[bimmy21]

I'm considering purchasing a 2021 M550 from a non-BMW luxury car dealership. It was a recent trade-in, seems to be in very good shape, clean carfax, etc.

I'm going to go test drive it, but what else is necessary in terms of due diligence? I was planning on taking it to a local indy shop or a BMW dealer for an inspection. Anything specific to look out for?

[admranger]

Originally Posted by bimmy21

I'm considering purchasing a 2021 M550 from a non-BMW luxury car dealership. It was a recent trade-in, seems to be in very good shape, clean carfax, etc.

I'm going to go test drive it, but what else is necessary in terms of due diligence? I was planning on taking it to a local indy shop or a BMW dealer for an inspection. Anything specific to look out for?

I'm assuming that the miles are still within factory BMW warranty. If the miles are good, you're golden. Wouldn't hurt to have an inspection done for any "hidden" damage like front air damn scrapes, all under panels in good condition, etc. Does the carfax show that the required oil changes were done either on miles or annually? Is all the glass BMW glass? If not, maybe the car was broken into or something and the owner just can't stand owning it anymore as it has been "soiled". Maybe they just wanted an all electric car with gas prices at these high levels.

Ask the dealer what the car was traded in on. Some folks don't like BMW's seats, especially larger folks. If this is at a MBZ dealership I get it. If it's at a Porsche dealership maybe they went with a Panamera or Taycan. See what you can extract from the selling dealership on the "why" the car is there. That may provide insight.

[HerkHealer]

Originally Posted by bimmy21

I'm considering purchasing a 2021 M550 from a non-BMW luxury car dealership. It was a recent trade-in, seems to be in very good shape, clean carfax, etc.

I'm going to go test drive it, but what else is necessary in terms of due diligence? I was planning on taking it to a local indy shop or a BMW dealer for an inspection. Anything specific to look out for?

I bought my 2020 M550 from a non-bmw dealer. It was actually the Subaru Dealer Owners personal car. Was not concerned at all because it had plenty of factory miles/warranty left on it. Just make sure the Title is good and no accidents.

Grab it !

[Dallasguy1985]

Look for service history that's the key. It'll tell u how maintained the car is.

[2022M550i]

Look for any paint work done to the car. First look for the obvious, paint mismatches. Look carefully at each panel to make sure there are no differences in color or texture. Open all the doors, trunk and hood. Check out all the seams. They should all be perfect. What you're looking for here are tape lines/paint ridges. Look for overspray on all rubber/trim pieces. Looking at the paint under different lighting (sun/florescent) can also help identify mismatches.

If there was any repaint work, I would pass. There was just a recent post on here where a member noticed clear coat peeling off his bumper. That's the kind of crap the creeps up over the years...You don't want any of that. And it's a harder resell when you want to get rid of it.

If you wind up buying it, after a couple thousand miles, I would send out an oil sample to Blackstone Labs for an oil analysis. It would be great to do this up front, but turnaround times may make it difficult when you're trying to buy the car, unless you can work something out with the seller and Blackstone to speed up the process. Blackstone can put your mind at ease if the analysis comes back clean. It will show that the engine is functioning properly. Sending samples to Blackstone is also an excellent way to document your oil changes for warranty purposes.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by bimmy21

I'm considering purchasing a 2021 M550 from a non-BMW luxury car dealership. It was a recent trade-in, seems to be in very good shape, clean carfax, etc.

I'm going to go test drive it, but what else is necessary in terms of due diligence? I was planning on taking it to a local indy shop or a BMW dealer for an inspection. Anything specific to look out for?

Do you know what it was traded in for? If for an inferior car, I would be concerned that there were undisclosed (perhaps not findable) problems that led to the trade-in; if, on the other hand, it was traded in for a higher end car (Bentley, Porsche Panamera, etc.) or for a BEV, then I would not be especially concerned (but I would still have it inspected).