Feeling a bit smug these past few days, as I spotted a 35i on Gumtree incorrectly advertised as a 30i - 67k on the clock, iDrive, heated electric seats, extended ivory, folding mirrors, 3 owners, etc etc. Up for £10450, but as it's on run flats, MOT up in a couple of months, the weather is miserable and it could do with a service, wondered whether 9k might snag it.
Popped over to see it today. The seller had made very little effort to sell it, clearly not washed properly for a long time, green grime growing on the boot lid, wheel wells full of mud, alloys caked in dirt. I'd be fairly confident they're not a forum member so grim details to follow.
Lack of washing aside, just wow. This 'great condition' (advert) 'pretty much perfect' (phone call) car has:
Scrape along LHS - has caught front wing, side skirt, rear quarter
Rusting chip to the bare metal, off side quarter
Hole in the wind deflector
Filthy seats - minor rip/hole in the driver's side.
Rattle on start up - possibly exhaust flap related? (no experience of this model)
Mis-fire on start up - stopped after a couple of minutes, surely not normal?
Swarm of crickets in the boot, roof up. Believe this is seals/moving parts needing attention - unbelievably loud.
Some kind of motion related grinding noise from the drivetrain - similar to badly rusted discs.
Rear run flats are both nearly on the wear indicator.
Passenger window catches and reverses when completing the roof cycle, both times attempted.
Rear parcel shelf net thingy missing.
On the plus side, it sounded lovely

. To give some balance, it has had new battery and front brakes recently, boot area was completely dry (one rear light replaced) and is relatively well specified (cruise control and USB port missing, however) . Didn't bother looking through paperwork to see evidence of any common issues addressed. Noises aside, it drove fairly well and felt nicely quick - steering heavier than mine.
Avoid at all costs - unless you're looking for a project and the price drops dramatically. Advert still live, in Pontypool - pretty sure I haven't seen it on other selling platforms. Honestly wouldn't have given £6k for it. Got back in my relatively clean and tidy car with renewed appreciation.
(also concluded 100% I don't want a manual gearbox ever again, and orion silver isn't for me)
HPI report can be emailed if anyone is dabbling.
Yuck.