Been offered a 330sport but no service history...any advice?
Discussion
Hello,
My 1st ever post
I've been offered an X reg Nov 2000 330 Sport manual 4door with 125k showing but with no history or Mot (believed to be a reposession). All I have s the chassis no which is WBAAV52010AZ75355.
Met Black, Grey sports leather, MV alloys, Sunroof, Harmon K, The original bodykit doesn't seem to be like the later M-sport ones - Is there a difference between a Sport & an M-sport?
It need some Tlc - car park dings, driver bolster wear etc. The warning lights for the front & rear lights are permanently on (yet all lights work perfectly). It drives well and looks genuine.
How can I find out the history? I'm currently in Dublin & I can't seem to get through to the BMW premium rate no in the UK to ask them.
Also is it worth £2500?
My 1st ever post
I've been offered an X reg Nov 2000 330 Sport manual 4door with 125k showing but with no history or Mot (believed to be a reposession). All I have s the chassis no which is WBAAV52010AZ75355.
Met Black, Grey sports leather, MV alloys, Sunroof, Harmon K, The original bodykit doesn't seem to be like the later M-sport ones - Is there a difference between a Sport & an M-sport?
It need some Tlc - car park dings, driver bolster wear etc. The warning lights for the front & rear lights are permanently on (yet all lights work perfectly). It drives well and looks genuine.
How can I find out the history? I'm currently in Dublin & I can't seem to get through to the BMW premium rate no in the UK to ask them.
Also is it worth £2500?
Well, should I ever sell my BM I will have little or no service history. My records got lost (which I will never understand as I have always been a stickler for keeping them together for my other cars). When I bought it at 30k ish it had FSH from BMW and I then had it serviced at an independent and I now service the car punctually myself.
If it is MOT'ed (ask the seller to do this), and has decent matching rubber, is clean and sounds OK I would be tempted.
But then I'm no expert
If it is MOT'ed (ask the seller to do this), and has decent matching rubber, is clean and sounds OK I would be tempted.
But then I'm no expert
HPI a must with buying any car & its only £3-5... your crazy not to do so.
Calling BMW would be a start to get the service history but might be time consuming.
What would be needed is the MOT, how long is left? You can get copy MOT certs easily enough.
What I would do is if your happy with the asking price say to him I want 12 months MOT if i passes that you'll happily pay for the MOT fee however if there is any work needed to pass the MOT that the current owners issue - remember the MOT is a test of absolute minimum road safety.
Next if the tyres have a decent amount of tread thats good likewise dead easy to check the life of the brake discs if its badly lipped and low pads & poor tread dpth & mixed brands/low qualiy brands I'd personally leave it. That little lot to get fixed is going to be c£800 for tyres (Michelin) and c£600 for brakes & pads all round.
You dont say if its petrol or diesel? If its diesel checking the colour of the oil is pointless as it goes black within a few minutes of being changed whereas if its a petrol with black oil then its very late...
The green blocks can be played with - little trick with modern cars just set the trip computer up so that it appears to have just had a service or not need one for a very long time when infact its already overdue.
For me when I buy I'd rather buy a car thats just coming up to needing a service then negotiate on price or demand that it gets serviced main dealer as part of the sale agreement.
Calling BMW would be a start to get the service history but might be time consuming.
What would be needed is the MOT, how long is left? You can get copy MOT certs easily enough.
What I would do is if your happy with the asking price say to him I want 12 months MOT if i passes that you'll happily pay for the MOT fee however if there is any work needed to pass the MOT that the current owners issue - remember the MOT is a test of absolute minimum road safety.
Next if the tyres have a decent amount of tread thats good likewise dead easy to check the life of the brake discs if its badly lipped and low pads & poor tread dpth & mixed brands/low qualiy brands I'd personally leave it. That little lot to get fixed is going to be c£800 for tyres (Michelin) and c£600 for brakes & pads all round.
You dont say if its petrol or diesel? If its diesel checking the colour of the oil is pointless as it goes black within a few minutes of being changed whereas if its a petrol with black oil then its very late...
The green blocks can be played with - little trick with modern cars just set the trip computer up so that it appears to have just had a service or not need one for a very long time when infact its already overdue.
For me when I buy I'd rather buy a car thats just coming up to needing a service then negotiate on price or demand that it gets serviced main dealer as part of the sale agreement.
Mate just bought a 2001 330i manual, with leather, xenons, and a few other toys with 131k miles on it, full BMW history, new brakes all round, just serviced and new tyres and paid £2650, down from an advertised £2950.
Why buy something that is probably going to be a ballache to move on at best and could be absolutely shagged and cost you £5k to get right???
These are so easy to clock, and if someone has done 30k miles a year in it it could be over a quarter of a million miles worth of wear and tear on it.
Side bolster worn makes me think a fat
has been driving it or it has more than 120k miles on it. His has a slight sheen on the drivers bolster, but no more than that.
I bought a 530i with 86k on it, drivers bolster was worn and it felt tired, after doing some digging it had been seen at a main dealer 2 years previously with 156k miles on it. Be careful!!
Why buy something that is probably going to be a ballache to move on at best and could be absolutely shagged and cost you £5k to get right???
These are so easy to clock, and if someone has done 30k miles a year in it it could be over a quarter of a million miles worth of wear and tear on it.
Side bolster worn makes me think a fat
has been driving it or it has more than 120k miles on it. His has a slight sheen on the drivers bolster, but no more than that. I bought a 530i with 86k on it, drivers bolster was worn and it felt tired, after doing some digging it had been seen at a main dealer 2 years previously with 156k miles on it. Be careful!!
Number to check BMW Service History is only on 0906 209 0001, there's no alternative number for that. However you could try calling BMW Customer Services on 01344 426565 (UK landline number) and explain how you can't dial from where you are.
Only other thing I could suggest is going to your local dealer and asking them to check it out for you, may be some internal numbers they can call.
Only other thing I could suggest is going to your local dealer and asking them to check it out for you, may be some internal numbers they can call.
B3Svert said:
Number to check BMW Service History is only on 0906 209 0001, there's no alternative number for that. However you could try calling BMW Customer Services on 01344 426565 (UK landline number) and explain how you can't dial from where you are.
Only other thing I could suggest is going to your local dealer and asking them to check it out for you, may be some internal numbers they can call.
Thanks - tried the Customer Services Only other thing I could suggest is going to your local dealer and asking them to check it out for you, may be some internal numbers they can call.
number, but they weren't much help & just directed me to their 
"Dedicated specialist specification & service team" on the premium rate number (even though I'd told them I can't call 0906, 0870 no's from outside the UK!) 
Question for you then - you know the asking price of this car with no history and you can assume it will be harder than usual to shift it on yourself then you must really consider it to be a keeper if you buy it.
As I have said above check those areas dead simple to do and if they are tired walk away.
Another thing when what was a £30k car 9/10 years ago gets down to these levels service history isnt really that important its current condition.
Also how much is an equivalent 330d/i with full history?
As I have said above check those areas dead simple to do and if they are tired walk away.
Another thing when what was a £30k car 9/10 years ago gets down to these levels service history isnt really that important its current condition.
Also how much is an equivalent 330d/i with full history?
Welshbeef said:
Also how much is an equivalent 330d/i with full history?
gizlaroc said:
Mate just bought a 2001 330i manual, with leather, xenons, and a few other toys with 131k miles on it, full BMW history, new brakes all round, just serviced and new tyres and paid £2650, down from an advertised £2950.
The same price. If an equivilent was £5k, or even £4k it would be worth considering, but he is pretty much paying the same price for a car that has no history and could have done 3x the mileage.
Why bother??
Only reason I can think of is because he's lazy and it is local.
Welshbeef said:
Question for you then - you know the asking price of this car with no history and you can assume it will be harder than usual to shift it on yourself then you must really consider it to be a keeper if you buy it.
As I have said above check those areas dead simple to do and if they are tired walk away.
Another thing when what was a £30k car 9/10 years ago gets down to these levels service history isnt really that important its current condition.
Also how much is an equivalent 330d/i with full history?
Hi Welshbeef,As I have said above check those areas dead simple to do and if they are tired walk away.
Another thing when what was a £30k car 9/10 years ago gets down to these levels service history isnt really that important its current condition.
Also how much is an equivalent 330d/i with full history?
It's a petrol model. Dash shows -4750 for oil service. Tyres are all pretty new, but are budget "nanking" type on the MV1 alloys. The body doesn't have any rust - just the usual car park dings & a small dent below rear n/s light.
Lack of service history, rear parking sensors emit a constant tone in reverse & the lights on the dashboard (front/rear fault lights are on, but the xenons&rear lights work ok....) are the other negatives.
As it's a reposession it has no paperwork with it at all & just 1 key.
I would be buying it as a keeper, but I'm just wary of the lights on the dash (could be a can of worms) & the lack of service history may be a problem when I come to sell it on.
Welshbeef said:
Question for you then - you know the asking price of this car with no history and you can assume it will be harder than usual to shift it on yourself then you must really consider it to be a keeper if you buy it.
As I have said above check those areas dead simple to do and if they are tired walk away.
Another thing when what was a £30k car 9/10 years ago gets down to these levels service history isnt really that important its current condition.
Also how much is an equivalent 330d/i with full history?
Hi Welshbeef,As I have said above check those areas dead simple to do and if they are tired walk away.
Another thing when what was a £30k car 9/10 years ago gets down to these levels service history isnt really that important its current condition.
Also how much is an equivalent 330d/i with full history?
It's a petrol model. Dash shows -4750 for oil service. Tyres are all pretty new, but are budget "nanking" type on the MV1 alloys. The body doesn't have any rust - just the usual car park dings & a small dent below rear n/s light.
Lack of service history, rear parking sensors emit a constant tone in reverse & the lights on the dashboard (front/rear fault lights are on, but the xenons&rear lights work ok....) are the other negatives.
As it's a reposession it has no paperwork with it at all & just 1 key.
I would be buying it as a keeper, but I'm just wary of the lights on the dash (could be a can of worms) & the lack of service history may be a problem when I come to sell it on.
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