Don't Do What I Did! My 1st x5 I Bought from Auto Plus(FerraBenz) Miami
 

A pre-purchase inspection is a MUST prior to purchase. Done by a BMW dealer or good indy shop that knows BMWs .

NEVER take the sellers word for a vehicles condition!

They are a licensed export shop out of Miami, Fl. Still, shame on me.

Most used vehicle buyers get a "neutral" 3rd party to PPI (this 3rd party has no financial interest in under/over stating condition).

If the shop said it was an "awesome" vehicle, you should have used that to your advantage, have them put a 90 day powertrain warranty in the purchase contract.

Are those the same wheels it had when it broke down in the freeway?

Yes, they had the wrong size wheels throughout the entire vehicle. Foreman at BMW dealership of Tellahassee documented everything. That caused the whole vehicle to perform off kilter. The front differential internally exploded as a result.

Sorry to hear your ordeal.

What are the tire sizes on all 4 tires? That's more important information to know. From the pictures, the wheels looked correct

Like others, what were the tire sizes?

Those wheels didn't make your diff explode. Tires maybe, but not wheels.

^ What he said...

I think you should reconsider your review as you could be opening yourself up to legal liability with it. While I understand you're upset with this seller to conclude their actions almost resulted in the death of you and your family is stretching it.

How so?

Pic of Invoice from BMW
 

Pic

First of all blaming the BMW for misfortunes is incorrect. In addition subjecting your family to this is even more appalling. You want to flip a $5k X5 you should of known its going to need more. You made the mistake by not doing your research and then subjecting your family to this. WOW. Yes you should have had a PPI conducted to assure what you are getting. Come on get real. Don't blame the dealer. Stealer dealers will get away with whatever someone is willing to buy.

When did I ever blame BMW? I'm putting these people out there so people know who they are. Please tell me where I blamed BMW?

From what I've read, you did not blame BMW. After reading your review, this place is shady and i'm pretty upset they would sell it to you like that knowing you were going to travel and you had with small children with you. Charging you $75 for the part is grimy and i'm positive they knew it had a problem. I'm pretty sure they knew what was wrong with it and they sold it as it, which is why it's very important for people to do research and familiarize them self's with the make, model, and known issues before purchasing used cars. Some used car dealerships usually don't fix known problems the cars has, they would rather sell as is and make as much of a profit as they can. They usually do these "band-aid" types of repair to outlast the test drive and maybe a few days of use. After then, that's when all of the known problems start to unfold. Sounds fucked up, but that's how some places operate. I'm not blaming you in any way for the events that took place, but sometimes we need to give things more of a thorough inspection to find those types of problems to avoid those's type of things. Very sorry you had to go through that. Hope you do not reflect your anger towards BMW. They are a wonderful brand, but unfortunately you fell victim to a grimy used car lot. Wish you the best of luck.

I wasn't referring to the title but rather the review you placed on Yelp. As to your question I do not see anything they did which almost resulted in death to your family. If your sudden move almost resulted in death to your family that would be your fault, not the sellers. You're free to leave the review as is however my take on it is two fold:

1. I can't take the review seriously given the embellishment you've added. You come off as someone who is irrational and blaming the seller for your having failed to obtain a proper inspection of the vehicle.
2. I feel you're opening yourself up to libel given the embellishment I mentioned.

IMO your review should state the facts without emotion. As a neutral third party I cannot take your review seriously.

If you expected a perfectly good BMW X5 for $5,000 than you need to do a bit more research on the car. Most X5 that are sold for 5,000 bucks and less needs work, that is why the owners are dumping the X because the cost to repairs some of the problems are more than what they can sell the X for once the problem is fixed.

Post a copy of the carfax for that vehicle, it should list some of the maintenance for the vehicles if it was properly maintain. If you don't see any maintenance records for the X than you can assume that it was not properly maintain.

Since you brought the X to flip are you going to inform the next owner of all the problem that you encountered with the X?

In sort, yes, I guess I'm the dumb fuck. I realize this and it's a hard realization. I posted the description of the the eBay listing. They were a seller with 100% feedback, a top rated seller whom I was in constant contact with. The description doesn't ever say "as is condition." She listed it as being fully reconditioned and in amazing condition with all maintenance up to date. Fact is I was just fuck over beyond belief and I was the reason our first family vacation was that being stranded in Florida for over a week. If only I had money, I wouldn't have to had settled for a 5,100 dollar car in the first place, but fuck me right? That's what I get for being poor and wanting a nice car for my family. My main intention was to get this story out, but I guess it was just an eye opener to what a fuckin idiot I really am. Thanks for setting me straight. I'm glad I joined xoutpost.

A bad MAF is not a maintenance item. They could have accurately represented the vehicle as "fully reconditioned and in amazing condition with all maintenance up to date" as long as they weren't aware of any issues. A MAF failing post sale doesn't change that. If all you experienced was a bad MAF then I'd say you did well. However there is the issue of the tires...need more information on that.

Buying a used BMW for $5,000 and not having a PPI done on it from the dealer then taking said car 1800 miles home with your wife and 2 kids was not the best decision. Its unfortunate what happened and thank god no one was hurt but you can't blame everything on the dealer that sold it. Live and Learn.

On the link that you posted this is what appeared on the Condition:

"Asking $7,500 OBO selling in as is condition & shipping will be at the expense of the buyer. Car is located at one of my warehouses in Miami, FL 33176 contact me for full address if need be for for shipping/freight quote. Take comfort in knowing I am & have been a reputable & honest eBy seller with excellent feedback rating for many years. This is not my 1st time at the rodeo & I know all the scams so do not waste your time if those are your intentions.
Alex
3 0 5 - 7 5 3- 1 7 4 4
(Call or Text any time day or night)

Don't see how you could have miss that.

Not that I wanted to make you look stupid, but your first post/rant on this forum is how somebody screw you, but if you paid attention to the Ad it clearly stated As Is and most people on this forum would have told you to get a PPI for a 5,000 bucks X5.

Aren't all car sales as-is unless otherwise mentioned?

In the Great state of Illinois (sarcasm) you have 48 hours to return a car that you purchase from a dealer as long as you didn't put more than 500 miles on the odometer.

Dr. SeanIngstrum, let me throw my 2 cents please. You bought an X5 for less than half of what nice/maintained one worth so you got lucky or screwed by the seller, thats life and a gamble you had decided to take, was it bad or good, I guess you already know...
My point is - 1800 mile trip in unknown used vehicle that is mysteriously cost half of the street price of a descent one? That is extremely unwise to say the least. While after issues you had mentioned sold as "well maintained/perfect X5" can be concluded that dealer screwed you up, you and only you the one who put your family in danger. I had purchased mint X5 last spring for $13000 out of NC and did basic PPI and drove it 800 miles to NY and dealer gave me 1 week/2000 miles warranty bumper to bumper and last December I bought Range Rover Sport out of Alabama fir $25,000 also drove it nearly 1000 miles to NY but for a second I did not consider taking my wife and daughter with me to ride in unknown to me used vehicle... For a long list of reasons. Perhaps, should you try to pull the same trick again - leave your family at home and take the roadtrip later when you're confident that vehicle is safe/reliable enough and not by sales person words (because what else is he going to say, yes I am selling you a chitty car?) but after you catch up with maintenance and necessary repairs.

hey, my X5 went to live in Great State of Illionois

That's a pretty good deal for a buyer.

I deserve to look stupid......obviously nobody can be any more dumb than I.

Knock it off, man... You're not stupid, but in your first post (rant), you just came off a bit wrong, rubbed some people the wrong way... We're all here to help each other thru issues (known and unknown) that come up in the X5's we love... From the screenshot you posted, it sounds like you have staggered wheels that were not in their corrected position, as well as mismatched tires. That would have jumped out at me... Just sounds like it needs a good sorting, and there's plenty of useful info here to help you along the way... :thumbup:

Wishing you all the best, and thankful that you and your family are safe...

Not the case!

Dumb and stupid would continue to do the purchase process the same way, and HOPE for a different result.

Smart people LEARN from the mistake, then CHANGE the process, so the probability of reoccurrence is greatly reduced.

Dude don't feel that bad, it happen's all the time. Don't take it too hard on yourself. A lot of people go through what you went through every time they purchase a used car. Use this as a learning experience and as a lesson. Next time you will be more aware of these types of problems. Some dealerships are more reliable and actually take pride in selling top notch cars, (They fix all of the known issues and sell them for a premium price.) others will buy from auctions and sell as is knowing the car has major issues. It happens which is why we need to be informed of these types of things and most of the time we will learn by experience. GL.

When I read the original title, before it was changed it sounded very much like the problem was the BMW thus flaw on BMW's behalf. Now that the titled of the post is changed it seams to be more to the point of the dealers practices.

Just learn your lesson. Stop beating yourself up.

Next time, come to the forum, ask for advise, and what to do with said car. Someone might even be local and help you by taking a look.

Either way, I hope this is not your first BMW, and you are some sort of DIY capable. Because if you are not both of these, you are in for a surprise, with a $5k e53.

:iagree:

If you're not a DIYer a used BMW is not the vehicle for you. Hourly rates at the dealers or a indy that specialize in BMW's is not going to be cheap. You would have been better off buying a lower mileage car with a warranty like a Kia or Hyundai.

First, I'm glad you and your family are safe and no one got hurt. Just a bruised pride and there is no shame in it.

Where is the X now? Are you keeping it? If you are then this forum will be of a huge benefit for you, if anyone can help you with getting the x up and



BMW X5 4.8iS 2005

running it would be these guys in this forum. The knowledge they have is just amazing.

Now shake it off and get back up :)

BMW X5 4.8iS 2005

Thanks alot, for what it worth, it is very hard not to beat myself up. I don't see that kind of money often and I can't believe I was that stupid, but did I ever learn a hard as all Hell lesson. I still have the x5 and I plan on fixing it. I do all the maintenance on my 2000 Volvo s70 and it is currently at almost 200k miles, Ive owned it since 05', so I kind of know my way around. I just don't have any experience with BMW. Through the video's I've watched, I think I'll be okay. Thanks again for all the blunt responses. Hard lesson learned.

Thankfully you and the family got out of it unhurt!

Dealers/sellers can be dodgy, but also unaware of each car's actual specs. They seem especially unaware of the staggered tyres.

I was at an a/c place a while ago and they had another X5 in there getting prepared for sale through a dealer down the road.
I pointed out they had rotated the 19 inch wheels, not even realising they were staggered fit and different front to back.
Looks like the same thing happened to you, except someone had replaced one set of tyres with the wrong size as well and the diff couldn't handle the difference.

Also, when I purchased my X5, all the tyres were the wrong size! These had been replaced at a reputable garage as well! Lucky they were 18 inch non staggered, so caused no mechanical problems.

I just picked some encouraging words for you :D

“We learn from failure, not from success!”
― Bram Stoker, Dracula

“It is important that we forgive ourselves for making mistakes. We need to learn from our errors and move on.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
― Albert Einstein

“Well, we all make mistakes, dear, so just put it behind you. We should regret our mistakes and learn from them, but never carry them forward into the future with us.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

Unhurt?

Thanks so much everyone! It means alot, really!