[ESB]

Originally Posted by 335

Hi all, I just wanted to post an update that the car has been sold. Within 2 days of receiving my title, I traded the car for a brand new '24 with 12 miles on the clock. It's identical spec to my first one, except this one has a heated wheel and wireless charging, which the first car lacked. I think it has every option except the carbon buckets. Looking at aftermarket options for seats, as I find the seat bases on the standard seats very lacking in lateral support when drifting / driving spirited.

I bought the first car with 2800 miles and by the time I finally received my title the car was at 42xx miles. During my ownership, the average lifetime mpg rose from 11.7 to 14.4, and I drove it pretty hard.

The dealer that I traded the car to confirmed break-in service was performed, but was quick to pick up on some of the flaws I originally noticed and the additional ones I discovered with all your help in this thread. Dealer put it in the air and said the rear alignment was tweaked to hell and also claimed the hood and trunk were resprayed, which I disagreed with. Dealer based this claim off paint meter readings, which makes no sense since the hood has PPF on it. Regardless, the service manager said it "broke his heart" to see a car with the carbon buckets and such low miles in such bad shape.

I agree with the sentiment of many on here that the motor would probably be fine, but I couldn't get over the cosmetic issues. The pictures of the paint flaws I posted here didn't do it justice. Would have taken way too much work to get it to an acceptable state. My new car is [...]

Just read this whole thread. Congrats and overall a great/positive ending! Crazy experience.

A bit sketchy that the dealer you traded in to is marking it as 1-owner and “excellent condition”. Carfax will show its 2 owners anyways..

But as you said maybe they’ll correct the cosmetics to make up the difference.

Did you ever message Tag to check service records? You said the dealer said break-in service was done but later you seemed to place doubt on it (or I misread).

Good on you for pasting the VIN. Any future buyer considering this car that googles the VIN will almost certainly come across this thread.

Originally Posted by 335

I'd be happy to share details if I had any. I made up my mind pretty quickly I didn't want to keep the car, so I decided to let it go.

Figured as much but my morbid curiosity was hoping you called and got background as I kept advancing through the thread.

Glad you get to move on from this now!

[Tag]

Originally Posted by ESB

Just read this whole thread. Congrats and overall a great/positive ending! Crazy experience.

A bit sketchy that the dealer you traded in to is marking it as 1-owner and “excellent condition”. Carfax will show its 2 owners anyways..

But as you said maybe they’ll correct the cosmetics to make up the difference.

Did you ever message Tag to check service records? You said the dealer said break-in service was done but later you seemed to place doubt on it (or I misread).

Good on you for pasting the VIN. Any future buyer considering this car that googles the VIN will almost certainly come across this thread.



Figured as much but my morbid curiosity was hoping you called and got background as I kept advancing through the thread.

Glad you get to move on from this now!

He did not but now that the VIN is public here is the report. If anything, it may help someone else who is interested in this car determine if it's worth buying and/or give them added leverage negotiating the purchase price. Anything not listed in the report, like brake pads means it was not done at a BMW dealership or else it would have been logged.

[RockCrusher]

Originally Posted by ESB

Just read this whole thread. Congrats and overall a great/positive ending! Crazy experience.

A bit sketchy that the dealer you traded in to is marking it as 1-owner and “excellent condition”. Carfax will show its 2 owners anyways..

But as you said maybe they’ll correct the cosmetics to make up the difference.

Did you ever message Tag to check service records? You said the dealer said break-in service was done but later you seemed to place doubt on it (or I misread).

Good on you for pasting the VIN. Any future buyer considering this car that googles the VIN will almost certainly come across this thread.



Figured as much but my morbid curiosity was hoping you called and got background as I kept advancing through the thread.

Glad you get to move on from this now!

If the OP didn't surrender the title and get one issued in his state/his name the car might not have had him as a legal owner. Thus it might still be a one owner car...

Also, CarFax is not perfect. I had a car hit (while parked). Had the car fixed. After about 18 months decided to trade it in for a new car. Used car appraiser greeted me and after exchanging pleasantries I told him the car had been in an accident. Not a bad one. Had pics of the damage, a copy of the repair paperwork. He barely did more than glance at the stuff. Handed it back to me. I said those were copies for his records. He declined to keep them.

Car passed used car check out with flying colors. Car was in excellent condition and had good servicing and only 8K miles. I received an acceptable trade in allowance offer and went ahead and bought the new car (2022 BMW 230i).

Some weeks/maybe a month or more later curious I googled my trade in car's VIN. Found the car offered for sale at some distant dealer. Read the details and it was stressed the car had a *clean* CarFax. I read report details and no accident showed up.

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

Originally Posted by RockCrusher

If the OP didn't surrender the title and get one issued in his state/his name the car might not have had him as a legal owner. Thus it might still be a one owner car...

Also, CarFax is not perfect. I had a car hit (while parked). Had the car fixed. After about 18 months decided to trade it in for a new car. Used car appraiser greeted me and after exchanging pleasantries I told him the car had been in an accident. Not a bad one. Had pics of the damage, a copy of the repair paperwork. He barely did more than glance at the stuff. Handed it back to me. I said those were copies for his records. He declined to keep them.

Car passed used car check out with flying colors. Car was in excellent condition and had good servicing and only 8K miles. I received an acceptable trade in allowance offer and went ahead and bought the new car (2022 BMW 230i).

Some weeks/maybe a month or more later curious I googled my trade in car's VIN. Found the car offered for sale at some distant dealer. Read the details and it was stressed the car had a *clean* CarFax. I read report details and no accident showed up.

Exactly. A clean CarFax isn't worth the paper it's printed on & never has been. Just because no accidents show up doesn't mean that one never occurred. I once bought a E39 M5 that was in a very major accident. The entire drivers side rocker panel, driver side b-pillar & much more was replaced, welded back in & repainted. This was back when I was a touch younger & didn't know any better. A proper paint meter will reveal what the eyes can't see.

[335]

Thanks to all for the supportive comments. I'm definitely glad to be in a brand new car. Just got it back from paint prep and full car Xpel Ultimate. Feels great to have a perfect car that is properly protected.

I still find myself oddly intrigued by the last car, so I've been trying to track it down. The vehicle was only listed at BMW Owings Mills for a couple days until the link went dead and the car was removed from their inventory.

It left me curious enough to run a CarFax, which I attached. It states that:

-Car was offered for sale by BMW Owings Mills on 1/24/24 with 4,252 miles.

-Failed safety inspection on 1/31/24 with 4,254 miles. Maybe due to the "brake service needed" dialog that kept coming up because the rear brake pad wear sensor was broken or disconnected. Only thing that comes to mind. I'd think a BMW dealer would know enough to fix that prior to inspection if that could cause a fail.

-Listed for sale again on 2/6/24 which is obviously just two days ago. CarFax describes it as an "online listing," but doesn't specify where.

If I search the VIN 3MF13DM02P8D49042, it only brings up defunct links to various Safford dealers (the parent company of BMW Owings Mills). And a TrueCar link back to the dealer in Washington that I bought it from.

I'm wondering if maybe it got sent to auction. Would explain why the 2/6 sale listing isn't showing on any public sites. If anyone manages to track it down, please let me know!

Pics of the new one after leaving the detailer. Waiting until 1200 mile service to install mods.

From factory avg mpg on the new car so far is about 17.5 vs. the 11.7 on the last one.

[335]

Originally Posted by Tag

He did not but now that the VIN is public here is the report. If anything, it may help someone else who is interested in this car determine if it's worth buying and/or give them added leverage negotiating the purchase price. Anything not listed in the report, like brake pads means it was not done at a BMW dealership or else it would have been logged.

Thanks for this! So it looks like the rear tires needed replaced by the 1200 mile breakin service. Wow! I never noticed the "dent / wave" in the passenger door mentioned in the notes.

Interesting that the first owner seems like a particular person based on the service notes, yet he managed to trash the car in a couple thousand miles.

It looks like the 1/25/24 service from when I sold the car is flagging rear alignment out of spec. Am I reading that right?

Anything else to be gleaned from this that I missed?

[335]

Originally Posted by ourlee

If I see you down the road at a c&c, I’ll buy.
In the end you won.

Noted and thank you!

Originally Posted by RockCrusher

If the OP didn't surrender the title and get one issued in his state/his name the car might not have had him as a legal owner. Thus it might still be a one owner car...

Good thought, but I did title the car in PA just before trading it. It's reflected in the attached CarFax, but they still list it as "1 owner." Odd.

[Tag]

Originally Posted by 335

Thanks for this! So it looks like the rear tires needed replaced by the 1200 mile breakin service. Wow! I never noticed the "dent / wave" in the passenger door mentioned in the notes.

Interesting that the first owner seems like a particular person based on the service notes, yet he managed to trash the car in a couple thousand miles.

It looks like the 1/25/24 service from when I sold the car is flagging rear alignment out of spec. Am I reading that right?

Anything else to be gleaned from this that I missed?

Didn't show up last time I ran a check; you're going to love this...

[335]

Originally Posted by Tag

Didn't show up last time I ran a check; you're going to love this...

Wow, you just blew my mind! Thanks so much for that information. I kept thinking it must have been tuned, because the car was way too quick. Would occasionally spin the tires through third and second was always useless with TC off. It felt like it had 525ish whp. Checked for JB4 or equivalent underhood and found nothing.

But then I thought, who would go to the trouble to do a Femto unlock on an otherwise stock car? Car had stock intakes, downpipes, etc. Maybe the first owner returned to stock prior to sale.

I guess that would explain why BMW Owings Mills pulled the listing and I'm almost certain it was sent to auction now. Knowing that the car was tuned and had a chipped windshield (which I never even noticed), I'm starting to feel like I made out pretty well on the trade. Made my day! Thanks again.

[xtougher]

Man, what a thread.

OP, glad it all worked out in the end, even though it took a wild route to get there.

Looking forward to the updates of your new car after the break in period!