what to look for

[scotty85]

hello,
i am seriously considering buying a newer 3 series, my dealer hookup is looking for a clean low mileage 330xi for me off lease 2006 (for the 0.9 finance rate) what should i expect/look for when checking the car over (will be certified by them for the extended warranty etc.)
my other car is considerably older but not going anywhere :) (86 635 csi) and i an not familiar to the newer models

TIA
scottscott, 86 635 csi 5speed.

[Yrralis1]

1) 330i had steering column issues and many were replaced under warranty . Check to see if it was done. Otherwise look for slight clicking noise .

2) Run flat tires can be noisy.

3)I am not sure what the "sport package" is on the AWD car but on the regular 330i it is worth it for the seats alone.

4) Most dealerships despite empty showrooms have not realized the extent of the market plunge . You may have to really shop hard but used car deals are out there . An 06 car with "Certified" status is not worth more than low 20's at best.

5) Miles are important . Under 10K miles with certified status is the avenue to look for and it will cost a little more .
After 10K the car faces a slight depreciation but 50K is the major hit .

6) Inspect paint and request a scan if a manual to detect engine over rev history print out.

[BG]

I'm not sure where these dealers think all the millionaires are supposed to come from, but their used cars are still priced much too high. I've seen 1 and 2-year old used 3-series cars higher than ordering brand new via European delivery.

[gkb]

When did this become part of the software? Even with rev limiter it would be a good measure of how hard car was driven (or how poorly it was shifted).gkb

88 M6
87 635
73 3.5 CS
91 iX (2)

[Socom]

new cars so they can prop up used values. Add in the directive for pushing more financing instead of leasing and it's even more apparent.



The ATL

[Yrralis1]

Every BMW has an ECU which records the car's engine history. Since I am more familiar with Porsches I know the exact specs with those and what they signify .

An OBD scan will reveal the BMW history from its airbag to its ECU . a skilled technician can interpret the readout and tell you a lot about that car . A used car shopper , even one buying a certified car , ought to look into this .

Lastly -a simple over rev ought not pose an issue . What does pose an issue is more serious like shift from third to second causing engine damage .

With Porsche each type of over rev is assigned a level . BMW probably has similar ways to evaluate and classify .

[Scott]

I'm a little confused with your statement:

"Lastly -a simple over rev ought not pose an issue . What does pose an issue is more serious like shift from third to second causing engine damage."

With modern BMW's using a rev limiter such as they do, I'm not sure I understand how there would be such a thing as a simple over rev.

If you bust thru the rev limiter, such as with a money shift (your 3rd to 2nd example above), there's a very real possibility you just did some serious engine damage.

Scott

[yrralis1]

That is what i meant by levels of over rev . On a Porsche a simple first year rev bump is called a ;evel 1 . A thrird to second monry shift would be a 4 or 5 meaning damage . A scan would reveal that .

Each over rev is documented as well as the type and severity revealing the potential or actual damage.

[yrralis1]

And I need to proofread :~)

[Scott]

Interesting way Porsche's handle over revs, never heard that.

I'm still not sure BMW's (modern ones anyway) can over rev at all without some damage. If you've ever seen them running on a track or at an autox, it's very common for guys to keep the revs wound up all the way to redline, just bouncing the needle off the rev limiter. To those unaware of how it works, they tend to think the guy's fixing to blow his engine, but the way I understand it it's completely safe.

Blow thru that rev limiter though, and I'm told you're looking at serious problems. There is no level 1, level 2, etc as I understand it.

But as far as ECU information, it may be able to provide information on how many times the rev limiter has been hit. And that information would be very useful to me, because if it has been hit numerous times I'd have reason to suspect the car may have been pushed a littler harder than one I'd want to buy.

Scott

[Yrralis1]

On manual in first gear its quite easy to bunce off a rev limiter . It's not going to cause damage but the engine will record it . The more serious occurs when the over rev exceeds the limiter.
My guess is that BMW has a similar metod of interpretation but here is a typical Porsche discussion and breakdown on the subject. Post 27 was particularly informative.
http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/9...-over-rev.html

[HBWT]

Dinan software (that BMW supposedly stands behind) usually raises the rev limiter several hundred rpms on most cars that it's installed on. There is a cushion for over-rev engineered into BMW engines. My '71 tii redline was 6500 as I recall but it saw 7000 on many occasions and never a whimper from that engine.

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