E36 M3 Evo convert - BMW Inspection - Urgent!
Discussion
Following on from my recent thread...
'96 P BMW M3 Evo Convertible
75,000 miles with FBMWSH
Car was inspected today. Some wear and tear items were brought up but most concerning for me was a small crack in the manifold!! £600 + VAT + Fitting!
I discussed with the dealer and they said it was minor - the car passed the MOT with them too today.
With cracks they only get worse. Are these manifolds repairable with a weld? On the road test the dealer said it was not down on power or blowing as such. VANOS was ok.
I discussed with the owner who said he wouldn't budge on price. Happy to return deposit and sell to someone else although I just paid £145 + VAT for inspection! Agreed price was already £13.5k. On the plus side it has a CAT1 and tracker which I need for insurance.
The bodywork is excellent and generally everything looks tidy.
What to do?
Thanks,
James
'96 P BMW M3 Evo Convertible
75,000 miles with FBMWSH
Car was inspected today. Some wear and tear items were brought up but most concerning for me was a small crack in the manifold!! £600 + VAT + Fitting!
I discussed with the dealer and they said it was minor - the car passed the MOT with them too today.
With cracks they only get worse. Are these manifolds repairable with a weld? On the road test the dealer said it was not down on power or blowing as such. VANOS was ok.
I discussed with the owner who said he wouldn't budge on price. Happy to return deposit and sell to someone else although I just paid £145 + VAT for inspection! Agreed price was already £13.5k. On the plus side it has a CAT1 and tracker which I need for insurance.
The bodywork is excellent and generally everything looks tidy.
What to do?
Thanks,
James
Well, never had a M3 personally and know very little about them - closest I've owned was a 328i Sport Coupe of the same age. However, have had a fair bit of experience with purchasing cars and my advice would be to go for it.
Assuming the price is fair, spec is good, colour is desirable etc then if the only thing the dealer found wrong was £600 then I'd say you've bagged a good one.
I'd be suprised if any 7 year old M3 would have any less work required in the view of a BMW dealer than £600. In my experience they go over cars with a fine toothcombe.
So if you leave it, then you may spend out another £145 to discover a bad one, and then you'll need another £145 for the next one etc and soon you may have bought this one. The other thing is that you've found an owner who has allowed you to put it through a maindealer inspection and that in itself is a few hours of hassle.
£600 on a car of this kind is probably chickenfeed anyway, less money than a set of tyres.
Just my opinion - best of luck whatever you do
Cheers
Simon
Assuming the price is fair, spec is good, colour is desirable etc then if the only thing the dealer found wrong was £600 then I'd say you've bagged a good one.
I'd be suprised if any 7 year old M3 would have any less work required in the view of a BMW dealer than £600. In my experience they go over cars with a fine toothcombe.
So if you leave it, then you may spend out another £145 to discover a bad one, and then you'll need another £145 for the next one etc and soon you may have bought this one. The other thing is that you've found an owner who has allowed you to put it through a maindealer inspection and that in itself is a few hours of hassle.
£600 on a car of this kind is probably chickenfeed anyway, less money than a set of tyres.
Just my opinion - best of luck whatever you do
Cheers
Simon
I had an Esprit inspected but luckily the last owner paid that - £80. I paid £40 on a HPI check. Car required £1200 worth of work and I walked away.
The M3 has cost me £145 + VAT (£170 ish) for the inspection. Another £40 for the HPI. Like you say I don't want to keep forking out these costs! It's HPI clear once I pay the sellers finance company off. So no recorded accidents or ever been stolen.
It's tax is up end of this month and tracker renewal due end of September.
There were other wear and tear items in the report but the manifold the most costly. £600 + VAT which takes it to £705 + fitting.
The owner is confident that there are others waiting to buy his car and he can get his price. I phoned after two more similar cars today but both sold.
The M3 has cost me £145 + VAT (£170 ish) for the inspection. Another £40 for the HPI. Like you say I don't want to keep forking out these costs! It's HPI clear once I pay the sellers finance company off. So no recorded accidents or ever been stolen.
It's tax is up end of this month and tracker renewal due end of September.
There were other wear and tear items in the report but the manifold the most costly. £600 + VAT which takes it to £705 + fitting.
The owner is confident that there are others waiting to buy his car and he can get his price. I phoned after two more similar cars today but both sold.
The finance issue is a little bit of a worry, I had finance on my 328 sport and luckily the buyer was prepared to make out a bankers draft to the finance company.
Personally I wouldn't do it as its not worth the risk others cars out there without finance. At the very least I would neg a better price as I'm dam sure if there are other people waiting to buy it they don't yet know about the finance.
He probably won't budge on price because he knows you have forked out for the inspection and thinks you're keen. Try to go half way on the price the the work required. Play it cool - not easy to sell a £13.5k car privately, especially an M3, with finance on - put yourself in his shoes - he should be biting your arm off!
Personally I wouldn't do it as its not worth the risk others cars out there without finance. At the very least I would neg a better price as I'm dam sure if there are other people waiting to buy it they don't yet know about the finance.
He probably won't budge on price because he knows you have forked out for the inspection and thinks you're keen. Try to go half way on the price the the work required. Play it cool - not easy to sell a £13.5k car privately, especially an M3, with finance on - put yourself in his shoes - he should be biting your arm off!
Yes he owes £10.5k to finance company and wants £3k in cash to him on the day. I had asked to get a final settlement fee and he had requested I pay them over the phone.
Then there is the private plate to come off so the log book will be sent away (already seen that and checked details against the car) - I've told him to tear off the green slip as I'll need that.
He's meant to be a copper but I'm not trusting him and this all seems a complete pain in the backside. I just want to buy a car and have cash waiting!
He isn't playing ball with the repairs. I travelled 4 hours to see the car and paid for an inspection so he knows I'm interested. I told him if he wouldn't budge on his price there wasn't much we could do. So he said he would return the deposit and tell the next person in line they could have it. We ended the the phone conversation... Thought about it and phoned him back to try again - didn't get anywhere.
I've just got to decide whether to fork out the full amount...
Then there is the private plate to come off so the log book will be sent away (already seen that and checked details against the car) - I've told him to tear off the green slip as I'll need that.
He's meant to be a copper but I'm not trusting him and this all seems a complete pain in the backside. I just want to buy a car and have cash waiting!
He isn't playing ball with the repairs. I travelled 4 hours to see the car and paid for an inspection so he knows I'm interested. I told him if he wouldn't budge on his price there wasn't much we could do. So he said he would return the deposit and tell the next person in line they could have it. We ended the the phone conversation... Thought about it and phoned him back to try again - didn't get anywhere.
I've just got to decide whether to fork out the full amount...
The car itself looks very nice. As I wasn't insured the owner took me out for a spin and it didn't seem to lack any power and made no strange noises from start up and when running. He was a LOT younger than I thought tho. I have a feeling I first spoken to his father about the car...
I'm thinking of going for it although I will suggest paying off the finance company by a bankers draft and posting off in front of him. I don't want to pay £10.5k out over the phone BEFORE picking up the keys! He wants the car collecting after 7pm so the finance company would be closed as would the bank (so no calls then).
I'm thinking of going for it although I will suggest paying off the finance company by a bankers draft and posting off in front of him. I don't want to pay £10.5k out over the phone BEFORE picking up the keys! He wants the car collecting after 7pm so the finance company would be closed as would the bank (so no calls then).
How ANNOYED am I!!! This morning the selleer phones me up to say his car was involved in an accident last night. His girlfriend swerved to avoid a fox and damaged the wheel, suspension, wing.
Now I'm not sure if I believe all that - maybe gazumped! Interesting to see if I get the £50 back but lost the £170 inspection fee. He has a copy of the report too which pissed me off. Why the garage passed that on I don't know.
Now I'm not sure if I believe all that - maybe gazumped! Interesting to see if I get the £50 back but lost the £170 inspection fee. He has a copy of the report too which pissed me off. Why the garage passed that on I don't know.
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