[bmdub]

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Hey there everyone -

I finally got alot of stuff cleared up. But I still want all of your opinions.

I bought a 2006 BMW 330i car in August 2006 from an outside dealer (not BMW). Next are few details.

- It was a used car with 2800 miles when I bought it.
- I bought the car (without checking any history, since I'm new to the US, and was not aware of VIN checks etc.)
- However, dealer gave my a letter of non-conformity of the lemon law.
- When I asked what that was he said "The first owner had a problem with the car and returned it for servicing to BMW, they couldn't service it for 15 days so the car was bought back by BMW and fixed.
- I bought the car since BMW provided me with a letter stating everything was fixed now.
- Now I know the implications of having a lemon car value-wise. However, I've driven the car for 20,000 miles with no problems at all.
- So I asked BMWNA why it was a lemon, and they said it was because it took them more than 15 days to fix it, hence it was bought back by BMW and declared a lemon. (NY 15 day law)
- I inquired on what the problem was, they said the INTERMEDIATE LEVERS in the DRIVETRAIN had a problem, but were fixed.
- BMW says the car is in perfect condition but they cannot CPO it since it has a lemon tag on it, EVENTHOUGH the car is in perfect mechanical condition.

Now I have a few questions -

1. Am I screwed (in terms of resale value) that its a lemon car eventhough I have a BMW letter stating its in perfect working condition, and the fact that I've driven 20K miles with no problems on it ?

2. How serious is the INTERMEDIATE LEVER problem? The fact that I've driven it 20K miles, is that a reassuring fact to support my car is GOOD and not about to break anytime soon? Or should I expect this problem to comeback and haunt me down the road?

3. BMW won't CPO it. Potential buyers will get scared of my car when its time for me to sell it or trade it in when they hear the "lemon" title. Sucks for me right? Or will some or few buyers actually take my word that the car works fine regardless of history?

4. When I do sell, I'd be 100% honest about its history, I'm not a deceptive soul. Having said that, do dealers that take trade-in check for Lemon Status, and secondly if they don't, is it illegal for me to trade it in without telling them its a lemon?

I'd REALLY appreciate some answers and advice.

Thank You!

[drbimmer97]

good luck when you try to re-sell it....better yet, why not just mod it and keep it (since you say you've been happy with it anyway ?).

[e90pdto]

There is no doubt that this will affect the resale somewhat. You definitely cannot expect the same resale value as another 330i w/ the same conditions, mileage etc.
As a simple example, if you were given a choice of two of the same cars, and one of them has a lemon tag w/ no CPO conditions on it... what would you choose?
However, it should be kinda fair to expect a lower resale value? Since, I think you must have bought the car cheaper than a normal 330i would have cost?
Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone for a lemon, right?

[BMXtreme]

yeah..it sux.....it always is....when i was in school, came into the country without knowing all this pink/blue/green slips they have and bought an Integra which have a salvage history..the car was perfect..nothing is wrong with it...probably it was stolen and recovered....nothing was wrong but I gotta sell it at 60% of the market value....whcih totally suck...i drove it for 2yrs and have minimal issues since it was a used car when i got it...............people will always take advantage of this to get it at a bargain...

To be truthful..i won't pay full price for a vehicle with a weird title even if its perfect.

[SE3P_to_E90]

Originally Posted by toattett

There is no doubt that this will affect the resale somewhat. You definitely cannot expect the same resale value as another 330i w/ the same conditions, mileage etc.
As a simple example, if you were given a choice of two of the same cars, and one of them has a lemon tag w/ no CPO conditions on it... what would you choose?
However, it should be kinda fair to expect a lower resale value? Since, I think you must have bought the car cheaper than a normal 330i would have cost?
Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone for a lemon, right?

^+1

I have a few questions though:
did you buy the car at a significantly lower cost?
and, what are the implications of the NYS Lemon law... i.e. 15 days... is that working days, or are weekends included as well? (i'm just curious about this one)

I think the best route you should take is to just keep it. Accrue a lot of miles on it, and when you're ready to sell (much later down the road), the tag will probably be of no concern due to the mileage, etc.

Years and years down the road, i think it'll be convenient to just hold on to a beater car.

[bmdub]

No I did not buy it at a significant lower price, because the letter stated "Prior Non-Conformity", meaning it now DID conform, and was sold to me for a little less than a new price, not significantly lower.

My impression when buying the car was, it was broken and not fixed for 15 days - hence was a lemon, was fixed and got a letter from BMW - so now its not a lemon. Maybe it was my lack of knowledge of the laws that led me to believe the dealer that it was no longer a lemon. Once a lemon, always a lemon, is what I know now.

To SE3P_to_E90 - Its 15 working days I believe. You can find the laws on the NY Attorney General's website.

Ohio State Lemon Law states that eventhough I have a prior non conformity letter, it does not hold me legally accountable for buying the lemon car, since dealers have deceptive techniques. I wonder if NY has the same protection.

[SE3P_to_E90]

Originally Posted by bmdub

No I did not buy it at a significant lower price, because the letter stated "Prior Non-Conformity", meaning it now DID conform, and was sold to me for a little less than a new price, not significantly lower.

My impression when buying the car was, it was broken and not fixed for 15 days - hence was a lemon, was fixed and got a letter from BMW - so now its not a lemon. Maybe it was my lack of knowledge of the laws that led me to believe the dealer that it was no longer a lemon. Once a lemon, always a lemon, is what I know now.

To SE3P_to_E90 - Its 15 working days I believe. You can find the laws on the NY Attorney General's website.

Ohio State Lemon Law states that eventhough I have a prior non conformity letter, it does not hold me legally accountable for buying the lemon car, since dealers have deceptive techniques. I wonder if NY has the same protection.

it sucks that they don't just CPO it... it's bs.
gluck w/ your searches

[bmdub]

Originally Posted by SE3P_to_E90

it sucks that they don't just CPO it... it's bs.
gluck w/ your searches

yeah I really wish they did. /= I'm getting in touch with some attorneys. Lets see what happens.

Thanks.