Spec difference

[beck1234567]

Hi, I am looking to buy a 5 series and called up BMW customer service who said the car should have beige leather, but it actually has black leather. Has anyone come across a case where the incorrect details were recorded by BMW? Or is it more likely that the car has been involved in some accident and the interior changed? Did an HPI check and it came up clear.

[4rephill]

beck1234567 said:

Hi, I am looking to buy a 5 series and called up BMW customer service who said the car should have beige leather, but it actually has black leather. Has anyone come across a case where the incorrect details were recorded by BMW? Or is it more likely that the car has been involved in some accident and the interior changed? Did an HPI check and it came up clear.

There could be any number of reasons for the different interior.

It could be that the previous owner simply preferred a black interior.

It could be that the previous owner swapped from an SE interior to a sports interior or vica versa.

It could be that there was wear and tear on the old interior so the previous owner bought a better condition black one to replace it.



You could try contacting the previous owner and see what they have to say about it, chances are it's something totally innocent.

[beck1234567]

4rephill said:

There could be any number of reasons for the different interior.

It could be that the previous owner simply preferred a black interior.

It could be that the previous owner swapped from an SE interior to a sports interior or vica versa.

It could be that there was wear and tear on the old interior so the previous owner bought a better condition black one to replace it.



You could try contacting the previous owner and see what they have to say about it, chances are it's something totally innocent.

Thanks for that. The car is actually a MY2008, which makes a change of interior very strange. Looking at other beige leather cars, the footwell and B pillar are also colour coded, so it seems like an awfull lot of work to change the interior. So perhaps an error with the spec records at BMW?

[Fox-]

Or the wrong reg on the car..

[beck1234567]

Fox- said:

Or the wrong reg on the car..

I guess the only way to check would be to check the VIN against the V5 and get an inspection done?

[Bungleaio]

Its been a while since I did a HPI report but I thought they only showed up if a car had been written off rather than minor incidents. Maybe something has occurred that has caused the interior change.

[jonnynine11]

I've known a couple of dealers, Mitsubishi, Merc and bmw change complete interiors (roof linings dashboard etc) to sell a car when a customer wanted a different colour trim.

[beck1234567]

jonnynine11 said:

I've known a couple of dealers, Mitsubishi, Merc and bmw change complete interiors (roof linings dashboard etc) to sell a car when a customer wanted a different colour trim.

Thanks, that's good to know.

[beck1234567]

this is the car and it's suspiciously cheap...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

[Fox-]

Something very wrong there - both Glass's retail and trade value for that car are over £20k, it also has the CIC HDD based Navigation system which whilst very desireable is only generally found on 09 onwards cars (Though I guess it could be a very late reg 08).

[beck1234567]

Fox- said:

Something very wrong there - both Glass's retail and trade value for that car are over £20k, it also has the CIC HDD based Navigation system which whilst very desireable is only generally found on 09 onwards cars (Though I guess it could be a very late reg 08).

Thanks for that, the old saying about "if it looks too good to be true" probably applies here. It sold before I got to see it anyway.