'12 135i purchase advice

[nkeor]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to buy a E82 135i with the n55.
I currently have two good options and I kind of can't decide which one is better.

They are both about 4h away from where I live so I'd have to check them both the same day and (hopefully) come back with one of them.
This is the Mexican market where most buyers and sellers base their price on the US market, even though we get the Euro spec.

Both are 2012 with 2 days of difference in the build date.

First one:
- 39k miles
- 2 owners
- Asking $18300 USD (equivalent of)
- Red exterior (vermilion-rot metallic), black interior.
- M Sport package
- DCT
- Toyo Proxes Sport tyres with good tread left
- Mostly unmodified (known mods are a titanium charge pipe and a "sports" muffler, seller also has the oem muffler)
- No major aesthetic details.
- Oil filter housing gasket replaced

2nd option:

- 2012
- 58k miles
- 3 owners
- $17200 USD (equivalent of)
- Space gray exterior, coral red interior.
- Sport and Premium Packages.
- DCT
- Pilot Sport 4 in the back, Pirelli PZero in the front.
- No mods apart from different OEM M wheels.
- A lot of maintenance items:
OE bosh water pump
Valve cover gasket
Oil filter housing gasket
Accessory belt
DCT service, oil and filter
Cabin air filter
New radiator
New drive shaft bearing
New transmission mounts
New shock absorbers

Both are open to reasonable offers.

Here's a pic of each and the build sheets:

[jdt10768]

drive both, and pick your favorite

[NorthernDancer]

The gray one only if all that maintenance has been documented and done by a well known BMW garage [dealer or BMW indy garage]

[Finneganistan]

Yeah, head says grey one; heart says that red one is pretty damn sweet.

[N55e82Simon]

They both seem great. If your going to drive it daily I would get the grey due to slightly higher mileage and good maintenance (verify) that the red will need soon. If it’s a garage queen get the red one and plan for some maintenance. Hpfp, Ofhg, water pump etc etc.

I think both seem solid though and maybe you can work a better cash deal in person on one or the other too so I would wait till you see it and drive it etc.

And if your not super into fixing and identifying problems and crash history and things like that maybe look into a pre purchase inspection of the one you like the most.

👍

[cafj85]

I know this was not the question but how common are they in Mexico? I've seen them around but mostly in Mexico city.

I say this as someone who bought a 128i only to find out that here in the States, it is not a very common vehicle thus some parts are a lot harder to come by than an E90 for example. Granted most of the parts I'm referring to are body panels etc etc. Drive train components you'll have no issues.

El yo Mexicano cuano tenia 25 te diria hazlo. Costo beneficio no hay mejor coche que haga el 0-100 kmh en menos de 5 segundos y que se maneje tan bien y con potencial para tunning. El yo Mexicano de casi 40 hoy en dia te diria que hay opciones mas practicas.

Saludos y buena suerte!

[nkeor]

Originally Posted by jdt10768

drive both, and pick your favorite

I'll definitely will!

Originally Posted by NorthernDancer

The gray one only if all that maintenance has been documented and done by a well known BMW garage [dealer or BMW indy garage]

The seller owns a shop, but as it's in another city I have no idea how/if they are experienced. I'll do some research for sure.

Originally Posted by Finneganistan

Yeah, head says grey one; heart says that red one is pretty damn sweet.

Exactly

Originally Posted by N55e82Simon

They both seem great. If your going to drive it daily I would get the grey due to slightly higher mileage and good maintenance (verify) that the red will need soon. If it’s a garage queen get the red one and plan for some maintenance. Hpfp, Ofhg, water pump etc etc.

I think both seem solid though and maybe you can work a better cash deal in person on one or the other too so I would wait till you see it and drive it etc.

And if your not super into fixing and identifying problems and crash history and things like that maybe look into a pre purchase inspection of the one you like the most.

👍

I don't have a daily commute so it's gonna be mostly a garage queen, I'll have to check how good maintenance was done on the grey one for sure. It's one of the things I've been thinking about, on the red one I'll know and trust everything will be done to spec...

My brother is mechanically inclined and I'm not afraid of a wrench either. We can also figure out pretty quickly if a car was crashed or a few things aren't quite as they should, we have a good eye for weird gaps or poor paint jobs etc

Originally Posted by cafj85

I know this was not the question but how common are they in Mexico? I've seen them around but mostly in Mexico city.

I say this as someone who bought a 128i only to find out that here in the States, it is not a very common vehicle thus some parts are a lot harder to come by than an E90 for example. Granted most of the parts I'm referring to are body panels etc etc. Drive train components you'll have no issues.

El yo Mexicano cuano tenia 25 te diria hazlo. Costo beneficio no hay mejor coche que haga el 0-100 kmh en menos de 5 segundos y que se maneje tan bien y con potencial para tunning. El yo Mexicano de casi 40 hoy en dia te diria que hay opciones mas practicas.

Saludos y buena suerte!

Gracias amigo!
Parts wise I don't have an issue getting them from the US, I have friends who go back and forth a lot. There is definitely less E82s than E90s but they are in a much better shape, a lot of the E90s are well beaten.
I'm not really looking for the super practical daily driver as I don't have a commute, I want more of a fun car even if I maintenance is going to be more than a japanese car.

Thanks everyone for the inputs! I think it'll come down to how much I like each one after I drive them and the deal I can work out in cash.