Buying a 328Ci 94k (1999) but with no history - beware?

[nsi]

Due to a colleague moving abroad an oppertunity has arisen to purchase a 328Ci for well under book price. It's a silver V plate (1999) with 94k miles, manual coupé with leather, 18's etc. It has one ding near the back and the drivers leather seat a little worn but these are nothing out of the ordinary for a car that age. More of a concern however the car has no service history because it was lost, although the guy who owns it now is fairly well off so I expect it has been done, just the records lost.

I'm looking to buy the car and then clean it up and sell it on at a more leisurely pace, hopefully for a small profit.

The price it's been offered at is very low, meaning I won't need to ask top dollar when I sell it, but it does worry me that there's no service history as this might limit my pool of potential buyers?

So what I'd like to ask the collective Brain of the PH BMW subsection is:
- Would a lack of service history dent the value? If so, then by how much?
- Will I struggle to find a buyer with no history?
- What do you reckon the car would fetch if I sold it straight away? (I've not viewed it yet so don't have any more info than is in this post.)
- When I'm viewing the car are there any common niggles/issues which might affect this car?

Cheers!

Edited by nsi on Wednesday 23 June 15:49

[Fun Bus]

nsi said:

although the guy who owns it now is fairly well off so I expect it has been done

I'm sorry but I don't think this goes hand in hand. That's just my opinion though.

What is the asking price of the car? As for resale well, if you get it cheap enough now you shouldn't feel the hit when you sell it.
Selling it on straight away could make people think there is a problem with it and you no longer want it because of the problem.
You could try BMW for the service records - but only work done in the dealer network. It's a £1 a minute service and the number can be found under customer service on the website. They can tell you the full spec too.
I'm not too hot on what to look for so I'm sure someone will be along in a bit.

[forsure]

Yes, history matters and lack of it will affect the value considerably.

If it's an E46 ('Ci' suggests it is): Google 'E46 rear subframe' - there's a well-known issue with cracks/fractures in the rear floor - not cheap to rectify.

Value? I saw a better one sell on ebay for £2750 recently. I think 'yours' would struggle to sell in the low £2k+ area.