Number of owners and depreciation

[AI001]

Hi,

Considering a four year old 650i 13k on the clock, 2 previous owner on v5 (one current owner, so if I buy it I will be 4th owner). Is this normal? Is number of previous owner a deal breaker?

Edited by AI001 on Monday 16th February 11:23

[Crusoe]

Depends who the owners are, might find some of them are for a private plate transfer, dealer demonstrator, or company car to private ownership. Could easily be three owners on the v5 but only one person owning the car. Call a few of the previous owners and see what they say about it, might be a lemon with issues that the dealer couldn't fix so passed around a lot or just the type of car that people want to experience and then move on after scratching the v8 itch. Four owners in four years isn’t too many if the history all checks out and the servicing was done correctly.

[AI001]

Just realized that first owner is a BMW dealership.

[BIGYIN1314]

I bought my current car from a Main Dealer. It had 3 owner before me, on a car which was only 3.5 years old. 1st owner kept it for 18 months, second owner 12 months, 3rd owner 7 months. Given the car I was trading in I'd only kept for 12 months myself I saw no issue with the 1st 2 owners. I contacted the 3rd owner and he was a genuinely nice guy who simply couldnt afford the running costs so got rid.

I was safer in the knowlege that I had 12month AUC warranty included in the sale, however as I intend to keep this car for at least the next 3 years, it'll even out a bit.

[Magic919]

Crusoe said:

might find some of them are for a private plate transfer

It's not normal for this to increase the number of keepers.

[Supercell]

If they were 3 private owners, and the car has only 13,000 miles, then alarm bells would be ringing. You say the first owner is BMW, leaving 2 other owners doing about 6000 miles each. Could be plausible, but I would do plenty of checks on mileage and MOT history to make sure it corresponds.

[Toaster Pilot]

Magic919 said:

Crusoe said:

might find some of them are for a private plate transfer

It's not normal for this to increase the number of keepers.

It's still quite common if the transfer occurs at the same time as a keeper change - ie part exchanging a car and transferring it's plate to a new one - when I did this the old car ended up registered to "Toaster Pilot c/o Dodgy Motor Group.." at their address

[balls-out]

I would say 3 owners who only managed 13k between them is a touch odd.

Whenever buying a car Guilty until proven innocent is the best policy - usually there are more cars out there.

If it were me, I'd want to see a very tight and clear history to put my mind at rest. Could well be nothing to worry about, but I would want to convince myself or walk.

[AI001]

MOT Test result on Direct GOV website

Your MOT details
Registration Mark:
XXXXXX (blanked)
Make of the vehicle:
BMW
Model of the vehicle:
650I SE TURBO AUTO
Test Result:
Certificate Issued (Pass)
Colour of the vehicle:
BLUE
Date of test:
07/03/2014
Expiry date:
21/03/2015
Odometer Reading:
9853 Miles
VTS undertaking the test:
V100979
VTS telephone number:
01642 613161
This is the latest test for this vehicle.

[Supercell]

So its done about 3000 miles in 11 months. It could be a second car etc used infrequently. Ask an open question to the seller as to why the mileage is very low for a 4 year old car. You can usually gauge by their reaction if they are telling the truth.

Edited by Supercell on Monday 16th February 14:42

[Crusoe]

think you can get the engine running time from the key for a 650i so a quick check on the service computer at a bmw reception would tell you if it sounds about right for the miles. I drive might be able to tell something similar too.