In need of help about a BMW's service history.....

[xKellyYx]

Hey,

I'm looking at buying a BMW compact 2001-2004 (new shape). I've come across one on Ebay. It has 118000 miles, 04 plate, the owner has said that the last owner lost the service history but I can obtain it from the BMW dealer. I don't want to go ahead and buy the car with such a high mileage, with no service history. Can any of you help me in finding out whether the car has actually got service history. The reg is BF04 WOB. Also, he's said he's just had it serviced and it has one months MOT left on it, however, he's willing to put 12months on for the buyer..does this sound abit dodgy to any of you, because why not put 12months on now, just incase it failed?

Many thanks for your help. =) x

[christer]

Hi

Well, if it was serviced with BMW you can just look on www.bmw.co.uk and find the phone number to check that. It costs £1 per minute but well worth it. Please note they can tell you when and where it was serviced (with milage) but if you need details of what was done they will give you the dealer details so you can call them yourself. If it has been serviced outside the BMW netwrok, then unless a previous owner and records can be traced you will have very little/no chance. FWIW, my 550i's service book had been lost but I called BMW, spoke to the dealers and when all OK I paid £12 or so for a replacement service book from the dealer with all stamps duplicated. No problem, just a little extra work for me.

[christer]

xKellyYx said:

Also, he's said he's just had it serviced and it has one months MOT left on it, however, he's willing to put 12months on for the buyer..does this sound abit dodgy to any of you, because why not put 12months on now, just incase it failed?

x

Hi

Forgot to answer in last reply^^

Make sure that in addition to calling BMW to tracing past history that you also get the paperwork for the most recent service he says it has had. Who did it*? If you buy the car and get a replacement handbook will they stamp it for you? etc etc.

The MOT thing I would take as a negotiation tactic....i.e. that the price he is offering is for the car with 1 month's MOT but he will throw in 12 months just so you don't ask for anything else.....

If you want, post up the full spec of the car and price offered - we could give you our opinion on the deal..?

[xKellyYx]

Hi, thanks for your reply. The car is on Ebay, and It's to bid on.The details of the car are:


BMW Colour: Black
Model: 316TI ES COMPACT 1,796 cc
Type: Standard
Mileage: 118600
Doors: 3
MOT Expiry: 2009
Model Year: 2004
Drive Side: Right-hand drive
Reg. Date: 02 Mar 2004
Road Tax: 2009
Reg. Mark: **04 *** Get the Vehicle Status Report
Exterior: Alloy Wheels, Catalytic Converter
Previous Owners: 3
V5 Document: Present
Transmission: Manual
Fuel: Petrol
In-Car Audio: CD Player
Interior/Comfort Options: Air Conditioning, Power-assisted Steering (PAS), Power Locks, Power Windows, Tilt Steering Wheel
Safety Features: Alarm, Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS), Driver Airbag, Immobiliser, Passenger Airbag, Rear seat belts, Safety Belt Pretensioners
Price: currently on £2350, with 2 days left.


This is the text with the car:

here i have my friends bmw compact the car is in very good condition it drives very well with no noises its just had a service and new tyres the m.o.t runs out next month but he will put a full 1 on for the winning bidder .

only selling as he has bought a new focus st.

cash on colection good look any questions please feel free to email me and ill get back to you

Thank you =)

[christer]

Well, the limited checks I have done apparently confirm that:

it has had 4 owners
no record of total loss by insurers
no stolen record
not scrapped
the mileage check reports 96646 on 13.08.2007

So on the surface, you have what appears to be the car it is indicated to be, the mileage seems in line (unless its been clocked since) with the online data available etc etc.

Personally, I would always be wary of adverts like this with limited "my mate has a car which drives realyl nice" but if you can check the history with BMW if any, and ask the seller what paperwork is availbale with the car then it coudl be worth a punt. It will always be a risk potentially, but if it was me if I could view it first I would and then all being well if I could get it for around £3000-3500 I might be persuaded to go for it. Any more and IMHO its just not worth the risk. But it does depend on what you find with BMW etc....

Not much help I know, its your money and your choice

At this stage, the price is only indicative so it may end up at £4k plus - who knows. At that sortof level, I think I may be more tempted by somethinglike this http://pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1214752.htm - 6 cylinder engine, very tough unit and 95K miles is no problem....you might be able to get it for £3250-3500.

All IMHO of course Let us know what you decide.

Edited by christer on Friday 28th August 16:07