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      02-24-2018, 11:44 AM   #1
us_gh
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Buying a 135i Convertible in and around CT

The 135i I was looking at turned out to be a mess after inspection.

Quite a few people noticed the car I was looking at was too good to be true, and it was. So I want to make sure I know what is good enough to be true.

I'm looking to buy a 135i convertible with a DCT. My goal is to pay 14,500 out the door but maybe that's unreasonable...

All the cars I'm seeing that meet that price point have something weird about them:
  1. 2011 BMW 135i M-Sport, iDrive, 54k miles, asking for 13,950 in Virginia.

    That would probably be too good to be true... but 3 owners and the last owner got in two accidents in 3 months .

    Neither seems to be obviously their fault (swiped and rear ended). No obvious body panel issues from repairs, and it was driven away from both accidents, but obviously puts a damper on things.

    Would you ever consider a car like this? At what price does the accident history become something you can ignore?

  2. 2011 BMW 135i M-Sport, 79k miles, asking for 12k in Florida.

    One personal owner but it almost looks like maybe it started life as a... lemon (that's just my hunch)

    CarFax starts at 16k miles with "Listed as manufacturer vehicle and sold at auction", and only from there does it follow a "normal" single owner story. CarFax claims it's not a lemon, but I've read that lemons don't have to be reported in all states so...

    Anyways, the single owner takes it with them to Florida, some dealer buys it, and they haven't been able to sell it in over a year (so it's down 5k from it's original price).

    The guy drove it for years and it was always serviced at the dealer, so I have a good feeling about the car (looks clean and well kept), but it's also *really* cheap, and the dealer is one of those dealers that will literally sell anything (they've got Crown Vic Interceptors with hoods that won't close packed like sardines on their lot...) so I'm worried to say the least.

  3. 2011 BMW 135i M-Sport, iDrive, 50k miles, asking for *14k in Florida.

    *Listed at 15k, but was 13k just a few months ago according to price history, lets be optimistic and pessimistic and say I get them to go halfway to the price they had at the middle of winter...

    Single owner, one accident listed, couldn't get details without calling

  4. 2011 BMW 135i M-Sport, iDrive, 95k miles(!), asking for *12k in Georgia.

    Single owner, one accident listed, couldn't get details without calling

Do any of these not sound as bad as I think they are?
Are my goals too lofty?
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      02-26-2018, 11:19 AM   #2
Esteban
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Did you ever call about the accident on #3?
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      02-26-2018, 09:13 PM   #3
us_gh
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Esteban View Post
Did you ever call about the accident on #3?
Just messaged them about it, hopefully not anything too terrible...

I noticed a lot of the these cars went from BMW dealerships as former CPOs to "We specialize in bad credit" dealerships through auctions, losing service records and history along the way.

Also sucks because I'm not financing, so the quoted prices they plan on padding with an increased finance charge doesn't work out...
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      02-27-2018, 10:45 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Esteban View Post
Did you ever call about the accident on #3?
They got back to me, front bumper damage that got repaired
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      02-27-2018, 10:54 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by us_gh View Post
They got back to me, front bumper damage that got repaired
That doesn't sound too bad...
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      02-28-2018, 08:53 AM   #6
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My car is just like your case number 1. 2 Accidents on record and both of them resulted in cosmetic damages only. Both of them happened in shopping complex parking lot. Both the offenders were mini van moms talking to their kids in the back seat. Both impacts happened at less than 10 mph. The first accident happened 10 days after the car was delivered. It's frustrating - but I can tell my car is in better shape than any other similar aged cars on road. Just giving you an example , that the first car may be in better shape than others.
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      03-15-2018, 02:10 PM   #7
us_gh
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Just started the process on a 2012 135i, black outside/terra inside

Pretty much every feature possible on it (M Sport, Comfort Access, iDrive, even the extra cup holder option) but somewhat high milage 90k.

Single owner, 15.5k, getting the PPI tomorrow, hopefully it goes better than the last one
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      04-01-2018, 04:58 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by us_gh View Post
Just started the process on a 2012 135i, black outside/terra inside

Pretty much every feature possible on it (M Sport, Comfort Access, iDrive, even the extra cup holder option) but somewhat high milage 90k.

Single owner, 15.5k, getting the PPI tomorrow, hopefully it goes better than the last one
So how'd it go?
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      04-22-2018, 10:37 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Esteban View Post
So how'd it go?
Super late reply...

but iirc that car didn't work out because of a leak. I tried a private sale on the forum but it fell through this weekend after PenFed spent a month to explain they couldn't finance a private sale for me.

I think I'm going to have to move on from the 1 series. It's really grown on me over this search, and something about what it is really appeals to me. Something I still can't put my finger on, that no Fxx car does.

But the fact is they *are* older cars, and the ones in dealers are apparently never as clean as they seem (half the dealers seem to think because it has a BMW badge it's ok to leak oil...), and I can't get financing for a private sales.

I think I might "suck it up" and start looking at the 2 series. Most of the ones I see online look like single owner trade-ins at reputable dealers as opposed to the 135s which were all at "sketchy" places willing to sell cars with bald tires and leaking oil like it was nothing.

I'm going to test drive a 228i tomorrow. The weird thing is for some reason convertible 228i and M235i prices don't seem to differ by much at all around here. I found a 2015 M235i for the same price as a 2016 228i with similar mileage. 2015 228i are only about 3 or 4k cheaper...
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      04-30-2018, 12:08 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by us_gh View Post
Super late reply...

but iirc that car didn't work out because of a leak. I tried a private sale on the forum but it fell through this weekend after PenFed spent a month to explain they couldn't finance a private sale for me.

I think I'm going to have to move on from the 1 series. It's really grown on me over this search, and something about what it is really appeals to me. Something I still can't put my finger on, that no Fxx car does.

But the fact is they *are* older cars, and the ones in dealers are apparently never as clean as they seem (half the dealers seem to think because it has a BMW badge it's ok to leak oil...), and I can't get financing for a private sales.

I think I might "suck it up" and start looking at the 2 series. Most of the ones I see online look like single owner trade-ins at reputable dealers as opposed to the 135s which were all at "sketchy" places willing to sell cars with bald tires and leaking oil like it was nothing.

I'm going to test drive a 228i tomorrow. The weird thing is for some reason convertible 228i and M235i prices don't seem to differ by much at all around here. I found a 2015 M235i for the same price as a 2016 228i with similar mileage. 2015 228i are only about 3 or 4k cheaper...
what is your price range?
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      05-08-2018, 05:54 PM   #11
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Mine is still available if interested.
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      05-08-2018, 07:08 PM   #12
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recent pic .
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      05-08-2018, 07:18 PM   #13
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better pic.
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      05-10-2018, 12:22 PM   #14
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If you're having issues with financing, I'd recommend lightstream.com if you have excellent credit. I used them when purchasing my e88 last year and it was the smoothest loan transaction I've EVER done.
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      05-30-2018, 01:24 PM   #15
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Where are you located in CT ?
If you need to have a proper look around one without intrusion then you can sniff around mine. It's a 2008 with 65K on it. Mods are in my signature.
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