2004 BMW 525i

[Gerhardm32]

Hi guys and girls,

Quick question, I have my eyes on a 2004 525i currently and want to go to the bank tomorrow for the loan, only saw the car Friday night on the net. Is it worth it or not?
I only know the E34's with no funny electronics.

This is what the ad said:
BMW 525I 2004 Electric windows, mirrors, and sunroof Remote central locking (2 sets of keys) CD player Air con I-drive Auto / step tronic box.

I mailed the owner which said it is not a code3 and is in perfect working order.
First mail received from him:

"The vehicle is still available for sale, price as stated in the ad R60,000.It's in perfect working order, no damages or scratches, it wasn't involved in any accidents.I temporarily moved to the United Kingdom with my work but I left the vehicle at a shipping company in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.All shipping costs and insurance during transportation are included in the price.You will also receive all necessary documents in order to finalize the purchase"

Second mail received:

"It has 75k kms.I think it will be very difficult to get a loan under this circumstances unless you get a personal needs loan.I will keep searching for another buyer but let me know if there are any news.
Look how this works:

1. I will contact eBay and give all the info about this deal.
2. They will send us the forms by email - for you about the payment.
3. I will send the vehicle to your location and you will send the payment at eBay.
4. After you will inspect the vehicle and decide to keep it, they will transfer the money into my account.

RETURN POLICY:
If by any reason the vehicle is not as described, or if you find any problems with it I will pay for the returning fees. I'm sure it won't be the case because the vehicle is in excellent condition.
As soon as the vehicle arrives, you will test it and if it does not match 100% to your expectations, you will return it in max. 5 working days since the arrival date. In this case you will send me the vehicle in the same condition you received it.

Please provide me with your full name and shipping address so I can register the deal with eBay."

I just really don't want to buy it and have troubles with this car and then have spend a lot of money on it, which I can't afford.

This is it:

 

[zaleonardz]

What I would do in this case is the following :

Ask for a copy of the registration papers first, have the papers checked out to make sure the vehicle is clean and there are no issues.

Then ask for a copy of his ID, proof of insurance that matches the name on the ID and call the insurance company to establish if the vehicle is registered with them, under the gentlemans name. They will not give you any details but if you have details up front, and give it to them, they SHOULD confirm it, this will validate the guys story.

Then ask the gent to deliver/have somebody drive to vehicle to an AA test and drive center, where they will validate engine/vin number to the registration papers and will give you a report of the vehicle, perhaps you can even get the AA to collect the vehicle for a fee, but even if this costs you R1,000 its really really worth it.

If all of that is in order, then it may be worth it.

 

[Gerhardm32]

Thanks for that info, but let me rephrase sorry, what I meant was any mechanical or electronic problems on these cars, maybe common stuff that were a problem on them? I will make sure of the ownership of this car and everything beforehand.

 

[Jandre]

Sorry, sounds bogus to me. Not 60k for a 2004 525i with i drive and low mileage. Walk away. I would.

 

[zaleonardz]

No more issues then any modern BMW, or any modern car

The deal is more suspect then the car, although possible, but I think Im with Jandre on this one

 

[De@nO]

Im sorry but this seems like a dodgie deal.

 

[Jandre]

I am looking at auto freeway ads now on 2003 530i and 2006 523i, both with less than 100 000km on the clock. Both selling for just under 200k.

 

[Gerhardm32]

Jandre got me thinking, went back and checked the ads back to December, it's in from 13 Jan and every week has another telephone. Phoned 1, keeps ringing. Phoned a second 1 and it's not in use at all.:yikes: I am walking in another direction. Sorry for this dumb post now.:hammerhead::slap:

 

[Ricky318i]

it's not a dumb post-it's information we all need from time to time. take it from someone who had his first E30 impounded as being stolen

 

[Gerhardm32]

I have reported it to junkmail as a scam, lets see what happens with it. Sorry to hear about your E30 bro.

 

[Jandre]

I agree. Not a dumb question at all. My experience and plenty of advice from others: if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[zaleonardz]

Yea,

but the thing is, if that was going at book value or just below, would anyone have asked any questions. Lets say it was 160... still a bargain.... ?

Alas, what can we say, we deal with a bunch of fsckers trying to screw you, ETHICS dammit

Glad you caught up in time.

 

[Gerhardm32]

That's why I joined this site for advice, if it wasn't for Jandre's comment, I would have never gone back and search for more ads. 2 Years ago I missed a perfectly good Camry which was advertised for R60 000 under market value, I drove to check the car as it was first come first serve basis and another bloke came there 10 minutes before me and I lost out on a 100% perfect car, so the word scam never came to mind with this 525i now. Thanks for that, would still like 1 of them or a nice E38 at a good price.

 

[zaleonardz]

E38's a good prices are in abundance.

Some awesome deals on E65's as well imp:

 

[andrewbuch]

had a similar situation 2 months ago. The GF was looking for a car. Found an ad for a 2008 Toyota Yaris, with 25K Km on it, 1.5Litre vvti engine. for R45000. Now i will never buy a car with out seeing it in person, checking licence papers etc.. So the advert had an address on it, so we went to look, and that address did not exsist. So we emailed the lady again, and got more details. Supposidly the car was in Limpopo province and the lady had moved to the UK to her parents. All we had to do was pay a R20000 Deposit thru "Ebay" and she will ship the car. so we found a toyota dealership ner where the car supposidly was, and told the lady we would pay for everything to have the car sent there and checked out. we get an email return saying "cant do that, you must pay the deposit and I will ship the car, THIS IS NOT A SCAM" the english in the email was terrible for someone who has just moved back to their parents in the UK..

So we also reported the ad as a scam. found the ad on a few different sites..


So guys be warned, these "Ebay" scams are going around..

 

[kabal]

those pictures arent even in south africa

 

[Gerhardm32]

I learned a lesson here, almost a very expensive 1, wasn't it for your guys input. THANKS A MIL.

 

[Jandre]

You are now part of the bmwfanatics family. We look out for our brothers and sisters. Good luck with finding your new wheels.

 

[De@nO]

Yeh those pics even look suspect, doesnt look like SA at all.

 

[Jandre]

Looks like a very quiet, scerene town called Screwyouovershire UK.