BMW and M Power Owners

[Robi]

Back on the search again after a recent example turned out to have 4 owners instead of 3 and a missed oil service.

Interested to hear thoughts on this example from Three10 Automotive in Cambridgeshire aka Vindis Group.

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Ignore the list price, they're happy with £36.5k.

2020, 3 owners, 29k miles, M2 Plus Pack, M2 Comfort Pack, Heated Steering, Speed Limit Info and Apple CarPlay. Full service history (all BMW apart from a single service by an independent).

It'll come with new pads, discs and tyres from BMW, alongside 12 months MOT / 6 months warranty (will go down the BMW warranty route as usual). Also 2 wheels refurbed due to very minor damage.

The new bits alone probably come to around £2k?

 

[MrRockliffe]

Back on the search again after a recent example turned out to have 4 owners instead of 3 and a missed oil service.

Interested to hear thoughts on this example from Three10 Automotive in Cambridgeshire aka Vindis Group.

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

Ignore the list price, they're happy with £36.5k.

2020, 3 owners, 29k miles, M2 Plus Pack, M2 Comfort Pack, Heated Steering, Speed Limit Info and Apple CarPlay. Full service history (all BMW apart from a single service by an independent).

It'll come with new pads, discs and tyres from BMW, alongside 12 months MOT / 6 months warranty (will go down the BMW warranty route as usual). Also 2 wheels refurbed due to very minor damage.

The new bits alone probably come to around £2k?

Make sure the wheels are refurbed and not smart repaired.

Look for subtle differences in the “refurbed” wheels to see if there’s a change from the metallic finish of the diamond cut machining process vs it being silver from paint which has been blended in.


Mine have been smart repaired - if you like I can take a picture to show you what to look for.

 

[IC3]

Back on the search again after a recent example turned out to have 4 owners instead of 3 and a missed oil service.

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

Ignore the list price, they're happy with £36.5k.

The amount of sheds in the 20-40k range is crazy... How did you get them down to that price?

We're going to look at this tomorrow - https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/202505292923016 , If everything is ok and they'll accept our offer we'll go with it. I'm sick and tired of looking at cars, the amount of filler and resprays on low mileage cars that are fetching a premium is ridiculous. My 20 year old banger has original paint, our 11 year old F30 has original paint.

You go to a BMW dealership, you get this and the sales guy still has the guts to say this meets BMW's standards...

NexPtg professional paint thickness gauge - I mainly use it for detailing, to ensure I don't damage the paint and it allows you to create a report and keep track of the measurements per area on individual panels. My friend who owns a detailing business recommended it, seeing as he works on cars that are well outside my budget. Not cheap, but its already paid for itself over the last few years...

I've learnt one thing over the years, people buy cars with their eyes, at this point I think having an eye for detail or being sensitive to any mechanical imperfections is a curse..

 

[MrRockliffe]

The amount of sheds in the 20-40k range is crazy... How did you get them down to that price?

We're going to look at this tomorrow - https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/202505292923016 , If everything is ok and they'll accept our offer we'll go with it. I'm sick and tired of looking at cars, the amount of filler and resprays on low mileage cars that are fetching a premium is ridiculous. My 20 year old banger has original paint, our 11 year old F30 has original paint.

You go to a BMW dealership, you get this and the sales guy still has the guts to say this meets BMW's standards...

NexPtg professional paint thickness gauge - I mainly use it for detailing, to ensure I don't damage the paint and it allows you to create a report and keep track of the measurements per area on individual panels. My friend who owns a detailing business recommended it, seeing as he works on cars that are well outside my budget. Not cheap, but its already paid for itself over the last few years...

I've learnt one thing over the years, people buy cars with their eyes, at this point I think having an eye for detail or being sensitive to any mechanical imperfections is a curse..

If you’re assessing the condition of a vehicle on whether it has factory paint, then I think you should reconsider what you’re looking at.


I assessed a car the other day with Kelly. Guy had bought it ex demo, practically brand new. RS4.


It had had an entire side of the car painted.



My 340i which has done 21k miles and in really good condition has had a smart repair.



Furthermore, you can’t assess whether a car has had paint work based on the depth of the paint.


In your example, yes it’s a VERY high number.



If I was a USED car salesperson and the customer turned up with a paint depth gauge I’d be rolling my eyes so hard.




Assess the car on the quality of the work, not the depth of the paint.

 

[GravyMonster]

It's also not unheard of for cars to come out of the factory having had some panels repainted where there was imperfections in the original pass.

That said, nearly 1500um is extra thicc, so entirely possible that has some filler in it.

 

[shifty_uk]

If I was a USED car salesperson and the customer turned up with a paint depth gauge I’d be rolling my eyes so hard.

Was thinking this, takes tyre kicker to a whole new level

 

[MrRockliffe]

It's also not unheard of for cars to come out of the factory having had some panels repainted where there was imperfections in the original pass.

That said, nearly 1500um is extra thicc, so entirely possible that has some filler in it.

Measured a painted panel recently (black metallic, so not multi layer paint) at 350 with some hefty sinkage and thought that was bad

Almost like he had a conversation while painting the panel

 

[Robbo]

I'd understand that level of scrutiny on a rare/particularly expensive car, but as long as it looks good and you can't tell, I wouldn't worry.

 

[IC3]

It's also not unheard of for cars to come out of the factory having had some panels repainted where there was imperfections in the original pass.

That said, nearly 1500um is extra thicc, so entirely possible that has some filler in it.

200-250 means it's been resprayed, not too bad.

Measured a painted panel recently (black metallic, so not multi layer paint) at 350 with some hefty sinkage and thought that was bad

Almost like he had a conversation while painting the panel

Was there filler underneath? If not, then wow.

I'd understand that level of scrutiny on a rare/particularly expensive car, but as long as it looks good and you can't tell, I wouldn't worry.

I can tell, hence why I check how bad it is. one car I couldn't get a reading on. My main concern is, if they couldn't be bothered to prepare the panel properly, or need that much filler to make it look straight than how long will this repair last? It's just another headache you don't want, especially when it's on a rear quarter or different panel that cannot be easily replaced.

 

[MrRockliffe]

Was there filler underneath? If not, then wow.

Not to the best of my knowledge. Just poorly applied with higher areas.


You could tell because the outgassing rates were different on different parts of the bonnet - the sinkage was REALLY poor in one area which was the thicker paint. Other parts were 200 odd.


Car had been garaged since being painted and someone had polished it before letting it sit in the sun. Few days later the owner left it outside on a trip and paint began sinking leaving it really dull. Only noticeable when he got home and looked in his garage.

 

[naefeart]

I can tell, hence why I check how bad it is. one car I couldn't get a reading on. My main concern is, if they couldn't be bothered to prepare the panel properly, or need that much filler to make it look straight than how long will this repair last? It's just another headache you don't want, especially when it's on a rear quarter or different panel that cannot be easily replaced.

I think you need to up your budget in line with your expectations. 4-5 year old BMWs with 10s of thousand of miles on them - covered potentially in and around London - are unlikely to be perfect, main dealer stocked or not. A £30k 2nd hand BMW saloon is unlikely to have been treated with kid gloves and driven by Miss Daisy to church and back.

I'm very picky about my cars, possibly verging on OCD, however the limits of my budget dictate what I'm prepared to put up with. In a perfect world I would always buy two new identical cars - one to drive and get dirty and one to keep indoors and polish every night.

 

[matt100]

I think you need to up your budget in line with your expectations. 4-5 year old BMWs with 10s of thousand of miles on them - covered potentially in and around London - are unlikely to be perfect, main dealer stocked or not. A £30k 2nd hand BMW saloon is unlikely to have been treated with kid gloves and driven by Miss Daisy to church and back.

I'm very picky about my cars, possibly verging on OCD, however the limits of my budget dictate what I'm prepared to put up with. In a perfect world I would always buy two new identical cars - one to drive and get dirty and one to keep indoors and polish every night.

Or you can do a bit like I've done with mine, get something that looks fine but it's mechanically really good/full history etc and then hand it to a specialist and say "tell me everything that's wrong with this then fix/refresh it" and then give it to a detailer/body shop and say "make this as close to perfect as you can".

In my head that's win win, you get the cheaper car, you get to know absolutely all it's foibles and have them sorted and you can drive it without panicking about it being damaged.

I'm with those above, if buying an investment/garage queen then fine, you want it to be/stay perfect.

If you're buying a daily then you can't know what's going to happen, I bought something perfect once and a month later someone just abandoned a shopping trolley which rolled and hit it, dented the door etc.

It's futile and you'll never buy anything.

 

[Funky-Melon]

If I was a USED car salesperson and the customer turned up with a paint depth gauge I’d be rolling my eyes so hard.




Assess the car on the quality of the work, not the depth of the paint.

This is my view as well.

I got an M140i about 2 weeks back, advertised from a very well reviewed dealer as immaculate inside and out and when I went to see it, it was. I spent less than 10 minutes going around the car, paintwork looked spot on, wheels were unmarked etc, it had been very well looked after.

Had I gone over and measured the depth of paint I may have found that a door had been repainted in the past but who gives a ****. If I really need a depth gauge to tell it's had work then why does it matter? It's clearly been repaired to a very high standard.

 

[IC3]

Those cars still exist, just getting harder to find... I've few mates who work in car transportation, even if a car gets badly damaged during transportation it'll get repaired locally (repairs are questionable, but that's a separate topic ). Those cars end up at 3rd party repair workshops who have contracts with big brands like BMW etc, quite a hefty amount of them are in MK BTW. Some time ago, cars that were damaged such as BMW would go back to BMW's workshop in Germany (or other countries that had the facilities) to get repaired properly according to the car manufactures standards and guidance.

I had some photos that one of my mates took, of damaged cars that were literally brand spanking new cars with all the foils and stickers still on. He also took a few shots of the workshops that repaired them, definition of dodgy. When panels or body elements are damaged to the point where you need 1500um of filler, that element needs to be replaced, you can straighten it and tin the small imperfection which couldn't be removed by a panel beater. I know of 'premium' dealerships who sell expensive rare cars, some of which are literally Cat B cars...

Ignorance is bliss.. Those of you saying "it looks alright, so I don't care how it was repaired", please just take into consideration that poor repairs when they come in contact with some harsher chemicals, can cause a chemical reaction which can lead to all sorts of new problems. Not to mention damage to actual structural parts of the chassis, HPI checks aren't reliable BTW. Shocker, I know

 

[GravyMonster]

I'm sure this will be a bit marmite, but I added a new lip spoiler on the M240. I wasn't a fan of the original one; too small and didn't really work with the lines of the car IMO. The new one definitely ticks those boxes for me and works with the contrast of the other shadow line trim against the bodywork.

Don't worry though, the other half calls me a chav every time she walks past it

 

[Robert]

And Car Planet, Evan H, Carsa etc.

Any suggestions who then?

 

[hartgeh3]

@GravyMonster if it didn't have the badge on the back I would have thought it was a pimped up 220i lol It's like the good old days of the E36, you could make a 318i look like an M3 Evo (a lot of people did) lol

I see these new 2 series and never know what they are until you look at the boot badge...if they have one. If fact same goes for the 4 series.

 

[IC3]

Any suggestions who then?

I don't think there's a golden recipe, depends on the car and budget.

 

[Firegod]

I'm sure this will be a bit marmite, but I added a new lip spoiler on the M240. I wasn't a fan of the original one; too small and didn't really work with the lines of the car IMO. The new one definitely ticks those boxes for me and works with the contrast of the other shadow line trim against the bodywork.

Don't worry though, the other half calls me a chav every time she walks past it

Where did you get it from?

I did similar to my Mustang GT but that involved drilling the boot and I was poo'ing myself hah. I'm 6 months in with the M240i now, how you finding yours? I thought I'd check my mileage the other day.... just 625 miles on the clock. Lol.

 

[GravyMonster]

It's the ZAero one from AutoID. I don't have the plums to drill in to a boot lid This one comes with some 3M tape pre-installed, but I added some TigerSeal as well just to make sure. Plus it can easily be removed when it comes time to sell if the buyer isn't a fan.

Still loving mine - I've got a Ring trip planned for later this year and cannot wait.