Oops... Bought a 182k Cat C E46 on eBay!

[TroubledSoul]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-330I-SPORT-AUTO-E46-...

Well, after putting over 6k miles on our WRX STI since buying it 3 months ago, and it now being a sub 3 year old car with over 75k on the clock, something had to be done. For as little as possible.

I feel slightly sick, but am hoping for a good result here! This is going to be my new smoker so let's hope it runs nicely enough and will give me at least 30k!

Argh!

[ikarl]

Most disappointing car you've ever owned thread

[TroubledSoul]

Let's hope not!

[All that jazz]

Judging from his feedback he seems to be somewhat economical with the truth in his listings. I get bad vibes reading the ad for that BMW. I hope for your sake I'm wrong but I think you've bought yourself a whole pile of trouble.

Ad said:

TWO LIGHT ON DASH ABS AND TRACTION LIGHT
TWO EASY FIXS

Ah yes, the "easy fix, just needs a re-gas" complete non-issue then?

[vikingaero]

Bushes & ABS/Traction Light are "TWO EASY FIXS" but not fixed?!?!

[TroubledSoul]

I did notice that but I'm not too worried about those bits. I will however be very thorough when I go see the car. I don't "need" it per se, so if it isn't right I'll walk.

[UK345]

It may have an issue with the ECU. I sold a car recently with the abs light on as it was uneconomical to repair (it needed a abs module). The guy that bought it didn't seem to fussed about it. He probably thought he had the optional ABS package :P

[TroubledSoul]

Well that worries me a bit more. I was going to take a code reader and see what it said. Any advice regarding that?

Edit: Just to add, my expectation (based on previous with these) is a duff sensor somewhere, most likely the rear somewhere.

Edited by TroubledSoul on Thursday 25th June 19:35

[All that jazz]

TroubledSoul said:

I did notice that but I'm not too worried about those bits. I will however be very thorough when I go see the car. I don't "need" it per se, so if it isn't right I'll walk.

Shouldn't you have checked this BEFORE you started bidding on it? I'm afraid to say that one of my biggest piss boilers with Ebay are people who bid and win the auction then change their mind and walk away without any repercussions. How would YOU like it if someone won YOUR auction and then walked away? You'd be left with an unsold car, a whole raft of fees to pay and the hassle of trying to get your fees reimbursed/having to file a non-paying buyer case.

[talksthetorque]

ABS/Traction light can be a sensor, or it can be the DSC/ABS control unit. The sensors are cheapish at £10-30.

You can get the DSC/ABS unit refurbed, but I think it will add 25% to your sale price, for your refurbed unit back.
This is the DSC/ABS unit

(not that it tells you much)

[daytona365]

A quite powerful German executive sporty car that superficially looks pretty good for 1300 quid ? Worth that in parts.

[LookAtMyCat]

TroubledSoul said:

I did notice that but I'm not too worried about those bits. I will however be very thorough when I go see the car. I don't "need" it per se, so if it isn't right I'll walk.

You're a complete and utter bellend. Don't bid on cars before seeing them.

[Osinjak]

That ad made my eyes bleed and my teeth itch.

[TheJimi]

When I see adverts like this, I always think to myself "what eejit takes ads like this seriously?!"

Turns out the answer is troubled souls.

[austinsmirk]

Indeed: awful advert.

Anyway it's been maintained with no expanse !?!

[calibrax]

LookAtMyCat said:

TroubledSoul said:

I did notice that but I'm not too worried about those bits. I will however be very thorough when I go see the car. I don't "need" it per se, so if it isn't right I'll walk.

You're a complete and utter bellend. Don't bid on cars before seeing them.

It's eBay. He can simply walk if it isn't as described.

I've bought a couple of good cars in that way before, you can usually easily tell from the advert if the seller is a nob or not. Worth a punt if the car is cheap enough.

[caelite]

Just pop some tape over the warning lights. Thats what I did to fix my Alfa and it worked fine. Only about 10p of electral tape and 5 minutes of work.

[calibrax]

caelite said:

Just pop some tape over the warning lights. Thats what I did to fix my Alfa and it worked fine. Only about 10p of electral tape and 5 minutes of work.

Will fail MOT though, as they have to come on with the ignition and then go out.

[Mr2Mike]

eBay said:

VERY CLEAN FOR AGE SOME AGE RELATED MARKS

The smashed in rear panel and bent bootlid must just be symptoms of age rather than having someone drive up it's arse then.

eBay said:

BAD POINTS ALL BMWS HAVE

BMW fit rust, knackered bushes, broken window regulators and non-functioning ABS at the factory, it's impossible to order one without these faults and they can't be fixed.

Superficially the price appears low for a running, MOT'd 330i, but it's neither cheap nor good value IMO, and I suspect it will feel like a bag of crap to drive.

Edited by Mr2Mike on Friday 26th June 11:46

[TroubledSoul]

All that jazz said:

Shouldn't you have checked this BEFORE you started bidding on it? I'm afraid to say that one of my biggest piss boilers with Ebay are people who bid and win the auction then change their mind and walk away without any repercussions. How would YOU like it if someone won YOUR auction and then walked away? You'd be left with an unsold car, a whole raft of fees to pay and the hassle of trying to get your fees reimbursed/having to file a non-paying buyer case.

Er I wouldn't like it because it would mean I'd been economical with the truth.

What's wrong with me checking he's disclosed everything and that it's as described? Jeez, calm down dear