BMW Certified, or Lower mileage?

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Originally Posted By: Trav
have it gone through by an independent specialist before buying it. BMW or MB, etc certified doesn't mean much,

Sadly, this is true.

A friend of mine was buying a CPO 3-series a few years back. He narrowed it down to two vehicles and had PPI done on both. One of them turned out to have had body damage that was repaired but undisclosed by the selling dealer.
 
Certified because the warranty and his piece of mind will keep it longer. Plenty of recourse with BMW but not much on with third party dealer and a purchased extended BMW warranty.

It seems like BMW ownership is rather eventless (most cases) OR real nightmares of vehicles. I will state most folks have pleasant experiences I know in warranty then outside a while then final straw and get another certified.
 
Originally Posted By: Nissan101
THis is why you dont buy BMWs
laugh.gif



Tell me about it; I've been a miserable soul since I bought my first E3 back in 1983...
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Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Trav
have it gone through by an independent specialist before buying it. BMW or MB, etc certified doesn't mean much,

Sadly, this is true.

A friend of mine was buying a CPO 3-series a few years back. He narrowed it down to two vehicles and had PPI done on both. One of them turned out to have had body damage that was repaired but undisclosed by the selling dealer.


It really depends on the dealer; my dealer really does thoroughly inspect their CPOs candidates- but some dealers do exactly what Trav described. My 2er was a CPO and it has been a joy to own and drive. One warranty repair so far and I hab=ve a new car warranty to 6/18 and CPO to 6/20.
Since the cars OP mentioned are both 2014s they should both will have free maintenance as well as warranty for four years and 50,000 miles from the in service date. Free maintenance is not transferable to subsequent owners on newer BMWs.
 
I somewhat doubt that a 11k miles car would have issues unless extremely abused. That's something a competent mechanic should be able to detect.
 
Drive both most cars drive VERY different. One may stand out.

Like dog or cat personalities..

I was looking at a "dream: car last year a M5 v10 with 6M stick only 34K.

I chickened out given my LAST BMW experience.
 
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
I somewhat doubt that a 11k miles car would have issues unless extremely abused. That's something a competent mechanic should be able to detect.


My only worry would be about excessive short tripping on a 3-4 year old 11K mile car. Other than that, I'd agree with Trav and get the lower mileage car checked by a competent mechanic familiar with these cars.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Personally all other things being equal I would go with the one with lower miles and have it gone through by an independent specialist before buying it. BMW or MB, etc certified doesn't mean much, trust me on that I have seen too much in dealerships, its just a meaningless buzzword meant to give buyers more confidence and jack the price, nothing more.
Second string mechanics do these inspections for a flat rate, the faster its out of there the more money they make. I saw one guy at a local BMW dealer do a walk around with a flashlight, started drinking his coffee and checking boxes off.

A few years ago I went through a "certified" MB C300 4MATIC, the person that inspected it didn't test drive much further than the parking lot, it had transmission issues, bad sway bar links and a few other obvious things all the way down to raggedy wiper blades (i guess they didn't even bother to turn them on).
In theory having a qualified mechanic familiar with the car go through it thoroughly and inspect it is a great thing and definitely adds some value but it reality its not happening.

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As a former ASE Master Tech, and owner of numerous BMW's over the years (two currently, a car and a Motorcycle) I concur. The 'Certified' designation is only as good as the person doing the inspection, which in the case of one Dealership I'm aware of, isn't saying much.

As with any car, you either need to have the ability to fix any issues yourself, or have an honest, COMPETENT Mechanic you can take it to.
 
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
I somewhat doubt that a 11k miles car would have issues unless extremely abused. That's something a competent mechanic should be able to detect.

I had a customer with a 328i that needed a new engine at 800 miles...

It overheated.
 
Originally Posted By: montero1
2. Non-certified from a used dealer that specializes in buying low mileage vehicles off lease. This one only has 11k on it.


Do you have a link for it? I wonder if the area BMW dealers passed it up for some reason. I would think they get first crack at it since BMW Financial does most of their leases. A dealer here that works on cars also sells German makes that come off lease. You can tell they are in a little rougher shape than the certified used ones at the dealerships. Usually the cosmetics on those are hard to tell apart from the new ones.
 
Certified. They come with an OEM warranty, the stakes are higher for the dealer to get it right (warranty work is paid work, but it's not at the Shop Rate).

If you think about it, that low mileage alternative might have hit the auction precisely because they didn't want it as a Certified candidate.

For 2 or 3K, I don't see the value versus the risk. If it were a bigger spread I'd think harder about it, but not at that kind of money.
 
have you examined and driven both cars in person?

Do that first and it may help you decide.

whose car is this going to be? and whose money is at stake. if the nephew is old enough to consider this his car maybe its time for him to decide and havr the difference be his. you set aside the extra money or give it to him to reserve for repairs or blow on mods that every teenager makes.
 
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Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
I was looking at a "dream: car last year a M5 v10 with 6M stick only 34K.

I chickened out given my LAST BMW experience.

Not a bad call. From what I've heard, the failure rate on those engines is frightening.
 
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
I somewhat doubt that a 11k miles car would have issues unless extremely abused. That's something a competent mechanic should be able to detect.

PLENTY of bad things can happen in the first 11k miles of a car's life that might not have obvious results until later.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Personally all other things being equal I would go with the one with lower miles and have it gone through by an independent specialist before buying it. BMW or MB, etc certified doesn't mean much, trust me on that I have seen too much in dealerships, its just a meaningless buzzword meant to give buyers more confidence and jack the price, nothing more.
Second string mechanics do these inspections for a flat rate, the faster its out of there the more money they make. I saw one guy at a local BMW dealer do a walk around with a flashlight, started drinking his coffee and checking boxes off.

A few years ago I went through a "certified" MB C300 4MATIC, the person that inspected it didn't test drive much further than the parking lot, it had transmission issues, bad sway bar links and a few other obvious things all the way down to raggedy wiper blades (i guess they didn't even bother to turn them on).
In theory having a qualified mechanic familiar with the car go through it thoroughly and inspect it is a great thing and definitely adds some value but it reality its not happening.

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Yep. + 10000000
 
There is probably a reason that #2 was not selected or eligible to be a part of the BMW certified pre-owned program if I started its life as a lease.

Stories from used car dealers are just stories.

I have a family member that had a low mileage accord in very good shape but the dealer wouldn't take it as a trade in because it couldn't meet their CPO requirements because it had some body work done.
 
Originally Posted By: JamesBond
There is probably a reason that #2 was not selected or eligible to be a part of the BMW certified pre-owned program if I started its life as a lease.

Stories from used car dealers are just stories.

I have a family member that had a low mileage accord in very good shape but the dealer wouldn't take it as a trade in because it couldn't meet their CPO requirements because it had some body work done.



Sorry guys...I guess it depends on the dealer and/or manufacturer. I once was considering a Dodge/Cummins and I checked out the car fax and it said the front end was damaged. I asked the dealer about why is it a "certified" vehicle then? He said it was because the frame wasn't damaged. My guess-it had the 5.7 in it and he knew he could sell it even with the "blemish" on the Carfax.

Even with certified it's buyer beware. I just brought a "certified" GMC Sierra, after some drivability problems that didn't surface during the test drive-I had to perform some work on it that wasn't covered under the "GM certification".

Buyer-beware.
 
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