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      03-11-2018, 05:39 PM   #1
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A tale of two types of used 135i

So as I have been looking at used 135i, I have noticed almost all the cars a can fit into 1 of two groups.

1) Original owner, stock cars. Usually newer N55 cars, that dont seem to be driven by enthusiasts. At least not the kind of enthusiast that modifies the car.

2) 2 or more owner modified cars. This seems like almost all N54 cars and plenty of N55 cars fit this bill. As soon as the car goes into its second owner the modifications start.

I am not saying there are not any 1st owners that modded their cars. I am sure there are some on this board. However it seems like most of the 1st owner cars for sale are all stock.

Also it seems like almost all second or more owners started modding right away.

So the question is, assuming this is correct, and you were looking for a used 135i, what group would you prefer to buy?
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      03-11-2018, 06:08 PM   #2
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When I bought mine I wanted stock. But that's because I didn't know how strong the cars actually where and didn't trust someone else's work.

After my 2 years of ownership and modifications, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a modified car, if that's what you're after. They really are a bargain because you'll save on the cost and install of parts. I have something like $3,000 in parts and 30+ hours of total install time. I'll never get that back. So I pissed away at least $6,000 (and growing) ... and not one complaint about doing so.


IMHO,
As long as you can find good history on the car I would feel comfortable with anything.
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      03-11-2018, 06:16 PM   #3
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I'd want a stock guaranteed never modified car. Going to be tough to find that these days on N54 1ers though. As I modified mine I found evidence of previous mods all over the place, but they were all typical easy stuff like knocked out alignment pins, etc.

If I were buying now, I'd look for a lightly modified car, find the previous owner if possible and talk to them, then get a thorough PPI before purchasing.

Why light mods? Less likely to have been extensively tinkered with and abused. If its been returned to stock after all these years, all bets are off and I'd even expect engine damage.
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      03-11-2018, 09:52 PM   #4
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I'd look for a car that was stock or modified with what I wanted. Otherwise it's just a bunch of stuff you'd be taking off anyway.
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      03-11-2018, 10:08 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Apex1.0 View Post
So as I have been looking at used 135i, I have noticed almost all the cars a can fit into 1 of two groups.

1) Original owner, stock cars. Usually newer N55 cars, that dont seem to be driven by enthusiasts. At least not the kind of enthusiast that modifies the car.

2) 2 or more owner modified cars. This seems like almost all N54 cars and plenty of N55 cars fit this bill. As soon as the car goes into its second owner the modifications start.

I am not saying there are not any 1st owners that modded their cars. I am sure there are some on this board. However it seems like most of the 1st owner cars for sale are all stock.

Also it seems like almost all second or more owners started modding right away.

So the question is, assuming this is correct, and you were looking for a used 135i, what group would you prefer to buy?
Obviously you'd want the 1 owner, unmoddified car. That's a no brainer. I'm the second owner of my N54 135i that I got with just over 30k miles. Low mileage and enough records on the car fax for me to know that car wasn't neglected. Guess how many problems I've had with the even after going FBO? Zero. Same deal with my 2011 128i that I had before. However I Can't say the same about the 3 previous owners 2008 335i I had prior to my 135i.
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      03-11-2018, 11:14 PM   #6
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Every used car is a one-off. In reality, all that you can do is to try to avoid the obvious disasters, but then even after that, it is a crap shoot.

Beware of the cars that get touted as having been babied, with a history intact, where the owner applied Zymol to the interior on a weekly basis. A seller who gives this sort of a history of the vehicle is probably a scammer. Ask me how I know.

Older, single owner cars are not necessarily the panacea that they appear to be. It may turn out that the car was seldom used in the last few years and that there is a lot of deferred maintenance just awaiting your purchase; again, ask me how I know.

Sometimes you get a multi-owner car where every one of the last few owners tried to fix everything they were aware of that needed fixing. I have owned two cars like that and still own one of them. Do not necessarily fear higher mileage (up to a certain point, say 75 or 80 thousand miles). Sometimes, you will be buying a car that has already had everything that can break, fixed.

Summary statement, I think that your analysis is a bit too simplistic. And if you are buying someone else's used car, assume that you are going to have to put at least several thousand dollars into it to get it to be how you would like it to be. That's the good case scenario.
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      03-12-2018, 12:57 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by champignon View Post
Every used car is a one-off. In reality, all that you can do is to try to avoid the obvious disasters, but then even after that, it is a crap shoot.

Beware of the cars that get touted as having been babied, with a history intact, where the owner applied Zymol to the interior on a weekly basis. A seller who gives this sort of a history of the vehicle is probably a scammer. Ask me how I know.

Older, single owner cars are not necessarily the panacea that they appear to be. It may turn out that the car was seldom used in the last few years and that there is a lot of deferred maintenance just awaiting your purchase; again, ask me how I know.

Sometimes you get a multi-owner car where every one of the last few owners tried to fix everything they were aware of that needed fixing. I have owned two cars like that and still own one of them. Do not necessarily fear higher mileage (up to a certain point, say 75 or 80 thousand miles). Sometimes, you will be buying a car that has already had everything that can break, fixed.

Summary statement, I think that your analysis is a bit too simplistic. And if you are buying someone else's used car, assume that you are going to have to put at least several thousand dollars into it to get it to be how you would like it to be. That's the good case scenario.
Well put.

Just because a 2nd or even 3rd owner may have “modified” the car, I doubt they’re breaking pistons or abusing the car at the track on a daily basis.

The owner should be a good representation of the car and it’s condition. Just because it may come from an innocent old grandma that has occasional service records does not mean that it’s been cared for properly. I’d much rather buy from an owner that has a few mods and receipts of DIY stuff like the OFHG, water pump, belts/pullies, spark plugs and make sure they used decent parts instead of someone who throws eBay rotors and pads on it.

It’s much more complicated than simplifying into two groups of sellers.

Bottom line, do your thorough inspection and research, and kind of get an idea of who you’re buying the car from and why they’re selling it. That’s a better indication.
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      03-12-2018, 05:28 AM   #8
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I'd have to be closer to group one. We are the original owners, have dealer maintained the vehicle since day one (and over maintained, because OCD).It only has a hair under 15000 miles on it, and its for sale in the classifieds. Its stock outside of PPK and BMW performance rotors. I left the modifying to my Lancer Evolution.
Me personally, I don't like buying modified cars, period. Reason being, most people are not very good at it and end up causing damage that I need to now deal with, beat the cars to within an inch of their life and so on. There obviously are exceptions, but I'd really have to know and feel comfortable with the previous owner, or the car has to be very cheap for me to consider it.
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      03-12-2018, 08:26 AM   #9
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I like it when people say they wouldn't buy a modified car and so proceed to get a mint one and then mod the shit out of it anyway.
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      03-12-2018, 08:55 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swagon View Post
I like it when people say they wouldn't buy a modified car and so proceed to get a mint one and then mod the shit out of it anyway.
I don't see whats not to get. They want a blank slate, where they know that anything that has been done (correctly or otherwise) was done by them and there are no surprises.
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      03-12-2018, 09:20 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by asiflicious View Post
Obviously you'd want the 1 owner, unmoddified car. That's a no brainer.
Really? Are you sure?

Normally, I would agree. But I have seen many modded cars that include lots of expensive parts that I would end up buying anyway. Is there more risk of an expensive failure... maybe.

I am just playing devils advocate. Because like you I usually prefer to start with an unmodified platform. Mostly so I can sample the vehicle stock, before I decide what it needs. But the reality is if I want a N54 car, I might not have that option.
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      03-12-2018, 09:53 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Apex1.0 View Post
Really? Are you sure?

Normally, I would agree. But I have seen many modded cars that include lots of expensive parts that I would end up buying anyway. Is there more risk of an expensive failure... maybe.

I am just playing devils advocate. Because like you I usually prefer to start with an unmodified platform. Mostly so I can sample the vehicle stock, before I decide what it needs. But the reality is if I want a N54 car, I might not have that option.
You answered your own question. Also, stock N54 cars are out there, but it'll take some time to find one.
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      03-12-2018, 10:02 AM   #13
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My car fits in the first category (original owner, N55, bone stock) but I wouldn't say I'm not an enthusiast!
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      03-12-2018, 10:11 AM   #14
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BMW is one brand of car I wouldn't buy used. My reason is the BMW slogan, The Ultimate Driving Machine! Too many owners take this to heart!
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      03-12-2018, 10:14 AM   #15
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The Mustang GT is my favorite example - how many seconds past the dealer's lot does an unmodified Mustang GT remain in that state? ; -)

I'd rather purchase an unmodified car, then mod it to my tastes - I'm old and cranky like that.
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      03-12-2018, 11:28 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by captain slowly View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apex1.0 View Post
Really? Are you sure?

Normally, I would agree. But I have seen many modded cars that include lots of expensive parts that I would end up buying anyway. Is there more risk of an expensive failure... maybe.

I am just playing devils advocate. Because like you I usually prefer to start with an unmodified platform. Mostly so I can sample the vehicle stock, before I decide what it needs. But the reality is if I want a N54 car, I might not have that option.
You answered your own question. Also, stock N54 cars are out there, but it'll take some time to find one.
They're very hard to find. I got extremely lucky with mine
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      03-12-2018, 12:39 PM   #17
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I'm of the same mindset. I would rather find a pretty much unmolested car. I just rather not take the chance on a car which I don't know how it's been treated. With a modified car, the chances are real good the owner explored the limits of what those mods provided.

I've only purchased two vehicles in my life used. One was a motorcycle which was my first bike. So the reasons are obvious why this route was a smart one. The second was a 94 Z28. I happened to find out who the previous owner was who happened to be a coworker. So I was able to talk to her about the car and its history. That along with the PPI coming out clean gave me comfort in buying this car which was totally stock.

I let go of that Z28 to a car buying service and it was definitely a unicorn. In pretty good condition with almost no mods having gone through two owners. The only mods I did to that car were very basic: CAI, aluminum drive shaft, short throw shifter, and MSD ignition coil. The buying service kept asking why I was selling the car.

In my older age, I have decided to buy new and not take the risk of inheriting someone else's problems. I know how the vehicle began life with how the engine was broken in. Yes, I will take a hit on depreciation, but frankly it's not a factor at all with me. I hold on to my vehicles for a long time. And as my tastes in vehicles have gone more "upscale", I realize repairs typically go "upscale" too. My two other vehicles are motorcycles: 09 Ducati 848 and 04 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. Both bought new. My Ninja still looks like it just rolled off dealer lot the day I bought it.
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      03-12-2018, 01:07 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ejm3 View Post
My car fits in the first category (original owner, N55, bone stock) but I wouldn't say I'm not an enthusiast!
Some people just want to enjoy the car...I get that!

(Coming from a guy with many mods)
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      03-12-2018, 02:54 PM   #19
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Yes I totally agree! Or they just used it as a regular daily driver and weren’t ocd about it like they should have been.

Last edited by icegrill; 03-12-2018 at 02:59 PM..
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      03-12-2018, 08:47 PM   #20
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Perhaps a slightly different perspective: After I retired I wanted a "toy" and decided I wanted a convertible. Looked at a off dealer and used car lots and finally settled on a private party 2008. The car seemed pristine with 50,000 mi and the owner was older than I and had had enough of the car. But somewhere in the process the car had been given a complete Dinan Stage 3 plus Dinan Carbon Fiber Intake and exhaust. All done as a package. I loved the way it drove. Bought it and an pleased.
One thing I found out though in the course of researching the car's history that the owner did not reveal - at 45,000 mi there was an idle and stumble problem. A good independent spent some time with it giving it new plugs, coils, then injectors and ultimately a walnut blast. Even though it has a set of first class mods, that last little bit made me feel like the car would work for me.
Not all mods are the same.
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      03-20-2018, 01:30 PM   #21
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For a street/DD, I dont mind a used car with suspension mods (assumes i would do them myself). I am not a fan of used cars with drivetrain mods. Too much trial and error on drivetrain mods that I dont want to foot the bill for after it grenades itself.

For a track car it is just the opposite.
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      03-22-2018, 05:06 PM   #22
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group 1... one owner no mods= some middle aged dude with the loot to drop on a brand new 1..
group 2 ... mods /n54 .. = the usually younger crowd that lieks to race/track and cant afford the 135i out the box..
this is ofcourse .. a generalized comment..
in my case.. I didn't even think this car was all racey.. I saw a small car / sporty and thought.. this is probably good on gas and fairly durable compared to a civic or accord I went to look at.. this car was older than the Hondas I was looking for.. but looked solid..
but boy did I fucking fall in love when I cold start test drove it..
I went from searching for a dd that's economic both $ and gas.. to wanting to shove 4000 hp under the hood of my 135i...
this truly is a car that needs to be in any bmw enthusiasts garage.. be it the 135/128 or 1m
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