bmw 330ci history check is this a lemon???
bmw 330ci history check is this a lemon???
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Discussion

Chan6192

Original Poster:

134 posts

188 months

Wednesday 30th March 2011
quotequote all
hi found a lovely facelift 53 plate 330ci sport convertible for 6750 (no tax), only thing is the guy claims he's lost the previous service books, ive run a check via a mobile site and it states the cars currently on 89k, correct because the clocks showing 87k, the previous MOT in december 2010 states its done 86k. the guys gave me a number for bmw which he claims has the cars history upto 2006. just wanted to know whats happend to the car between 2006 - present. the guy seems genuine, and he's seems pretty well off had a few nice motors including a nice porsche, but he claims he's only had the car for 4 months, and his 'wife' wants a newer shape bmw convertible. also he aint on the logbook, not sure why, he kept waffling about the car having a private plate on it, bit dodgy.ive test drove the car and it seems fine, just bit paparnoid about the history. is there any way i can check the history of this car??? all he's giving me is the logbook and a previous mot slip.
any help greatly appreciated, if i can get the history of this car ill opt to buy it

Fish981

1,441 posts

214 months

Wednesday 30th March 2011
quotequote all
And people who can buy dodgy vehicles with no history for 3k and sell them for 7k will probably be quite well off.

alfabadass

1,852 posts

228 months

Wednesday 30th March 2011
quotequote all
Exactly.

At 7k its not exactly a bargain either! Plenty out there and like somoeone said, it'll be really hard to sell!

balls-out

3,794 posts

260 months

Wednesday 30th March 2011
quotequote all
WALK AWAY.
easy - there are other cars out there, with history and the names of the seller on the V5.

rallycross

13,749 posts

266 months

Wednesday 30th March 2011
quotequote all
alfabadass said:
Exactly.

At 7k its not exactly a bargain either! Plenty out there and like somoeone said, it'll be really hard to sell!
rubbish.
if it was a genuine example its priced too cheap - so it looks like it is a bargain - until you look a bit closer.

hornetrider

63,161 posts

234 months

Wednesday 30th March 2011
quotequote all
Cars can do a lot of miles in 5 years. A LOT.

Mr serge

197 posts

211 months

Wednesday 30th March 2011
quotequote all
an't you check its last few MOT'S on the vosa site?

Chan6192

Original Poster:

134 posts

188 months

Wednesday 30th March 2011
quotequote all
hhhmmmm so everyone thinks its a lemon, to the guy above who mentioned the vosa site, do you know how i go about checking that? i did photo copy his latest mot and logbbok because i thought it may help in finding some info for this car. also guys 6750 is a bargain for a facelift 53 plate 330ci sport convertible, its a 6 spd manual, fully loaded. a lot of people would sell this kind of car for 8-8.5k. thing is my budget is about 6.5-7k and this is the newest one ive found, all the rest are 01/02 plates. i ahve found a 02 325 sport convertible for 6k, but 750 quid buys me virtually a 04 plate car. im confused frown

Searider

1,005 posts

284 months

fido

18,897 posts

284 months

Thursday 31st March 2011
quotequote all
you don't seem that world wisely about the cars history .. get a straight car with FSH .. why take the risk? as frank zappa said "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow"

ambuletz

11,751 posts

210 months

Thursday 31st March 2011
quotequote all
see if he can get ahold of the previous owner? If he really wants to sell, it would be in his interests to do so. If he bought it from a dealer then that shouldn't be hard to do.

simoid

19,774 posts

187 months

Thursday 31st March 2011
quotequote all
Chan6192 said:
hhhmmmm so everyone thinks its a lemon, to the guy above who mentioned the vosa site, do you know how i go about checking that? i did photo copy his latest mot and logbbok because i thought it may help in finding some info for this car. also guys 6750 is a bargain for a facelift 53 plate 330ci sport convertible, its a 6 spd manual, fully loaded. a lot of people would sell this kind of car for 8-8.5k. thing is my budget is about 6.5-7k and this is the newest one ive found, all the rest are 01/02 plates. i ahve found a 02 325 sport convertible for 6k, but 750 quid buys me virtually a 04 plate car. im confused frown
Mate if you want to do it, do it... but it seems your gut feelings are saying 'yes', but your head is saying 'hold on a minute here...'

It's like 'Deal or No Deal' on the telly. You could feel a hero, or a right idiot and there's not a lot you can do about it once you've taken the gamble.

My advice is get a nice 325 with history, or scrape together for a more expensive 330 with history, because in the long run they will hold their value better and are likely to cost you less overall than this guys 330 with no history for half a decade.

It's not that rare a car.
The

TDutchy

661 posts

224 months

Thursday 31st March 2011
quotequote all
Chan6192 said:
hhhmmmm so everyone thinks its a lemon, to the guy above who mentioned the vosa site, do you know how i go about checking that? i did photo copy his latest mot and logbbok because i thought it may help in finding some info for this car. also guys 6750 is a bargain for a facelift 53 plate 330ci sport convertible, its a 6 spd manual, fully loaded. a lot of people would sell this kind of car for 8-8.5k. thing is my budget is about 6.5-7k and this is the newest one ive found, all the rest are 01/02 plates. i ahve found a 02 325 sport convertible for 6k, but 750 quid buys me virtually a 04 plate car. im confusedfrown
Why?

If it dodgy(Which i also think it is), are you not the perfect mug for him? You can afford an 01/02 330ci, but your greed/naivity to get the newer version is tainting your sense man! Fix up!

What possible reason has this seller got for selling it £1-1.5k below market price? It's cheap for a reason.....it's not a good reason.

simoid

19,774 posts

187 months

Thursday 31st March 2011
quotequote all
Furthermore, cut through the crap.

You are buying the car, and his house and car mean naff all if the car is a particular citrus fruit.

Chan6192

Original Poster:

134 posts

188 months

Thursday 31st March 2011
quotequote all
i supose your all right, im not ruling this motor off yet though lol, ill run some checks on the vosa site and see exactly what this cars been upto, does anyone know if its free? i have found a lovely 325 sport convertible on a 02 reg 80k miles which i quite fancy too, from a garage in sussex ill most prob get that, thing is i desperately wanted a 330, is there much difference in them overall? i beleive running costs are the same but the 325 is about a second slower frown oh well i'll see how it goes, cheers ppl

KieronGSi

1,114 posts

233 months

Chan6192

Original Poster:

134 posts

188 months

Thursday 31st March 2011
quotequote all
cheers for the link mate, but i was after a convertibe, they're abit pricer than the coupes, lovely example though, and thats what i call a service history lol

Exige77

6,523 posts

220 months

Thursday 31st March 2011
quotequote all
KieronGSi said:
No Sat nav

Ex77

wiffmaster

2,622 posts

227 months

Thursday 31st March 2011
quotequote all
Exige77 said:
No Sat nav

Ex77
Ever used the system they fitted to the E46? If anything, no Sat-Nav should increase the value...

hoganscrogan

727 posts

313 months

Thursday 31st March 2011
quotequote all
Mot check is great, will tell you all about previous mots (since system was computerized), including any advisories, very useful and free.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicl...