[Atx328]

I really love my current DeepSea Blue 2011 328i but I have always had a little bit of envy for an M-Sport version with the Manual Transmission.

So today I test drove a potential Unicorn: M-Sport MT with low miles and Lemans Blue paint.

They were advertising it for full retail according to NADA - which I was prepared to pay after a small USAA discount - but it has quite a few blemishes.

1) only a single key
2) Bad scrape on Right side of front air dam
3) Interior smells bad like heavy smoke with a little cat urine mixed in
4) Stock M-sport 17" wheels in poor shape. One with bad curb rash and two more with looks like a cheap repaint unless the OEM finish is prone to degrading.
5) Car was in a front accident with airbag deployed in 2014.
6) Scanned with Carly and came up with four microcodes:
Airbag -0093c3. ODS passenger Seat mat/OC3/PDC3: data error in message/ Timeout ID 43H (terminal)
Footwell module - 00A8B7 Stoplight right defective, PL3 from 7.14 and SA5A1: Fog lights LED defective, PL3 from 07/14 and SA896 darting running lights halogen right defective
Instrument cluster - 00A559 Terminal 30g f cutoff/Terminal 30g f shutdown/KL.30g f shutdown
Instrument cluster - 00A554 Alive error phone/live phone

The car drove very well with the clutch surprisingly light, handling was tight and the ride was smoother than mine (perhaps from my 18" Style 400s and wider tires adding unsprung weight). I was surprised how quiet the car ran. I have a BMW perf exhaust and I have removed the vapor filter on the intake on my DD which makes it much more pronounced when I am on the gas.

Also strange was the car overall wasn't super detailed but it looked like you could eat off the engine. I didn't see any leaking around the OFHG or the valve cover. I suspect mechanically this car was treated well.

I am not super worried about the paint on the spoiler. The smell is just a pain in the but because I will have to spend several weekends running an ozone machine and probably toss the floor mats even though they are good condition. I will also need to spray down all the cabin intake air and interior vents. And it will still smell for several months after all of that.

The single key is painful from a $$ perspective. I have been good about not losing any car keys for many years and I use Tile to keep an eye on my stuff - but it still makes me concerned.

How much do you think it would cost to fix the four error codes above? Would you still pursue this unicorn?

The dealer offered me $150 based on the above issues but didn't convince me. He did offer to let me take the car into my Indy to check it out. And the Carfax shows regular service performed at the local dealer and another reputable indy in town.

Thoughts?

[jsunma]

I would be concerned about getting more info on what happened in that 2014 accident where the airbag deployed. Is the title clear, or can you tell if it's a salvage title? Should be pretty simple to figure that out. But mostly, you'll want a good indy with body repair experience (or maybe a separate inspection by a body shop) to check out what repairs were made to the car after the accident.

Personally, I'd avoid any car that was in a severe enough crash that the airbags deployed.

[Atx328]

I would take it to my trusty Indy before laying down any cash. I have attached a pic of the car fax that shows minor to moderate damage that caused the airbag to deploy. My reasoning was that potentially this was owned by someone who took the car to the dealer regularly and it seems unlikely that they would put up with a poorly fixed car. They also held onto the car for another year before selling. The second and third owner kept it for 3 years and both parties either took the vehicle to the dealer or a BMW specialist for service. That doesn't guarantee anything but it paints a potential story. Which can be confirmed or disproved via an inspection.

I am more concerned about the items found by the Carly scan.

And is this enough of a Unicorn to spend the time, effort and potential $$ to dive in?

[slowcar]

Fuck no, stay away. Impossible to get rid of smells.

[clegg]

I wouldn't buy that. Accident with cigarette and cat piss smell? No thanks.

[smass]

For the full retail price, it should have none of those issues. To get an accurate value, subtract what it would cost to repair 1-4 ($1-1.5k?). Then take off another $2k for the accident diminished value.

[tcphoto]

Pay full retail for a car that’s been in a moderate accident? As PT Barnum said, there’s a sucker born every day or was that a fool and his money?

[jsunma]

Originally Posted by Atx328

I am more concerned about the items found by the Carly scan.

Well, as most are saying here, you might should be more concerned about the accident damage. But to each their own I suppose.

As for the codes, I would first clear them and then see what comes back. Does the car actually have any of the burned out lights that the FRM module codes suggest? That's an easy check. The instrument cluster codes are usually caused by a bad battery. If the car has sat for a long time, the battery could have gotten weak and caused those. Have your indy check the battery status.

The airbag code is usually accompanied by an airbag light on the dash. It's often the result of a failed passenger seat mat (which can be expensive to fix unless you find the part cheap and have someone who does upholstery install it for you). Those were recalled in some cars...you may want to check to see if this car was in the recall. Also, if the code's there but there's no light, then I'd be worried that someone has bypassed the airbag for the passenger side (because the seat mat failed) and didn't clear the code.

Again, it's all kind of weird...but if you're committed to wanting this car, hopefully your indy can check it all out thoroughly.

Good luck!

[rocky25b]

Out of curiosity, what is the mileage and price of the car?

[MPOWER5266]

Wagon or sedan? A wagon might......might be worth it but a sedan probably wouldnt.

[Atx328]

Is a sedan and the ad price is $9800 but the dealers last offer to me was 9500

[Atx328]

it has 67K miles

I think that I know that the negatives don't add up to the proper pricing. I think in the back of my mind I was hoping to hear someone say "This maybe your only chance at that combo" so you can't use regular math to consider the value.

But in the functioning part of my brain, I know it should be closer to $8.5K plus it needs be giving a clean bill of health from my in-town BMW specialist.

[Efthreeoh]

All you can do is have the car checked out and negotiate the price based on the professional assessment. Of the 5 BMWs I've had, everyone of them has found its way to a body shop at some point. If repaired correctly, I'm not sure why there would be a concern.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

All you can do is have the car checked out and negotiate the price based on the professional assessment. Of the 5 BMWs I've had, everyone of them has found its way to a body shop at some point. If repaired correctly, I'm not sure why there would be a concern.

Agreed. Almost every car on the road has some repainting going on and the factory paint jobs on most cars barely match wrt the bumpers vs metal components. This isn’t a 0 mile investment car.

It does have a great backbone, tho. The interior can likely be cleaned thoroughly or maybe if needed swap carpets. These cars are at the DIY point of their lives. No one else is going to touch them for cheap and if they will you don’t want them involved anyway.

All depends how much sweat equity you’re willing to put in or how long you’re willing to wait. Are there any more for sale like this right now?

[tlow98]

One caveat to the super clean engine bay is maybe they may hiding some leaking gaskets. That’s how we came to owning our 328 xdrive. But the thing was $12k and had 45k miles on it 4 years ago. There aren’t many better values in the market than these cars right now.

[tlow98]

I found it. Yeah, the switch gear in the inside looks like someone used claws to operate everything. All of that stuff is replaceable for a few hundred bones on eBay.

The bottom line: you ready to spend some effort getting her up to snuff or you want turn key paradise. Price sensitivity is not a great virtue where the supply is practically zero. If a perfect one were avail I suspect the owner would want more money bc that model is already the highest priced one.

[Carsly]

Originally Posted by Atx328

it has 67K miles

I think that I know that the negatives don't add up to the proper pricing. I think in the back of my mind I was hoping to hear someone say "This maybe your only chance at that combo" so you can't use regular math to consider the value.

But in the functioning part of my brain, I know it should be closer to $8.5K plus it needs be giving a clean bill of health from my in-town BMW specialist.

I'd let it sit a few months. That's a $5k wholesale auction special worth, maybe? $6,500 retail. Accident with airbags deployed, strange smells, only one key, codes thrown.

Honestly, I'd just skip it and move on.

[b1aze]

Originally Posted by tlow98

There aren’t many better values in the market than these cars right now.

I couldn’t agree with this more, especially if you’re capable of general and moderate DIY projects. I look at my N52 E82 6MT as the first “keeper” I’ve owned to date. Parts are readily available, it’s not horrendously over engineered and cars of a similar price range are far less enjoyable to drive daily.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by b1aze

I couldn’t agree with this more, especially if you’re capable of general and moderate DIY projects. I look at my N52 E82 6MT as the first “keeper” I’ve owned to date. Parts are readily available, it’s not horrendously over engineered and cars of a similar price range are far less enjoyable to drive daily.

Ive been looking for a decent mileage e82, to add to the fleet. Not easy to find! Enjoy it.

[Fredo]

Hello, fellow ATX enthusiast. Yesterday afternoon I was looking on FB marketplace and spotted that car. Then I found your thread here.

I've seen that car before. Some days we drove next to each other on the way to work. I'm pretty sure it's the same car, I remember the "CarMax" sticker.

Good luck on your decision, keep us posted.