Newbie in da house

[demonfreak]

Hi, I a newbie who is about to purchase my first ever BMW. At the moment, I am in a dilemma of looking for the right car. I have got few options and been reading this forum for a while. I have found a deal online from a dealer of a 2008 E90 from Sunway. http://www.carlist.my/used-cars/974526/2008-bmw-3-a-320i-se.html The car is a 2008 January Special Edition model clocking 82xxxkm. And it has been serviced by Autobavaria since then. I have called up Autobavaria and checked up the following:i. Mileage Tallied - Yes (Last service May 2012 at 81000km) ii. Last Service date - May 2012 (worries me because it has been more than 8 months since it was last serviced) iii. Any major issues reported or been worked on? - None except minor repairs such as light indicator & etc. iv. Car was previously owned by Sime Darby - Rent a car. - Company Car (Should I be worried with this?)The dealer do allow me to bring the car to check with the SC which I am about to bring to Autobahn Sunway (spoke to Mr. Tan)My Biggest Question should be, its a 5 years old car. What are the items I am looking at to change or replace at this point of time or at the latter when it reaches to 100k. Should I just walk out of the deal regardless, I have already paid a booking fee. I'm just afraid if I need to plant myself in garages without even being able to enjoy the car to its fullest. Would appreciate if you buddies could help me out of this dilemma.

 

[Alby325i]

Hi, I a newbie who is about to purchase my first ever BMW. At the moment, I am in a dilemma of looking for the right car.
I have got few options and been reading this forum for a while. I have found a deal online from a dealer of a 2008 E90 from Sunway.

http://www.carlist.my/used-cars/974526/2008-bmw-3-a-320i-se.html

The car is a 2008 January Special Edition model clocking 82xxxkm. And it has been serviced by Autobavaria since then.
I have called up Autobavaria and checked up the following:

i. Mileage Tallied - Yes (Last service May 2012 at 81000km)
ii. Last Service date - May 2012 (worries me because it has been more than 8 months since it was last serviced)
iii. Any major issues reported or been worked on? - None except minor repairs such as light indicator & etc.
iv. Car was previously owned by Sime Darby - Rent a car. - Company Car (Should I be worried with this?)

The dealer do allow me to bring the car to check with the SC which I am about to bring to Autobahn Sunway (spoke to Mr. Tan)

My Biggest Question should be, its a 5 years old car. What are the items I am looking at to change or replace at this point of time or at the latter when it reaches to 100k. Should I just walk out of the deal regardless, I have already paid a booking fee. I'm just afraid if I need to plant myself in garages without even being able to enjoy the car to its fullest.

Would appreciate if you buddies could help me out of this dilemma.

Hello to you ......demonfreak. A very good afternoon and welcome to the forum.

Do forgive me of saying, personally I would love to advice you if you can afford the price of a new car then it

Would certainly the best move cause at least the car will still be under warranty

and no worries for at least two years. Plus iff ever you think that this particular car that you saw is a good

buy then I would really want you to bring

someone a BMW expert with you to have a test drive plus look at the technical detail of the car.

Trust me my friend even if you have to pay some pocket money would

certaintly be so worth doing and best still if you could buy a car

from someone who you know for a fact taken care of it well.

To me at least you have taken all the necessary steps...

And in the end there will be no regret .

In the meantime all the best to you and take care ,

And by the way there are many Sifu Master brothers here that I am certain

they will be most willing to help you.

Yours Truly

Alby325i

 

[demonfreak]

Dear Alby & Friends,

Thank you very much for the warm welcome. Instantly, i feel like home when i'm in here.
By the way, with regards to this e90, I am about to bring to BMW Specialist Centre in Sunway and get him check every single bit that can be inspected.
From my homework and been following their facebook, they have earned their profile around in this area.

On the other hand, I do have a friend of mine would want to sell his car. My skepticism over his car is, it is more than 13 years old. Second, loans will not be impossible but a little difficult and I do not think I would want to dig all my savings and throw to a car to purchase as cash. That will result my Home Minister to kill me and feed to the birds. If you what i mean. Hahaha.

Ok. Back to the point, despite the age, the car is in mint condition. But its just the age i'm worried of. Do you think I'm being noob to be thinking that way?

Help me.

 

[Alby325i]

Dear Alby & Friends,

Thank you very much for the warm welcome. Instantly, i feel like home when i'm in here.
By the way, with regards to this e90, I am about to bring to BMW Specialist Centre in Sunway and get him check every single bit that can be inspected.
From my homework and been following their facebook, they have earned their profile around in this area.

On the other hand, I do have a friend of mine would want to sell his car. My skepticism over his car is, it is more than 13 years old. Second, loans will not be impossible but a little difficult and I do not think I would want to dig all my savings and throw to a car to purchase as cash. That will result my Home Minister to kill me and feed to the birds. If you what i mean. Hahaha.

Ok. Back to the point, despite the age, the car is in mint condition. But its just the age i'm worried of. Do you think I'm being noob to be thinking that way?

Help me.

Yes....demonfreak . First step truly a good move indeed.

2nd point , well Mrs will be okay as long as you bring her along everytime

during your drive with the Bmwclubmalaysia brothers and sisters. !! Hehehe

On the 3rd issue, honestly speaking a lot of cars when they reach 5 th year

A few major parts need to be change. Just be prepared. But personally

after checking the car and if the info is good then it's worth to try and having a

good workshop that you can trust , certainly would be a great help indeed.

As for now , please don't worry there will be more Master Sifu will reply and help to your

questions which part to take....As for me here I truly feel your situation in

trying to make a good and wise decision...

So for the meantime stay cool and be wise

my dear friend plus new brother in the club.......hehehe

Yours Truly,

Alby325i

 

[skyblind]

bro Demonfreak,

If you are taking a 2008 E90 320i, Iguess you will need to replace the O-rings because E90 320i tend to have oil leakage issue. You could do some quick search in BMWCM or google it as it is very common. Also you will need to bring a sifu to check if the engine oil is ok. If it is not serviced for 8 months or the car not used frequently, it is very likely to build up sludge.

 

[demonfreak]

bro Demonfreak,

If you are taking a 2008 E90 320i, Iguess you will need to replace the O-rings because E90 320i tend to have oil leakage issue. You could do some quick search in BMWCM or google it as it is very common. Also you will need to bring a sifu to check if the engine oil is ok. If it is not serviced for 8 months or the car not used frequently, it is very likely to build up sludge.

Skyblind,
Oh YES bro, upon reading the threads in here, I have learnt what was sludge is all about and it was the first thing appeared in my mind when AB told me that it was last serviced on May 2012. Thats quite a long while since it was serviced & oil flushed. I doubt if the dealers would want to keep the engine warmed up everyday and drive around to ease the car. Do you think BMW specialist mechanic would be able to identify from a normal inspection of sludge build up? What can be the damage if that is identified? Perhaps, I can check with the dealer if he would want to bear the cost. Or, easier if I just walkaway?
Oil leakage : I have checked with torch for any oil stains and also asked the dealer to reverse the car so i could see if there are any oil drops at the parked area. All seems to be dry. Should I still be worried about it?

Alby325i,
Thank you for your prompts responses bro. It is indeed very tempting as my friends ride is in awesome condition though the style is a little tired since the age is such. But, in pristine condition. Literally, just need to check on Gearbox only as that is the only thing my friend did not touch.
But, if I wanna go for newer style, need to worry of the parts wear & tear replacements. Aduiii... confused :wink: !!

However, to have a peace of my mind, the dealer recommended on OPAL Warranty Insurance which will cost me around 2k+ a year so.
Mainly, coverage of 1 year warranty of Engine, Oil Leaks, Gaskets, Gearbox & etc. (Havent got the complete details of it yet).
Do you think that is recommended? Or should I just use the 2k plus to replace wear & tear myself? Would that be sufficient ?

 

[Alby325i]

Skyblind,
Oh YES bro, upon reading the threads in here, I have learnt what was sludge is all about and it was the first thing appeared in my mind when AB told me that it was last serviced on May 2012. Thats quite a long while since it was serviced & oil flushed. I doubt if the dealers would want to keep the engine warmed up everyday and drive around to ease the car. Do you think BMW specialist mechanic would be able to identify from a normal inspection of sludge build up? What can be the damage if that is identified? Perhaps, I can check with the dealer if he would want to bear the cost. Or, easier if I just walkaway?
Oil leakage : I have checked with torch for any oil stains and also asked the dealer to reverse the car so i could see if there are any oil drops at the parked area. All seems to be dry. Should I still be worried about it?

Alby325i,
Thank you for your prompts responses bro. It is indeed very tempting as my friends ride is in awesome condition though the style is a little tired since the age is such. But, in pristine condition. Literally, just need to check on Gearbox only as that is the only thing my friend did not touch.
But, if I wanna go for newer style, need to worry of the parts wear & tear replacements. Aduiii... confused :wink: !!

However, to have a peace of my mind, the dealer recommended on OPAL Warranty Insurance which will cost me around 2k+ a year so.
Mainly, coverage of 1 year warranty of Engine, Oil Leaks, Gaskets, Gearbox & etc. (Havent got the complete details of it yet).
Do you think that is recommended? Or should I just use the 2k plus to replace wear & tear myself? Would that be sufficient ?

Okay.....that is good and you are most welcome my friend and brother.

Money come and money go , ....people come and people go ......but goods friends

are very important plus hard to come by these days my friend.

Since you mentioned about the engine oil, well let me share what I did to my engine.

After using for 8 years using a Mobil 1 engine oil, I have decided to add a flusher

liquid into the engine , kept it running for 5 min then I exit all the engine oil before

I replace with a new engine oil. I didn't want to do it before but I fell that the time has come for

me in making sure that is free from any sludge built up. My personal opinion,

truly don"t plan to do it every engine oil service perhaps just once a year...hehehe

because is an old car but it has been good , replacement parts every now are normal

plus i truly feel by not getting angry at the car can truly help by not giving you a lot of problem my friend.

Well ....regarding the Opal insurance , honestly I feel that you should take it and try to negotiate addition

Item with the insurance because all the parts that you have mentioned

for sure will cost more for parts plus labour.

At least for one or two years for that matter.

But still end of the day it's all up to you , as for me I truly love

plus very happy helping what ever way that I able as and when time permit.

Anyway , please do keep and open mind and ask what ever that you are not certain.

because this is the best place to ask questions about anything and everything .

Trust me there are many kind hearted Sifu Master to assist you.

Truly Care,

Alby325i

 

[skyblind]

Bro Demonfreak, you will need a torch to see if any oil leak accumulated at the bottom of the engine because BMW have this thing to cover its bottom part of the engine. You can detect oil sludge by sticking your finger into the hole where we pour engine oil in. You should be able to touch the sludge accumulated in the "square boxes" texture inside the top part of the black color engine head cover (not sure what's that called). If it is minor sludge it shouldn't be problem as it will clean up after you change new synthetic oil and drive it frequently for some time. Changing gear oil, engine oil (bring your own synthetic oil), replace O-rings, & gasket will cost you around RM1,600-RM2,000 at any workshop that can do BMWs.

 

[namidub]

welcome to the forum,and all the best in your car hunt!

 

[demonfreak]

Thank you very much. Feels like home Already

 

[irfan80]

So how?.... Dah jumpa ka?

 

[demonfreak]

Haha.. Blom bro. CNY season tengah rilek lu. After holidays start back from scratch. But doing lots of readings in the meantime.