Went to see the low mileage X3. It's a big no-go. Car is in rough shape and has been neglected and abused. Seller is very motivated, but I wouldn't get that car at any price.
So it shows good and pictures and that's about it, eh?
Yeah pretty much. Hard to see the real condition in pictures. Also, very important to speak to the owner as you know.
This car has an interesting story. It was purchased new by a top Canadian diplomat posted in China where it lived till 2022 and driven only 4000 km. The current owner bought it and brought it back to Canada in 2022. This is when the Carfax history starts.
Most of the 66K km where driven by him in the last 2 years and mostly highway between Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal. He did 2-3 oil changes (he couldn't say for sure) at CT - he said he changed the oil based on the car reminder which, if the same as in my BMW, it's at 24,000 km (!) which kind of adds up with the mileage. He "thought" he might've done a brake fluid change but not sure.... CT recently installed new pads on the original rotors (rusted). Has winter tires on the original wheels (maybe good for one more season) but no summer.
Probably the car will show up soon on the market as he'll try to unload it to a dealer by Thursday (leaving the country on Saturday for an undetermined period). Dude is an immigration lawyer bouncing between various countries. Nice guy but he admitted he knows nothing about cars...and the car's condition shows it.
Otherwise, I think this is THE car I'm after, but I need to find the right unit at the right price. This is not a $5K roll of a dice purchase so I'll be patient.
How much do you think it would need to be perfect to your specs? Why not deduct that from his asking price & a little more & make an offer on it. It will probably still be more than a trade-in offer, so he might accept it. Let's say you get it $4k less than his ask & then you need to put $3k in, you're still where you wanna be. I wouldn't worry too much about those oil change intervals at that mileage, you can change it more frequently going forward if you wish.
Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk
What it would need at a glance:
- fix/repaint front and rear bumpers, hood and hatch. Didn't look carefully at the rest of the panels but nothing jumped at me.
- replace/refinish all wheels (severe curb rash on all)
- fix, if possible, long and deep dent on the roof frame above the rear door
- brakes all around (rotor/pad)
- summer tires
Various interior plastic trims scratched up - think skis banging on the plastic trim.
This is just cosmetic stuff walking around the car and picking inside. Once I saw the general condition of the car, I kind of quit looking. Car was pretty dirty in and out so not sure what other damage might be under.
No oil leaks for the OFHG or VCG, expansion tank, etc..... charge pipe looked intact, the belly pan was dry.... Air filter wasn't changed in a while judging by the undisturbed coat of dirt. Of course I would replace all filters and fluids as soon as I would get the car so this doesn't really matter but just an observation.
No idea what's underneath as I wasn't dressed to go under the car...
