Should I buy a 2.5 with run flat tyres?

[Bluebottle]

Hello again,
I have my eye on a very low mileage E8 that is closer to me. The owner says everything is still perfect as he has done 300miles a year for past 5 years (1500) and 35k in total. He confirms tyres are very old and so is the engine oil. In fact apart from a quick drive to dealer, he hasn't used it since May 24 (for MOT).
There has never been any advisories and none of the usual faults have occurred yet ( rocker cover, rear lights, suspension, roof, etc.)

Is this a case of too few miles could be worse than too many?

There is a £2k premium for such low use over a car with 80k.

Cheers

 

[brillomaster]

as long as it has actually been used a bit rather than sitting stationary for years on end, it should be fine. id perhaps ask him how he used it for those 300 miles a year... if it was just pootling to the shops the engine might not every get up to operating temperature, which might lead to condensation build up and deposits of other stuff that would normally be burnt off in normal usage.

but i would expect to do a full service and change all the fluids - potentially gearbox and diff fluid too, and you may also need all new tyres if they're very old. those i would negotiate off the price.

 

[Bluebottle]

Thanks Brillomaster, owner says it is for high days and Sundays, although most of those were visiting the BMW dealer for MOT and servicing. 300 miles each year, so not completely abandoned! What previous owners did, I shall never know. I may let the stealers do full service with brake fluid, oil and filters for £320 to keep the FSH looking good should I need to move it on, although it goes against my ethos.

As for tyres; old, cracked, probably runflats and parked up for months at a time, they will be replaced immediately if I take it on. £600

I still need to get the price down as it is a private sale. Actually, I have realised that for less than this owner is asking, I can buy a better car with less worries from an established dealer and all the protection and warranty that comes from that route.

 

[Bluebottle]

UPDATE

The search is over. I finally bought a deepsea blue/Tiefseeblau Metallic with ivory leather from a knowledgeable and careful Polish gent 120 miles from Plymouth.
Manual and the desirable 3.0 30i sDrive with no expensive turbos to replace.

Click here for more details:

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2094884#p2094884