I bought my dream car, turns out I got smoked! [also my intro post]

[AshG108]

that a shame and some expensive school fees bud!

Congrats on the car and i wish you only good grace after this problem. but also, the car is a performance car so maintenance and issues will pop up, i just hope they will be less expensive and less hurtful to you.
Don't end up hating the car because of the bad seller.

Cheers mate!

 

[MikeR]

nice car pity about the issues....sorry mate, once they fixed you will be happy.

IMO :tiptoe: I dont touch cars that have had any mods straight off its just me, my old man being a motor mach Ive seen and heard hundreds of horror stories so I shy away. I know some guys do decent jobs - but out of 10 Im certain 5 are not so great.

anyways - some sellers just dont care - so you have to be diligent, let this be a lesson to everyone.

 

[Lizzard]

:withStu: on buying a modded car. Especially a turbo one. Like on this forum also where people are asking can I mod my F30 320i to the 328i, and the JB4. You are putting more strain on the turbo and it will go faster than the manufacturer's intended lifespan. Not to mention the internals of these motors although I think they are more robust than the turbo and it's seals.

I am sorry to hear about this OP, shoot and this on you dream car and after forking out over R200K for this. After reading through those whatsup messages and seeing the seller's response, he knew about this for sure. Isnt there a way of preventing oil from leaking past oil seals via adding thicker oil than there should be. Maybe this was what the seller did in the first place and also maybe why he never let you drive the car as he knew you will pick up on the sluggish to pull and ask him about it.He "serviced" the car via adding oil .....see where I'm going. And this guy's spelling is horrible, better not be a forum member, we are not dishonest here and help the community where we can.

OP, I hope you manage to save that 135i as it does look the part and congrats on the car.

 

[Iceman12596]

Can't we somehow find the member he bought the car from, name and shame him, potentially boot him off the forum, agree 100% with lizard we don't want dishonest members.

 

[ASH]

Have to say sorry about the issues on the car and being caught out.

Get it fixed up properly and take it as school fees paid, and lessons learnt.

No disrespect to forum members here, but you mentioned the seller was a guy from the forums (hopefully not this one), I don't think that statement can add to credibility to anyone you meeting for a first time, let alone purchase a vehicle from. It means nothing.

A 135i is a tuners dream and open to modification, so you have to do all the homework and checks when buying one.................

 

[tmatthews94]

That's really bad

Is there no recourse from and CPA perspective?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Basically all secondhand private sales are covered by the 'voetstoots' clause, which pretty much means 'buyer beware'...
You could maybe get him for misrepresentation, but that would mean involving lawyers

---

Look forward to a really 100% car once your turbos are done. You can get them reconditioned as long as you go to a reputable place they will hold up. Garrett specialist is Turbo Direct in GP... I think Julian Gandt in CT (Pyro) was selling lots of Garrett turbos, kits and parts so might know where to point you.

Unfortunately it is buyer beware out there. Should have turned around immediately as you left the premises at the first sign of this. It is not unusual for someone to drive behind to look for odd suspension movement, loose and hanging components (that might not be evident when the car is parked) and smoke.

3 short stories to show you you aren't alone:
1. One of my colleagues and I went to have a look at a Subaru STI - all checked out. The day the car was supposed to go for COR, the guy says it spun a bearing... turns out he took it out for one last drive. Estimated it would cost around 10K to fix and he would drop it off the price LOL... I laughed when my colleague told me this since anyone who knows anything about Subarus will tell you that can end up being a 40K+ job.

2. I had a deal signed and sealed on an IB E60 M5 2 years ago which was (thank god) at a dealership... Car was fine, but then ran bearings, ended up at a random sounding place in centurion (no problem auto I think) in an attempt to fix it... cancelled the deal and a year later I spotted an ad for the same car at the same dealer. If it was a private seller, I suspect I may have ended up with a situation like yours. Maybe they finally got it right.

3. STI I myself bought a long time ago now was a cleverly disguised MESS... ended up dropping more money on that car than the price I initially paid for it. Sharks and irresponsible guys out there - even dealers. Fortunately it is a 20K lesson and not a 200K lesson (I assume the rest of the car is deserving of the asking price)

Too many guys say 'i've never had a problem' or 'no accidents as far as I know'

I've also learned the hard way that your version of 100% and the seller's might be VERY VERY different - many wasted trips going to look at trash.

Oh yeah I've dealt with Julian from Pyro before - I was going to buy a WRX which Julian had worked on.

Yeah I know about that 'voetstoots' clause. And I really should have been more thorough about my business.

Those three stories sound like hell haha :thumbdo:

Agreed that '100%' is a very subjective thing

---

that a shame and some expensive school fees bud!

Congrats on the car and i wish you only good grace after this problem. but also, the car is a performance car so maintenance and issues will pop up, i just hope they will be less expensive and less hurtful to you.
Don't end up hating the car because of the bad seller.

Cheers mate!

Ya at some point I actually was hating the car because of what it represented haha.

Hopefully all goes well after this

---

nice car pity about the issues....sorry mate, once they fixed you will be happy.

IMO :tiptoe: I dont touch cars that have had any mods straight off its just me, my old man being a motor mach Ive seen and heard hundreds of horror stories so I shy away. I know some guys do decent jobs - but out of 10 Im certain 5 are not so great.

anyways - some sellers just dont care - so you have to be diligent, let this be a lesson to everyone.

I will be a happy chappy!

That's quite an important point actually yes. All round, I've learned a lot from this, and will certainly keep it in memory going forward

---

:withStu: on buying a modded car. Especially a turbo one. Like on this forum also where people are asking can I mod my F30 320i to the 328i, and the JB4. You are putting more strain on the turbo and it will go faster than the manufacturer's intended lifespan. Not to mention the internals of these motors although I think they are more robust than the turbo and it's seals.

I am sorry to hear about this OP, shoot and this on you dream car and after forking out over R200K for this. After reading through those whatsup messages and seeing the seller's response, he knew about this for sure. Isnt there a way of preventing oil from leaking past oil seals via adding thicker oil than there should be. Maybe this was what the seller did in the first place and also maybe why he never let you drive the car as he knew you will pick up on the sluggish to pull and ask him about it.He "serviced" the car via adding oil .....see where I'm going. And this guy's spelling is horrible, better not be a forum member, we are not dishonest here and help the community where we can.

OP, I hope you manage to save that 135i as it does look the part and congrats on the car.

Yea I think I was a bit too excited and hasty to get my hands on a juicy go-fast car, that I ignored all the warning signs at my own peril.

He must have masked the problem somehow, because I think it's impossible for him to have not noticed the smoking.
I've sent this thread to him and he's replied that he is not a forum member - thank goodness.

---

Can't we somehow find the member he bought the car from, name and shame him, potentially boot him off the forum, agree 100% with lizard we don't want dishonest members.

Update: I've found out that he is not a forum member

---

Have to say sorry about the issues on the car and being caught out.

Get it fixed up properly and take it as school fees paid, and lessons learnt.

No disrespect to forum members here, but you mentioned the seller was a guy from the forums (hopefully not this one), I don't think that statement can add to credibility to anyone you meeting for a first time, let alone purchase a vehicle from. It means nothing.

A 135i is a tuners dream and open to modification, so you have to do all the homework and checks when buying one.................

Expensive school fees yea haha

Yeah I've now realised my mistakes in my approach, unfortunately I learned the hard way.

 

[LOW BOOST]

I was a speed enthusiast from the time i could remember.
When i qualified at the age of 21 i had a good salary at that time for a 21 year old, about 8 years ago.
I quickly looked to buy a fast car.
My friends at that time purchased brand new polo's.
I thought i was smart.
My idea was to buy a fast car and mod the hell out of it.
I purchased an Opel Astra Coupe 2.0T.
Beautiful car.
Purchased it from an old man in pmb. He said it was he's daughter's car that she hardly uses.
I test drove it and the car seemed fine. (Didn't really know much about turbo cars at this stage) took along my uncle and he says the car was okay buy pulling to much to the left.
I had already made the decision in my head to get this car, apart of me because i always wanted a turbo car and apart of me to look cool..
The day i picked the car up driving from pmb to durban, the check engine light came on.
I phoned the old man, he says don't worry the light will go off soon.
Within a week the engine blew.
I didn't drive the car over 3500rpm from the time i had it.
The guy didn't want to acknowledge a thing.
Only to find out later the car had been in a previous accident and wiring had been burnt and car had been patched up terribly.
The old man who i had respected did nothing to help the young naive boy.
I didn't learn my lesson a few years after and bought a 2.5T Ford ST.
It was super neat.
Was referred by a forum member to purchase this car.
Within a week a motor blew at 58000km.
There's a few morals of the story here.
Don't be naive when purchasing ANY car, no matter who the person is.
Don't rush and buy a turbo car by just making payments.
That's what i did for the Opel.
I ended up taking a loan to fit the bill for the engine because i put the money i had for a deposit.
The guys who purchased the new polo's where smarter than me cos they had full warranties and their fuel bill where half of mine.
To the young guys.. (kinda unrelated )but
Make good financial decisions.
A see a lot of young guys driving fast cars filling R50 unleaded at the garages
Don't be that person.
To the OP of you read this long post... everything happens for a reason. Learn and don't make the same mistake again.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

 

[AlexYannoulatos]

damn, sorry man. After reading the watsapp conversation i am disgusted in this "JC". Also please send him a dictionary :thumbdo:

 

[tmatthews94]

I was a speed enthusiast from the time i could remember.
When i qualified at the age of 21 i had a good salary at that time for a 21 year old, about 8 years ago.
I quickly looked to buy a fast car.
My friends at that time purchased brand new polo's.
I thought i was smart.
My idea was to buy a fast car and mod the hell out of it.
I purchased an Opel Astra Coupe 2.0T.
Beautiful car.
Purchased it from an old man in pmb. He said it was he's daughter's car that she hardly uses.
I test drove it and the car seemed fine. (Didn't really know much about turbo cars at this stage) took along my uncle and he says the car was okay buy pulling to much to the left.
I had already made the decision in my head to get this car, apart of me because i always wanted a turbo car and apart of me to look cool..
The day i picked the car up driving from pmb to durban, the check engine light came on.
I phoned the old man, he says don't worry the light will go off soon.
Within a week the engine blew.
I didn't drive the car over 3500rpm from the time i had it.
The guy didn't want to acknowledge a thing.
Only to find out later the car had been in a previous accident and wiring had been burnt and car had been patched up terribly.
The old man who i had respected did nothing to help the young naive boy.
I didn't learn my lesson a few years after and bought a 2.5T Ford ST.
It was super neat.
Was referred by a forum member to purchase this car.
Within a week a motor blew at 58000km.
There's a few morals of the story here.
Don't be naive when purchasing ANY car, no matter who the person is.
Don't rush and buy a turbo car by just making payments.
That's what i did for the Opel.
I ended up taking a loan to fit the bill for the engine because i put the money i had for a deposit.
The guys who purchased the new polo's where smarter than me cos they had full warranties and their fuel bill where half of mine.
To the young guys.. (kinda unrelated )but
Make good financial decisions.
A see a lot of young guys driving fast cars filling R50 unleaded at the garages
Don't be that person.
To the OP of you read this long post... everything happens for a reason. Learn and don't make the same mistake again.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

Yoh that sounds pretty hectic dude!

Sometimes the decision driven by passion/emotion is not always the smartest decision haha. But then again it can result in a lot of joy - just have to find the balance I guess. The old mind vs heart struggle haha.

I've learned quite a bit from this experience thankfully

---

damn, sorry man. After reading the watsapp conversation i am disgusted in this "JC". Also please send him a dictionary :thumbdo:

Haha maybe I'll send him the link to a dictionary app or something :crazylaugh:

 

[Captain_Stealth]

Welcome buddy

That sucks man !!!

I have also been looking for a car like this but most of them have been abused

But like they say dont fix it upgrade it

 

[ahoudet]

I've also learned the hard way that your version of 100% and the seller's might be VERY VERY different - many wasted trips going to look at trash.

This year alone I've driven almost an hour (one way per trip) to see two cars that were not as described.

First one supposedly needed a new clutch - sold as a non-runner. It needed that as well as injectors and the car had a massive oil leak. Turbo was gone too and the body was in a poor state.

Second was apparently had no issues. Got there and the car turned out to be a non-runner...

There are too many people out there who try and cover up issues with the cars they're selling in the hopes that a less clued up buyer comes along and gets burnt!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[husaindindar]

Yoh.

Reading that watsapp convi makes me want to find this dude and f**k him up!

Hope all goes well with the repair. On the bright side, you will be assured the turbos are sorted and will be good for many many more miles.

Wish you best of luck. It is an epic motor you have!

 

[BadBoy23]

wts up dude?

That's a beautiful car, its a pity that there are guys out there who prey on people.

You mentioned he was registered with RMI, Is he a dealer?

Report him to RMI and get an attorney to deal with the matter for you.

This guy is an asshole and must be treated a such.

I can only imagine how horrible this feels.

Good luck bud

 

[tmatthews94]

Yoh.

Reading that watsapp convi makes me want to find this dude and f**k him up!

Hope all goes well with the repair. On the bright side, you will be assured the turbos are sorted and will be good for many many more miles.

Wish you best of luck. It is an epic motor you have!

Yeah it can make your blood boil a bit trying to deal with him...

Hopefully all goes well yes, thank you! :ty:

---

wts up dude?

That's a beautiful car, its a pity that there are guys out there who prey on people.

You mentioned he was registered with RMI, Is he a dealer?

Report him to RMI and get an attorney to deal with the matter for you.

This guy is an asshole and must be treated a such.

I can only imagine how horrible this feels.

Good luck bud

He's not a dealer, but he has this shop called
"Errol's Airbrake and Clutch"
- they mainly work on trucks and that sort of thing, but they are RMI approved to work on normal cars.

Yeah I'd probably stay away from him and his workshop if this is how he treats people...

 

[FiRi@Rennzport]

Mubarak on the new car. Sad that things turned out the way they did. However i would oush forward and get it sorted and then just enjoy it.

Any updates since last week?

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

 

[Woodies]

Damn this sucks! I've had the misfortune of also having my turbo seals fail. I don't for one second believe the seller didn't know about the turbos, but it can be a hard thing to notice (at first). It will only smoke once warmed up enough for the oil to burn off in the exhaust. I also only noticed it in traffic. After a good freeway drive mine would not smoke until I got home and left the car idling for a good 5 minutes or got stuck in traffic.
Most N54's with stock DP are probably also in need of new turbos/seals. The aftermarket catless downpipe just show the smoke more as there is less backpressure and nothing to absorb the smoke.
2 new turbos from BMW with cost you R15k. Labour and sundries other R15-R20k. Don't waste you time with refurbished blah blah.
The stock turbos are crap and if possible they are really worth upgrading, but that does cost a lot more.
If cash is tight and you cant quite afford to replace the turbos now, try installing the original downpipes as this might help (mask the problem) until you are in position to pay for the new turbos. Other than mine smoking and noticing a slight drop in power (only when comparing dyno runs) the turbos still work 95% correctly. I didn't even notice any more oil consumption. A small bit of oil makes a LOT of smoke.
Sorry for your welcome into the BMW world and the N54 world. Don't stress too much, these N54 engine are damn strong and I'm sure once you replace the turbos and have everything else checked out, you will have miles of smiles!
So just put it to school fees (expensive school fees!) and take all the advice the guys above are giving. And drive the car before buying! Hope you come right soon.

 

[Nastaliq]

Anybody except me, notice the seller of this car, cant type so save his life.
It was painful reading those messages with such poor english, the guy disabled autocorrect.

Nonetheless, this is a lesson for you laaitey, when it comes to most things in life, especially trust nobody.

I have a saying, "trust but verify", I trust that you are selling me a mechanically sound car, but I will verify it buy confirming this with an independent party.

This looks like its going to be expensive school fees.
All the best, BMW are really good cars, when maintained and looked after.
Sometimes you buy a lemon, sometimes the guy you buy it from is a LEMON.

In the end, its a lesson you wont soon forget.

 

[Dirtydeedsman]

I guess it has to happen to someone so some of us can learn from it. I would have never driven behind a car to check if there are suspension problems or black smoke. Due to excitement and wanting to own the car NOW!!! I would have gone through the same thing.

Thank you for creating the post and I hope she gets sorted out soon and you can start enjoying it.

 

[tmatthews94]

Welcome buddy

That sucks man !!!

I have also been looking for a car like this but most of them have been abused

But like they say dont fix it upgrade it

Yeah I think that's the way to go, the BMW OEM engineering was poor, so why not improve upon it

---

Mubarak on the new car. Sad that things turned out the way they did. However i would oush forward and get it sorted and then just enjoy it.

Any updates since last week?

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

Yeah I'm over the butthurt I had from dealing with this poephol.
I'm going to move forward!

UPDATE:
So after posting this thread Charles and Zaahier reached out to me and had me bring the car to Charles's place on Saturday, where I met both of them.

Charles spent two hours helping me, for no charge whatsoever, to install the updated JB4 flash and the updated ECU software. He then went on to inspect my engine bay for signs of leakage - the valve cover, the PCV valve and other miscellaneous items.

I cannot express how thankful I am and how helpful people have been about my experience. It really shows what a wonderful community we have here on this forum.
Thank you all for your support, I truly appreciate it

raise:raise:raise:
:clapper::clapper::clapper:

---

Damn this sucks! I've had the misfortune of also having my turbo seals fail. I don't for one second believe the seller didn't know about the turbos, but it can be a hard thing to notice (at first). It will only smoke once warmed up enough for the oil to burn off in the exhaust. I also only noticed it in traffic. After a good freeway drive mine would not smoke until I got home and left the car idling for a good 5 minutes or got stuck in traffic.
Most N54's with stock DP are probably also in need of new turbos/seals. The aftermarket catless downpipe just show the smoke more as there is less backpressure and nothing to absorb the smoke.
2 new turbos from BMW with cost you R15k. Labour and sundries other R15-R20k. Don't waste you time with refurbished blah blah.
The stock turbos are crap and if possible they are really worth upgrading, but that does cost a lot more.
If cash is tight and you cant quite afford to replace the turbos now, try installing the original downpipes as this might help (mask the problem) until you are in position to pay for the new turbos. Other than mine smoking and noticing a slight drop in power (only when comparing dyno runs) the turbos still work 95% correctly. I didn't even notice any more oil consumption. A small bit of oil makes a LOT of smoke.
Sorry for your welcome into the BMW world and the N54 world. Don't stress too much, these N54 engine are damn strong and I'm sure once you replace the turbos and have everything else checked out, you will have miles of smiles!
So just put it to school fees (expensive school fees!) and take all the advice the guys above are giving. And drive the car before buying! Hope you come right soon.

Yeah it really is something you will notice when you drive the car.

I've also read about the cats masking the smoke a bit yeah, seems to be a common issue for N54's.

I would like to upgrade the turbos yes, given BMW's engineering mistakes.

All the advice and support I have received on this thread, and in my PM's has been immeasurably helpful, and I truly appreciate it!

---

Anybody except me, notice the seller of this car, cant type so save his life.
It was painful reading those messages with such poor english, the guy disabled autocorrect.

Nonetheless, this is a lesson for you laaitey, when it comes to most things in life, especially trust nobody.

I have a saying, "trust but verify", I trust that you are selling me a mechanically sound car, but I will verify it buy confirming this with an independent party.

This looks like its going to be expensive school fees.
All the best, BMW are really good cars, when maintained and looked after.
Sometimes you buy a lemon, sometimes the guy you buy it from is a LEMON.

In the end, its a lesson you wont soon forget.

Yeah I had trouble dissecting his messages at times.

"Trust but verify," sounds like a bloody good saying to go by! It definitely would have helped me here!

From what I've gathered so far, I don't think the car is too much of a lemon. However, I'm sure as hell that the buyer is a lemon!

"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names," - John F. Kennedy - I won't be forgetting this lesson anytime soon!

---

I guess it has to happen to someone so some of us can learn from it. I would have never driven behind a car to check if there are suspension problems or black smoke. Due to excitement and wanting to own the car NOW!!! I would have gone through the same thing.

Thank you for creating the post and I hope she gets sorted out soon and you can start enjoying it.

Yeah I guess some have to serve as the example for others, and in this case it was me! Though it could have been easily avoided.

Thank you so much!

 

[ChefDJ]

Well done Rennzport :clapper: