How many owners is too many owners...

Chanceschmerr

Chanceschmerr

Member
 Bristol, UK
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I found an E89 3.0i Z4 on good ol FB Marketplace.

Every thing seems to look good on it, 97k miles, etc..... except the guy says it has 9(!) Previous owners.

Run away? Or run away fast? 😂
 
9 owners??
I would pass unless it is comically cheap.
Actually, no i would pass regardless.
No way that has been properly looked after!
 
Agree - it all comes down to history and condition. A change of owner every two years has potentially had more care and services than someone who has kept it 10 years - i wouldnt worry too much
 
As said, I wouldn't worry about number of owners on a car like this. Many are summer toys which are bought for a summer then sold when it gets cold.

If it makes you feel better, have a trawl through Autotrader at 20 year old Porsche 911s. They mostly have a new owner every year, forever. And they seem to still be very popular with the 'mid life crisis' brigade.
Or M4s. They generally have an owner every six months. 20-somethings get a huge loan, show off to their friends, then realise they can't afford the loan or insurance and part ex them for a Corsa. Then it's rinse and repeat. I'm sure the average M4 makes banks about a million quid in interest by the time they are knackered, or written off. ;)
 
It wouldn't put me off either. As others have said cars like this seem to change owners quite often, people want to tick one of their list or circumstances change, etc.

Mine had 7 previous keepers in 13 years when I bought it 6 years ago,

Go by service history and condition. Buying that way you can also get a feel for how the seller is likely to have treated it.
 
i don't mind the numbers of owners.
most important is the condition and history of the car. with that amount of owners I would assume some of the owners are freelance buyer and seller.

I think you can go for a hpi check and see how long each owner have it before selling.

goodluck 👍
 
Just to echo what others have said it all comes down to condition condition! These are weekend/ nice weather cars for the majority so they often get changed when people have had their fun
 
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I might be dreaming but does the count on DVLA not cap out at 9 previous owners?

ie when you see a car advertised with 9, it is basicly saying 'some number of previous owners - 9 minimum'

With 9 previous owners, current keeper is owner 10. If you buy it, you will be owner 11. DVLA docs will still say '9 previous owners'.

At least I think that's how it works.

For me (regardless of the age or type of car / likely frequency of change) I steer clear above 5 previous owners, and never buy a car from someone that has owned if for less than 2 years.

Just me - I have my reasons that make sense inside my own head (all that matters).

With the e89 being out there since around 2009, 9+ previous owners feels like it changed hands almost every year. That would be more than enough for me to walk away (right or wrong - surface condition & all other things i could check irrespective).

I don't care how good you think you can inspect a car pre-purchase, you will only really know the true condition of a car after owning it for a few months & driven a few thousand miles in a variety of conditions.
 
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Thanks all - some good points here to consider, and I appreciate it!
This car in particular is over 3hrs away, so I think I'd want more of a warm/fuzzy on condition before even considering making that drive up (No more blackpool follies!)

I'm not familiar with HPI checks here - where is the best/recommended website to get them from? And do you always need the VIN and Reg Number, or just the reg number? Google responses seem a bit confusing on it
 
Car vertical is good but quite expensive - about £20 from memory.

The one most recommended I see a lot is 'v check' - same info - half the price.

Used both a few times - both good - prefer 'v check' as get the same info for less spends :)

Just needs the registration plate number.

Also go to gov.uk & check the MOT history. Clean well looked after cars will have very little to see (odd tyre / maybe damaged wheel). Rat bag cars will have lists of advisories, repeated over the years. Lots of detail here = poorly maintained vehicle.

Other thing you can do before setting off on a long drive is to get the BMW vehicle & service history report (the actual BMW master computer version). Done a few times in the last couple of years, cost about £7. You do need the VIN for this - ask the seller to take a photo of the windscreen & it will be visible.

This shows every option on the car / details of every time it has been in to a BMW dealer.

Check out vin-spec.com for more details.

Not free, but neither is petrol & may save you many hours on a wasted trip!

I do them in this order -

#1 fall in love with car & the photos
#2 Check MOT history (free)
#3 Speak to seller / ask questions
#4 'v-vheck' looking for taxi / crashes / finance - any other red flags (£10)
#5 'vin-spec.com' to verifiy options & BMW service history details (£7)

Only if all is well with everything above

#6 get in the car & go see it
 
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Chanceschmerr said:
I found an E89 3.0i Z4 on good ol FB Marketplace.

Every thing seems to look good on it, 97k miles, etc..... except the guy says it has 9(!) Previous owners.

Run away? Or run away fast? 😂
Click to expand...
You could always ask if there is a Forum member living near where this car is for sale who might be prepared to give it the once over. That wouldn’t necessarily be conclusive but it might save you a journey if the car is not as described.
 
I think we also need to consider age. There will be more owners over time so 9 owners for a car registered in 1980 is much more okay than for a car registered in 2016. Low owners can be good but can be terrible if they do low miles and because it’s not being used much they forget about maintenance. Go on condition and history including evidence. My ZM has had six keepers now and is 18 years old. Each time since 2018 it has been sold the new owner has invested in it (including me). To me this evidence is more appealing than a one owner who hasn’t done much in the same period.
 
vCHECK1.jpg

Welp, did the Vcheck. It only gives me the last 5 owners! Everything else checks out on it, at least.

I wish I could find out more about what Owner #9 did in his 3 2/3 years of ownership. Much more indicative than the current owner who is ditching it after 6 months and barely having used it.
 
IRD said:
You could always ask if there is a Forum member living near where this car is for sale who might be prepared to give it the once over. That wouldn’t necessarily be conclusive but it might save you a journey if the car is not as described
Click to expand...
I may go this way if everything else with the car checks out and I can get past the mental block of a 10-previous owner-car haha!

Trying to figure out why most of the cars I want to look at are all in the Midlands or North LOL - this one's in Grimsby.
 
Narrow your search to your area + 50 miles?

It's on you how far you cast the net.

Search cheapest + national you get everything everywhere all at once :)
 
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