330i Purchase advice

[Pho3niX90]

Hey guys,

The mac that services my BMW's is selling his 2004 E46 330i 6SP FL, he has been the only owner, the car is sitting on 170K on the clock, and he wants R92000, he is also changing the control arm bushes an doing a service, it does have a FSH and 2 keys, I think its the exclusive package (wood trims, silver dials, sunroof ect)

He brought the car on sunday to test drive, and everything seemed great..

My question is, is this a good price?

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[XMAX]

R92000 is a good price for that model car. whilst the mileage may seem slightly high, those engines can run forever so 170 is still low when looking at it from that perspective.


If he does all the stuff he says he is... perhaps push him to change the Expansion tank as well... and if the car's body is also in a good condition then its a good buy.


The exclusives are still awesome cars. The suspension setup on the exclusives is still great.

what else does the car have... Xenons, PDC, Electric Rear blind..


Even if it doesnt have these, its still a good price.

 

[Bavs108]

Very good price:thumbs: I'm not sure what the book and retail is on an exclusive pack, but on a sport from the same year you looking at 112k trade and 117k retail. Also 6spd is very hard to find these days.

 

[AdiS]

I reckon its very good value if its in good condition. There's something to be said about one owner cars, especially since you can get the entire service history from one car. I would just go through all the work that has been done on the car and see if you are happy (obviously reconcile the service history with all the known failure items of E46s at that mileage).

 

[Pho3niX90]

He actually showed me slips from when it was on maintenance plan where the clutch and something else was changed, was around 56K.

The is a smallish scratch on the one side that was cover with what seems like white paint, the front bumper was changed after he ran over a dog, the original bumper color silver, know this because there are some bits paint coming off (very small), and on the drivers side there is a dent on the roof (i couldn't see it), basically before the roofrack part, so because of that he cut abit of the rubber of, i wouldnt have noticed this if he hadnt told me.

Still a good buy?

It doesn't have xenons, not sure about pdcs or the elec blind, it also doesnt have elect seats


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[AdiS]

He actually showed me slips from when it was on maintenance plan where the clutch and something else was changed, was around 56K.

The is a smallish scratch on the one side that was cover with what seems like white paint, the front bumper was changed after he ran over a dog, the original bumper color silver, know this because there are some bits paint coming off (very small), and on the drivers side there is a dent on the roof (i couldn't see it), basically before the roofrack part, so because of that he cut abit of the rubber of, i wouldnt have noticed this if he hadnt told me.

Still a good buy?

It doesn't have xenons, not sure about pdcs or the elec blind, it also doesnt have elect seats


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Well, the condition of a car is really subject to the personal benchmark of a potential buyer. If you feel the car is good or really good condition, then it's a good buy. At 170k km, you can expect some aesthetic niggles.

What is less subjective, is the service history and how the car was treated mechanically. Think about things like the cooling system, belts, pulleys, fluid change intervals, Valve cover gasket, etc. You want to interrogate either whether these jobs have been done, or the condition of the relevant components. This way, you can form realistic expectations of what the future (in both the short and longer term) maintenance requirements will be.

 

[Bavs108]

I would walk away. Rather spend a bit more on a car that was well looked after than spend less on something that still needs work. Clutch changed at 56k would suggest to me that the car was driven hard. Mine is on 118k and still has the original clutch. Repairs to body work sounds like it wasn't done properly. If you're still interested in it I would suggest you get the service history from bmw and ask them to check for comments on the car although chances are you'll only get history up to 100k km.

 

[Pho3niX90]

Thanks guys, i meant it cost R56K, according to him he took it back to bmw to change it under motor plan, because it had wiggle or some sht, but according to him, he lied to them just to get a new clutch.

The guys is psn me off abit, his original price was R90K, then came down to 80K, then back to R86K, and now R96K, looking at the trade and retail, its still a good buy, but I am no expert.

Lets say I buy the car, where can I take it for a proper inspection? And does the consumer act protect me in this case? Lets say there is damages below the surface..

He is a registered business and was apparently a former head tech at BMW.


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I think I might look around before making a harsh decision, would want to buy it on friday, the x was bought from wholesaler, so might go that route if he has stock


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[AdiS]

I can't imagine how any clutch job can cost R56k.

 

[Bavs108]

Is he a dealer? If so then you should be protected by CPA.

You can take the car to AA for a multipoint inspection. You could finance through Wesbank private finance and they will check everything for you through titleguard. They will insist on the vehicle going in for an inspection and they will check if it was stolen or rebuilt as well as investigating any insurance claims on the car. The whole process does take around 2 weeks on average, but it's for your own protection.

If you're buying the car cash then I'm not sure how well you're protected. You could get a lawyer to hold the funds in trust until you're completely satisfied to go ahead with the deal. If I were you I'd have the car inspected before handing over cash.

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I recently looked at an E90 that had it's clutch changed under motorplan and that costed around R18k if I remember correctly.

 

[Pho3niX90]

Is he a dealer? If so then you should be protected by CPA.

You can take the car to AA for a multipoint inspection. You could finance through Wesbank private finance and they will check everything for you through titleguard. They will insist on the vehicle going in for an inspection and they will check if it was stolen or rebuilt as well as investigating any insurance claims on the car. The whole process does take around 2 weeks on average, but it's for your own protection.

If you're buying the car cash then I'm not sure how well you're protected. You could get a lawyer to hold the funds in trust until you're completely satisfied to go ahead with the deal. If I were you I'd have the car inspected before handing over cash.

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I recently looked at an E90 that had it's clutch changed under motorplan and that costed around R18k if I remember correctly.

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Yeah i hear what you are saying. I will get the exact details on what was done, i am buying it cash..

So i am a little lost, after searching the interwebs I found some of these models, usually ranging from R115 to R130, some even a year older, or mileage over 200K. So when looking at it, it seems like a good deal, he is supplying the whole history along with the invoiced to date spent on car,

Surely the law can protect me against faults he did not mention, he is a registered mac, but not dealer.


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[Bavs108]

As far as I know, if he is not a dealer then it'll be a private sale. Maybe get some advise from a lawyer on your options. For a fee, I'm sure you could get Titleguard to facilitate the deal. They facilitated my deal, but through Wesbank.

I think your best bet would be to interrogate the history of the car and request that he take it for a multipoint inspection at Dekra and once you're satisfied then you can talk about the cash.

 

[Charlie Brown]

Start with the BMW history that will tell you a lot of how the car was treated. As the current owner is mechie I guess he could "write up" as much of a history as you want.

 

[msm]

You can also chat to Gizmo and ask him to check out the car. He knows these E46s pretty well :thumbs:

 

[Pho3niX90]

Thanks guys, so was there tonight. Plugged in the diagnostics cable, and no errors. Will post pics now

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Here are the pics, taken at night so not the best quality.

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[Pho3niX90]

So think I might go ahead, will also take for full inspection. I confirmed, it doesn't have pdc nor the elect back shade, but that doesn't bother me, as I will order the relevant units from ebay, my intentions are to supercharge the engine, and put a proper wide body kit on.

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[Bavs108]

Doesn't look too bad:thumbs: Of course it's difficult to judge condition on pics. Front bumper looks like it's a different colour and looks like the paint is peeling/cracking on the lower left corner. Take it for an inspection and get them to check for any signs of structural damage then you should be fine if it all checks out. An AA inspection will cover everything from mechanical checks to whether or not the cigarette lighter works. Get a CIA report and comments check done by bmw if you haven't already done so. Good luck:thumbs:

 

[Pho3niX90]

Doesn't look too bad:thumbs: Of course it's difficult to judge condition on pics. Front bumper looks like it's a different colour and looks like the paint is peeling/cracking on the lower left corner. Take it for an inspection and get them to check for any signs of structural damage then you should be fine if it all checks out. An AA inspection will cover everything from mechanical checks to whether or not the cigarette lighter works. Get a CIA report and comments check done by bmw if you haven't already done so. Good luck:thumbs:

He originally ran over a dog, so instead of fixing the bumper he went and bought a new one, and sprayed it same as color, so noticed there are little chip marks on the paint of the bumper, but that's not a big issue, I will just have that fixed, other than that paint wise, the is a minor scratch on the door, the rest of the body is immaculate, I still couldn't see the dent on the roof.

I have negotiated that I can take the car for inspections, he knows where I live, and I him. If everything checks out to my liking, I will make the payment, but my hearts already set on it, already started to searching for mods

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[Bavs108]

Good Luck:thumbs: Try not to let the excitement cloud your judgement though.

Throwing in a few curve balls for you that may fall within your price range:

Don't like the interior and it's an auto, but mileage is low.
http://www.autotrader.co.za/used-ca...nnesburg-fpa-8ab1db3e3a409f3c013a505d8e975ffe

No mileage indicated and it's an auto, but might be worth giving the guy a call.
http://www.autotrader.co.za/used-ca...pretoria-fpa-8ab2af183a2d4df9013a3fecb2b62066

Reasonable mileage and it's a 6 speed. Not a fan of the colour though.
http://www.autotrader.co.za/used-ca...idelberg-fpa-8ab1f63f3a2cf7ab013a30d05db82e0b

This one looks good. Low mileage, interior looks to be in fair condition, looks like a 5 speed.
http://www.autotrader.co.za/used-ca...randburg-fpa-8ab1f63f3a6eb739013a7461778c3bf9

This one also looks decent, but no leather. Sunroof, xenons included
http://www.autotrader.co.za/used-ca...edenvale-fpa-8ab1db3e39d8169b0139d8ff6b96147a

 

[Rapido WP]

I think you are in more need of advice for supercharging it than merely buying it