BUYER BEWARE! - Take you business elsewhere, these people are shady and borderline scamming.
Went to check out a rare spec BMW they had listed as "Excellent condition" at a good list price. Photos and walkaround video showed the car to be clean with some cosmetic damage, but otherwise it was advertised as "Runs and drives great!" and "Blistering turbo performance."
Upon arrival, the car was in much worse shape than the listing showed. The salesman grabbed the key, and turned the car on and allowed me to inspect it before driving. The brakes were in need of replacement, with grooved rotors and pads with less than 50% life. Completely rusted out as well. The wheels and entire suspension system were heavily corroded and rusted. The car has budget-brand winter tires installed, which are grossly unfit for a performance sedan. There was also significantly more cosmetic damage than the listing showed.
Under the hood, the engine bay was also corroded and rusting. The belt tensioner was loose and tired, causing the tension on the belt to bounce. The crank pully/harmonic balancer was also wobbling very concerningly. The engine block was coated in corrosion. There was evidence of someone trying to hide an oil leak because only certain obvious areas were clearly wiped off. (Suspicions confirmed later when the engine got up to temp and started burning off the oil. The car was smoking like it was on fire.) The O2 sensors on the cat looked extremely poor.
With my initial inspection raising concerns, we began our "test-drive." The salesman rode along and was rushing us through it. We maybe drove the car 3 miles TOPS before his constant insisting to return to the 'dealership' became obnoxious and we returned back. Driving the car, I immediately knew something was up. I have owned and built several N54/N55 engines and BMWs. There was a very obvious lack of power, and the motor sounded choked out and tired. The engine had not even reached operating temp before we returned. Once we parked the car, the salesman hurriedly asked for the windows to be rolled up and for the key before rushing back into the office. I remained at the car and did not shut off the engine because I wanted to run some diagnostics. Not even 10 seconds after the salesman ran away, the engine bay starting bursting with burned oil smoke. Far more than normal for these engines. This was a LARGE ammount of oil leakage being burned off. This directly points to gasket failure: Valve cover, oil pan, oil filter housing - well known maintenance items for these engines.
At this point, I plugged into the car with MHD and read the DME codes. LOL. There was obvious evidence that someone had tried clearing the codes, but MHD being the best for a reason, found all the dirty little secrets. Let me list them off:
135808/A08 - Valvetronic servo failure
108001 - IAT sensor short circuit
108010 - IAT malfunction
108932 - MAF/IAT Sensor group Error
180001 - Catalytic converter below efficiency limit; 02 sensor failure or Catalyst failure
1FB301 - Engine overheated!
20A701 - Coolant pump speed outside of tolerance
20A703 - Engine cooling system; component protection; LIMP MODE
21A023 - Combustion engine: Unsuccessful start or engine stopped without driver influence.
Quite an impressive list they were trying to hide.
With the water pump failing/failed, the ECU in reduced-power/limp mode, history of engine overheat, failed catalytic converter and/or O2 sensors, failed Valvetronic servomotors, short circuited IAT/MAF sensors, and massive oil leak... this car can not be considered "excellent condition" in any sane persons mind.
After taking a screenshot of the list, I turned the car off and went inside to find someone to talk to. When asking for a cash price they stated the car was accurately priced at $9,995 and offered a 100 dollar discount. I told them about my findings and said I wouldn't offer and more than $5,000. Based on their demeanor, they acted like they knew full well the problems with the car and were mad that I caught them lying. Overpriced clapped out POS. This is fraud.
For those who care:
I am a licensed and certified Commercial-Industrial field mechanic with 8 years of experience, and my Fiancé works at Lexus. We are members of the largest car club in Northwest Indiana, and have built and modified countless vehicles. read more