Avoid at all costs

[james28]

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/15303647?utm_source=pistonheads&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=saved%20search


Just bought and returned this deathtrap.

Rumbling, from rear and front wheels, dodgy broken random steering, rusted underside and right wing.

Corroded brake lines sprayed with silver paint to obscure it.

Rotten rear and front suspension and driveshafts. Subframe rusted beyond belief.

Engine noisy idle. Valves never been adjusted. No hot air from heating even after 45mins driving. Warm or cold at best.

10 owners.

This dealer cannot be trusted. He's been reported to all dvla, motor ombudsman etc.

Guys a slimey conman. You've been warned.

I presume you inspected the car before buying it and took if for a good long test drive to make sure it was in order before parting with cash ?
I would never ever buy a car without an inspection and always check the previous mot history to see what has been an issue if anything.
This car had obvious issues from previous mots did you not consider this?
And depending on the car in question ans cash spend would request a garage check over to satisfy myself before parting with the hard earned.

 

[keving1]

I would agree with james28, did you not take it for a test drive?

A test drive would have highlighted the issues that you state
- Rumbling, from rear and front wheels, dodgy broken random steering
- Engine noisy idle.

Looking at the service history would have highlighted that the "Valves never been adjusted"

Doing a quick HPI check on line (£3.99) would have highlighted that it had "10 Owners"

Looking at the MOT history would have highlighted "Brake pipes slightly corroded and "Rear surface corrosion to lower suspension arms, sub-frame and o/s chassis rail"

Everything that you returned the car for could have found before you parted with your money. Considering it's a £15k car!!!

 

[B21]

The discussion peaked my interest as I bought my 35is from them..

Trustpilot gives it 4.6 out of 51 reviews and AT has 4.7 out of 165 reviews…

Not the mark of a company with multiple reported misdemeanours…

I often wonder what buyers are expecting a car dealer who buys a car in to do with it before selling it..

In my case they refurbished two alloys (as compared to when I saw the car as being sold by the owner earlier in the year)…

When my plug reader was plugged in it did record 127 faults, I had asked if I could read the codes, he said no problem..…having cleared them only 2 remained..I did go for a 30 mile drive which confirmed it was a 35is on run flat tyres..

It did have a number of wear and tear issues that appeared under more forensic examination but it was a 11 year old car with 50k miles and I think was representative of the marque..

From what I can see of the E85s I’ve seen over the last 7 years..which is over 100+ they do seem to be vulnerable to rust and corrosion that E89s do not suffer from..

A Z4M is likely to have attracted folks that will give it a hard life, probably fall out of love with it and pass it on to the next…and repeat..

 

[Z450]

I think sometimes there is a mixture of two things here. One being some of these cars now are getting on the old side, and reality require some work, and as a dealer I believe peoples expectations are higher due to the premium being paid.

That being said with some things I read I feel peoples expectations are sometimes unrealistic when taking the cars age, mileage into account.


That being said the mentioned M sounds a bit rough overall!

 

[roblightbody]

Regarding the Scottish comments.

There are a significantly higher number of days in Scotland where it goes close enough to zero that they salt the roads. I'm only in the west of Scotland in the central belt and we've already been salted for weeks now.

If it was up to me I'd legislate to enforce correct tyre fitment in Scotland in the colder months, and then reduce salt usage!

For many years we've gone to the effort to go as far south as possible when buying a used car for this reason. I've had two classic minis and an mx5 this way, and then the current E86 came from near Luton... All were rust free compared to local cars.

That's not to say there aren't good cars up here, but more care is required selecting.

 

[pvr]

And the amount of care taken of the cars matters as well. I spray the underneath of the car with the Karcher underbody wash implement and protect it with the body wax from karcher afterwards.

So this is what my Porsche looks like:

 

[flimper]

I've looked at the underbody Karcher thing but have been worried about the sensors under there getting water damaged

 

[pvr]

But what happens when you drive through water on the motorway ...

I used it on my M for 7 years as well before it went to Bing

 

[flimper]

You're probably right, I'm just scared to do anything around those sensors as have been stung for ridiculous money on them recently

 

[tomscott]

Porsche exhaust bolts are a poor example. Its well known that Porsche use cheap fittings and its pretty standard to replace them with stainless steel before they inevitably turn to dust. Doesn't matter how much you look after it, cheap bolts with no protection rust. It's not a failing of the owner but Porsche.

Plus its all well and good posting a pic of the underside of the car but when its done literally no milage it should look new it hasnt done 70k like the car in question. Plus the car in question was £16k not 100k like your 911 50 so again a completely different proposition and I doubt would be babied as such.

Same with any car especially when your buying an old car with x amount of owners, to expect the underside not to be rusty is silly its exposed and plastic trays dont solve the problem.

Even cars with low miles you think should look good like Johne89s but those pics were pretty bad. Mines had a hard life and lived in Liverpool Newcastle and Manchester all its life and there are rust areas like the struts etc but it looks ok and nothing worse than I would expect. Surface rust is one thing but deep rust is another. Surface rust isnt difficult to sort and looks worse than it is.

To the average person I doubt it even crosses their mind to under seal it. Let alone to buy an attachment to pressure wash the engine.

The cost to have it ice blasted and undersealed is prohibitive. Again if we're going off the latest posts on the M marketplace thread that Ms arent going to be worth more than 12k spending £1000-2000 isnt a great idea is it. Unless your doing it yourself but how many of you have a ramp and the knowledge to do it properly.

 

[pvr]

Tom - I was using the Porsche bolts as an example, as they do rot when the car is used during the winter or not parked in a garage, irrespective of mileage or age. I see the regular "moaning" posts about people having to pay a lot to get them replaecd, but those are the same people that redicule others who SORN the car during the winter or don't let them get filthy like a badge of honour.

My 30 year old Golf which I have had for 26 years, has always had the same treatments and there is not a single rusted bolt or nut underneath the car, so I think it is more a case of what sort of life the car has had and where it has been and how it is looked after.

My X5M also looks like new underneath using the same care and is now 5 years old and is used in the winter.

I do spend that little extra time on the cars when washing them over the winter, even the Jeep I recently sold was like new underneath.

 

[taz1966]

And the amount of care taken of the cars matters as well. I spray the underneath of the car with the Karcher underbody wash implement and protect it with the body wax from karcher afterwards.

So this is what my Porsche looks like:

IMG_2904.jpeg

Hi,
What body wax thing do you mean.
Can this be applied using a Nilfisk pressure washer

 

[pvr]

This one, and using the cleaner and wax that you can get with it.

The care nozzle is the long arm you use with a spray head which applies the cleaner and wax

 

[taz1966]

IMG_6598.png

This one, and using the cleaner and wax that you can get with it.

The care nozzle is the long arm you use with a spray head which applies the cleaner and wax

I assume you clean first then apply the wax.
Every time i wash my vehicles i clean them underneath but i have never seen the wax.
Is it just a water based product, a bit like the wash and wax.

 

[pvr]

You spray the cleaner on first with the cleaner arm attachment, then you rinse off with the main unit with all the jets, then you spray the liquid wax on.

After the cleaner and spray process, there is quite a bit of muck on the drive so it seems to do its job well.

How good the wax is I have no idea, but happy with what I see underneath the car.

 

[taz1966]

You spray the cleaner on first with the cleaner arm attachment, then you rinse off with the main unit with all the jets, then you spray the liquid wax on.

After the cleaner and spray process, there is quite a bit of muck on the drive so it seems to do its job well.

How good the wax is I have no idea, but happy with what I see underneath the car.

Just looked at this on YouTube.
Ordered one
Do you dilute the wax

 

[MikeyH]

So the wax goes onto the wet car or do you need to dry it somehow? Sorry if I'm being a bit thick :?

 

[pvr]

Straight on wet and no, don’t dilute the wax. I bought a 2.5 litre bottle and 10 years later have not gone through it

 

[MikeyH]

Sounds good

 

[RMB]

This car caught my eye due to being a low tax, non nav example. No funds to proceed anyway currently.

I have just tried to buy a Karcher underbody cleaner as a little treat for my car. Sadly they seem to be discontinued and unavailable. I even just called Karcher and the guy had never heard of it.