[335MRod]

Originally Posted by lilg1993

This has probably been the only fun/entertaining part of this whole adventure that has accompanied my purchase of this car...

I was curious in possibly speaking with the previous owner of the vehicle about any issues he/she may have been aware of, just so that I could be made aware of them and possibly address them. Tracking down the owner turned out be a lot easier than I thought it would be.

In the glove compartment, I found an old registration document (attached), parts of the user manual, and an added bonus: a $500 gift card to Bloomingdale's (which had all of its value and does not expire)

Naturally, I went straight to the computer and Googled the names, starting with Christopher (as I assumed that Kerri was probably the co-registrant mother that didn't drive the car; I think I was correct...). below, I have included 3 links. the first 2 contain stories that I will not tell myself, but you should all read for the lolz. second one is a mugshot w/ information on specifically which statutes he allegedly violated, for those who really care.

http://www.flkeysnews.com/news/local...e79612177.html

http://www.local10.com/news/florida/...on-bui-charges

http://mugshots.com/US-Counties/Flor....74700764.html

So yea, this guy tried jumping overboard while handcuffed, and resisted being saved from drowning, so was peppersprayed to get him under control. the previous owner of my car was a real genius

Anyways, a little further probing turned up a phone number for the address listed on the registration document. I tried calling just to ask a couple questions about the car in general, but nobody answered. a friendly voice message with a callback request was never responded to. I also looked up the address and checked out the house on Google street-view. The salesman who handled the sale of the car to me specifically told me that the car had been garaged all its life. A simple check of the street-view will reveal that there is no garage at this address

So, whether the previous owner lied to the salesman, saying it had always been garaged, I have no clue. However, in light of what I had learned about the odometer fraud behind this car, it is really no surprise to me that I never received a call back from the previous owner, after leaving a message that in part said "I wanted to ask a few questions about a blue 335is that I bought".

Guilt by silence? well, of course I cannot definitively say one way or the other, but every sliver of evidence I have come across through my own research seems to be painting a grim picture for the previous owner (i.e. the fact that the service reports show 34,xxx under his ownership period, followed by the title document being signed as having 21,xxx at the time he sold it; criminal past; not returning call; etc.) but lets not forget, this is America, and everyone is innocent until proven guilty

Got more info next time, including CarFax nonsense...

TLDR: found $500 gift card in glove box; previous owner is a clown; car was evidently not "garaged all its life" as promised (as if I wasn't already suspicious about paint job)

Hey I'm sure you're not aware of it but the third link you posted is infected with a trojan or something my Anti-virus picked it up.. Just an FYI for anyone else who clicks it..

[lilg1993]

Originally Posted by 335MRod

Hey I'm sure you're not aware of it but the third link you posted is infected with a trojan or something my Anti-virus picked it up.. Just an FYI for anyone else who clicks it..

Hmm, interesting;, certainly meant no harm to anyone. will take down 3rd link. repped.

[335MRod]

Originally Posted by lilg1993

Hmm, interesting;, certainly meant no harm to anyone. will take down 3rd link. repped.

No worries I'm sure it wasn't on purpose and sorry to hear about your IS I wish you luck and hope it all works out..

[F30lolz]

Originally Posted by lilg1993

This has probably been the only fun/entertaining part of this whole adventure that has accompanied my purchase of this car...

I was curious in possibly speaking with the previous owner of the vehicle about any issues he/she may have been aware of, just so that I could be made aware of them and possibly address them. Tracking down the owner turned out be a lot easier than I thought it would be.

In the glove compartment, I found an old registration document (attached), parts of the user manual, and an added bonus: a $500 gift card to Bloomingdale's (which had all of its value and does not expire)

Naturally, I went straight to the computer and Googled the names, starting with Christopher (as I assumed that Kerri was probably the co-registrant mother that didn't drive the car; I think I was correct...). below, I have included 2 links to stories that I will not tell myself, but you should all read for the lolz.

http://www.flkeysnews.com/news/local...e79612177.html

http://www.local10.com/news/florida/...on-bui-charges

So yea, this guy tried jumping overboard while handcuffed, and resisted being saved from drowning, so was peppersprayed to get him under control. the previous owner of my car was a real genius

Anyways, a little further probing turned up a phone number for the address listed on the registration document. I tried calling just to ask a couple questions about the car in general, but nobody answered. a friendly voice message with a callback request was never responded to. I also looked up the address and checked out the house on Google street-view. The salesman who handled the sale of the car to me specifically told me that the car had been garaged all its life. A simple check of the street-view will reveal that there is no garage at this address

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.6237...8i6656!6m1!1e1

So, whether the previous owner lied to the salesman, saying it had always been garaged, I have no clue. However, in light of what I had learned about the odometer fraud behind this car, it is really no surprise to me that I never received a call back from the previous owner, after leaving a message that in part said "I wanted to ask a few questions about a blue 335is that I bought".

Guilt by silence? well, of course I cannot definitively say one way or the other, but every sliver of evidence I have come across through my own research seems to be painting a grim picture for the previous owner (i.e. the fact that the service reports show 34,xxx under his ownership period, followed by the title document being signed as having 21,xxx at the time he sold it; criminal past; not returning call; etc.) but lets not forget, this is America, and everyone is innocent until proven guilty

Got more info next time, including CarFax nonsense...

TLDR: found $500 gift card in glove box; previous owner is a clown; car was evidently not "garaged all its life" as promised (as if I wasn't already suspicious about paint job)

lol epic. I don't live too far from his house but I think I've seen him before. Small world we live in. IDK, try selling the $500 gift card and use the funds towards the car

[lilg1993]

Originally Posted by 335MRod

No worries I'm sure it wasn't on purpose and sorry to hear about your IS I wish you luck and hope it all works out..

thanks man

Originally Posted by F30lolz

lol epic. I don't live too far from his house but I think I've seen him before. Small world we live in. IDK, try selling the $500 gift card and use the funds towards the car

oh wow, thats quite interesting actually...small world is right.

and lol I'm actually a pretty big Bloomingdales guy, so I will just keep the card and use it when I see fit. they have a store pretty close to my house and the head sales guy in the mens dept. (who also happens to be Bloomingdale's top salesman in the country for years running) actually grew up with my father, so I've got the hookup

[lilg1993]

let me preface this post with a warning and a disclaimer: DO NOT TRUST CARFAX. DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING THAT IS WRITTEN ON ANY CARFAX AT FACE VALUE. DIG DEEPER AND GET ALL THE RIGHT ANSWERS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.

so, the dealer provided me a CarFax for free. of course, it looked good. stated the miles as advertised, stated no accidents, no total loss reported, no branded title, etc. clean. or so I thought...

of course, once I found out through my local BMW center about the mileage thing, the first thing I thought was that maybe the dealer who sold it to me went in and physically doctored the CarFax report that they gave to me. to find out, I simply went and bought a report myself. in my own head, I was really hoping that the dealer had altered it, because that would be a very clear cut case of fraud. black and white. lawsuit against the dealer open and shut immediately. however, $43.44 later, I learned I was not going to be so lucky. the report I paid for was identical to the one the dealer gave me (see attached).

but wait. CarFax has a "buyback guarantee" (https://www.carfax.com/manifest/bbg/termsConditions.cfx), where they will supposedly buy the vehicle back if there is an odometer discrepancy where the mileage stated in the report is not the actual mileage. well, CarFax support basically basically said "fuck you" when I (really, my father) tried to bring this up to them in a support chat, as well as the fact that they falsely reported the status of the vehicle's warranty (see attached). their excuse is that they cannot possibly compile information from every source, which is all fair and fine, except for the fact that I obtained this information through 1 five-minute phone call to BMW of North America. the idea that they do not collect info/data from the manufacturer of the vehicle is absolutely ludicrous. IMO they have got to be liable for something here.

anyway, the warranty information is all screwed up due to the cloudy ownership history. the report states that the car was imported to the US from Germany for the first time on 10/10/2012. it then goes on to indict that the "first owner reported" on 12/11/2012 and that a title was issued/updated in Florida. that was likely a dealer, as the car was then sold again 28 days later. anyway, the report indicates that the vehicle was first registered in December of 2012, and warranties are supposedly effective from the first date of registration. that would indicate that the warranty should have been effective through approximately the time of my writing this post. this was not the case.

BMW NA told me that the warranty actually expired in March of 2015 they went on to explain why...

you see, the car was originally purchased as a "military vehicle". (I initially chuckled at this term, as I envisioned this 335is rolling through a mock battlefield as an armored transport vehicle/tank ). what this really means is that the vehicle is purchased by/through the military for a member of the military that is stationed overseas. this guy just happened to be stationed in Germany. so when the guy sold the car (or simply had it imported back to the US, from Germany), it made it seem like it was its original import from the factory. at least, I guess that is how the jackass over at CarFax interpreted it when he compiled the report, because it states that it is first registered in 2012. that is where all the misunderstanding about the warranty coverage info on the CarFax report stems from. regardless, this is completely their fault for failing to properly interpret/indicate the previous ownership status of the vehicle overseas. and so I relied on the information that the warranty coverage was still active until approximately December 11th, 21016, as it was "reported" as being well within the mileage limit

so that is basically the CarFax story. real clusterfuck. and that is pretty much the final piece of the puzzle regarding the crazy story behind this car and its history. btw, I know this post is pretty long, but you may only truly fully understand it by scanning over the report itself and the transcript, etc.

TLDR: DO NOT TRUST CARFAX. FUCK CARFAX. FUCK YOUR STUPID CARFOX. I'LL MAKE ROADKILL OUT OF HIS MISINFORMED ASS. Dealer did not alter title at all. CarFax was completely wrong about a number of items. CarFax does not have a phone number. Fuck them. They somehow feel they have done no wrong/have not been negligent in their gathering and reporting of information regarding this car. Their "buyback guarantee" doesn't seem to mean shit. Fuck them some more for that. Vehicle's history in Germany/US is very confusing, more so because this is of course a German car, manufactured at a factory in Germany. Misinterpretation of documents regarding its ownership past led to misreporting of warranty status information. CarFax is stupid. Did I say fuck CarFax yet? because fuck CarFax.

[Sge92x]

800-789-6232 carfax customer service number

[lilg1993]

Originally Posted by Sge92x

800-789-6232 carfax customer service number

well I'll be damned, I couldn't find that one earlier, and CarFax literally told my dad over live chat that they did not offer phone support. pricks.

tried calling twice though and nobody seems to want to answer the phone over there

[lilg1993]

So, it's been a while and I have been busy trying to get some law enforcement agency to do something to help me, (with very little luck up to this point), as well as find a replacement 335is.

A little over a month ago I went to BMW of Oyster Bay to have it appraised, at the direction of my father's cousin. He said understanding the true value of the vehicle (and the difference between that and what I paid for it) would be important in any civil matter. Salesman I met with was very nice and up front with me. Of course I wouldn't/couldn't lie about the situation surrounding the car, as he would find out anyway. He runs some paperwork, etc. and comes back to say he cannot legally buy the car from me. he did speak with their wholesaler, who said he would be willing to "take a shot" on the car and buy it for $8000. that's more than $20,000 less than what I paid for it. so much for that one. it has been locked away in my grandmother's garage ever since, as she snowbirds to Palm Beach in the winter months.

anyway, my father and I have spent countless hours online and on the phone looking for phone numbers, state and federal statutes, and calling different agencies in Florida, Illinois, and even the FBI. excuses vary widely from each one, but the main gist of it all is "we don't handle this, it's not our problem. the NHTSA has an odometer fraud investigation unit, but they do not take on individual cases, only larger, "multiple instance" cases

the local PD where this previous owner lives probably spat in my face the hardest. we uncovered several FL statutes pertaining to odometers and odometer fraud. even without knowing/proving that the previous owner himself was the one who actually physically turned back the odometer/swapped out the DME/altered the reading/whatever the fuck he did, he still committed a felony in the state of Florida (as per FL 319.35 - see below). an officer at the Village of Palmetto Bay PD refused to entertain what we were pointing out to him. even his commanding officer, who said he knew of this individual (probably because he has a felony record/is the village scumbag), refused to acknowledge the fact that the man committed a felony and was adamant the he would not open an investigation into the matter, despite overwhelming concrete evidence pointing to the crime

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/...s/0319.35.html

but finally, last week, I received a call back from an investigator at the Illinois Secretary of State Police. back in December, we had asked him to find out definitively if the vehicle had been shipped to IL/if the title was mailed to the dealer (when I called the dealer and asked, they played dumb and said they didn't know and couldn't find out, which was obvious bullshit). an officer with the Florida Highway Patrol investigations unit told us that if the authorities in IL came back and said that the car/title were shipped/mailed from FL, and not driven there/signed at the dealer, they would be happy to prosecute this Crowley guy. Anyway, the investigator said that the title was mailed and the car shipped. so now, hopefully, 4+ months after my nightmare began, at least some action will be taken in the near future to come to at least a partial resolution.

I also purchased a new 335is, which will hopefully be arriving by tractor trailer transporter on Monday. then I can actually get down to the real "build thread" stuff, and you guys won't have to listen to me whine and complain about all this shit. and I will also be a much happier, much less cranky, far less pissed-at-the-world kinda person.

TLDR: been busy researching the law...and a replacement vehicle. was offered ~$22,000 less than what I paid for the car by a wholesaler. bureaucracies don't ever want to help you, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to multiple state and federal crimes. even the local PD knows who Christopher Crowley is, because he is a criminal, but they still don't wanna do any work to throw him [back] in jail. may have finally hit a break in all of this, as far as putting Crowley in his place. new 335is coming soon. stay tuned for actual build thread related posts

[lilg1993]

Well, I am now the (semi) proud owner of not one, but two () 335is'.

New one is a CPO 2013, Space Gray/Black, 19" 313's, 7-DCT with 32,836 on the odometer. Arrived by auto transport carrier from Long Beach, CA Monday night in some pretty heavy rain and wind. thank god it actually arrived without any damage from falling trees.

Still haven't had the chance to drive it yet tho, because the salesman who sold me the car was a bit of an airhead to say the least . Monday afternoon I asked if he had placed the title in the glove box/somewhere in the car. he said that since there is a loan on the car from BMW FS, they hold the title until the loan is paid off. however, he assured me that I did not need the title to register my car, only the bill of sale and other DMV documents. false.

So now I am waiting for a certified copy of the title to arrive by mail tomorrow morning before I can go and get it registered and on the road finally.

also arriving tomorrow with the title copy will be the little ///m wheel sticker emblem things...they for some reason were not on the wheels even in the showroom. despite being assured they would be put on the car before it was shipped out, they are still missing. I also have to get some grease spot on the carpeted wall of the trunk cleaned up, as they "forgot" to clean that up too, despite (you guessed it) my being assured it would be taken care of. (see photos)

also, the ash tray lid up front will not open all the way...the sales manager told me to take it to my local BMW center and they will fix it up under the warranty. anybody have a quick surefire way to fix, or should I just let the stealer do it? otherwise, everything else looks pretty good. keeping my fingers crossed that this paperwork arrives by 10am as I have been promised.

more pics coming tomorrow/this weekend

[redline2001]

OP you need to take a honest look into the mirror. Your total lack of due diligence before making these large purchases is the cause of your problems.
Best of luck in the future

[lilg1993]

Originally Posted by redline2001

OP you need to take a honest look into the mirror. the selling dealer's total lack of due diligence before making these large purchases is the cause of your problems.
Best of luck in the future

fixed it for ya.

the previous owner committed crimes in violation of both state and federal laws. evidence indicates that the dealer was also involved. not sure how I was supposed to have known about the odometer being rolled back...I'd love to hear you tell me how I should have known

and if you are getting at saying the new one has problems, they're not so much problems as they are minor inconveniences. I told the selling dealer about the wheel stickers and the dirty trunk...they failed to rectify the issues before delivery. ashtray thing is an easy fix. sure, I didn't know about it, but it doesn't render the car worth thousands less than what was paid for it.

and if you at all think for even 1 millisecond that I am the only person at fault for my misfortune regarding the '11, and that nobody is liable for damages to me, then you need to refer back to your business law 101 books

[BIMMER_Tech 631]

Been a while bro, sorry i never made it over to take a look, whats going on with it?
Same shit?

[FamilyManTrackSedan]

The 'is' may be the issue man. It's rare to find one, especially one someone hasn't been a jackass with. Not worth it IMO. They're not worth the 30hp you can far exceed with a 'i' and PE mod.

Pointing out an m sticker, ash tray door, and some grease stain in the trunk with the new one is kinda crazy.

Also after the dealer said fuck off, my first calls would've be a private investigator, local news to go after the dealer, then a lawyer. Even if it cost you $3k at least they'd handle it.

good luck

[lilg1993]

Originally Posted by BIMMER_Tech 631

Been a while bro, sorry i never made it over to take a look, whats going on with it?
Same shit?

all good, i moved it to my grandmothers house in Laurel Hollow for winter storage while she's in FL...still waiting for some sort of action from the law against the dealer/prior owner. its still not registered to anything, haven't touched it since I moved it back in December. got a new one tho, so starting a real build thread, I guess lol

Originally Posted by FamilyManTrackSedan

The 'is' may be the issue man. It's rare to find one, especially one someone hasn't been a jackass with. Not worth it IMO. They're not worth the 30hp you can far exceed with a 'i' and PE mod.

Pointing out an m sticker, ash tray door, and some grease stain in the trunk with the new one is kinda crazy.

Also after the dealer said fuck off, my first calls would've be a private investigator, local news to go after the dealer, then a lawyer. Even if it cost you $3k at least they'd handle it.

good luck

you have a good point. but idk, I got this new one certified, so it 'should' be good to go

I'm very anal about things and am OCD. wanted to have the dealer take care of it all so I wouldn't have to myself, namsayin? the fact that they didn't kinda irks me a bit, but it's not a big deal at all really, just a minor inconvenience to have to do it myself.

and yea, went to NBC affiliate in Chicago and gave them the documents I had from dealer, other info, rundown of the whole situation and they said they would "look into it", which involves reaching out to the dealer and giving them chance to defend themselves (which I think is fair, of course). haven't heard back from NBC. we had a case opened up into the dealer. I don't think they really did a thorough job, so I'm not done nagging investigator about it all yet. waiting on legal ramifications against prior owner in FL. all the details are in my other thread posts if you're interested.

thanks for the well wishing

[lilg1993]

have not been updating on here at all, mostly out of laziness

after that certified copy of the title came, the DMV still told me it was no good and that I needed the real thing, after DMV told me the day before that a certified copy with supporting written and signed letter from the dealer (which I had!) would suffice. couple of angry phone calls to the dealer and BMW FS (who was hiding the title) later and they get the original documents together and send them...only problem is it is now Friday and they won't arrive until Saturday morning

however, I did get a pretty good deal out of it in the end, I think. I registered it January 30th. I officially purchased the car January 5th. dealer understood I was pissed with their constant fuckups and the length of time it was all taking. I asked them to make my first months payment ($500+), which they actually sent me a check for! they're also supposed to be sending me a check for my registration/title fees ($244!)

so I finally got it on the road a but haven't been driving it much since, as I went away to FL for a week the day after I registered it and it has been at my buddy's shop getting a detailing all week (more on that stuff later)

so, first actual modification I made was to remove that stupid phone adapter cradle in the center console. I don't know why these cars were even sold with this shit in them to begin with; its ancient technology, and it is wholly useless with bluetooth, etc. just takes up a lot of space and looks ugly too.

so a bit of a how to here that is pretty straightforward...brute force the thing from the top corners with a flathead to start. then pop the handbrake gaiter out and reach inside to unclip where the wires are attached and run up towards the head unit. once those are out its pretty much just feed the wires out the holes that are under where the cradle once sat. **strangely enough I had 3 wires coming from the cradle (most people seem to have just 2). I wound up just cutting them to get it all out. all systems in the car worked when I disconnected the wires so no harm done cutting them.** you will need another piece to cover up those holes. BMW has a part number for it, which I don't actually know, but it's all over threads about taking out the cradle piece. I just took the rubber insert from my POS blue 335is and stuck it there to cover the holes...I guess maybe that car is good for something after all

TLDR: been lazy; got it registered and on the road but haven't driven it much yet; dealer is basically paying me because they are a bunch of morons and fucked everything up like 4 times; center console phone cradle is useless; theres a brief how-to if you wanna remove yours. piece of cake, really.

[Crazy Penguin]

You take the cake bro and sadly deserve everything.
On top of that you did it again. How stupid can one person be to buy a car without ever actually looking at it in person. Not once but twice.

Btw bmw of oysters bay is a chop shop dealer and how dumb can you be to think you can register a car without the title in hand. Thats the whole point of a title.


Edit: oh lol the strong island sticker says it all

[lilg1993]

Originally Posted by Crazy Penguin

You take the cake bro and sadly deserve everything.
On top of that you did it again. How stupid can one person be to buy a car without ever actually looking at it in person. Not once but twice.

Btw bmw of oysters bay is a chop shop dealer and how dumb can you be to think you can register a car without the title in hand. Thats the whole point of a title.


Edit: oh lol the strong island sticker says it all

if you actually bothered to read even the 5th line of the first post of the entire thread, you would understand that I actually did go to see the first one that I got scammed on. you think you would've somehow looked at the odometer and been like "nah man, its been rolled back"? there was absolutely no way to have known, because CarFax fucked me too, and the previous owner committed title fraud signing over false documentation. sure, I got gamed, but its alright, it didn't make me broke. life goes on, and the dealer/previous owner will get his/theirs

the second one, as I have again stated in prior posts, theres nothing really *wrong* with it like the first one, just minor inconvenient things. it's CPO. it's ok. and before you quip back with "lol thinking CPO is perfect, you take a bigger cake", I'm not saying that. but you seem to be insinuating that there is something majorly and/or mechanically wrong with my new one, which is simply incorrect. again, a little bit of reading and you would understand that.

honestly and genuinely curious as to why you say that about BMW of Oyster Bay...like what makes you say that, what do you have against them? seems like they've got some nice people working over there, but thats not the BMW stealer i usually deal with. please, do enlighten me.

registration thing, ya, maybe a bit of a brain fart. I did question the dealer when he said I wouldn't need it, just the sale docs, etc., but he assured me I wouldn't need it. figured since they are a fucking car dealer and do this shit every day (and i have never gone and registered a vehicle myself) they might know better than me. guess I was wrong. oh well, live and learn, not like i lost a bunch of money over it

btw, its actually Island Strong, bro. they've got some pretty cool merch, actually, and they donate portions of proceeds to good causes. I'd tell you to check it out, but you clearly don't take any pride in where you live. not sure what your little comment is supposed to be getting at anyway.

just please go. move to Staten Island or some other dump where you belong

[lilg1993]

so got some real mods going on...

- had the stock downpipes swapped for VRSF 3" hatless

car sounds fucking awesome with these bolted on and that 'is' exhaust; absolutely loving it. will make for some nice power gains too when I get the JB4 going and all that will post a video demonstrating sound stock vs with downpipes when I get the chance

- installed BMS oil catch can

thinking its a good thing to have, and it wasn't all that much money for a good PM mod

- installed Evolution Racewerks stainless steel brake lines

looking for a firmer pedal, but it didn't make much of a difference tbh. maybe slightly regretting this one, but oh well

- had the front and rear sway bars and bushing components swapped for OEM M3 parts

huge difference here. the car stays completely flat when cornering now. would recommend this to everyone, its really a huge upgrade from stock the stock rear sway is really pathetic for how small it is...only 13mm! only downside is maybe the work to get it in...my cousin said he had to drop the entire rear suspension, so it may be super frustrating/a bit expensive to do.

**pics stolen from this thread http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=489007 credit to bigdaddycane

cosmetic wise I got those stupid wheel stickers on where they belong finally. also had the OEM roundels swapped for black&white roundels from JBSpeed. quality on the front and rear ones are top notch. the center caps could be better, but they'll do just fine I'm sure (I had these on my old car as well, and they held up fine through the summer months). steering wheel is a simple sticker...looks good to me.

also swapped out the ugly orange front bumper reflectors for paint matched ones, also from JBSpeed. if you're doing this, taking off the front wheels will make it 1000x easier (I did it with the wheels still on with my old car, and it was significantly more difficult). drivers side adhesive came off without a fight. passenger side took me about an hour to do bc I couldn't get the damn adhesive gum off the inner bumper liner for some reason usually tho this shouldn't take more than 45 minutes to do both sides.

thats all for now, more stuffs to come later