tool opening them would have made) then most likely it's been painted. check the ones on your tsx..they'll be factory match painted, and look super clean.

Now, that's pretty much how to tell cosmetics. To check mechanical...spend the $100 bucks and have a TRUSTED mechanic do an inspection on the car for the engine and definetely the suspension. BMW/Mercedes suspension is NOT CHEAP! If the car hasn't been in any accidents, and if the car is good mechanically, then you're good....although a 100k bmw is something I would personally suggest to stay away from in the first place. They give a lot of problems...even if they were clean at purchase.

Now if you need a little extra help to catch the painted panels, check out http://www.wholesalepaintmeters.com/ for the Fendor Splendor FS488 paint thickness meter. This is a tool that dealers use when they arent sure about certain vehicles. It reads the thickness of the paint of each panel. On the TSX for example, most panel read between 5.0 milimeters, and 6.0 milimeters. What you're looking for is consistency. if the reading on the TSX is between that, you're good. If the thickness reads 8.0 to 10.0, you know they're been work done. if it reads around 12.0 to 15.0 theres been major work done, and theres bondo work there. The meter is like $400, so its usually not worth it for one person to purchase it for one car, but for someone like me, its worth every penny. When i was a rookie i needed it a lot more...but i've gotten pretty good with my eyes and touch now to see if the cars been painted.

Anyway, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

[Bender Unit]

^ Good Man, Good Info

[bluexcrush]

Okay, this is kinda up my alley since this is what I do for a living....I'm a wholesale dealer and i have to look for area where the car has been in an accident when buying from private parties.

Anyway, lets begin...first thing you need to do is run your fingers around the edges of the vehicle. edges that are rough to the touch are NOT FACTORY PAINT! Go out to your tsx right now and feel all the edges around the hood, fenders, quarter panels, and doors. Feel how smooth it is. If an edge is not that smooth on the bimmer, its been painted there. Doesnt necessarily mean it was in an accident, but it was def. painted. Now for example, if both front fenders and the hood are painted, that things been in a front end accident...be VERY careful. I would personally run the other way.

If for example, the rear door and quarter panel are painted, it's been side swiped or hit on that side...usually not that big a deal. Rear or front end damage is more to worry about. Front for obvious reasons (engine, etc), Rear because if you're rear ended hard enough, there could be frame damage. You can get under the car with a flash light and check the frame yourself for damage.

When you pop the hood, also check the bolts that are holding both fenders on....if they look live they have been opened (and you can tell easily by the marks the tool opening them would have made) then most likely it's been painted. check the ones on your tsx..they'll be factory match painted, and look super clean.

Now, that's pretty much how to tell cosmetics. To check mechanical...spend the $100 bucks and have a TRUSTED mechanic do an inspection on the car for the engine and definetely the suspension. BMW/Mercedes suspension is NOT CHEAP! If the car hasn't been in any accidents, and if the car is good mechanically, then you're good....although a 100k bmw is something I would personally suggest to stay away from in the first place. They give a lot of problems...even if they were clean at purchase.

Now if you need a little extra help to catch the painted panels, check out http://www.wholesalepaintmeters.com/ for the Fendor Splendor FS488 paint thickness meter. This is a tool that dealers use when they arent sure about certain vehicles. It reads the thickness of the paint of each panel. On the TSX for example, most panel read between 5.0 milimeters, and 6.0 milimeters. What you're looking for is consistency. if the reading on the TSX is between that, you're good. If the thickness reads 8.0 to 10.0, you know they're been work done. if it reads around 12.0 to 15.0 theres been major work done, and theres bondo work there. The meter is like $400, so its usually not worth it for one person to purchase it for one car, but for someone like me, its worth every penny. When i was a rookie i needed it a lot more...but i've gotten pretty good with my eyes and touch now to see if the cars been painted.

Anyway, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Wow A+ thanks

[bluexcrush]

Ians and I can give you tons of examples of an BMW.

ian unfortunately still has his while I got rid of mine before the cost of maintaining it goes higher.

The main thing is the engine and its components, th suspension. Actually all working parts. Dont expect high quality craftsmanship

The only way to know about the BMW is if the car being sold does have a regular maintenace schedule log.

Carfax doesnt do squat. Cars can be in accidents etc and if it doesnt get reported it wont show on any records at all.

I knew of someone that brought a used CERTIFIED BMW from a BMW dealership and it said clan. 6 months later, he found out that the car was in a major front end accident and alot of parts were replaced. Went through hell of 2-3 months to finally get BMW canada to buy back his car close to what he paid for since it was their neglect to not fully inform the customer.

Just be wary of where you are buying one. I also know many people that have leased BMWs treated them like trash and return thme back to the dealer. I knew my wife did LOL

She's getting it off a family friend, so its even more sketchy, like... dealing with friends... the friend said that it weren't in any accidents (being a women driver I highly doubt that ... no offence :p) Well she is getting a 323i with 100k km for $10k which IMO is a really good deal... but then... if anything goes wrong with the car, I think that she'll have to drop a lot more money than that... it has regular maintenance logs. I might go check it out, rip it up on the highway :P haha jksjk. Thanks for the quick response :)... btw do you know how often I need to change my brake pads? I just had a service done 15k ago.

[pcdawg]

What year is te 323i? I believe they it must be the 2000 model. They stopped making it from 2001 to 2005 i believe and started it again.

The 1999-2000 is the 1st year E46 chassis and trust me...they had tons of problems and recalls. Again, if she does have money to maintain it, then I guess its a decent deal. I I rather stay away from an old car like that unless Im loaded and really love the stylng.

Change the brake pads for the BMW? Im not too sure. I didnt drive my BMW that much as it was sorta a summer car as it was a convertible. Stayed away from rain and snow. I remember my wife's BMW had its rotors repalced around the 30,000km mark.

[narci]

Family had BMW's and Mercedes...I would never keep one that doesn't have a warranty again.

[Zeeshan]

Family had BMW's and Mercedes...I would never keep one that doesn't have a warranty again.

werd. like i said, i would stay away from high mileage bimmers and benz's. anyone i've known that have had them have had nothing but problems.