Anyone need a 4.8is?
 

No affiliation ;)
2003 BMW X5 4.8IS AWD SUV M-PACKAGE SILVER LOADED SE HABLA ESPANOL!!!

Who are they trying to deceive? That's clearly a "4.6iS". Putting style168 and the badge on doesn't make it a 4.8iS

They need to reclassify it as a 4.6is. Not a 4.8is.

I'm also pretty sure the ebay //M sticker doesn't qualify as an official "M package."

I've purchased most of my cars from shady used lots like that, and have a weird love/hate relationship with them. Weeding through the half-assed dealership BS makes it a bit of a game. My version of thrift-store diving. I'd bet $20 the dealership has no idea it isn't a 4.8is and is just trusting the PO's "upgrades."

As a car salesman from back in the day, I especially hate these guys. Last 4.6is I saw up here @ a dealership had the yellow dot in the odometer window and they swore it meant that the timing guides were good to go.

I'll enjoy making an offer on this rig and hearing their stumbling when I hit them with some zienze.

You would think they would have run the vin. I can't believe that the title they have says anything other than 4.6is.

Thank God for truth in advertising laws. It's a $40,000 fine from the trade commission if they're caught trying to deceive a customer.

Perhaps I'll make an offer and start the paperwork then take a "lunch break to think it over" (calling legal help) and then return to literally take the car off the lot for next to nothing.

Lolz

^Sound like a plan :rofl:

Yep need to reclassify as a 4.6is

Who knows, a $3.5k 4.6is wouldn't be the worst thing I can think of. If I can either get them to buy it back to avoid a suit with some cash on top, win. If I can buy it for less than $4.5k (less than I paid for the 4.6 engine I swapped into my e39 wagon last year, win. If the truck can be refreshed and sold for high retail with the correct badges, win.

I've got calls into auto contract council already. I'll know if there's a way to go tomorrow. It would be nice to teach these guys a lesson.

Sexy conv Z car! I had a silver '91 TT, t-top with a slush box when I was in my mid 20's. Loved that car. It felt like it was wired to my brain. Never broke down, always fun to drive and never let me down. Don't you ever sell it!

Thanks. You can bet that I'll never sell it. 1 of 44 Straman veTT ever-made is extremely hard to find. :beerchug: When it was for sale, I had to have it. Bought it and sell my old 91 TT.

Well, theyre still saying it's a 4.8is and I'll plan to go take a look in a day or two, depending on my conversation with a lawyer.

Should be entertaining if nothing else

Gorgeous

So what they are saying is that someone took a 4.6is and converted it to a 4.8is instead. Previous owner must of had a mod day to make this happen. I guess its possible. I don't see a dealership or re-seller doing this level of work but who knows it may have been just the way the re-seller received it. Which in that case it is a modified 4.6is.

Even with a shady used car lot I find it highly unlikely they intentionally faked a 4.8is off a 4.6is - the effort to upside is non-existent. Prices are too close, and this one isn't even priced that high. IMO this was definitely a PO mod.

Agreed!! I don't think the dealer is intentionally mis-representing the product. its just the way they received it.

I don't agree, rather I should say I could agree.
When I began my "salesman phase", I started at a nasty used car lot. The owner smoked a pack of cigarettes before lunch and drank as much coffee as humanly possible no matter how hot it was outside. He'd tell us to lie, flat out. We had a few decent cars on this postage stamp sized lot but the vast majority was utter garbage buffed up really nice but garbage. It wasn't till I was actually put on the lot and allowed to sell my 1st one, did I know I couldn't play that way.

Finally at new car lots I was granted some relief from the pressure and BS a car salsman is asked to offer to sell a car and I enjoyed it for a few years.

So with my soul intact and having an open mind, I could agree with you if these guys were a big lot type of guys. They are not. Picture an elevated single-wide style office adorned with flags, streamers, balloons and surrounded by 50 cars.

As a former car sales guy, we didn't take the customer's word on stuff that you legally need to copy from the title, vin decoder and registration. All these had to be copied and transfered from one form to the next, just to sell it. I chuckle reading that because I own my current vehicle, fully believing the story the people gave me who sold it to me. I can however confirm that by the time I was doing the paperwork necessary to retain ownership and license it, I knew exactly what I had purchased just from doing the paperwork.

In my optimistic opinion, they can't be mistaken this badly. I think they got taken and are trying to sell it to the next person hoping they don't figure it out.


It has a badge probably from the PO but they either aren't following proceedure, deliberately trying to fool people or their sales guys don't talk with their print and advertising people although I suspect they're one and the same person.

The one thing that is really interesting and probably lends more light to the situation is that none of the pictures on the craigs list ad or their inventory website shows the engine.Normally with this many pictures and the rarity of this product an engine picture or two would be expected. If the engine picture was there then you would know for sure has the 4.6is been swapped out in favor for the 4.8is or is it just a badge job. So perhaps some shady activity is going on there:thumbdown

It's not at all a small swap, the 4.8 for the 4.6. There's reasons nobody has done it (I'm aware of). You would basically need to swap practically everything. It would cost you less to buy a fully running/driving 4.6is and 4.8is. They are not Interchangeable engines in their respective platforms.
I think its all badging and wheels myself.

Yeah, no chance there's a mechanical swap here. Any update on talking to the dealer? The malice vs. incompetence question is intriguing.

My legal guidance told me that if it were a newer car on a big lot I'd have a way to go but at a soapbox dealership, "buyer beware" is in effect.

I called them and set them straight, I hope. I'll be watching their ad for changes.

I'd lean on badge and wheel swap. So many wannabes out there, stuffing an N62 into an M62 wired chassis would be one feat..