Buying a 2001 330i with 48K miles ... mistake?

[sbarghaan]

I am in the process of purchasing a 2001 330i and have found a great car, however, the mileage is at 48,000 and on the surface, that concerns me.

The vehicle has passed stringent tests (Certified Pre-Owned) and has had all necessary work done (replaced all brakes, pads, rotors, the works! to make it fantastic) ... but to all you owners out there ... is there something beyond the 50K mark that I should know about? Do certain, costly aspects start to break after 50K, even when kept up right?

Any advice is gladly appreciated!!!!

 

[commander_crash]

Have it checked out by an independent BMW shop just in case... Sadly, the CPO spreadsheet never looked like it was all that in-depth. Out of the six people I know with CPO cars, I'm the only one having issues with my car - so your chances are pretty good. I just wished I had it checked out by a second-party place.

As far as maintenance - the thing will run as long as you maintain it. CPO warranty goes for a while after you buy it and you can ask your dealer about extending your full maintenance and full warranty as long as the car is still under warranty. So my recommendation (and that of Car & Driver) is to buy as much warranty as possible as it tends to pay off.

Sounds like a good deal though. Might call the previous owner or find out if it was leased before just to see how the miles were put on there. But I think a shop should be able to tell you more about the car than you need to know.

Good luck!

 

[bmwrocks]

There is some additional maintenance you do to our cars every two years. You can tie it to mileage also I guess. Change the brake fluid and coolant every two years. Check to see if that was done, if not you have that to do. Brake fluid becomes corrosive over time and is a lot cheaper to flush and replace than replacing brake system components that have failed due to old nasty fluid.

Check the Inspection 2 requirements (at dealer or BMW website I think) for a full list of checks and maintenance items due at about 60K miles.

 

[dumayou]

BMW will last you over 100,000 miles. I would look in to full maintenance and full warranty though and see if you can get a deal out of it too. After you got the warranty you are set. Good luck

 

[Section_8]

I am in the process of purchasing a 2001 330i and have found a great car, however, the mileage is at 48,000 and on the surface, that concerns me.

The vehicle has passed stringent tests (Certified Pre-Owned) and has had all necessary work done (replaced all brakes, pads, rotors, the works! to make it fantastic) ... but to all you owners out there ... is there something beyond the 50K mark that I should know about? Do certain, costly aspects start to break after 50K, even when kept up right?

Any advice is gladly appreciated!!!!

Yes, outside of normal I and II inspections, (You should be looking at a Inspection II soon if you're at 48k) other things start to fail around 50-60k miles: Suspension, brake pads and rotors (which you reported already have been replaced), control arm bushings, (depending on how those 48k miles have been driven) rear shock mounts (again, this goes to the suspension, and how was it driven for those 48k miles). Since you already had your brakes done you're probably good for another 40-50k miles on them.

Your biggest concern should be the OEM suspension, and the condition of your control arm bushings.. A bad bushing can lead to bent/warped control arms, which can hit you in the $ really quickly.

http://www.e46fanatics.com/features/feature.php?news_id=40

The engine if taken care of can run a looong time, it's all the other stuff that likes to fail that really costs.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

Have it checked out by an independent BMW shop just in case... Sadly, the CPO spreadsheet never looked like it was all that in-depth. Out of the six people I know with CPO cars, I'm the only one having issues with my car - so your chances are pretty good. I just wished I had it checked out by a second-party place.

As far as maintenance - the thing will run as long as you maintain it. CPO warranty goes for a while after you buy it and you can ask your dealer about extending your full maintenance and full warranty as long as the car is still under warranty. So my recommendation (and that of Car & Driver) is to buy as much warranty as possible as it tends to pay off.

Sounds like a good deal though. Might call the previous owner or find out if it was leased before just to see how the miles were put on there. But I think a shop should be able to tell you more about the car than you need to know.

Good luck!

I wouldn't buy a CPO car unless all the service records were surrendered to me, including those with No Problem Found on them... I personally don't trust BMW's CPO, take my 8k 325i for instance I wouldn't want it back with a 6yr 100k warranty. Why? Because I already had one and it had been utterly useless. As my sig states.... I sympathize with the NEW CPO vehicle owner.

 

[Zchild]

I have to concur with Section 8, I have over 134,000 miles and yes I replaced the brakes, including rotors, pads and sensors along with the control arm bushings. I get my oil changed faithfully at 5,000 mile intervals with BMW motor oil along with a tire rotation. I also get my Schedule I and Schedule II done on time. All that being said I have had no problems with my bimmer. I just look at the rest as routine maintenence. Happy Motoring... [driving2]

 

[aNoodle]

I think a 330 with under 50k miles would be an excellent value. You've gotten some poor schmuck to pay for more than half the value of a car that will run to 200,000 miles with some regular maintence.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

I think a 330 with under 50k miles would be an excellent value. You've gotten some poor schmuck to pay for more than half the value of a car that will run to 200,000 miles with some regular maintence.

New BMW buyers are poor schmucks?

 

[aNoodle]

New BMW buyers are poor schmucks?

No, I bought mine new, let's not turn this into a lease or own thread. I'm just saying the first 3 years the value drops disproportionately to its useful life. It should be a good value. I still own mine going on six years this fall, been paid off for more than three years. Of course, at 109,500 I'm hitting some maintenance issues, but nothing major. I just had bushings, some sensors, hoses, new battery etc. $1,300 after 5 1/2 years. It should hit 200,000 without any major problems (knock on wood). My point was that the most value disappears in the earlier years becasue people overvalue the need for the latest and greatest styling (which in the case of Bangle may not always be the case) and some people just want something new every 3 years. Nothing wrong with that, but they pay for that. A person coming in 3 years later under 50,000 gets a great value.

 

[commander_crash]

what exactly happened to you car?

I wouldn't buy a CPO car unless all the service records were surrendered to me, including those with No Problem Found on them... I personally don't trust BMW's CPO, take my 8k 325i for instance I wouldn't want it back with a 6yr 100k warranty. Why? Because I already had one and it had been utterly useless. As my sig states.... I sympathize with the NEW CPO vehicle owner.

What exactly happened to your car man? I'm having issues too and have put 15,000 miles on my car - been in the shop 8 times in 9 months. Sort of worried that they won't get all the kinks out.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

What exactly happened to your car man? I'm having issues too and have put 15,000 miles on my car - been in the shop 8 times in 9 months. Sort of worried that they won't get all the kinks out.

As for what happened, the car had it's quirks from day one, but bmw manhattan had to make it worse.... The idiots at BMW manhattan took out the slipping tranny and put another one back in stressing the driveshaft, damaging the "new" tranny (made a whine whirr sound) and they did under the table work on the car (then gave me an invoice with No Prob Found all over it). After they had it, it was never the same again. Brakes would moan and pedal bounced, transmission was "jerky", the engine would vibrate, sometimes it would need to be started twice (started up with a "im gonna fall apart" metal on metal squechin sound) and/or turning off. Every few days (ironically it happened 3 times on my way to pickup my 330i today) the right front signal light wouldn't work then after flcking the signals it would (fault light went out) and after a few hours driving when turning the car's steering would make a metal rubbing moan sound and I could put you to sleep if I ranted on any more....... All I can say is I'm glad it's gone, and I picked up my 330i today, she's perfect!

All I can say is goodluck, and I hope they take good care of your bimmer.