New Purchase 4.8is Missing Intake

[4.8isguy]

Went to check out an 06 4.8is and everything checked out pretty well on the car. Underside had zero rust. Interior was well kept. Owner is working with me on the price and is fair and somewhat of an enthusiast also. Paint and wheels were almost spotless. Tranny shifted good. Three concerns I had on the car were
1)The air intake was missing. Owner said someone didn't install it back 2-3 months ago when he went to the shop and was driving around without it. Maybe 1-3k miles since.
2)There's a crack in the cluster. Only on the glass. Theres no tamper dot on. Just wondering if I would be able to change the glass itself or if I need an entirely new cluster.
3)The rear seat reclining function doesn't work from where the seats are. They only work from the trunk area.
Any input would be appreciated.

[Joshdub]

1) What do you mean by no air intake? Nothing infront of the maf?

3) Could be that the child window locks are on the driver window control switch. I believe it also deactivates the rear seats.

[David.X5]

Stories don't exactly add up.

I would be worried about the cluster. Could be a sign it was opened for some reason. One of the biggest surprises when I bought mine was discovering someone had pried off the trifecta warning lights (soldered on LEDs, no bulb to remove) rather than fix the DSC module. Scanning for codes is a must.

People don't "forget" to install intakes. If so, you get a call and go back the next day or the mechanic brings the parts to your house...

Get a good independent inspection from someone that can pull all the BMW codes.

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by David.X5

Stories don't exactly add up.

I would be worried about the cluster. Could be a sign it was opened for some reason. One of the biggest surprises when I bought mine was discovering someone had pried off the trifecta warning lights (soldered on LEDs, no bulb to remove) rather than fix the DSC module. Scanning for codes is a must.

People don't "forget" to install intakes. If so, you get a call and go back the next day or the mechanic brings the parts to your house...

Get a good independent inspection from someone that can pull all the BMW codes.

[4.8isguy]

I don't want to squeeze the seller to much. It's definitely a pretty fair deal for a very mint 4.8is. I met him at his business. He had some service records. He had the car at the dealer last week for air suspension. Dealer didn't report anything other then a suspension inactive reset.

[upallnight]

If he's a BMW enthusiast he would know that a PPI is always a good thing to do when buying a use BMW.

[X53Jay4.8is]

Originally Posted by musov5

I don't want to squeeze the seller to much. It's definitely a pretty fair deal for a very mint 4.8is. I met him at his business. He had some service records. He had the car at the dealer last week for air suspension. Dealer didn't report anything other then a suspension inactive reset.

At a minimum you should have the vehicle scanned to see what codes are in the computer and take it from there. If the vehicle is a good deal to you and you want it get it. Just keep in mind that there is always some issues to sort through. Its part of the IS ownership process.

[jfoj]

When I bought my E70, I met the guy at a local mall during the day because he was originally wanting to meet after work in February and it would be dark.

I buy cars very differently that most people, so when the guy showed up, we spoke for a bit about why he was selling it, I asked him if he could point out any body/paint problems he was aware of. I was sizing up the honesty of the seller.

I did a few walk arounds, looked at wheels, tires, brakes, under the hood, inside and in the rear. Opened all the doors and checked the door jams and such. Confirmed the few very minor flaws he pointed out and looked for others.

He then asked if I wanted to test drive the vehicle, I said no, the look on his face was priceless. I told him I was short on time and knew he had to get back to work as well. I did tell him I wanted to do one more quick thing and connect a diagnostic device up to the vehicle and check for codes/errors and he said fine and even was curious as to what I may find. Pulled out my SnapOn Solus Ultra and performed a full scan of the the vehicle. Found few historical problems that did not concern me much.

I told the guy I would think about it and if I decided I wanted to move forward, I would meet him after work one evening to test drive the vehicle and I would have a bank check so if I decided to still purchase after the test drive, I would do the deal then so he would need to have the title ready and in hand.

Needless to say, things went well on the test drive and I have put 12k miles on the vehicle in 9 months without any significant problems, water pump bearing started to get noisy after about 10k, but this was pretty much an expected item and I PM'ed the fuel pump/filter combo because I do not drive cars much past their 8th birthday with the original fuel pump and/or filters. It was a little early on my E70, however, I know I would be putting on some serious road trip miles and I figured I might as well replace the fuel pump on my schedule and not the cars schedule.

Best to have the vehicle scanned with a Pro level scan tool even if a BMW specific tool is not on hand. Most Pro level scan tools can and will interrogate most models in the vehicle. You could even buy Carly for BMW and the interface for under $100 and have it up and running as soon as you have the interface.

[jfoj]

This video may offer some insight as to what things should look like under the hood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e04tMFTVmk

Surprised how different it looks as compared to my 2008 4.8l.

[4.8isguy]

Thanks for the input guys. What is the best cost efficient and easy to use diagnostic tool? I've been meaning to get one for my current 4.8is for some time now.