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      12-16-2020, 09:36 AM   #1
imasalesperson
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Question Need help... first time buyer

Hey guys,

New member here from AZ! Found an out of state 2019 BMW M4 in Houston, TX that was involved in a minor accident front driver side. Has 40k miles and still has 10k miles/till December 2022 warranty on it. Would this be a good purchase and would anyone be willing to help inspect? It’s also being sold at a certified dealer.

On the other hand, my other option would be a manual 2017 BMW M4 with 45k miles and same price (shipping was double though) as the 2019 but in MA. I don’t drive stick but would love to learn.

Thanks y’all!
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      12-16-2020, 12:10 PM   #2
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I guess it really comes down to the head lights and tail light preference between the years as well as the options.
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      12-16-2020, 12:14 PM   #3
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I've purchased vehicles with minor accidents in the past and haven't run into any issues. However, I am very wary of front end collisions. Do they have any documentation of what was damaged and repaired?

The danger with any accident is mechanical/alignment issues and/or paint quality and matching.

There are enough of these cars out there that you should be able to find one without a history.

Good luck with your search!
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      12-16-2020, 12:24 PM   #4
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need to know the extent of the damage. really wouldn't risk it
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      12-16-2020, 12:25 PM   #5
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I've purchased a used car with minor damages once. Before buying it, I told the seller that I wanted the car checked by a mechanic (the seller lived a couple hundred miles away from me so I couldn't bring the car to my own mechanic for a check). When I arrived to see the car the sellers mechanic told me that except from the already known damages there were no further issues. I made a quick test drive and proceeded buying the car. Two weeks later I started having multiple unknown minor and MAJOR issues with the car... everyting got complicated and yeah. Be very careful, maybe look for a car that wasn't involved in an accident if you have the possibility to.
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      12-16-2020, 01:24 PM   #6
imasalesperson
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Appreciate the feedback and insight so far!

According to Carfax it was a minor sideswipe on by the driver side headlight and corner. It said no frame damage or mechanical concern. I asked the sales person at the BMW certified dealership and he said the car was parked and another car hit them. He also told me that BMW would not sell a car if it was not in a CLEAN RETAIL status because banks wouldn't finance anything under that and that is when cars below that status get sent to auto auctions.

For the price, it's the best I could find and it was in TX so I knew it wouldn't have the winter issues. It also has all the packages I would like in my first M4: competition and executive and from 2017-2019.

If anyone is in the area and would help inspecting or knows a mechanic near the area I'd be happy to compensate.

Thanks in advance!
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      12-16-2020, 01:58 PM   #7
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in my view, and in expectation of some sort of discount, it's ok to buy a car with MINOR damage history if and only if complete documentation is available including parts list, paint list, final cost, mileage at the time of repair and who did it. you have to see the paper work, verbal descriptions are worth nothing.

for anyone unfortunate enough to require damage repair on their own car: get and retain copies (and/or pictures) of everything including estimates, parts and labor lists, receipts and insurance checks. before any work is done TAKE MANY PICTURES, but carefully framed pictures in decent light, both close up and wide angle. if airbags didn't deploy, take pictures of that. take pictures during repair if that helps to clarify the situation. ignore the annoyed expressions on body shop personnel as you do all this.
just as importantly, have a plan to remember where you put all this stuff. when the time comes to sell your wallet will thank you.
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      12-16-2020, 02:16 PM   #8
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i should add to the above:
Carfax is not reliable, as you will find in many threads on this forum. sometimes they're accurate, sometimes they're not. read their disclaimer, they are not kidding.
in your situation, out of state purchase of a previously damaged car seems risky tbh, except in the case of a private seller who definitely has the documentation noted above and seems sane during conversations. bear in mind that these cars are not rare and patience will find what you want within driving distance.
GOOD LUCK!
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      12-16-2020, 03:06 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Poiseuille View Post
in my view, and in expectation of some sort of discount, it's ok to buy a car with MINOR damage history if and only if complete documentation is available including parts list, paint list, final cost, mileage at the time of repair and who did it. you have to see the paper work, verbal descriptions are worth nothing.

for anyone unfortunate enough to require damage repair on their own car: get and retain copies (and/or pictures) of everything including estimates, parts and labor lists, receipts and insurance checks. before any work is done TAKE MANY PICTURES, but carefully framed pictures in decent light, both close up and wide angle. if airbags didn't deploy, take pictures of that. take pictures during repair if that helps to clarify the situation. ignore the annoyed expressions on body shop personnel as you do all this.
just as importantly, have a plan to remember where you put all this stuff. when the time comes to sell your wallet will thank you.
I asked them for all the documents/pictures but BMW said they are unable to provide that as all they do before buying a vehicle is put the VIN into their system, inspect it and purchase/don't purchase it. The car was also under warranty, was serviced at BMW everytime and even for the damage. The warranty is a bumper to bumper so it would fix everything. They said if it didn't pass inspection they wouldn't sell it for retail but at an auction instead.

Also, thank you for your advice! I've done that for my 2017 mustang and it is a good practice to continue.
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      12-16-2020, 03:07 PM   #10
imasalesperson
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWsports6 View Post
I've purchased a used car with minor damages once. Before buying it, I told the seller that I wanted the car checked by a mechanic (the seller lived a couple hundred miles away from me so I couldn't bring the car to my own mechanic for a check). When I arrived to see the car the sellers mechanic told me that except from the already known damages there were no further issues. I made a quick test drive and proceeded buying the car. Two weeks later I started having multiple unknown minor and MAJOR issues with the car... everyting got complicated and yeah. Be very careful, maybe look for a car that wasn't involved in an accident if you have the possibility to.
I'm sorry to hear! That is a sucky situation to be in. I hope I won't be in the same boat as this will be through a certified BMW dealer although the car isn't CPO. What problems did you encounter that I should be aware of? TIA!
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      12-16-2020, 03:13 PM   #11
imasalesperson
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boostd4 View Post
I've purchased vehicles with minor accidents in the past and haven't run into any issues. However, I am very wary of front end collisions. Do they have any documentation of what was damaged and repaired?

The danger with any accident is mechanical/alignment issues and/or paint quality and matching.

There are enough of these cars out there that you should be able to find one without a history.

Good luck with your search!
Hi! Yes, and I have an uncle who does the same thing as well. The damage was the driver side headlight, close to front left wheel and front bumper. They said it was a side swipe collision. The Carfax said no mechanical, functional or frame damage (taken with a grain of salt). I'm buying this from a certified BMW dealer in TX and they said they don't have the documentation, but they said before purchasing from the original owner they plugged in the VIN, saw it's history, inspected the vehicle and bought it. This car has been serviced by a different certified BMW dealer because it still has its bumper-to-bumper warranty. They said if the car had any major issue, it would have been discovered and not put on sale for retail but at an auction instead.

I also couldn't find another within a reasonable price point that had all the packages (Competition+Executive) and less than 50k in miles from 2017-2019. I was only able to find one, but it was a manual (never drove stick before and want to learn, but maybe not smart for this as my first car?) and from MA where it could have winter issues. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!
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      12-16-2020, 03:25 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by imasalesperson View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boostd4 View Post
I've purchased vehicles with minor accidents in the past and haven't run into any issues. However, I am very wary of front end collisions. Do they have any documentation of what was damaged and repaired?

The danger with any accident is mechanical/alignment issues and/or paint quality and matching.

There are enough of these cars out there that you should be able to find one without a history.

Good luck with your search!
Hi! Yes, and I have an uncle who does the same thing as well. The damage was the driver side headlight, close to front left wheel and front bumper. They said it was a side swipe collision. The Carfax said no mechanical, functional or frame damage (taken with a grain of salt). I'm buying this from a certified BMW dealer in TX and they said they don't have the documentation, but they said before purchasing from the original owner they plugged in the VIN, saw it's history, inspected the vehicle and bought it. This car has been serviced by a different certified BMW dealer because it still has its bumper-to-bumper warranty. They said if the car had any major issue, it would have been discovered and not put on sale for retail but at an auction instead.

I also couldn't find another within a reasonable price point that had all the packages (Competition+Executive) and less than 50k in miles from 2017-2019. I was only able to find one, but it was a manual (never drove stick before and want to learn, but maybe not smart for this as my first car?) and from MA where it could have winter issues. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!
Buy it!

It's true; dealer will auction cars that can't be CPO most of the time.

Think about it; if you're the dealer and you CPO junk it's gonna cost the dealer not the buyer.
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      12-17-2020, 12:14 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2011ninja View Post
Buy it!

It's true; dealer will auction cars that can't be CPO most of the time.

Think about it; if you're the dealer and you CPO junk it's gonna cost the dealer not the buyer.
Thank you for your advice!
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      12-20-2020, 01:27 AM   #14
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I would personally opt for a professional PPI (pre-purchase inspection), especially on a car that has had previous damage.

I looked at one local to me that I found out had minor damage. Thinking I’d consider if it was really minor damage that was repaired right, when test drove it I took it to my body shop that has done top notch work for me in the past and one of the techs and I spent about an hour looking thru it only to find it wasn’t 100% minor repairs made. The whole drivers side had been damaged; we found a bad weld on the front fenders rear lower mounting bracket that was rusting and had already broken loose, and it appeared the door had been replaced or something as we found the cavity wax that keeps the welds from corroding was missing from the door, the doors paint job along with all of the other paint wasn’t done well at all (the tech showed me some of their repairs where they were able to match very closely the paint texture from the factory and not leave a car with multiple textures and buffing swirl marks, the rocker panel wasn’t secured properly, and the rear quarter had been repainted. Otherwise, the car seemed great and to be honest these things aren’t easy to spot without staring at things for a while. Look for bolts that have been removed from body panels, look at fender mounting brackets, look underneath, etc. feel the paint, look at the paint from all angles up closely. Bright a bright flashlight. Assume someone is trying to pull the wool over your eyes; if the cars problems are why they are selling it, do you really want to inherit those problems?

I passed on the one local to me and instead bought one a week ago from a great guy in the Sacramento area. As for the PPI, I had it inspected before I hopped my flight, and knew what I was getting into.

Don’t buy long distance without someone you trust or a trusted shop going thru it bit by bit and be super picky about every little rock chip or scratch; if the seller dens aggravates our doesn’t want to work with you on these things then it’s time to walk away - there is no “good price” makes up for a bad deal. Read on other threads about people buying cars long distance only to find out the bought junk.

Start reading this thread, then go to page 10 and you will be blown away what dealers will do...

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1780097

Last edited by Hoppyumr; 12-20-2020 at 01:37 AM..
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      12-20-2020, 03:14 AM   #15
imasalesperson
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoppyumr View Post
I would personally opt for a professional PPI (pre-purchase inspection), especially on a car that has had previous damage.

I looked at one local to me that I found out had minor damage. Thinking I’d consider if it was really minor damage that was repaired right, when test drove it I took it to my body shop that has done top notch work for me in the past and one of the techs and I spent about an hour looking thru it only to find it wasn’t 100% minor repairs made. The whole drivers side had been damaged; we found a bad weld on the front fenders rear lower mounting bracket that was rusting and had already broken loose, and it appeared the door had been replaced or something as we found the cavity wax that keeps the welds from corroding was missing from the door, the doors paint job along with all of the other paint wasn’t done well at all (the tech showed me some of their repairs where they were able to match very closely the paint texture from the factory and not leave a car with multiple textures and buffing swirl marks, the rocker panel wasn’t secured properly, and the rear quarter had been repainted. Otherwise, the car seemed great and to be honest these things aren’t easy to spot without staring at things for a while. Look for bolts that have been removed from body panels, look at fender mounting brackets, look underneath, etc. feel the paint, look at the paint from all angles up closely. Bright a bright flashlight. Assume someone is trying to pull the wool over your eyes; if the cars problems are why they are selling it, do you really want to inherit those problems?

I passed on the one local to me and instead bought one a week ago from a great guy in the Sacramento area. As for the PPI, I had it inspected before I hopped my flight, and knew what I was getting into.

Don’t buy long distance without someone you trust or a trusted shop going thru it bit by bit and be super picky about every little rock chip or scratch; if the seller dens aggravates our doesn’t want to work with you on these things then it’s time to walk away - there is no “good price” makes up for a bad deal. Read on other threads about people buying cars long distance only to find out the bought junk.

Start reading this thread, then go to page 10 and you will be blown away what dealers will do...

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1780097
Thanks for the advice! I had it PPI and no issues besides a couple scuffs in the front, tiny dent passenger rear door and some paint on driver side. The shop specializes in BMW, and guy said he’d buy it if it were him. Sent me a couple pictures and we were on the phone a lot. He said he didn’t trust dealers too.
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