[El Duce]

Looking to get into a 335xi coupe. Found this one:

2008 Monaco Blue on black
29,600 miles
Automatic
Premium pkg
iDrive
Sport pkg
18" wheels
USB/iPod adapter
Cold weather pkg
HK stereo

Asking $34,800 (but I've already negotiated it down a grand to $33,800)

So I drove 3 hours to go look at it in person, and I mean this literally, but it appears to have been driven either by a woman or a super metrosexual. Who ever it was, there are ring marks all over it. The ones on the edge of the door are light, but noticeable. Not too worried about the ones inside the door handle either. However, on the inside of the drivers door where you close the door that plastic part is all sorts of marked up where bits of the plastic has chipped off. There's also a small mark on the center of the steering wheel where they apparently didn't like the steering wheel itself for actual steering. There are also scratches on a piece of brushed aluminum going into the back seat (sorry, don't know what it's for).

Now the front bumper is also all sorts of nicked up from rocks and their inability to judge distance. And there is a scratch going from right underneath the gas cap all the way back around to the rear bumper. This scratch appears to have been covered by the previous owner with that scratch paint you find at Autozone or something.

So I've negotiated that they repaint the front bumper and they'll replace the plastic area inside the door pull area as well.

I didn't ask yet for them to fix that area that's been covered over the scratch paint, and I'm also thinking about asking for the lower part of the hood as well. Am I asking too much at this point? I just don't understand how a car can appear this beat up on the outside and not get a substantial refinish before being put on the lot.

The car in question:









Thanks guys.

[John 070]

Is this car a CPO? If it's not, I'd go another $2500 off and get the extended warranty on my own. If it's a CPO, it's a reasonable price, but that dealership looks old and shady. The license plate on the back is reminiscent of the xxxxx skyline.

[ccraig13]

Make them fix it all. It won't cost them much either because they usually have their own people repair it or have a company that they use for all their jobs like this and therefore get a significant discount. Remember, this car is either off lease or a trade in which means the dealership made off like a bandit and has plenty of margin.

[John 070]

Shady dealerships will farm out the work at the lowest cost to themselves. It wouldn't surprise me if the dealership in the pics does not have their own auto body shop. I wouldn't go into a deal getting damaged goods. There is no mention of CPO, $1000 off an asking price at a dealership is nothing. Where I service my car, the used cars are overpriced--something similar would be asking $37k cpo. For them to ask a lower price implies the car is not perfect.

[El Duce]

It's a CPO'd car and a legit BMW dealership. BMW of the Main Line in Philly.

http://www.bmwmainline.com/index.htm...ient=firefox-a

Supposedly they do a good amount of volume. But yeah, this appears to be off lease. I wanted to ask for the lower hood as well to be done. There are some other marks in it (eg, that piece of brushed aluminum on the b-pillar) that I would like done, but I think it may be pushing too hard.

[EYE4SPEED]

Have them replace those things on your dime, but at dealer cost. You'll be surprised by the markup.

[John 070]

CPO is a big plus. But again, $1000 off is nothing--they've already inflated the asking price in anticipation of discounting it. Why I would not want that car is something about a touch up from the gas cap to the rear bumper. That can't be simply fixed without respraying the 1/4. That sounds like a cheesy dealership just judging by the pics. Cheesy and shady go hand in hand.

[BayMoWe335]

I'll disagree and say the CPO is no big deal. A lot of folks here pay extra for it, but I'm not seeing the value. The premium for the car is generally not worth it. As someone stated above, you'd be better off getting one of those Ford extended warranties that covers more and get the car for cheaper.

I'd be careful buying a car that looks beat up, because it clearly wasn't taken care of during ownership/lease.

Also, I might just be jaded, but $35k for a 4 year old car with 30,000 miles seems expensive. Let's say you get it for $34k, you'll still be about $37k out the door. I got a brand new 335i (with fewer options of course) for $44k out the door. Just something to think about.

[John 070]

^^^All valid points, CPO is worth about 3k. That's in a retail sense, how much intrinsically? A lot less. I wouldn't chance it, esp. when I'm not the original owner. But since I like to avoid dings, the scratch is a deal breaker to me, it's from the gas door all the way back.

To take a step back and look at the big picture? I bought a new car for 44 and change, 3 miles on the odometer. If the OP pays 34 he saves 10 grand, but gets a car 3 years old, $3300/yr. depreciation? I'd rather have new at 44 and change (with zsp, zpp, ca, zcw, etc.), and when my car is 3 y.o. (now it's 4+), I know I was the original owner and 100% of the history, good or bad...granted you cannot buy a new 335i coupe equipped today for 44, prices have changed. So it's interesting that while the 335i has poor resale (mine fetches 23.8k at trade, 25k miles on it, 2007), but you don't see the poor resale reflected on the new car dealer's cpo lot. They still stand to make 7k on a car when the buyer is done negotiating...

[FVM3]

u drove 3 hours to go look at it in person??

[El Duce]

Originally Posted by christopherchenm

u drove 3 hours to go look at it in person??

Yep.

[johnnyboi418]

Hey El Duce it was wise of you to ask us. I bought my 335i 09 sedan with only 13000 miles for $33000. It had everything besides a I-Drive. In your case, I think you can get better. Who knows? Maybe this car has been driven recklessly due to all the rock chips etc. In addition, I highly recommend you to inspect the car thoroughly (under the hood or car). Other then that it's all you from here. Best of luck and wishes for you.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by John 070

^^^All valid points, CPO is worth about 3k. That's in a retail sense, how much intrinsically? A lot less. I wouldn't chance it, esp. when I'm not the original owner. But since I like to avoid dings, the scratch is a deal breaker to me, it's from the gas door all the way back.

To take a step back and look at the big picture? I bought a new car for 44 and change, 3 miles on the odometer. If the OP pays 34 he saves 10 grand, but gets a car 3 years old, $3300/yr. depreciation? I'd rather have new at 44 and change (with zsp, zpp, ca, zcw, etc.), and when my car is 3 y.o. (now it's 4+), I know I was the original owner and 100% of the history, good or bad...granted you cannot buy a new 335i coupe equipped today for 44, prices have changed. So it's interesting that while the 335i has poor resale (mine fetches 23.8k at trade, 25k miles on it, 2007), but you don't see the poor resale reflected on the new car dealer's cpo lot. They still stand to make 7k on a car when the buyer is done negotiating...

Sounds kind of like my situation. Except mine was $44k OTD and I only got ZSP and Logic7. I suppose that's because my base price was significantly higher in 2010 than in 2007. Do you remember what a base 335i coupe cost in 2007?

I got about $4k off my car, which was a pretty sweet deal. Something like $300 over invoice or thereabouts. Sounds like you got a similar deal.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by christopherchenm

u drove 3 hours to go look at it in person??

Prudent in my opinion. You never know this stuff by pictures alone.

[tomz17]

IMHO, you can do substantially better... I got my 2008 335i (4dr, but more options, immaculate condition, cpo, 13k miles) LAST year for ~$30k AFTER tax/title. I think I got a fantastic deal, but with the imperfections you describe, I personally would not pay a penny over $30k for that car today.

There are plenty of 335i's on the market. If the dealer won't budge, keep looking!

[ChasVS]

Ask, all they can do is say no or charge you their cost of repair w/o markup. Either way it looks good and the price if it's fixed up is reasonable. When I bought mine, they touched up a few scratches and put new RFT on the front at no charge. (Mine was a CPO'd 07 335 Cpe) There had been a front plate on it and I took the mount off and they had that repaired and painted for $160.

[BMXtreme]

Good deal if they fixed everything. Else, if they don't fix, I'd ask for freebies like all weather mat, trunk mat, wheel locks. Usually scratches are not fixed, you either live with it or get it fixed yourself.

ps: I am assuming this is a mid 08 build, just to make it better.

[FVM3]

Originally Posted by El Duce

Yep.

there isnt any 335i near your area?

[El Duce]

Originally Posted by christopherchenm

there isnt any 335i near your area?

335i's sure. XI's, not so much and the ones that are near me are about 75% gray or silver. Nothing against the color itself, it's just that there seems to be a ton of them around in that color.

[Markyd83]

My brother just bought the exact same car 2 weeks ago with near identical miles, year, options and color. He paid just about that with it being CPO'ed as well as two more years of maintenance free package. It has a couple dings but nothing major. Taken care of pretty well. They were only willing to come down like 1300 because they had just put new rfts on. He had gone in and emailed back and forth like 5 or 6 times so it may take a little more time if you really want that black/black like my brother did and there not being any available within 750 miles of us.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Sounds kind of like my situation. Except mine was $44k OTD and I only got ZSP and Logic7. I suppose that's because my base price was significantly higher in 2010 than in 2007. Do you remember what a base 335i coupe cost in 2007?

I got about $4k off my car, which was a pretty sweet deal. Something like $300 over invoice or thereabouts. Sounds like you got a similar deal.

I ordered in 10/06 so the best I could do was $1700 off list....a reality check showed that one other dealership said $1800, most were $500, and nobody had one anyway...in 2k7 there was more standard equip. like Logic 7, so even with ZSP ZPP ZCW CA metallic paint, 44's delivered...I think the base was 40,200? I remember feeling embarrassed that I would buy a car that was over 40 base....weird....

[Perfectus]

FYI, all the interior plastic pieces should be replaced under the regular BMW warranty. It's a common issue with the "soft touch" coating. So they're not doing you a favor by replacing all the chipped interior parts. That should have no affect on negotiations.