[ortoLANparty]

Flew to CA; bought a car.

So, I've been looking for a 228i for about 3 months. There's absolutely no inventory in my area that's not X-drive, but I found this one a few miles from my mom's house in CA - 2016 loaner with precisely my desired specs. Mineral grey, tech package, driver assistance package, heated seats, and moonroof.

I nearly bought a 2014 from a local (non-BMW) dealer, but backed out of the deal when I realized the car had numerous aftermarket upgrades + tune, and the dealer pretty much refused to disclose those mods (finally disclosing "possible software mods due to presence of coding cable in glove box").

Car is scheduled for shipment, and I'm looking forward to driving it and exploring all of the tech. :-) My current daily is 23 years old, and my newest car was 11 years old when I bought it, so I'm pretty excited to have a modern vehicle. More to follow...

[yatesfloyd]

Ayyye welcome to the club man!

[rams]

Sweet ride, congrats!

[ortoLANparty]

Next question: how bad are Bridgestone Turanza el400 tires, really? They have the lowest rating of all tires in this size on tirerack.com, and frankly, negative reviews from Toyota minivan owners are making me feel I need to upgrade to Michelin PSS post-haste... I've only taken a short test drive on smooth CA suburban roads, but want to be prepared for wet PNW conditions...

[psi_blades]

Congrats! I got my first one too last month!

[doccyber]

Welcome to the community. Enjoy. The Michelin PSS are great tires. You won't be upset with the upgrade and I haven't found the ride to be too stiff anyway.

[EuroDude]

Congrats on the new ride, she's a looker! I'd wear those tires out first before I'd replace.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by ortoLANparty

Next question: how bad are Bridgestone Turanza el400 tires, really? They have the lowest rating of all tires in this size on tirerack.com, and frankly, negative reviews from Toyota minivan owners are making me feel I need to upgrade to Michelin PSS post-haste... I've only taken a short test drive on smooth CA suburban roads, but want to be prepared for wet PNW conditions...

Horrible tires.....how did you know the other car had a tune?

[Beartato]

Nice car, I ended up finding my car in California too, but I had it shipped sight unseen to Idaho. Same issue, every car was xDrive, though I wanted it with a 6MT and no moonroof.

[Transfer]

Very cool and congrats! You'll have a blast in the 2er. When do you make it back up north?

If you're thinking about swapping tires, I would recommend Michelin A/S 3 over the PSS unless you really like to throw it around corners hard. Given that you didn't opt for M-sport or track handling pack, I'm just guessing ultimate performance might not be a big priority. For daily use, the A/S 3 has 90% of the PSS handling with better wear and wet grip as well as tolerates cooler temperatures better. Neither tire works in snow or ice.

Enjoy the ride!

[ortoLANparty]

Transfer -- I'm back, but the car will be shipped this week. (Had to have it shipped to avoid CA sales tax). And yeah, ultimate performance isn't my goal, so A/S 3s seem like a better choice. We shall see how long the Bridgestones last.

Beartato -- M235i/manual/no moonroof seems an even scarcer choice than a minimally equipped 228i. Congrats on your out of state find. I wasn't able to do the transaction remotely, and I even had to have my mom sign the paperwork so they'd hold the car for 4 days for me... That said, it was still a better experience than I had at my local BMW dealer (salesperson was not knowledgeable, insisted that the car I was standing in front of wasn't the one I'd inquired about even though I pulled up the listing on my phone to match the stock #, and most annoyingly, responded directly to my boyfriend whenever I asked a question... because girls should only care if a car is cute, teehee, amiright?)

[xantdieselx]

Congrats!!

[B_Rice]

congrats and welcome!

[ortoLANparty]

Originally Posted by Kolyan2k

Horrible tires.....how did you know the other car had a tune?

Long story...

First clue was that some features had been coded - no nav nag screen, no double pull to unlock doors. Second clue was an ODBII to Ethernet cable in the glove box, which the sales guy grabbed and ran off with, saying that it was theirs. I thought nothing of it, figuring they'd pulled diagnostics when inspecting the car.

Next clue - wow, you can really hear the turbo sounds in this thing! It was the first 228i I drove, so I didn't have a point of reference. Looked under the hood and noticed the Injen intake. I knew BMW had some aftermarket parts partnerships like Dinan, so I made a mental note to Google Injen when I got home.

Started signing paperwork, but had stupidly left my checkbook at home, and decided to come back the next day to finish everything up.

My boyfriend and I were talking about the car, and we came to the conclusion that it was definitely enthusiast-owned. No moonroof, manual seats, coding tweaks, aftermarket intake... So what else might have been done?

Went back and expressed concerns about mods, potential effects on warranty repairs, etc. Requested a list of any mods they'd noted, simply because I wanted to know what I was buying. Mods aren't a deal breaker, but I also didn't want to be that idiot who takes her car for service and gets told, "your flamdaddler right here done caught fire because of your $8 goosebutterer y'all bought on eBay and you shouldn't have sealed your IAG/WMD flapper with blu-tak."

I exaggerate, but frankly, I didn't know enough about modding these cars to know what kinds of things you could do to them. I'm pretty technical, but my experience is with older cars with logical mechanical bits, not modern turbocharged computers on wheels. I spent roughly 12 hours straight lurking/learning in the N20 forum while waiting for the buyer/inspector to call me with the details. He was not forthcoming with information. It was like pulling teeth. He readily disclosed the intake, charge pipe, oil catch can, intercooler, and something else I'm forgetting. When I asked about software mods or tunes, he said something along the lines of, "we have no way to tell, but there may be software mods because of the coding cable that came with the car."

I was getting pretty frustrated at this point, and said, "look, what I really wanna know is if it's been tuned, and what kind of tune it is. JB4, stage 2, whatever." He said he'd check with the techs and get back to me. 15 minutes later, he called and said, "Yes, tuned, JB4 piggyback tune, it was noted during the inspection because it's a little box that plugs in right there."

And so I backed out of the deal based on the dealer's lack of disclosure regarding mods. They have a good reputation for service and sales, and I was planning on having the car serviced there. Since they weren't up front about the details of the car, I had no faith in them to be honest in the future...

It seemed like all of the mods were well-done -- pretty much all the stuff recommended on these boards. Pretty much an enthusiast's track day wet dream... But hey, a good learning experience for me. Ultimately I paid more, but I got a 2016, with fewer miles, included maintenance, 0% APR, and no aftermarket surprises.

TL,DR: if you find a 2yr old car in absolutely pristine cosmetic condition that an independent dealer bought at auction, ask yourself why a BMW dealer didn't snap it up, CPO it, and sell it at a premium price.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by ortoLANparty

TL,DR: if you find a 2yr old car in absolutely pristine cosmetic condition that an independent dealer bought at auction, ask yourself why a BMW dealer didn't snap it up, CPO it, and sell it at a premium price.

Financial departments sell cars at auction too (BMW financing etc). Anyone can buy almost brand new car from them.....small dealers and franchise. Many corporate and lease returns go to auction, some stay and sell at dealership......don't know how it works.

I bought CPO M3 pretty much at auction, 1 year old A4 too with 8k miles.

[Elvisfan]

I can understand why a dealer would not disclose all the mods. They may not even know. I don't know what it takes to modify a car. I also don't know what it takes to figure out what's been done. But all that diagnostic works costs money that they are not getting back. I'm surprised they even took a car in that had work done to the computer. It would be hard to certify an engine and computer that's been modified.

[qnet]

Congrats on your purchase. I've been seeing that color on a few cars on here and really like it. You're going to really enjoy the 228i. The BMW 2 series are really nice cars, and I've been enjoying mine quite a lot.

[ortoLANparty]

Originally Posted by Elvisfan

I can understand why a dealer would not disclose all the mods. They may not even know. I don't know what it takes to modify a car. I also don't know what it takes to figure out what's been done. But all that diagnostic works costs money that they are not getting back. I'm surprised they even took a car in that had work done to the computer. It would be hard to certify an engine and computer that's been modified.

I agree. My complaint was that they HAD noticed mods, and documented them. However, even though their techs did the inspection and observed the tune, that was not in the inspection. I did not personally see the inspection report, but the buyer brought it up on his PC and read portions aloud. The possible software mods bit was documented, as well. Considering that they're a higher-end used dealer (apart from a couple of Minis, the 228i was one of the cheapest cars they had) and that they have a good reputation for Euro service/repairs, they were aware of the mods. I'd expect a Bubba's Buy Here/Pay Here Qualitee Motorz to give their cars the briefest of once-over...

That said, I don't have an entirely negative opinion of the dealer - just this particular transaction. While it would've been nice for them to say, "just so you know, this car has some great performance upgrades! Do you want to know more?" I don't even expect that. But when the customer is asking for details, just disclose what you know.

There are things I should've done differently. I asked to see the inspection report early on, but failed to follow up when they only gave me Carfax. I decided to buy it when I was totally brain-fogged from lack of sleep. I hadn't checked out a new/stock version of the same car as a reference point. That said, all of the employees I dealt with were pleasant to deal with, and they promptly refunded my partial down payment. It wasn't a bad experience -- rather, an educational experience for me.

[SteveInfante]

Originally Posted by Transfer

Very cool and congrats! You'll have a blast in the 2er. When do you make it back up north?

If you're thinking about swapping tires, I would recommend Michelin A/S 3 over the PSS unless you really like to throw it around corners hard. Given that you didn't opt for M-sport or track handling pack, I'm just guessing ultimate performance might not be a big priority. For daily use, the A/S 3 has 90% of the PSS handling with better wear and wet grip as well as tolerates cooler temperatures better. Neither tire works in snow or ice.

Enjoy the ride!

Although snow and Ice are difficult to manage in a RWD car with the AS3'S, I wouldn't worry about it if you decide that route. I had them on my over 400hp Mustang Track Pack through 3 German winters without incident. I even hit the track with them on and they were stellar.

[ortoLANparty]

Yeah, the A/S 3s seem like the way to go. We only get a couple days of snow/sleet here per year, and snow that sticks occurs every 4-5 years. And on those days, I'm using my work-provided bus pass. No one around here is equipped to drive in winter conditions, and the city pretty much shuts down.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by ortoLANparty

Yeah, the A/S 3s seem like the way to go. We only get a couple days of snow/sleet here per year, and snow that sticks occurs every 4-5 years. And on those days, I'm using my work-provided bus pass. No one around here is equipped to drive in winter conditions, and the city pretty much shuts down.

If you're going to rely on all season tires for relatively mild winters, also investigate Continental DWS06, same performance category as AS3+, and a close competitor.

[mbd23]

Sport stick, which of those 2 tires is better on packed snow? If you had to choose one.