[proton022]

I'm planning to buy a 328i tomorrow. I have two choices, and I'm having trouble making up my mind. Help!

Both are auto, 328i, CPO.

1. 2008: Monaco blue/beige, 25k miles, premium package; heated seats, tires would need to be replaced soon; eligible for 0.9% apr for 24 months offer. Offer: 25,000$

2. 2009: Sapphire black/ oyster, 23k miles, premium package; cold weather, new tires; no incentives; Offer: 28,500$

I like the black/oyster combination better than the other one. One other issue with the 2008 is that the repair history says that it was serviced for a ticking sound from the engine (heard when the engine was idling after a long drive). Not sure if that indicates more repair cost in future.


Are these fair offers? Which one would you go with? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I am going to go one way or the other tomorrow.

[capo1m]

they r both under warranty for quite some time so engine noise shouldnt be a problem but pick which one appeals more to u black is harder to clean monaco blue isnt that far off from black if u plan on getting rims new tires dont matter...ect....

[bavarianboar]

Originally Posted by proton022

I'm planning to buy a 328i tomorrow. I have two choices, and I'm having trouble making up my mind. Help!

Both are auto, 328i, CPO.

1. 2008: Monaco blue/beige, 25k miles, premium package; heated seats, tires would need to be replaced soon; eligible for 0.9% apr for 24 months offer. Offer: 25,000$

2. 2009: Sapphire black/ oyster, 23k miles, premium package; cold weather, new tires; no incentives; Offer: 28,500$

I like the black/oyster combination better than the other one. One other issue with the 2008 is that the repair history says that it was serviced for a ticking sound from the engine (heard when the engine was idling after a long drive). Not sure if that indicates more repair cost in future.


Are these fair offers? Which one would you go with? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I am going to go one way or the other tomorrow.

Is that 2008 a lease return
Is the 2009 a service loaner/demo car? Why the heck does it have 23k miles in about 1 year?

Options apart, that should be the first criteria to see which car might be good one. Warranty is one thing, but if you drive quite a bit, on BOTH cars you'd pretty much run out of factory warranty in about the same time by hitting 50k miles. 2 years vs 3 years would then make no difference.

[proton022]

2009 car: In the CPO checklist it says that car was a trade-in. Carfax says it was 1-owner car, owned as a personal vehicle before. Not sure who it was. But it was kind of strange that, it was then first sold to a dealer nearly 10 months back. At that time it had only 17k miles. Then it was again put up for sale and another dealer bought it. Final odometer reading is ~24k miles. Probably the dealer who first bought from the original owner used it as a loaner car?

2008 was a lease return.

I don't drive all that much. I average 8k miles per year. So 1 yr extra warranty would still make a difference.

But you raised a good point, and I will definitely be asking those questions tomorrow.

[tony20009]

I would choose the 2009.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by proton022

2009 car: In the CPO checklist it says that car was a trade-in. Carfax says it was 1-owner car, owned as a personal vehicle before. Not sure who it was. But it was kind of strange that, it was then first sold to a dealer nearly 10 months back. At that time it had only 17k miles. Then it was again put up for sale and another dealer bought it. Final odometer reading is ~24k miles. Probably the dealer who first bought from the original owner used it as a loaner car?

I guess the title history is what it is...I've not ever seen a Carfax report/history, but it sounds like the finance company is the interim "dealer" that acquired the car and then possibly it was auctioned off. Even if that is so, however, those "mystery" miles are a bit disconcerting.

I therefore rescind my earlier comment. I'd wait until something with a clearer audit trail comes along.

[proton022]

It turned out that the '09 was indeed a loaner car for a while. That explained the mystery miles. Made my decision easy..