Ever feel like you just get really unlucky with cars?
Discussion
Take my latest acquisition.
2004 e46 320. Had it 2 months. Full history, one owner, 49k on the clock, good condition.
Already had a diesel leak. Caliper on the N/S is sticking and needs a new one. EGR thermostat was stuck open and needed replacing. Engine light was on just as i bought it and swirl flaps were sticking.
And now the oil light came on the other day, checked the level today and it's on the minimum. There's a patch of oil on the driveway now too
I've only done about 1500 miles in it too.
I've already lost total confidence in it now, but how the hell can i sell it now and not lost a fortune. Parkers puts the P/X value at £2k less than what i paid for it already
2004 e46 320. Had it 2 months. Full history, one owner, 49k on the clock, good condition.
Already had a diesel leak. Caliper on the N/S is sticking and needs a new one. EGR thermostat was stuck open and needed replacing. Engine light was on just as i bought it and swirl flaps were sticking.
And now the oil light came on the other day, checked the level today and it's on the minimum. There's a patch of oil on the driveway now too
I've only done about 1500 miles in it too.I've already lost total confidence in it now, but how the hell can i sell it now and not lost a fortune. Parkers puts the P/X value at £2k less than what i paid for it already
te and you should bin it and buy something German.Actually all joking aside, I would think its probably just the pads sticking and and the oil leak would most likely be from the oil filter, same for the Derv leak. The mileage is low for its age which says it has probably done a lot of standing about hence the stick brakes. They do not sound like major problems to me.
Alas, BMW's are not as reliable as people think and it seems the Diesel's of that period even less so. Sadly, the issues you are experiencing are not even the really expensive ones but due to the mileage on the car, I would hope that you would not suffer from any of those yet.
Fixing it really is your only option, then if you have lost faith in it then sell it on and buy something different.
Fixing it really is your only option, then if you have lost faith in it then sell it on and buy something different.
kambites said:
I'm afraid that's just one of the risks of buying second-hand cars from private sellers (I assume it was a private seller, if it wasn't you might get something out of the dealer who sold it to you).
Just fix it and get on with life.
Was a trade sale im afraid, but without warranty, and the garage is a good 60 miles away.Just fix it and get on with life.
fjord said:
Was a trade sale im afraid, but without warranty, and the garage is a good 60 miles away.
No such thing as a trade sale without a warranty. If you bought it from a VAT registered dealer then you have some comeback under SOGA. Have a google on SOGA and what it means for buying a car from a dealer.Yep, I was giving up hope after my last two purchases for the wifes car, a bloody leaky rattly PT cruiser and a leaky rattly fault ridden Zafira, both were bargain basement buys and both universally crap.
I've always bought good cars before and it has been my job to source most of the vehicles for family and friends over the last 20 years, until these last two I've never bought a bad one but then I get two at once, fortunately I've been able to get out of them fairly by having some luck with unfussy buyers so its not all bad.
I've always bought good cars before and it has been my job to source most of the vehicles for family and friends over the last 20 years, until these last two I've never bought a bad one but then I get two at once, fortunately I've been able to get out of them fairly by having some luck with unfussy buyers so its not all bad.
Does happen sometimes, but you'd be far worse off if this happened with a newer vehicle. Warranties don't fix everything (as I've found in the past), you would lose a small fortune buying a nearly new car from a dealer and selling it after a couple of months.
Stick to a used example of what you really want (you did) and accept that sometimes you'll need to fix it.
Stick to a used example of what you really want (you did) and accept that sometimes you'll need to fix it.
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