Found a used 135i but i need some advice.

[Zombie_Head]

Originally Posted by NorthernDancer

Munich 135: lots of power, only 1 owner, excellent maintenance history (can you get the papers/work orders to prove maintenance and what has been done? ie: turbos, injectors, HPFP, OFHG, etc)), walnut blasting, summer only, no accidents. CON would be higher fuel consumption & maintenance costs.

The 125: enough power, 3 owners (talk to present owner as to why selling. I'm guessing mid life crisis, too small, etc) only 50K kms, optioned the way you want. CON: no mention of maintenance records, driven all year (is salt/snow an issue in area?) and the 3 owners.

What brand and model of tire is on each car? The 135 should be on its 2nd set of tires; did owner replace with good quality? The 125 should still have original tires.

Both cars sound like winners to me.

I scrapped the 135i because i wanted to focus on NA engines, so i focused on the 125i.

Found one with full history, 3 owners and 46K kms. Sadly it has cheap tires (winter and summer) from the current owner. He has two kids and he purchased the car as a fun daily, but got busy with work (lots of travelling) and barely did 3K kms in 1 year. Alpine White exterior with brown interior.

I Scrutinized the car, bone dry underneath, all 4 pads and discs need replacing). The condition of the tires are very good, just Kumho winter tires and hankook summer tires (i will replace them).

Aftermarket 17" wheels the current owner got the car with it (these will be replaced next winter, only 2 months left here to change to summer).

There is a small ding under the passenger side front bumper, clearly a driver (the owner or his wife) scrapped it in a parking lot, and a scuff on the passenger side OEM wheels (easily repaired). Otherwise body shows no signs of accidents, resprays, in very good condition.

Cold start, no ticking noises, smoke, smells. Drive very smooth, didn't give it more than 1/3 throttle shifts nice. Interior is flawless, no tears, signs of excessive wear etc. Original tool kit in the trunk, original battery.

Only 1 warning, the battery. Came on when we first started the car, after a 20-30 minute drive in town and the autobahn, we switch the engine off then back on and the warning went away. This could be due to the current owner not driving the car much, maybe a good drive home will fully charge the battery, otherwise a new one is in order.

So it needs all new brake pads and discs, proper quality tires, small front bumper repair and passenger side wheel scuff and possibly a new battery.

Reason for selling is that he does not use the car much and he would like to use the money from this car and place it as a down payment on a new car. He was honest, showed me everything.

I reserved the car, he is away on business and will be back in Germany on the 8th, which is the day i will pick it up.

[Zombie_Head]

Originally Posted by NorthernDancer

Munich 135: lots of power, only 1 owner, excellent maintenance history (can you get the papers/work orders to prove maintenance and what has been done? ie: turbos, injectors, HPFP, OFHG, etc)), walnut blasting, summer only, no accidents. CON would be higher fuel consumption & maintenance costs.

The 125: enough power, 3 owners (talk to present owner as to why selling. I'm guessing mid life crisis, too small, etc) only 50K kms, optioned the way you want. CON: no mention of maintenance records, driven all year (is salt/snow an issue in area?) and the 3 owners.

What brand and model of tire is on each car? The 135 should be on its 2nd set of tires; did owner replace with good quality? The 125 should still have original tires.

Both cars sound like winners to me.

Originally Posted by Mybimmer

The 135i sounds like a good option to at least go and look at. 110K's is fine as long as it has been well maintained. Yes the N54 is thirsty and costs more to maintain. That's what performance is all about though.

Regarding the 125i 3 owners.... hmmm at least one probably didn't care for it to much....

The car was owned by BMW AG between (if i recall) 2012-1014. Second owner had the car for one year, since he was also looking for a weekend car, but had no time. Last owner had the car since 2015 till today.

[Zombie_Head]

Originally Posted by Tommm

I bought my daughter's car from the original owner. The maintenance receipts confirm it. He moved to four states, each reissued the title and while I haven't checked Carfax, there is a good chance one or two of the transfers lists it as a new owner.

Then when I registered the car, DMV added a letter to my name. I didn't notice it until I got the title in the mail. There may be a third, fourth or fifth owner of the car on Carfax.

Three owners doesn't always mean three owners. Also, if it is a manual, or should I say more often with a manual, the first or second owner will buy a "sports car" because it is a manual, and get bored of the manual after a short time. Doesn't mean it was abused, just a family member decided not to drive it and losses were cut.

Point being don't knock it just because it had a few owners. Look at all the very low mileage multi owner high end sports cars for sale.

A friend has a very rare 911with something like 25 owners in the first ten years. Car went from business to dad, to son, to dad, to business, etc. Spent every night in the same garage but had multiple title transfers for business or tax purposes. Register the car in the no sales tax state you have your vacation home in. Then move it to your other home in your spouses name so it doesn't look like it was tax motivated. You get the idea.

Exactly, it has all the documents, no funny noises or smells, drives smooth and well.

I forgot to mention, how the M steering wheel is so thick and grips well, much much better than my 86 porsche 944 turbo and my 2018 golf r. Visibility is so much better (especially blind spots) than my golf as well.

I was also surprised how super light the clutch is, as well as how precise the gear knob is as well, heel and toe is super easy (my golf is a joke when compared). Really excited, just a matter of time.

[Mybimmer]

Certainly sounds like you have done your homework. Congrats on the new car!

[Zombie_Head]

Originally Posted by Mybimmer

Certainly sounds like you have done your homework. Congrats on the new car!

Thank you very much. I am still on the fence on what to do (maintenance wise) either at 50,000kms or wait till 60,000kms.

Example, the car is about to hit 6 years old now on the original fluids and oils (except engine) as well as plugs, coils and waterpump.

So i am debating to enjoy it for 4,000kms and then at 50,000kms replace all those times (coolant flush, transmission and diff oil, new water pump, new plugs and coils as well as all filters and steering fluid as well as a new v-belts + tensioner and rollers/pullies) or wait till 60,000kms.

Most likely i will replace all those items (basically considered an inspection II if i am not mistaken) at 50,000kms or before summer hits, to be sure and safe that everything is maintained correctly first.

[Gangplank]

I'd recommend you test the battery and consider just changing it. Modern BMWs are finicky with old batteries and throw strange codes when they get low or cells start to go bad. If it wasn't kept charged and ran low it's likely not long for this world. They are not cheap but you can do it yourself w/ the Carly app & ODBII dongle which I'd recommend anyway to read the codes and do some basic coding if you want.

After that it sounds like the following:

Oil change
Brakes all around
Brake fluid
Steering fluid
Spark plugs
Air filter
Cabin air filter

Coils, injectors and trans fluids could wait until 60k miles.

I'd hold off on belts & hoses unless you have a reason to change them. Belts are likely fine and don't wear from non-use. Also these cars are notorious for getting leaks at the oil filter housing gasket (OFHG). Often the belts get done when you fix the OFHG seal.

Water pump is entirely up to you. Some people choose to do it as preventative maintenance, and others wait until it's goes out. Many don't last much past 60k but some make it to 100+.

[Zombie_Head]

Originally Posted by Gangplank

I'd recommend you test the battery and consider just changing it. Modern BMWs are finicky with old batteries and throw strange codes when they get low or cells start to go bad. If it wasn't kept charged and ran low it's likely not long for this world. They are not cheap but you can do it yourself w/ the Carly app & ODBII dongle which I'd recommend anyway to read the codes and do some basic coding if you want.

After that it sounds like the following:

Oil change
Brakes all around
Brake fluid
Steering fluid
Spark plugs
Air filter
Cabin air filter

Coils, injectors and trans fluids could wait until 60k miles.

I'd hold off on belts & hoses unless you have a reason to change them. Belts are likely fine and don't wear from non-use. Also these cars are notorious for getting leaks at the oil filter housing gasket (OFHG). Often the belts get done when you fix the OFHG seal.

Water pump is entirely up to you. Some people choose to do it as preventative maintenance, and others wait until it's goes out. Many don't last much past 60k but some make it to 100+.

Thank you, already got the Carly App and the OBII adapter. Maybe i will go ahead and just replace the batter and codeit/register it.

The engine oil is 3K old, was changed at 43,000kms and the car has 46,000 now, it uses 5w30 which i also plan to change (that oil is just too thin IMO).

As i said, maybe i will tackle everything now and leave the pump, belt, OFHG, transmission and diff fluid till 50K, still undecided what to tackle first and what do to later.

[Mybimmer]

I'd change all fluids. Maybe not the engine oil as it's not needed yet.
Coolant
Power Steering
Brake fluid
Diff
Trans is probably a good idea if you can be bothered

Re water pump it's luck of the draw. Mine is original and currently on 90K. Thinking of buying a new unit and thermo to leave on the shelf ready for when required.