[Adler11th]

Hello, I been looking for decent spec 540 xdrive for a while and found this car at my local dealer - auto trader link.
I feel like it’s a right car for me, however carfax is a bit concerning. It shows oil change at 12k miles, and next service by dealer that got car in at 39k. I know that carfax reporting can be whacky sometimes but still it makes me doubt., It’s still a CPO somehow, and has that extra year of warranty.
Seems like it was originally in Glendale CA, then moved to Pasadena.
Has slightly damaged rear bumper ( seems like minor bump into something ).
Any opinions and tips when buying car like this are welcome. What to check and look out for? I have appointment in the morning to take it for a drive.
P.S.
The eq set up for Harman audio is very common for forums around here and I was wondering maybe previous owner is somewhere around to help understand this car better. if you know this car feel free to pm me or respond to this post. Thx!

[AP]

My thoughts
Take it for a drive just to get experience of what one is like
A bmw dealer should be able to pull up the service records if you want to query that
The gap in the service if it were the U.K. might be normal as our service intervals are 2 years / 19000 miles but I believe I the us it’s half of that so that does sound odd

The bump on the back, I’d like to think that would have been sorted

Personally I’d say there should be a good choice of these so get what you really want and don’t rush into buying one if you have a nagging doubt about it

[Joe-BMW33]

As AP said, inspect the car in great detail and drive it for a good hour or more. If this is a BMW dealer, they should be able to provide the BMW service records. The first oil change was probably actually at 12k, which is a red flag for me. The prior owner went 2k miles over the free oil change interval. First off, 10k mile interval is considered too long by many owners, but this is what BMW does when they offer free maintenance for the first 3 years. When they didn't do this and the owner paid, miraculously the interval was like 5k-7.5k miles. So, on the surface, seems like a lazy lease car prior owner.

Not a lot of pictures and the six of them aren't great, but that base Dakota Cognac leather looks really beat.

There are a ton of 540's out there for sale. The market is softening. The price on this car and the miles are nothing to write home about. Make sure you be patient and understand the options that were available and what options the cars have and what you want.

[adhrp]

I clicked on the link and couldn't see the Carfax report. Did I miss it? When a Carfax or TrueCheck report isn't posted for an advertised car it is an immediate red flag for me.."what are they trying to hide?"

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by adhrp

I clicked on the link and couldn't see the Carfax report. Did I miss it? When a Carfax or TrueCheck report isn't posted for an advertised car it is an immediate red flag for me.."what are they trying to hide?"

Lease return, oil wasn't changed for the first time unti 13k miles 14 months after delivery, not 12k. Leased beater. People that lease don't change the oil themself in the middle of the free interval. So they drove around with the oil reminder in their face for at least two months, probably three.

https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistor...F7Mp5K-mnRFutQ

https://elkgrove.niello.com/certifie...9555c2a28c.htm

[Adler11th]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

As AP said, inspect the car in great detail and drive it for a good hour or more. If this is a BMW dealer, they should be able to provide the BMW service records. The first oil change was probably actually at 12k, which is a red flag for me. The prior owner went 2k miles over the free oil change interval. First off, 10k mile interval is considered too long by many owners, but this is what BMW does when they offer free maintenance for the first 3 years. When they didn't do this and the owner paid, miraculously the interval was like 5k-7.5k miles. So, on the surface, seems like a lazy lease car prior owner.

Not a lot of pictures and the six of them aren't great, but that base Dakota Cognac leather looks really beat.

There are a ton of 540's out there for sale. The market is softening. The price on this car and the miles are nothing to write home about. Make sure you be patient and understand the options that were available and what options the cars have and what you want.

Originally Posted by adhrp

I clicked on the link and couldn't see the Carfax report. Did I miss it? When a Carfax or TrueCheck report isn't posted for an advertised car it is an immediate red flag for me.."what are they trying to hide?"

Good news, got update from my salesperson, they looked it up through bmw records, and it seemed like previous owner did oil changes at 5, 12, 22 and 33 thousands miles. Not sure why carfax doesn’t show it. He also followed up on recall and coolant flush services. That explains how they were able to cpo the car.

Ima head out and see it in few hours, and give it a nice test drive, see how it goes.

While there are quite a bit 540s around, it’s hard to find xdrive with m package in California. Last one I test drove was from Colorado and interior was creaking, doors a bit loose, seemed like it was driven on the fields

[adhrp]

Originally Posted by Adler11th

Good news, got update from my salesperson, they looked it up through bmw records, and it seemed like previous owner did oil changes at 5, 12, 22 and 33 thousands miles. Not sure why carfax doesn’t show it. He also followed up on recall and coolant flush services. That explains how they were able to cpo the car.

Ima head out and see it in few hours, and give it a nice test drive, see how it goes.

While there are quite a bit 540s around, it’s hard to find xdrive with m package in California. Last one I test drove was from Colorado and interior was creaking, doors a bit loose, seemed like it was driven on the fields

Well that's a relief, but ask for a copy of the records if possible Let us know how it goes and if you end up buying it!

[jcal65]

This is why I don’t trust Carfax; their data is not always accurate.

I owned a BMW which was repurchased as a lemon buyback because the dealer could not repair it under warranty and gave up. I signed papers that the car could not be sold to any BMW dealers, and it would be auctioned with a salvage title. Out of curiosity, I searched the VIN # many months later and found the car for sale at an independent used car dealer in Texas. The dealer had a link to Carfax on their web site which showed my original dealer and normal maintenance data, but nothing about the salvage title or problems with the car. The title was apparently washed when the car moved to another state. The dealer did not state anything on their web site about it being a buyback either.

Be cautious about relying on Carfax only to determine the vehicle history. You did the right thing asking the dealer for the history. Good Luck!

[yupetc]

I use carfax only in attempt to look for wreckage or flooding records. Most times if the car does go through an insurance claim under these two categories, they will stick. Other than that, I don't ever suspect the service/maintenance record to ever be so accurately portrayed on carfax or epicVIN.

I service over 20 BMW's throughout the year in my garage. All my friends/family's BMW's come to me as much as they can. And I do the least by updating the iDrive's CBS record through ISTA+, so none of these will go onto any publically offered recording. That is not to say that the car's not properly maintained when in fact, the cars I did are more than properly maintained since on every service, they all trust that I'll look after their car's overall condition for leaks, bushings, and any irregularities. Things like Walnut blasting the intake valves have no place on any systemized record-place. I can only record them in my excel format service sheets. That said, a lot of mom-n-pop grease racks will also yield no record onto any network to be found. So how precise can you get on maintenance records?

You can pay those few dollars for a carfax report for a good review on insurance claim events, even on some minor bumps/scratches if they didn't put it on an insurance claim, you won't see it pop up on carfax. So there you go. But on maintenance, there will be a lot of guesswork and manual hunting/asking to get a better overall view. The best way to know if the car is good is to outsource a mobile auto-tech to come and take a look at the car with you. I think for a peace of mind, it's almost the only way to do it, unless you're very mechanically inclined and know what to look for. Typical poorly maintained BMW's will have witness marks of coolant/oil leaks that you can likely trace. But a lot of it is hard to find unless you start removing some plastic panels above/below and upper intake assembly has to come off to get a better view, too (that "shaded-valley" is a convenient hide-out place for plastic water pumps and thermostat housings these days.)

[Adler11th]

Originally Posted by jcal65

This is why I don’t trust Carfax; their data is not always accurate.

I owned a BMW which was repurchased as a lemon buyback because the dealer could not repair it under warranty and gave up. I signed papers that the car could not be sold to any BMW dealers, and it would be auctioned with a salvage title. Out of curiosity, I searched the VIN # many months later and found the car for sale at an independent used car dealer in Texas. The dealer had a link to Carfax on their web site which showed my original dealer and normal maintenance data, but nothing about the salvage title or problems with the car. The title was apparently washed when the car moved to another state. The dealer did not state anything on their web site about it being a buyback either.

Be cautious about relying on Carfax only to determine the vehicle history. You did the right thing asking the dealer for the history. Good Luck!

That crazy, sorry to hear you had to go through that. I bought CPO before that had clean carfax and everything. When I came in to the same dealer to service trunk release issue, the tech noted rear damage. It wasn’t specifically accident but they thought it’s possible.
When I approached sales manager with my issue, he said that damaged car can be cpoed no issues as long as carfax is fine. Well I got rid of the car soon after but I remembered that for long time.

[Adler11th]

Quick update, some one came in earlier and got the car. That means I get to enjoy my g82 for a bit longer until I find the right 540. That you guys for chiming in!

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by jcal65

This is why I don’t trust Carfax; their data is not always accurate.

I owned a BMW which was repurchased as a lemon buyback because the dealer could not repair it under warranty and gave up. I signed papers that the car could not be sold to any BMW dealers, and it would be auctioned with a salvage title. Out of curiosity, I searched the VIN # many months later and found the car for sale at an independent used car dealer in Texas. The dealer had a link to Carfax on their web site which showed my original dealer and normal maintenance data, but nothing about the salvage title or problems with the car. The title was apparently washed when the car moved to another state. The dealer did not state anything on their web site about it being a buyback either.

Be cautious about relying on Carfax only to determine the vehicle history. You did the right thing asking the dealer for the history. Good Luck!

I didn’t realize a buyback results in a salvage title. I bought the first year(2002) of the E65 in 2004. It was the launch of idrive and all the tech. BMW had so many software issues that they had to buy back a lot of them. I bought one a few years later because they solved the issues and they extended the factory warranty to 100k miles. Car was awesome, no issues.

When I traded it in for another (new this time), they didn’t mention anything about a salvage or rebuilt title. I was also unaware. Of course the VIN had the history and extended warranty attached to it, so they knew it was a buyback. Don’t recall any title tags on that car.

[Warp Ten]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

I didn’t realize a buyback results in a salvage title. I bought the first year(2002) of the E65 in 2004. It was the launch of idrive and all the tech. BMW had so many software issues that they had to buy back a lot of them. I bought one a few years later because they solved the issues and they extended the factory warranty to 100k miles. Car was awesome, no issues.

When I traded it in for another (new this time), they didn’t mention anything about a salvage or rebuilt title. I was also unaware. Of course the VIN had the history and extended warranty attached to it, so they knew it was a buyback. Don’t recall any title tags on that car.

I agree that I don't think dealer buybacks result in a salvage title. At least they don't in Illinois. When I worked at a BMW dealer in my early retirement, we did a couple of buybacks and they were mostly to keep a good customer happy. Once we did it for one of my lease customers when the dealer could not fix the air conditioning on a 5 Series after multiple tries. The customer got a newer car under a "collateral substitution" and continued on his lease. The car went to auction with information on the buyback reason. In another case, I had a customer looking for a hard-to-find 5 Series station wagon. A particular PITA lady customer(who had bought a lot of cars) had one that she insisted we buy back because of a very minor quirk in the operation of the car. We did and I called my customer, told him it was a perfect car and had the service manager explain what the issue was that the lady complained about. It was extremely minor, part of the normal operation of the car and not something that my customer would likely ever encounter. He bought it for a great discount and kept it for many trouble free years. So with good information on the buyback, especially if backed up by a CPO warranty from a reputable BMW dealer, it should not be too much of an issue as long as it is well discounted. And to my knowledge it should not have a salvage title due to the buyback--at least ours did not. However, some things might worry more than others, like a bad transmission that the dealer can't fix. --Bob

[jcal65]

I am not an expert when it comes to buyback or salvage laws, I can only share my experience. My buyback was in 2011 in California. I owned the car it was not a lease. A BMW representative made an appointment with me to return the car to my local dealer. He inspected the car and explained to me what would happen to it. I was told the car could not be resold in California, could not be purchased by a BMW dealer, and would be considered salvaged, it was sent to auction. I recall signing off on this and I was given a reimbursement check for what I paid for the car, including the taxes and registrations fees.

The car was a 328i convertible that developed a problem with the hard folding top, which I noticed at around 800 miles. The top was not aligned properly at the factory, it became tweaked, rattled badly, damaged the roof panels and trunk paint, and could not be repaired after 6 visits and almost 2 months at the dealer combined. Part of the car was resprayed, and the paint got damaged again immediately afterwards. The dealer manager was concerned the top would never be right even after completely removing, replacing and re-installing it, and they could not guarantee proper paint thickness on another re-spray in some areas which would devalue the car. The dealer service, priority care and attention they gave me was fantastic.

BMW relations was also excellent and immediately agreed to buy the car back after inspection. It ended up in Texas and I am assuming the independent dealer had the paintwork corrected prior to listing it. The dealer listing mentioned nothing about the car being a buyback, I'm not sure if this would be disclosed to someone purchasing the car. The Carfax report had nothing about any of my repair visits, buyback, or salvage information, which surprised me. This made me suspicious of buying a used, low mileage, almost new car from an independent dealer that transferred from one state to another. Each state has different laws and I believe someone with knowledge knows how to play the game of washing titles.

Again, this was just my personal experience and opinion.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

As AP said, inspect the car in great detail and drive it for a good hour or more. If this is a BMW dealer, they should be able to provide the BMW service records. The first oil change was probably actually at 12k, which is a red flag for me. The prior owner went 2k miles over the free oil change interval. First off, 10k mile interval is considered too long by many owners, but this is what BMW does when they offer free maintenance for the first 3 years. When they didn't do this and the owner paid, miraculously the interval was like 5k-7.5k miles. So, on the surface, seems like a lazy lease car prior owner.

Not a lot of pictures and the six of them aren't great, but that base Dakota Cognac leather looks really beat.

There are a ton of 540's out there for sale. The market is softening. The price on this car and the miles are nothing to write home about. Make sure you be patient and understand the options that were available and what options the cars have and what you want.

The X7 M50 I’m likely buying shows first oil change at 13k miles on Carfax but BMW records show it at like 4k (they hit a year before they hit 10k miles). So you can’t always trust Carfax maintenance reporting (as you know).

BMW records tell the story. They aren’t SUPPOSED to CPO a car that hasn’t been maintained per BMW maintenance schedule. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

[Neusser]

Originally Posted by Adler11th

Hello, I been looking for decent spec 540 xdrive for a while and found this car at my local dealer - auto trader link.
I feel like it’s a right car for me, however carfax is a bit concerning. It shows oil change at 12k miles, and next service by dealer that got car in at 39k. I know that carfax reporting can be whacky sometimes but still it makes me doubt., It’s still a CPO somehow, and has that extra year of warranty.
Seems like it was originally in Glendale CA, then moved to Pasadena.
Has slightly damaged rear bumper ( seems like minor bump into something ).
Any opinions and tips when buying car like this are welcome. What to check and look out for? I have appointment in the morning to take it for a drive.
P.S.
The eq set up for Harman audio is very common for forums around here and I was wondering maybe previous owner is somewhere around to help understand this car better. if you know this car feel free to pm me or respond to this post. Thx!

You can check the service history for oil yourself using Idrive.

I would not touch a car with a damaged bumper, unless you can get an indy assessment that nothing underneath is bent.

[br2wdc]

For future reference, Carfax is only as good as the data it receives, so there are many, many auto repair shops/oil change places that are not "connected" to Carfax and their work will never be reported or reflected. So for me the Carfax provides some good background data, but I mainly rely on PPI before I buy a used car.

The good news for you (as you discovered) is BMW with newer cars offers free oil change/maintenance for the first two or three years of ownership, so if you have the VIN you normally can see that information.

Last thing would be that the one thing Carfax is very good at is ownership history, and IMHO for that alone it's worth it. Once Carfax gets a feed from a state where the a title is marked salvage or rebuilt, that title stays "branded" in the Carfax history regardless of if the next owner is out of state and somehow "washes" the title and it's no longer branded in the new owners state.

I understand with 540i it's tough to find a car with all the options/packages you want, but if you see one that is very close to what you want I would jump if the Pre Purchase Inspection checks out.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Adler11th

Quick update, some one came in earlier and got the car. That means I get to enjoy my g82 for a bit longer until I find the right 540. That you guys for chiming in!

Originally Posted by Adler11th

Good news, got update from my salesperson, they looked it up through bmw records, and it seemed like previous owner did oil changes at 5, 12, 22 and 33 thousands miles. Not sure why carfax doesn’t show it. He also followed up on recall and coolant flush services. That explains how they were able to cpo the car.

Ima head out and see it in few hours, and give it a nice test drive, see how it goes.

While there are quite a bit 540s around, it’s hard to find xdrive with m package in California. Last one I test drove was from Colorado and interior was creaking, doors a bit loose, seemed like it was driven on the fields