Taking cars to a mechanic..

[Kruzen]

I'm going to go check out a car tommorow, i have a feeling i will like it, but its pretty far away from where i'm at (couple of hours) and so i'd like to save a trip and maybe have it checked out by a mechanic tommorow when i go up, and potentially make a downpayment on it by the end of the day or something.

Whats the best way to arrange this? call a dealer in advance? or what.. what is the best method of getting a car checked out by a mechanic.. or should i have the owner do it on his own time.. ?

[nando]

get it checked out yourself. what good does it do to have a car "checked out" if the seller turns out to be shady? then you'll end up like poor josh with a big crack in your chassis :(

[Kruzen]

get it checked out yourself. what good does it do to have a car "checked out" if the seller turns out to be shady? then you'll end up like poor josh with a big crack in your chassis :(

yea .. but how exactly does this work.

make an appointment with a nearby dealership and then take the car from him.. or what..

[Kruzen]

also.. if i'm thinking of making a deposit on the car for him to hold it.. should i draft up a contract of some sort? or just leave it based on word of honor..

[latinobimmer]

Get him to write you a 'receipt' and sign it, with the amount you paid for him to hold it. You dont have to take it to a BMW dealership, they'll charge you a nut and some sperm. Just take it to a shop that doesnt look like it's run by a bunch of dumb dicks. I know some shops have 50 point check-ups and stuff, but they cant really tell you what's going on inside, only what's visible.

[Kruzen]

how about where he usually gets it maintenanced at

[bimmerphile]

Get in contact with the BMWCCA. Tell them you need a reputable dealer in xxx area.

Call that shop, schedule an appointment to get it checked out. Most dealers will laugh at you if you just roll up and ask for an inspection because they don't have the time, or, they'll give it a 20 second lookover and charge you $80, which would defeat the whole purpose.

[kansas-ix]

actually most bmw dealer will do a free like 60 pt inspection, and it is not to hard to get in, they will make you pay for the 200pt or whatever it is. But chances are they will not tell you anything you couldn't tell yourself but nice to have the paper with bmw dealer repair costs for negotiating.

[rwh11385]

nah, i'd go with a trusty independent shop. The roundel is a place you could look. There is a nice reputable BMW shop in my town that can give cars a once over for like $50. I think a qualified pro is a handy meter for how good a car is, or what shape it is in. Even with write-ups or the Bentley, a vet. could pick out a lot of things you could miss.

[ragged325]

I've had good luck with some of the inspection places . . .

listed in the Auto Trader. It helps to have someone who knows something about e30s looking at the car, but I had it done a long time ago when I was looking at a 635 and the guy really went through the car (it took him over an hour).

He checked the compression and pulled a lot of the carpet out of the car (to look for rust and/or accidents). Even if I knew what I was looking for, I would have felt bad getting into the car like this guy did. He checked everything on the car to make sure it worked and told me not to buy it for a bunch of reasons (including a prior rear-end accident the seller didn't tell me about).

I still wanted it, and the inspection really helped to negotiate the price down with the owner. I ended up not buying the car after all, but I was really glad I spent the money. Otherwise, I would have bought the car (it looked super-nice) and would have had a world of headaches and a real hard time getting rid of the car. I felt good that the guy wasn't in the car repair business and didn't have anything to gain by telling me it needed new brakes when it didn't or something like that. Of course, if you can find someone who knows e30s who will do the same thing, go for it.

You just need to tell the dealer the guy wants to inspect it and find a time that's convenient for everyone. If they give you a hard time, you can tell them you're not interested in the car if they can't work with you on this. The dealer should also be willing to drive the car to a local bmw mechanic of your chosing for an inspection (as long as it's not too far away).

[Kruzen]

i talked to my dad today and he said i should have the dealer front the cost of an inspection at an independent mechanic. And if the costs to repair anything engine/mechanical wise is less than 200$ than to go ahead and buy it for the negotiated price, and if its more than 200$ than to tell the guy to either deduct it from the price of the car or pay for it before i buy it. does this sound fair to you guys?

from talking on the phone the guy seems pretty trustworthy and was open about whats up with teh car already, doesn't seem like too shady of a guy.. I don't know the area that its in so i'd have to go on trusting the guy to take it to an impartial mechanic or something..

[Jordan]

Why don't you just find a local member (that isn't a moron) to look the car over for you?

[Kruzen]

Why don't you just find a local member (that isn't a moron) to look the car over for you?

anyone knowledgeable in the bellingham, washington area?

[James Crivellone]

Why don't you just find a local member (that isn't a moron) to look the car over for you?

anyone knowledgeable in the bellingham, washington area?

belllingham? nando