Used 2008 BMW M Coupe - 35k

[gatoman39]

How does this one look to you guys? I'm a little spooked by reading this forum about cars with "clean" carfaxes that have had a meeting with the hedges.

Used 2008 Autotrader BMW M Coupe - 35k
2008 BMW M COUPE
VIN: 5UMDU93528LM08782
COUPE - 35k miles

[Nikki]

Hmm, it's up there in price. I'm asking $30k for mine but it is a year older with more mileage and doesn't have extended leather. Maybe you could talk them down a little though.

[gatoman39]

Originally Posted by Nikki

Hmm, it's up there in price. I'm asking $30k for mine but it is a year older with more mileage and doesn't have extended leather. Maybe you could talk them down a little though.

keep in mind it has 10 months of original factory warranty left. That's gotta count for something.

[OG_M3]

Originally Posted by gatoman39

keep in mind it has 10 months of original factory warranty left. That's gotta count for something.

true,

but i was basically able to get my 07 with 21.5k mi with extended warranty (another 3 yrs or 36k miles) for less than the asking price of that car OTD. had nav,heated seats, prem pkg, as well as extended leather.

i think you can like Nikki says, at or <30k.

[gatoman39]

Originally Posted by OG_M3

true,

but i was basically able to get my 07 with 21.5k mi with extended warranty (another 3 yrs or 36k miles) for less than the asking price of that car OTD. had nav,heated seats, prem pkg, as well as extended leather.

i think you can like Nikki says, at or <30k.

unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of choice out there.

[OG_M3]

Originally Posted by gatoman39

unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of choice out there.

yes, the cars have dried up as far as availability. last year i was looking and there were 70+ cars for sale.

look at the carfax though, they have had the car for about a month. the longer it sits, the more they lose. they may want to deal. worst thing they can say is no and counter your offer.

[redvitesse]

From my post on the e92 forum -
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10788950
Just some friendly advice from someone that has sat on both sides of the table at a dealer -

If you are about to drop major $$$ on a Used car (new to you), I would strongly suggest getting a Paint Depth Gauge. Dealers have been using these for years when going to auction and taking in trades. In the past these gauges would cost well over $500.00 but now a decent one can be had for around $200 to $250.- Cheap money to avoid buying someone else's problems as I have seen a few cars with a clean history that have had major paint work. Even CPO BMW's at the dealer.

Even if you do not care if one or two panels have been painted, if you go to trade the car to a dealer down the road he will give you less based on the repaint no matter what the story is, even if the carfax or autocheck is fine. So why would you pay full price/retail now?

Please note that paint depth gauges will not work on fiber glass or plastic, only metal panels unless you drop $500 to $1000.

As an example: checking out a 2008 328 coupe, the front fenders and bumper covers are not readable. For me getting a bumper skin repainted just from the odd scrape or parking touch is just the way cars are built today and as such is not a huge deal as long as it is a good job.

I own the following gauge and it works quite well. Another disclaimer here- I do not work for this company and by no means do I endorse their products, but it has been a pleasure to use for the last two years " Highline Meter II "- http://highlinemeter.com/index.html

See it action here -This site is selling for quite a bit more but was posted since it has a video - http://www.paintgages.com/PaintGage-...gage%20fnf.htm

When I call on a car at a dealer I tell the salesman that I have a gauge and will be bring it along so to save my and his time, I ask him to have the used car manager walk around with his gauge and get back to me. In my experience most dealers will give up the truth. Of course sometimes they don't. - Case in point see the Grey on Red 08 328I E92 that CarMax has in Glencoe IL right now on Autotrader - total 5 panels repainted when I was told just the front bumper skin over the phone.

[gtMc]

at or below 30k will be tough to get on that. if you could get it under 32 you're in good shape.

[Pheonix]

Originally Posted by OG_M3

yes, the cars have dried up as far as availability. last year i was looking and there were 70+ cars for sale.

look at the carfax though, they have had the car for about a month. the longer it sits, the more they lose. they may want to deal. worst thing they can say is no and counter your offer.

yes, the supplies seemed to dry up. For reference,in 2009 for $30k I got my 2007 Z4MC, 18k miles with every options except extended leather, one owner,the car still had 14 months of factory warranty at the time. Granted, it was black on black but I thought it was a great deal.

[Mirko]

I bought my 08 with 19K miles on it with warranty for 10 months last year for a a few grand cheaper directly from a BMW dealer. It has a clean carfax, so I think you could bring them down in price a bit.

[beta]

I'd pay 1k for extended leather. However, seeing as a sepang coupe is available right here, I wouldn't consider anything else. Then you have 5k left over for mods

[Finnegan]

^WHS And it's a solid car that's been well cared for and, well, loved, by it's owner. FS thread.

[mshanno1]

Just paid 32k about a month ago for a 2008 M coupe w/21,000, and still under factory warranty. Mine doesn't have extended leather though. I love the color combo, and I think it is pretty rare if I remember correctly.

[prodigal_m]

An 08 M coupe w/under 40k miles is going to bring over $30k at an auction right now (remember, we are going into the spring soon) so picking up an 08 for $30k or less is going to be difficult. I'm not saying that its not possible from a private party; however, I would be shocked if a dealer would drop that low since they can get more than that on the wholesale market.

To be completely frank, 30 days in inventory is not a long time as it often takes a week or two just for the vehicle to go through an inspection, reconditioning and a detail.

It always cracks me up that a lot of you guys will tell someone to hold out for $30k or more on an 06 but as soon as someone brings up an 08 with warranty its suddendly not that great of a value over $30k.

Is $35k too much for an 08 with 35k miles...meh, its on the high side but lets face it, they aren't going to be getting any cheaper for the next 3-4 months.

[gatoman39]

OK I just went there to test drive the car. First of the car is insanely fast, holy crap. Secondly, I can't drive a stick for shit. I started the car it 3rd gear out of the lot. I went through the car with a fine tooth comb.
1. Mechanically it seems very good.
2. 2nd gear felt a little notchy.
3. I can tell the front bumper has been painted. It's not that bad, and you wouldn't be able to tell, if you weren't really looking for it. I'm a detailing enthusiast and I can tell.
(check here to see work on my 5: Detailing F10 - Attention to Detail)

here's my question. What else should I be looking out for? I looked at the service history and it all checks out. New tires and brakes, fresh oil change, no obvious leaks.

[jophish17]

Originally Posted by prodigal_m

It always cracks me up that a lot of you guys will tell someone to hold out for $30k or more on an 06 but as soon as someone brings up an 08 with warranty its suddendly not that great of a value over $30k.

I kind of agree - I thought we shopuld be trying to keep the values of our cars up =)

I bought mine last June: similar miles, extended leather, only differences being mine came with SatNav, Interlagos exterior, and was just out of warranty. I paid 32k. I think 35 is an ok starting point but would think the lower 30s may be more appropriate (let's not get crazy about the warranty - it's likely due to end soon anyways). It's true that prices won't be dropping much once warm weather comes, but does that matter in SoCal where its pretty much always nice weather?

[gatoman39]

Originally Posted by jophish17

I kind of agree - I thought we shopuld be trying to keep the values of our cars up =)

I bought mine last June: similar miles, extended leather, only differences being mine came with SatNav, Interlagos exterior, and was just out of warranty. I paid 32k. I think 35 is an ok starting point but would think the lower 30s may be more appropriate (let's not get crazy about the warranty - it's likely due to end soon anyways). It's true that prices won't be dropping much once warm weather comes, but does that matter in SoCal where its pretty much always nice weather?

weather doesn't matter in LA, it never snows, and it's gonna be in the mid 70's this weekend. I'm a bit torn about the front end getting painted. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and they didn't get it perfect, as it's really hard to do. Also the front and rear tires while new are mismatched. Fronts have contis and rears have dunlops.

[Pheonix]

The car should come with matching tires for the asking price.
Also, post the service records (or summaries) so we could see what have been done. I looked at the Carfax and it shows the 1st service was done at 5,414mile. Maybe i am wrong but the report and carfax also have the 1st service as the required break-in services. This is very critical for our cars to have this done in a timely manner. If the 1st owner was neglected to even bring the car in for FREE services then God knows how the car was driven and taken off during this critical period. I would not touch any M car without proper break-in services.

[prodigal_m]

The warranty and free maintenance (even if its ending soon) is somewhat of a big deal as you can get crap that will pop up during the PSI fixed for free. Even though the weather may be always be nice in LA (I wouldn’t know as I'm stuck in cold ass Wisconsin), it is a national market for low production sports cars so you have idiot dealers (like me) all over the States driving up the price trying to stock up for the spring market.

The mismatched tires would irritate me though...

[mshanno1]

I don't understand what the issue is with the front tires not matching the rears. It wouldn't bother me

[gatoman39]

Originally Posted by Pheonix

The car should come with matching tires for the asking price.
Also, post the service records (or summaries) so we could see what have been done. I looked at the Carfax and it shows the 1st service was done at 5,414mile. Maybe i am wrong but the report and carfax also have the 1st service as the required break-in services. This is very critical for our cars to have this done in a timely manner. If the 1st owner was neglected to even bring the car in for FREE services then God knows how the car was driven and taken off during this critical period. I would not touch any M car without proper break-in services.

good point. I didn't see the complete history just the last service trip to dealer within the last month. How would you know if the car has had the 1200 mile break in service in a timely manner?

[prodigal_m]

Originally Posted by mshanno1

I don't understand what the issue is with the front tires not matching the rears. It wouldn't bother me

Different tread patterns and compounds can sometimes cause issues such as trammeling or vibration (or wet weather traction...once again, not so much of an issue in LA...so I hear.) There is nothing wrong with having newer tires on the front or rear but mixing brands is typically the lazy way out.