Long overdue but I thought I would still do a S&S for my not so new anymore BMW.
It's a 2011 238i xDrive 6MT, Black exterior on Chestnut Brown leather interior with piano black trim and Premium Package (heated steering wheel, alarm, exterior auto-dimming mirrors, compass rear view mirror, Dakota leather).
This is the
exact package I was looking for and honestly it wasn't easy to come by (took me more than one year to find this one). I finally found it hidden somewhere in a small town garage about an hour east of Montreal (St. Mathias Sur Richelieu).
When I started looking for this car my ideal was not only to find one in the exact spec I wanted, but also with mint interior, 1-2 owners, no accident, no body rust, in decent mechanical condition, mileage between 160K-180K km and last but not least, ideally between $5000-$6000. The idea was to buy low and fix it up to my liking with the rest of the budget.
It appeared to be utopic what I was looking for and some members here called me out on it (rightfully so I guess), but I was under no pressure to buy so in the end the patience paid off. The target price I was shooting for was the most unrealistic criteria as the asking for most decent units was in $9K-12K range. I looked at few units with alternative color combos I considered as a backup (Black/Grey on Saddle Brown) but they were $11,000-$12,000 because of lower mileage (around 120K km). However, none stuck with me as they not only were into $11K-$12K range, but also required some work irrespective of lower mileage and higher price.
Anyhow, few pictures of the car before I bought it. The pictures were taken by the guy from the local company I hired to do a PPI on my behalf but they are indicative of the car at the time of purchase.
So, this is a 2 owners car, leased in Ottawa (Dec 2010-Dec 2013), then registered in QC by the same owner until 2016 (I assume lease buyout) and registered in QC again in 2016 by the second owner until 2021. No reported accidents in the Carfax report and the paint thickness measurements done by the PPI guy and other visual checks show no indication of any panel being mounted/dismounted or repainted. The usual oil leaks (valve cover gasket and oil filter gasket) have been done, suspension is solid (suspect some work has been done), engine runs smooth....
Asking was $6,000 but because A/C wasn't working I got it for $5,500 rather than having the garage to fix it for asking. Really wanted the car, the PPI report was good and it was already in my target range so went for it right away so I don't lose it.
Right after I brought it home (drove the car back home - about 700 km trip) I've done new A/C compressor, all fluids, filters, alignment, drive belt/tensioner/idler, front brakes and few other bits that needed immediate attention (one wheel dust shield, a ground cable and a rear sway bar).
In hindsight, three months and 7,000 km later, some sweat and $$$ invested in it, I'm pretty happy with the purchase.
