MOT Mileage in KM & Miles

[Flack88]

Looking at getting a 2012 640D. REG LP12 PNL

LINK TO CAR

The car is still on Autotrader but was sold to somebody 6 weeks ago and he is still waiting for logbook. I have been to see the car and it's nice spec etc well looked after car. The guy had one before and apparently wanted another but has now decided he wants a hybrid newer BMW. The elderly guy seems genuine, lives in a really nice house etc.

I checked the car over took VIN number etc and everything checks out on HPI checks as I was very suspicious of the story. I am still waiting for log book V5 registration document issue date & V5 serial number which he is going to provide me with when he gets the logbook.



HOWEVER the mileage goes from KM to Miles on mot history, which instantly made me think ringer. Apparently the previous owner had a holiday home in Spain and would spend his winters there.

The car bodywork does look like it has been spared the English winters. Guy showed me paperwork from Spain for service history. I rang the dealership and they corroborated this story.

You can also apparently change the settings on the I Drive from Miles to KMS which also changes the trip & odometer? Non digital clocks so speedometer is in constantly in MPH. So when he took it for MOT he didn't change the I Drive back to Miles. All the mileage does tally up when converted.

Anyone ever had something like this from MOT before on modern cars? It's got all the spec but I am still very suspicious.

 

[Flack88]

What's your suspicion on what has potentially occurred?

If there is some elaborate way the car could be a ringer.

Had the MOT KM / Miles issue loads of times with jap imports but never with a UK car.

 

[Flack88]

My wife's car has something similar. First MOT was at 45k miles, the second one was at 90k km (56k miles) and then the third was at 73k miles. It did make me suspect at first, but since the 56k miles fits in quite well and the previous owner explained that iDrive was just set to km due to driving in France a lot, I wasn't put off. Service history backed everything up too, including a service done at an indy which also logged the mileage as km.

You can indeed change iDrive for driving abroad but I've never bothered since the only real point is changing the satnav units so that everything ties in better with road signs.

However, I do find it weird that one MOT is correctly showing km and then 3 subsequent testers have missed the fact the car is set to km and have just entered it as miles. That said, as you said, the figures converted to miles do all fit in fine - 58k miles to 70k, 83k, 89k, 99k then 105k.

Also this guy has had it for 6 weeks and now wants rid of it? That does strike me as very strange.

Some MOT testers just don't care in fairness, they just write the number down. Especially when the clock face shows MPH.

The 6 weeks part does make me wonder. It runs and drives very nicely and has full service history. He apparently had one back in the day and liked it so wanted another but obviously times have moved on and the guy certainly isn't short of a few quid as he lives in a nice house in Stockport.
Guy also knows a fair bit about cars as we were talking for about an hour as he has a business building kit car replicas.

I just wondered on the mileage side as never had a car that you can change odometer on. Always used to signal a ringer to me or clocked car.

Also still no V5 after 6 weeks......?

Is there any way you can fake one of those HPI checks apart from tampering with VIN? I have done 2 different ones as I get them free and they both check out. The VIN hasn't been tampered with from what I can tell.

 

[Flack88]

personally, driving a self-imported lhd eu car - sometimes they log odomoter on mot certificate in miles, sometimes km


was it under a warranty from Barne's ? current owner could have returned it to them if they had dug up something serious in six weeks, but, the want a hybrid does sound like a pre-text - wasn't economic enough, too big ?
did it have good tyres after AT add, if elderly gent was well off doubt you'd support poor quality.
reg plate mot failure looks suspicious - custom plate then ? - so he took it to another mot centre and it passed .

It's a UK RHD car 3rd owner took it to Spain in winter. It has warranty which he will transfer over to me apparently. He just wants a newer car as cars have moved on and for him the 6 series is a bit dated he wants a hybrid mainly.
Has 2 newish Toyo Proxies on rear and newish Hankook on the front, both loads of tread so midrange tyres. I always check tyres as its a dead giveaway of a car that has or hasn't been looked after. I hate mixed tyres however, but to some people it doesn't matter which I understand, I'm a tyre snob.
Dealership put a fresh MOT on it, for the sake of 12 months. The cars in very good condition inside and outside.

Plate history is this:


Matches up with 3 previous owners. Also ties in with the dates and the last owner who took it to Spain since 2015

 

[Flack88]

V5 applications can take in excess of 12 weeks now. I bought a bike in May last year and finally got the V5 in October.

Jesus ****** Christ! I spoke to the guy this morning and we agree if I want it we are just going to have to wait for the log book to arrive, then I can do final checks. I left him £100 deposit which he is happy to refund if I find something else in the meantime.

 

[Flack88]

Never understood anyone refunding a deposit

Why not, dealerships do it all the time. It's just a gesture of goodwill to show you are serious. If you messed the owner about then he then could just tell you to **** off and keep the money. In this case we cant do anything anyway until V5 comes in.

 

[Flack88]

Going to be a nightmare to sell it on in future I reckon based on those MOT mileage records. For that reason alone I’d steer clear even if it is all legit.

It also doesn’t seem that great a deal? Autotrader rating it as above average price.

That is what concerns me also is selling it on in a few years. But tbh if its all legit its not exactly hard to see that mot tester screwed up, it all converts properly. Still thinking it all over.

Autotrader is crap with the price system as it doesn't take into account the optional extras from what I can tell. Car prices in general are stupid currently, but at the moment I am currently driving around in a 90's Jap stripped out track car which is less than ideal.

I am in Staffordshire and there is bugger all around here. Been to see a load of M Sport ones and they have all been owned by plebs, one even had a knocking engine and was up for £13,250. Could go up to £14,500 but I am after one with a decent amount of optional extras.

 

[Flack88]

If it has to be a 640d and also quite local to you then it’ll be slim pickings I guess

But £14k gives you lots of options, anything else you would consider?

If you’re locked into the model then I would suggest you need to be willing to travel for the right car, it’ll be worth it in the end.

Drove a 640D for a few weeks last year with a remap and really liked it tbh, fairly quick and comfy. It's a lot of car for the money as depreciation has hit them hard. I looked at 335D's but hard to find a decent LCI and they are again owned by some questionable characters sometimes. I am open to other cars but am after something comfy and with a decent amount of power. Used to get an Audi RS4 B7 for not much more, but not anymore