Used car but without dealer history - why?
Discussion
So I'm looking at buying a used BMW. It's a 65 plate (Nov 15) and its sitting at a little over 20 thousand miles. It's not from BMW so doesn't have the BMW AUC thing with it so I thought I'd look into its history as much as I could without physically seeing it.
Armed with the reg number and an ability to lie to a nice woman on the phone I found out it had never been to one of the BMW dealerships in the UK for a service which I find odd. Maybe it isn't but dont cars have services at 1 year / 2 year / 3 year etc? Dont they give the car a quick kick just to confirm everything is okay or is this something I'm imagining?
Why would the person who got rid of this 2 year old car have got it serviced before hand at BMW as it is included anyway?
If it was a lease why wouldn't the lease company have done this as it's included anyway?
I just dont get the logic. The dealer where I'm looking at getting this from will claim they've serviced it but with it not being a BMW dealer surely they wont be able to update idrive?
Maybe this question is more BMW specific and should be in there but I thought it was more of a general question as it seems many new-ish cars have seemingly skipped a free service at a dealer for some reason.
Armed with the reg number and an ability to lie to a nice woman on the phone I found out it had never been to one of the BMW dealerships in the UK for a service which I find odd. Maybe it isn't but dont cars have services at 1 year / 2 year / 3 year etc? Dont they give the car a quick kick just to confirm everything is okay or is this something I'm imagining?
Why would the person who got rid of this 2 year old car have got it serviced before hand at BMW as it is included anyway?
If it was a lease why wouldn't the lease company have done this as it's included anyway?
I just dont get the logic. The dealer where I'm looking at getting this from will claim they've serviced it but with it not being a BMW dealer surely they wont be able to update idrive?
Maybe this question is more BMW specific and should be in there but I thought it was more of a general question as it seems many new-ish cars have seemingly skipped a free service at a dealer for some reason.
BMW don't do annual services, it's all computer based.
Usually first services will be around 18 or 19k.
This may increase a little for a long distance cruiser use.
It's feasible that the 2 year lease at 10k pa mileage car has been handed back with very little mileage left prior to service. Or been handed back overdue for a penalty.
Personally I'd walk away - BMW probably won't honour any remaining warranty. Unless it is very seriously cheaper than AUC. You will also get a lesser price when you come to sell as a BMW history is preferable.
BMW servicing is never free or included.
Usually first services will be around 18 or 19k.
This may increase a little for a long distance cruiser use.
It's feasible that the 2 year lease at 10k pa mileage car has been handed back with very little mileage left prior to service. Or been handed back overdue for a penalty.
Personally I'd walk away - BMW probably won't honour any remaining warranty. Unless it is very seriously cheaper than AUC. You will also get a lesser price when you come to sell as a BMW history is preferable.
BMW servicing is never free or included.
Well it looks like "someone" paid for it when the car was originally spec'd
https://www.bmw-service.co.uk
YOUR SERVICE OPTIONS.
CONGRATULATIONS YOUR BMW HAS SERVICE INCLUSIVE!
Your BMW is covered by BMW Service Inclusive which lasts for 5 years or 60,000 miles (whichever occurs first) and covers the cost of your vehicle’s comprehensive servicing requirements.
Your BMW may also be covered by MOT Protect.
I called to confirm that it is the car and not the owner and they confirmed it's the car.
This is what I don't get. Maybe as you say they just decided to punt it on. Logically if the car looks okay I could just buy it then book it in for a service at a main dealership and have them do the "first service" even if it has recently had an oil change etc.
Also the spec of the car would demand about 10% more (£23.5k -> £26k ish)
I think it'll be fairly obvious how the car was looked after when I eventually see it as it'll either have decent quality rubber on it OR it'll have been abused with no care and it'll have cheap and nasty rubber it and shot brakes.
https://www.bmw-service.co.uk
YOUR SERVICE OPTIONS.
CONGRATULATIONS YOUR BMW HAS SERVICE INCLUSIVE!
Your BMW is covered by BMW Service Inclusive which lasts for 5 years or 60,000 miles (whichever occurs first) and covers the cost of your vehicle’s comprehensive servicing requirements.
Your BMW may also be covered by MOT Protect.
I called to confirm that it is the car and not the owner and they confirmed it's the car.
This is what I don't get. Maybe as you say they just decided to punt it on. Logically if the car looks okay I could just buy it then book it in for a service at a main dealership and have them do the "first service" even if it has recently had an oil change etc.
Also the spec of the car would demand about 10% more (£23.5k -> £26k ish)
I think it'll be fairly obvious how the car was looked after when I eventually see it as it'll either have decent quality rubber on it OR it'll have been abused with no care and it'll have cheap and nasty rubber it and shot brakes.
Edited by ChrisC-Berks on Wednesday 31st January 15:23
ChrisC-Berks said:
Logically if the car looks okay I could just buy it then book it in for a service at a main dealership and have them do the "first service" even if it has recently had an oil change etc.
You could - but there is a certain window after service due date (x number of days) that if the service is not completed it invalidates the warranty. Find out if it's too late before buying. You could end up taking it in for the free service, only to be told there's some warranty work needing done - "Oh, it appears the warranty is invalid..." If I was buying it from you a few years down the line, a service being done 2 months late probably wouldn't bother me - but the fact that it's done in 2018 and not 2017 might put people off.
ChrisC-Berks said:
It's not from BMW so doesn't have the BMW AUC thing with it ...
There's a good chance the reason it's not at a BMW dealer as an AUC is because of the lack of service history.Who knows why the owner didn't bother, especially after buying Service Inclusive. Some people just don't get around to it, or perhaps the owner was ill and the car wasn't used for a while.
ChrisC-Berks said:
Why would the person who got rid of this 2 year old car have got it serviced before hand at BMW as it is included anyway?
I suppose I'll know in a couple of days when I see the car if it actually has missed the service or if it's due soon.
I was under the impression on a newer car you'd get it serviced a bit sooner anyway. I hate the idea of a car sitting with the same oil for 20'000 miles (well, same filter) but at the same time if you was you change it yourself you'd not get it put on idrive and if you took it to a dealer they'd obviously charge you as it was too soon.
If it was a smart taxi the driver would have been bloody stupid as it's not exactly a frugal car. Sure its diesel but they have a bit of a drinking problem from what I've read and experienced.
My concerns are basically WHY? I can't see the logic in missing it. That makes me worry. Maybe they genuinely just cruised up and down the motorway and it hasn't yet popped up that it needs it. If thats the case then surely BMW would simply tell them they dont need to service it.
I was under the impression on a newer car you'd get it serviced a bit sooner anyway. I hate the idea of a car sitting with the same oil for 20'000 miles (well, same filter) but at the same time if you was you change it yourself you'd not get it put on idrive and if you took it to a dealer they'd obviously charge you as it was too soon.
If it was a smart taxi the driver would have been bloody stupid as it's not exactly a frugal car. Sure its diesel but they have a bit of a drinking problem from what I've read and experienced.
My concerns are basically WHY? I can't see the logic in missing it. That makes me worry. Maybe they genuinely just cruised up and down the motorway and it hasn't yet popped up that it needs it. If thats the case then surely BMW would simply tell them they dont need to service it.
Edited by ChrisC-Berks on Wednesday 31st January 15:48
I used to work somewhere that sold nice cars picked up from the private market to selling cars picked up from auction, most of the lease ones had very patchy service histories and the ones that didn't had poor repairs. I'm pretty sure the good ones get filtered out. The first service is usually oil and microfilter,
Unless its the ideal car I would pay an extra grand to get one direct from BMW. Whereabouts is the car your looking at ?
Unless its the ideal car I would pay an extra grand to get one direct from BMW. Whereabouts is the car your looking at ?
I bought a 2 year old BMW and the book pack was missing. BMW UK provided me with the details of the supplying dealer and the dealership that had seen the car subsequently for warranty repairs. Those dealerships were happy to stamp up my replacement book.
Even if the paper record is missing, you can get a copy and full description of any work it's had at BMW from your local BMW stealership.
There is no point paying a BMW dealership premium if you are buying a nice UK supplied car that might still be under warranty anyway...especially if it's still under service pack. You can buy an extended warranty from your local BMW stealer if you wish, when the time comes.
Even if the paper record is missing, you can get a copy and full description of any work it's had at BMW from your local BMW stealership.
There is no point paying a BMW dealership premium if you are buying a nice UK supplied car that might still be under warranty anyway...especially if it's still under service pack. You can buy an extended warranty from your local BMW stealer if you wish, when the time comes.
There'll be a Service screen on the iDrive that will show you what service or inspection is due and which if any are overdue. It's not uncommon for nothing to be needed before 2 years.
Maybe the previous owner disposed of the car with the view that the next owner could take it for its service it as it's free anyway. Only 9 months left on the warranty anyway. Would BMW reject a claim for say a broken gearbox if the engine oil had been changed a few weeks late? Anyone have any experience of BMW warranty policy?
Maybe the previous owner disposed of the car with the view that the next owner could take it for its service it as it's free anyway. Only 9 months left on the warranty anyway. Would BMW reject a claim for say a broken gearbox if the engine oil had been changed a few weeks late? Anyone have any experience of BMW warranty policy?
Thanks all. Received pictures today of the car but none of the idrive showing service details. Its still not where it needs to be physically so I can't ask for more specific photos. I'll get those ASAP.
One thing they did send was some very shoddy photos of the rubber and it looks like it's got very nicely miss-matched rubber and one alloy has typical corrosion for this type of alloy. BMW should fix it under warranty apparently but I'd push for £££ off due to this.
One thing they did send was some very shoddy photos of the rubber and it looks like it's got very nicely miss-matched rubber and one alloy has typical corrosion for this type of alloy. BMW should fix it under warranty apparently but I'd push for £££ off due to this.
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