Possible purchase questions - guildence pls

Dietcokeman · Post by **Dietcokeman** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 6:14 pm

Ok so been to look at an 09 plate 35i today and test drive tomorrow, car looks well equipped and straight , but I can see evidence of water in the bottom of the rear lights, are they known for leaking ? -and should I check l somewhere on the boot ?

Also how do I tell which level hi fi it has and which level nav ?

Which style alloys are prone to cracking ?

Anything else I should check ?

Smartbear · Post by **Smartbear** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 6:16 pm

Hi Bryan, I think the e89 rear lights were subject to a recall for water ingress? I'm sure some e89 owners will know more than me

Rob

mr wilks · Post by **mr wilks** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 6:41 pm

Would be unusual to find 18s cracked although not impossible , 19s are predominantly the offenders & namely the style296 multi spoke
Virtually impossible to check unless on a ramp as the cracks will be on the inner lips
Additionally listen for any unusual engine / turbo noises on cold start / warm start & again when turning the engine off

Chris_D · Post by **Chris_D** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 7:04 pm

Obd scan to see if theres fault codes present.

john-e89 · Post by **john-e89** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 7:38 pm

The light seals can fail as well as the boot seal rubbers. Check behind the seats, if there are two sub grilles you will either have the advanced or pro speakers, the advanced being 11 speakers, the pro 14. The pro has a mid in the dash and a mid and tweeter centre between the roll hoops extra to the advanced. If no subs etc you have the pitiful business 6 speaker rubbish, utterly pathetic in itself and especially for an expensive roadster, so you would have to add aftermarket subs and amps etc, if sounds are your thing. AFAIK the sat nav is no different to the last ones made, just an update to today's maps needed. Do the usual car buying checks, and try to get someone to start the car from cold with you at the rear so you can see the exhausts, smoke on start up could mean the turbo impeller shaft oil seals are on the way out, expensive to put right.

Best of luck, hope it's a winner for you.

Dietcokeman · Post by **Dietcokeman** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 9:02 pm

Ok I've used the Vin decoder and I don't understand these options, could someone help explain what they are please

Exterior mirror package
Store age compartment package
Lighting package
BMW teleservices
Control teleservices
BMW online with extended info
Voice input
Country spec release of teleservices
Cop control
Deflection crossover operation .

Thanks in advance
Bryan

flybobbie · Post by **flybobbie** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 9:51 pm

Tail lights were never recalled, should have been.
Try talking down £300 to have them replaced.

Dietcokeman · Post by **Dietcokeman** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 9:55 pm

flybobbie wrote:Tail lights were never recalled, should have been.
Try talking down £300 to have them replaced.

Thanks, has anyone changed them themselves ?

Dietcokeman · Post by **Dietcokeman** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 9:57 pm

mr wilks wrote:Would be unusual to find 18s cracked although not impossible , 19s are predominantly the offenders & namely the style296 multi spoke
Virtually impossible to check unless on a ramp as the cracks will be on the inner lips
Additionally listen for any unusual engine / turbo noises on cold start / warm start & again when turning the engine off

Cheers Andy

They are 296's

,engine sounded good to me from start up but will try again tomorrow

Dietcokeman · Post by **Dietcokeman** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 10:01 pm

john-e89 wrote:The light seals can fail as well as the boot seal rubbers. Check behind the seats, if there are two sub grilles you will either have the advanced or pro speakers, the advanced being 10 speakers, the pro 14. The pro has a mid and tweet in the dash and centre between the roll hoops extra to the advanced. If no subs etc you have the pitiful business 6 speaker rubbish, utterly pathetic in itself and especially for an expensive roadster, so you would have to add aftermarket subs and amps etc, if sounds are your thing. AFAIK the sat nav is no different to the last ones made, just an update to today's maps needed. Do the usual car buying checks, and try to get someone to start the car from cold with you at the rear so you can see the exhausts, smoke on start up could mean the turbo impeller shaft oil seals are on the way out, expensive to put right.

Best of luck, hope it's a winner for you.

Cheers John I will check the seals, and according to vin decoder it has pro nav and pro hi fi

, it did sound pretty good to be honest

Nictrix · Post by **Nictrix** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 10:10 pm

I think its either 11 or 14 speakers.
We have 11 and its pretty good although I wish it had the same range of adjustment that the X6 has.

flybobbie · Post by **flybobbie** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 10:28 pm

Dietcokeman wrote:
flybobbie wrote:Tail lights were never recalled, should have been.
Try talking down £300 to have them replaced.
Thanks, has anyone changed them themselves ?

Yes, I have had them off to seal them.
Just search this forum.
Even replacements may leak unless there has been a radical redesign.

Marlon · Post by **Marlon** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 10:49 pm

Chris_D wrote:Obd scan to see if theres fault codes present.

I was waiting for that. You got caught out and you're giving everyone else the heads up, understandable I guess, but in reality I don't believe many buyers will be taking along OBD scanners to test drives.

Chris_D · Post by **Chris_D** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 11:30 pm

Marlon wrote:
Chris_D wrote:Obd scan to see if theres fault codes present.
I was waiting for that. You got caught out and you're giving everyone else the heads up, understandable I guess, but in reality I don't believe many buyers will be taking along OBD scanners to test drives.

I think its a sage piece of advice and could make all the difference in influencing someone to make an 'informed purchase'... Or not.

I wouldnt say i got 'caught out' per se, as the codes i got from my own basic scanner when i went to look at the car i ended up buying alerted me to the fact that there were some potential issues. Specifically, the running-lean codes- which turned out to be the teabag of all holy lower intake boots.
1000 miles into the purchase and i'm now experiencing problems that were either existing or which have developed since purchase, specifically a dodgy throttle body, a leaky cam cover gasket and failed ccv system. Whether these are/were related I'll never know.

However, a lot of issues can be hidden in those codes. A lot of issues that either a seller doesnt know about, or wants to deliberately conceal. Either way, knowledge is power and if it can be gained politely via a simple scan procedure with the sellers consent, then why not?

extrablatt · Post by **extrablatt** » Tue Oct 18, 2016 5:19 am

Marlon wrote:
Chris_D wrote:Obd scan to see if theres fault codes present.
I was waiting for that. You got caught out and you're giving everyone else the heads up, understandable I guess, but in reality I don't believe many buyers will be taking along OBD scanners to test drives.

But now I will be. Buying a car is such an emotional purchase, that it's useful to get some insight to see what issues may be lurking around the corner...

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