Possible purchase questions - guildence pls

[Anonymous]

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]

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]

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]

Obd scan to see if theres fault codes present.

 

[john-e89]

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.

 

[Anonymous]

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]

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

 

[Anonymous]

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

Thanks, has anyone changed them themselves ?

 

[Anonymous]

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

 

[Anonymous]

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]

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]

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]

Obd scan to see if theres fault codes present.

:lol: 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]

Obd scan to see if theres fault codes present.

:lol: 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]

Obd scan to see if theres fault codes present.

:lol: 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...

 

[sw4nny]

Obd scan to see if theres fault codes present.

I too agree with this sensible advice,took mine last time out when on the hunt and although its a basic scanner it showed some problems in some that we walked away from,and at the least it gives you bargaining room.

 

[Highlander]

Water ingress to boot worth checking,check round battery & roof motor.Wells on both sides of boot mean removing trim.....allow an hour if it's your 1st time.Unless the rear lights are corroded electrically and throwing up faults then it's removal and dry them out thoroughly.Most important is to locate the seals correctly and put on plenty of sealant....not the best design and not sealed adequately from factory.....problem solved,No1.
Boot seals around lip also prone to leaking...remove,clean off factory sealant and re-assemble with plenty sealant....No2 solved
No3 is a bit of a PITA as it involves removing trim from inside boot to get to "air vents" located either side behind bumpers.....water leaking in here not apparent until you remove the trim pieces.
All easily solved...get yourself a set of trim removal tools,few quid from eBay and all the info is on here someplace.

 

[Highlander]

If the car you're considering has speakers behind seats and ski hatch/storage on bulkhead behind seats then I think that's 10 speaker system...."middle option"as I think "top option" has another speaker in the middle.
I'd also check the pad wear on the idrive and visually the discs...pricy at main dealer so worth considering unless you do your own maintenance.
BTW rear lights were available from ECP...around £250/300 and we're same manufacturer if I recall correctly.

 

[Highlander]

Had ours for 18 months and only had to reseal all the mentioned boot seals......couldn't be bothered investigating the leak just resealed everything whilst it was apart.....only 1 tube of semi-flexible black sealant

Feckin' thing'll probably have an issue now after the thumbs up.

 

[Chris_D]

Obd scan to see if theres fault codes present.

I too agree with this sensible advice,took mine last time out when on the hunt and although its a basic scanner it showed some problems in some that we walked away from,and at the least it gives you bargaining room.

Yep- on travelling over to the uk and looking at the car i got a few hundred more quid off the already pre-negotiated selling price following the discovery of the lean-running fault codes. We both agreed tht worse case scenario could have been dodgy o2 sensors. It wasnt and i only had to later pay about 30 quid for a new intake boot. So bargaining power doing an OBD scan is potentially highly beneficial for any buyer imo.