Purchase opinion

[mc-m3]

Hi all,
I've been searching for an E90 M3 for a few months now and have found one that has peeked my interest. The only issue is what is likely just an error in documenting what was done on a service. Below is what is in the car fax which matches up with what is in the service records (had the sales man read through the service records for me). As you can see, they should have done and recorded an oil change during the 2/1/2013 service. Would this cause issues if there were to be a warrantee claim? The are saying that it is eligible for CPO even with the missing record. What do you think? The car currently has just under 25k miles

11/29/2011 1,146 Recommended maintenance performed Tire condition and pressure checked Oil and filter changed

06/26/2012 4,886 Tire condition and pressure checked

02/01/2013 8,782 Maintenance inspection completed
Tire condition and pressure checked
Axles checked

12/23/2013 14,636 Maintenance inspection completed Recommended maintenance performed
Oil and filter changed
Tire condition and pressure checked
Air filter checked
Wiper(s) replaced

[bdaddylo]

The car has to pass CPO inspection for it to qualify for the CPO warranty, so why are you worried ? Just in case you didn't know, the CPO warranty does not cover everything the original warranty covers no matter what the sales person tells you.

[burtonsbs5114]

most cars have a lot of missing maintenance records and they still get CPO'd. I wouldn't worry about it.

[mjposner]

I disagree on a missing oil change. Recommendation was once a year or 15k miles, so that is what BMW did (13.5k miles or 13 months in this case). Oil only gets changed less if car asks for it.

[s85e90]

CPO warranty is not that good IMO

[mc-m3]

Originally Posted by mjposner

I disagree on a missing oil change. Recommendation was once a year or 15k miles, so that is what BMW did (13.5k miles or 13 months in this case). Oil only gets changed less if car asks for it.

it was 25 months (Nov. 2011 to Dec 2013) and 13k miles between documented changes. And it this lack of following the schedule that has me concerned. At this point, it has not been CPO'd either so I cannot count on that for anything.

[mjposner]

"it was 25 months (Nov. 2011 to Dec 2013) and 13k miles" Missed that, you are correct. Car should have asked for oil change

My view is that this will hurt the car long term (post 75k miles). Will you really own that long? CPO is a fancy extended warranty.

[Rupes]

When you say "they should have recorded an oil change" do you mean the dealer or Car Fax? Find out if the oil change was done by your local dealer, not what Car Fax says. If it's not documented by the dealer, it wasn't done. They'll have a much more detailed service history they can pull up. A dealer can CPO a car that has gone 13.5k between oil changes too - even if is was nearly two years. They have to document that the engine doesn't have sludge, or if it does, that it's cleaned out. Not exactly reassuring, is it?

[mc-m3]

Originally Posted by Rupes

When you say "they should have recorded an oil change" do you mean the dealer or Car Fax? Find out if the oil change was done by your local dealer, not what Car Fax says. If it's not documented by the dealer, it wasn't done. They'll have a much more detailed service history they can pull up. A dealer can CPO a car that has gone 13.5k between oil changes too - even if is was nearly two years. They have to document that the engine doesn't have sludge, or if it does, that it's cleaned out. Not exactly reassuring, is it?

They have no record of doing an oil change. Even though it is the rare E90 with 6MT I'm going to pass on it. Between this and the BS the dealer is starting to pull I'm done with them.

The search continues.

[bimlex]

Do your kbb.com research to learn roughly what the car is selling for in your area....then negotiate aggressively. I'd have no problems buying the car.

[Amirsm3]

This might be a stupid question, but is this at a BMW dealer? If not, see if a BMW dealer can run your VIN for the service history (I highly doubt they'll let you take a key fob to have the BMW dealer run it LOL)

[dreamspeed]

Originally Posted by mc-m3

They have no record of doing an oil change. Even though it is the rare E90 with 6MT I'm going to pass on it. Between this and the BS the dealer is starting to pull I'm done with them.

The search continues.

If the dealership doesn't have a record of it that means they didn't do it. If anything they should have a record of the invoice since that's how they get PAID.