Carfax report. Should I be concerned? **UPDATED**

[FSETH]

I asked this question in aother thread I recently started regarding the differences between diesel and gas X5's, but I am afraid it may have gotten buried, so forgive me if you have read it twice.

I am looking at an 09 X5 35d with 31,000 miles. It is being CPO'd as we speak. I put down fully refundable $500 deposit with the dealer to make sure we get first dibs on it. I feel good that the car is going to be a CPO and still has some original warranty left as well. However, when I took a closer look at the Carfax, I see that the vehicle was serviced quite frequently at a BMW dealer. It actually seems too frequently, imo. Should there be any reason why a reliable car should have been to the dealer for serivce 10 times within a 21,000 mile span? I know there may have been some recalls performed and I am pretty sure that diesels require specific emmissions fluid every once in a while, but this car seems to have been in for service literally every 2,000 miles in the past 2 years. Can there be any logical explaination for this or do I need to simply run away from this particular vehicle even if it is a CPO? Here are the dates and mileages listed on Carfax. All simply state, "vehicle serviced":

01/04/2010 - 7,797
04/06/2010 - 11,056
08/30/2010 - 16,658
10/15/2010 - 17,910
01/05/2011 - 19,134
03/30/2011 - 21,075
07/21/2011 - 23,837
09/27/2011 - 25,425
11/02/2011 - 26,330
02/24/2012 - 28,240

It may also be worth mentioning that all of these were under the same owner.

[ard]

Well, I'm going to bet it was the old 'emissions' problem they had, that ultimately led to multiple recalls to fix... the good news, if it was, is that BMW really did truly fix it: once the recalls have been completed we are seeing that they dont come back.

Did you run a google on the VIN? Any chance you can find the prior owner here or on other sites?

Will the dealer share with you (perhaps eyes only, you can review but not get a copy) of the service history?

Remember, there is a CPO Checklist which you SHOULD receive prior to purchase- demand this. Tires and brakes must be over 50%.

But given those visits, I bet that the person got a trade in offer to prevent BMW having to lemon it....

(FYI- I lemoned my 2010 after 60 days in the shop...I almost kept it, I had confidence in the car and the final repairs- but financially it made sense. Just saying that having a lot of work done, especially due to the mfg being stymied, is not the end of the world.)

A

[JCL]

Ask to see the service history. Unless those records show that the high number of visits was due to a finicky owner that took it in too often for silly little complaints, walk away.

[FSETH]

Thanks guys.

I searched the vin per your suggestion ard, and all that popped up was the carfax and the listing for the car. While at the dealer, we were able to see, but not drive the vehicle seeing as it was in the process of being CPO'd. I did notice that the front tires were brand new and the rears looked fairly new. I will ask for the serivce records as well as the CPO checklist when we go back to see it.

I was thinking that it was either a fairly picky owner or a troubled car. I guess the records will give me a better idea if the dealer will share those with me. The car looked to be in good shape, so it could have been picky owner. However, the steering wheel trim was peeling fairly badly around the radio controls and I would think an overzealous owner would have had that fixed under warranty seeing as they were already at the dealer so many times.

[blondboinsd]

Originally Posted by FSETH

Thanks guys.

I searched the vin per your suggestion ard, and all that popped up was the carfax and the listing for the car. While at the dealer, we were able to see, but not drive the vehicle seeing as it was in the process of being CPO's. I did notice that the front tires were brand new and the rears looked fairly new. I will ask for the serivce records as well as the CPO checklist when we go back to see it.

I was thinking that it was either a fairly picky owner or a troubled car. I guess the records will give me a better idea if the dealer will share those with me. The car looked to be in good shape, so it could have been picky owner. However, the steering wheel trim was peeling fairly badly around the radio controls and I would think an overzealous owner would have had that fixed under warranty seeing as they were already at the dealer so many times.

It continues to peel. I've had mine fixed like 4 times

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by blondboinsd

It continues to peel. I've had mine fixed like 4 times

lol. Maybe all they did was get this fixed 10 times.

[BryanCO]

Originally Posted by JCL

Ask to see the service history. Unless those records show that the high number of visits was due to a finicky owner that took it in too often for silly little complaints, walk away.

This. For my last two BMW purchases, neither from that dealer, they read the service history to me, including the detailes of each visit. They would not give me the printed info but it met my needs and was greatly appreciated.

[jddssc121]

Originally Posted by JCL

Ask to see the service history. Unless those records show that the high number of visits was due to a finicky owner that took it in too often for silly little complaints, walk away.

^^^ This. Demand a full copy of the service history, or walk.

[FSETH]

UPDATE:

01/04/2010 - 7,797 - Salesman didn't say
04/06/2010 - 11,056 - Oil change
08/30/2010 - 16,658 - Replaced trunk lid activator
10/15/2010 - 17,910 - Brake fluid change and new battery per BMW recommendation
01/05/2011 - 19,134 - Oil change
03/30/2011 - 21,075 - Torn trunk seals repalced
07/21/2011 - 23,837 - Forgot what salesperson said
09/27/2011 - 25,425 - Standard 25,000 mile vehicle check
11/02/2011 - 26,330 - Replaced new fuel filter heater (Per recall I assume)
02/24/2012 - 28,240 - Oil and air filter change

Seems fairly normal to me now. What do you guys think?

[BGM]

Looks normal to me. Though you might want to make sure obviously on the 1/4/10 and 7/21/11 visits for any red flags.