4.8is Damages - Help?

[jobaker4]

Hi Folks, I just returned from a 4 hour trip to view a 2005 4.8is (Titanium Silver). The car has a little over 16,000miles on it and I have figured out it was a corporate vehicle for a CEO. He traded it to a Cadillac Dealer (go figure) now they want out of it and don't know crap about the car.

I have a few concerns (see pics), should I RUN?
Should I use these as leverage to push him down on his price in order to fix these myself?:

1. Wheels/Tires are not so good, Tires need to be replaced (see pic), and the Rims have a lot of caked on Brake dust. Can this be cleaned somehow or are the rims a loss? (This guy didn't care about the car, obviously)

2. The Gauge Cluster has what appear to be holes, or at least circular dents in them. Note pictures... the SERVICE ENGINE SOON light is half covered up by something. What in the WORLD could this be all about? Mileage tampering? There was no lights on.>>I'd LOVE for you all to let me know if you have ever seen this before or what could have possibly caused it.

3. There is some sort of Oily Substance in the seam of the Front Door. In looking at the engine, it is clean, but I did notice a few spots like this elsewhere on the Drivers Side. (Could there have been some sort of oil disaster?) What are all the lines and such on the drivers side in a 4.8is?

4. The tailpipe trims are real nasty, could they be easily cleaned up?

FYI, this is a 3/05 Build.
Please post away your thoughts and feedback... (by the way I got the original CEO's name and company hehehehe... I'm gonna see if he'll talk to me, they left all the registration info in the glovebox)

Thanks all!
-Josh

[China Man]

From what I see ... everything looks like it should be clean-up-able (haha) ... he must have somewhat beat on that car to make the tires look like that after 16k miles. The only explanation I can see for those two holes in the cluster is that he might have had a hidden radar warning system installed in the car, then removed before he traded it in? (maybe a K40 or something?)

Did you take pictures of the whole car? By the way, nice camera!

[BoomBoom]

1. Def needs new tires, but after 16k, that is odd...

2. This was a k40 install, and the guy probably had it taken out to put it in his next car.

And I am not sure of the rest...

[AutoXer]

It is obvious that the owner could care less about this car I am rather surprised that the Cadillac dealer would show the car in this condition. I think the wheels, tailpipes and the oil smudges can all be cleaned up. If I were the owner of the dealership, I would have the whole service/sales department fired for not doing at least these minor clean-ups before trying to sell the car.

[asawadude]

The wheels are cleanable. BMW OEM wheels are coated, the brake dust is not impregnated into the metal but is instead sitting on top of the coating layer. It can be broken down and removed. Use a strong soap (dish washing soap will work) with a soft bristle wheel brush or soft toothbrush, then follow it up with clay (using the dishwashing soap as a lubricant) to remove any stubborn chunks of dust.

If it looks like the dust is really caked on, get ahold of a good commercial spray on wheel cleaner like Mequiars Hot Rims Cleaner and let it soak for a few minutes before hitting it with the brush, then follow it up with clay. It may take several passes to get the wheels clean, but it's doable. Once clean, you can squirt a quick detail protectorant on the wheels, which helps reduce the dust build-up.

The oil on the doors could be the result of someone using the wrong type of lubricant on the hinges. It should also be easily cleanable with soap and water. An examination of the engine compartment and undercarrraige will help determine if the oil was instead the result of some type of failure.

There are many chrome/metal cleaners in your auto parts store that will cut through the dirt buildup on the tail pipes. What shows up in the picture does not look very serious - it looks bad because it's an accumulation.

Do those holes in the instrument panels go through the actual light display boards? It looks to me that you could cheaply restore the appearance by buying a used E53 instrument panel on eBay (there's plenty selling cheap with faulty LED lights), scavenge the cover from the purchased panel to replace your cover with holes, then resell your purchase back on eBay.

Good luck on your purchase. Do you have a full set of pictures showing the entire vehicle instead of these close up shots? It's hard to see the overall condition of the vehicle without the full body shots. What's the dealer asking? If the dealer hasn't done any cleanup work, it's probably because they aren't willing to commit any money towards the vehicle. That could actually work to your advantage as a leverage item in your negotiation.

[LeMansX5]

The holes on display and tires are my only concern if I were to buy. The holes are from k40 display he may have there. But you can use all the other items to bring down the price. How much is he asking?

[kris]

Interesting. I would re-consider this buy. Look around. I'd also suggest look around anywhere in the US on sites such as autotrader, etc and if you see one you really like anywhere in the country, fly down, close the deal and get it transported back. Besides, if he didnt care about the care, the tranny could have taken a good hit in case he used to floor it at every light. Good luck!

[jobaker4]

Wow, you all are AWESOME! It's like having a whole bunch of friends who I don't even know to help me think through things.

I didn't take pictures of the whole car because the dealer did have them on their website. They have since taken them down. If I pursue it more I'll take more for ya'all :-)

Ok, so the K40 install... does that render any damages to the cluster other than those holes? I think I could definatley get extra money out of the dealer for those damages. (could I easily fix the fact that the SES light is partially covered?)

The camera is a Cannon SD550 ELPH, and yes it takes good pictures doesn't it.

So based on you all's advice I'm gonna talk more with the dealer and let him know I am deducting for each of these items, then I'll take care of the tire replacements and cleanup and make some $$ off of it. BTW, the Dealer is asking $53,866 on this. The only other damages I didn't post are a bumper rub/scuffing (prolly a bump), Fender Flare Scratch (deep), one wheel has some curb rash, and there is some surface level scratches on the pass side rear door.

You all are right, I would imagine (this being a corporate car for an I.T. CEO) he didn't give a crap. But... Being a BMW it should be able to handle it right? plus it's got the 4yr/50k that transfers right?

Thanks again folks! ya'all are a great bunch. -Josh

[atillathetom]

They sent me a counter offer last week at 1k below their asking, so there is room...I told them I would think on it over the weekend. Contact me off list, I have some additional pictures I had them take that I can send to you.

Since I am on the west coast, It would cost me ~1500 to ship and another ~1500 to shoe, so I am passing.

I am glad to see the issues you pointed out as well because I would not have seen them until the car was delivered to me.

Good Luck.

Tom

[jobaker4]

Hi Folks, just a quick update. The previous owner called me and talked with me about the vehicle. He didn't say anything about a K40 install...speaking of which does anybody have a pic of this install? Can I see for comparison regarding these cut outs in the cluster. (The F'in Dealer is saying "oh, all X5's have that" what the hell ever, jerk, I hate people who lie like that)

The previous owner said the only problem he had was that the car left a drop or two of oil on the floor of his garage regularly. He said it was like that since the day he got it, been to the dealer 3 times and they hadn't fixed it. My dealer seems confident they can take care of it for me. What do you all think? Ever heard of an oil leak like this from a 4.8?

Btw, the previous owner said he got rid of the car because he got too many speeding tickets in it.

Thanks in advance for any responses! -Josh