M135i - Risky service history?
Discussion
Hi guys,
Bit of a lurker here hoping to get some advice more on the mechanical side before I pull the trigger on a car.
I’ve been searching for an M135i for the last few months, manual box, heated seats Harmon Kardon - and it seems the car has finally appeared within my budget.
The car is a 2015 reg and the only thing currently stopping me pulling the trigger is the service history.
BMW have CBS, which seems to result in the first service being either up to 24,000 miles (based on conditions), or 24 months, whichever comes first.
Now this car has had its service at 24,000 miles, infact it had a “major” service including spark plugs etc instead of a minor one. However this happened in 2019 - 4 years after the car was registered with no previous history available (BMW themselves confirmed they hadn’t seen the car before this point). All services since then have been done perfectly to time.
I guess my question is , I am looking to keep the car for the long time, so how much real long lasting damage could be caused by this car having run the same oil for 4 years/24k miles, especially given all the following servicing schedule has been done on time?
If I were to test drive the car, is there typically anything you would expect to be able to notice when driving it?
The car itself looks in great condition, MPS4s all the way round and it doesn’t look like it has been cheaped out on with first impressions, interior and exterior is up to scratch - would you take it for a drive or carry on walking by?
Cheers guys
Bit of a lurker here hoping to get some advice more on the mechanical side before I pull the trigger on a car.
I’ve been searching for an M135i for the last few months, manual box, heated seats Harmon Kardon - and it seems the car has finally appeared within my budget.
The car is a 2015 reg and the only thing currently stopping me pulling the trigger is the service history.
BMW have CBS, which seems to result in the first service being either up to 24,000 miles (based on conditions), or 24 months, whichever comes first.
Now this car has had its service at 24,000 miles, infact it had a “major” service including spark plugs etc instead of a minor one. However this happened in 2019 - 4 years after the car was registered with no previous history available (BMW themselves confirmed they hadn’t seen the car before this point). All services since then have been done perfectly to time.
I guess my question is , I am looking to keep the car for the long time, so how much real long lasting damage could be caused by this car having run the same oil for 4 years/24k miles, especially given all the following servicing schedule has been done on time?
If I were to test drive the car, is there typically anything you would expect to be able to notice when driving it?
The car itself looks in great condition, MPS4s all the way round and it doesn’t look like it has been cheaped out on with first impressions, interior and exterior is up to scratch - would you take it for a drive or carry on walking by?
Cheers guys
Are you buying from a BMW dealer? Has it had many owners? Rightly or wrongly for the type of car I'd expect that it should be cheaper than others of a similar age, can't be many new cars that don't get looked at for first for years of life which either suggests it was serviced outside dealer network [best case] or it was neglected or off the road.
Guess if you intend to keep it for a long time that gap will become more and more irrelevant. But if thinking about resale in short term you'd have buyers asking same question.
Nice cars though!
Guess if you intend to keep it for a long time that gap will become more and more irrelevant. But if thinking about resale in short term you'd have buyers asking same question.
Nice cars though!
Think this one is all going to come down to price. Or maybe you could pay to get cat inspected by an indy or BMW mechanic? Might put your mind at ease. Genuinely don't know how well these cars sell but if dealer is struggling to sell they might be willing to so that?
Edit: don't get your cat inspected
take the car instead
Edit: don't get your cat inspected
take the car insteadOur VW Transporter was bought at 3 years old, with 37k on the clock. Its first owner, prior to camper conversion, was a lease or hire company as far as I can tell.
Up until a major service at 37k, it has no history. Reading around, it seems that it's common for hire companies to service run-of-the-mill vehicles themselves and not document this. In our van's case, it amounts to no evidence of one oil change. Any future buyer would be sure to weigh this up against very thorough evidence of subsequent care.
I'm not suggesting this would be the case for a 135i as I suspect it was for a lowly Transporter, but either way ours is in fine fettle as it approaches 7.5 years of age.
Up until a major service at 37k, it has no history. Reading around, it seems that it's common for hire companies to service run-of-the-mill vehicles themselves and not document this. In our van's case, it amounts to no evidence of one oil change. Any future buyer would be sure to weigh this up against very thorough evidence of subsequent care.
I'm not suggesting this would be the case for a 135i as I suspect it was for a lowly Transporter, but either way ours is in fine fettle as it approaches 7.5 years of age.
Maybe it did a lot of motoring and then had it's mileage "corrected" before it's first service?
Was the 1st MOT performed at 3 yrs? If so, what was it's mileage then?
It seems very suspicious as a msg on the dashboard would have been highlighting the need for service every time it was started.
Was the 1st MOT performed at 3 yrs? If so, what was it's mileage then?
It seems very suspicious as a msg on the dashboard would have been highlighting the need for service every time it was started.
I called BMW and they seem to have had a key fob reading around the two year mark - so they’re kindly going to have a dig and see if it came in for any other service.
Not sure on the 3 year MOT - good point, will take a look at that. I would say it’s on the cheaper side given spec and mileage and it’s been on auto trader for a 4 months now supposedly, must be a hard one to shift.
I think I’ll have to give it a pass unless BMW themselves miraculously say it came in for a service which wasn’t put on idrive.
From what I understand, apparently you can change the service due date yourself on the car, so they could have just fobbed it off for another 2 years.
There’s always another car, so think I’ll wait. Cheers for the input guys!
Not sure on the 3 year MOT - good point, will take a look at that. I would say it’s on the cheaper side given spec and mileage and it’s been on auto trader for a 4 months now supposedly, must be a hard one to shift.
I think I’ll have to give it a pass unless BMW themselves miraculously say it came in for a service which wasn’t put on idrive.
From what I understand, apparently you can change the service due date yourself on the car, so they could have just fobbed it off for another 2 years.
There’s always another car, so think I’ll wait. Cheers for the input guys!
markrtw said:
Maybe it did a lot of motoring and then had it's mileage "corrected" before it's first service?
Was the 1st MOT performed at 3 yrs? If so, what was it's mileage then?
It seems very suspicious as a msg on the dashboard would have been highlighting the need for service every time it was started.
What do you make of this for an MOT history? Check the mileage and dates! Was the 1st MOT performed at 3 yrs? If so, what was it's mileage then?
It seems very suspicious as a msg on the dashboard would have been highlighting the need for service every time it was started.
Maybe they drove in reverse a lot...
markrtw said:
Maybe it did a lot of motoring and then had it's mileage "corrected" before it's first service?
Was the 1st MOT performed at 3 yrs? If so, what was it's mileage then?
It seems very suspicious as a msg on the dashboard would have been highlighting the need for service every time it was started.
My car (M135i) says "service due in 3100 miles" and has done for about 4 months.Was the 1st MOT performed at 3 yrs? If so, what was it's mileage then?
It seems very suspicious as a msg on the dashboard would have been highlighting the need for service every time it was started.
I can't be bothered to reset the service light. I have all the paperwork for the oil and services though, although it's not on the iDrive and not on the Key either so
There are loads of M135i's about so buy one that's straight and honest.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
That’s the one - to be honest we were really just after HK, heated seats, manual and VO.
Not sure what you can do really - some poor sap will end up with it
That’s the one - to be honest we were really just after HK, heated seats, manual and VO.
Not sure what you can do really - some poor sap will end up with it
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