2001 diesel with massaging seats and lane departure?

You may want to decode the vin and find out what is really there.

2011 Ard :)

Is this something new BMW cooked up? I've never had any issues with pre-owned CPOs I got from personal sales... and I had a few.

Slow down there ARD. :)

Anyways. I pulled the trigger and came to an agreed price with the owner. Car will be transported and should have in about 2 weeks.

only downside is a diesel.. can they check for carbon

Congrats, good choice http://www.xoutpost.com/images/smilies/thumbup.gif

Some of us consider it an upside ;)
How do they check the [turbo] gas engines for carbon or N62 for big carbon clogged SAS channels in the head :dunno:

Some of us consider it an upside ;) [/QUOTE]

If such an upside, be nice if held there trade value.
Sent an online quote estimate. My 13, 11,000 mile diesel
offer was under half what paid. Appraiser for dealer sent
a note saying the diesel was not as desirable. as 3.5i or V8.

They have all the repair records, which probably figured into the estimate.

A dealer told you that the 3.5i or V8 was more desirable than the diesel? Is this the same dealer that gave you an appraisal of less than half what you paid?

This was an online appraisal so this dealer didn't even look at the vehicle and it is a dealer's job it is to sell vehicles for profit. A dealer may low ball you to give them more negotiating room and it is very unlikely that this online appraisal is what they would actually pay in the end. I'm not surprised that a dealer told you that your vehicle was not as desirable as other models and then gave you an appraisal half what you paid.

The only way to know for sure is to compare the actual SELLING price for these different vehicles. They could say a lot about desirability. It is the very rare car that ends being an investment and by 'investment' I don't mean increasing in value, per se. It would be nice if they held their value more but I'm not surprised, I guess, and yours is only one dealer's appraisal.

If such an upside, be nice if held there trade value.
Sent an online quote estimate. My 13, 11,000 mile diesel
offer was under half what paid. Appraiser for dealer sent
a note saying the diesel was not as desirable. as 3.5i or V8.

They have all the repair records, which probably figured into the estimate.[/QUOTE]

Actually they do hold their value, more so than the V8 or 35i. I've spent months looking for the right diesel and can tell you I could have easily picked up a M Sport 35i or 50i within my budget or below. Not to mention this is real world research not some online KBB or similar service telling you values. A couple years ago when diesel was more expensive than premium it really wasn't beneficial but today those numbers are drastically different and diesels are in fact becoming more desirable.

My wife and I just did a road trip to Zion and Bryce. We took our 08 civic 2dr and got a solid 34 mpg. Very respectable. Being in the mutual fund business I wanted to do some number analysis and compare total fuel costs of the civic vs a diesel X5 and guess what, costs were nearly exactly the same. Don't know about you but if I can drive a large and comfortable 5200lb X5 for the same cost of a civic, I'm going to choose the X5.

I think the problem here is you have bad information and have since developed an opinion based on that information. I think if you did the extensive amount of research I have done or just watched the market for a month, you'd have a different opinion.

Actually they do hold their value, more so than the V8 or 35i. I've spent months looking for the right diesel and can tell you I could have easily picked up a M Sport 35i or 50i within my budget or below. Not to mention this is real world research not some online KBB or similar service telling you values. A couple years ago when diesel was more expensive than premium it really wasn't beneficial but today those numbers are drastically different and diesels are in fact becoming more desirable.

My wife and I just did a road trip to Zion and Bryce. We took our 08 civic 2dr and got a solid 34 mpg. Very respectable. Being in the mutual fund business I wanted to do some number analysis and compare total fuel costs of the civic vs a diesel X5 and guess what, costs were nearly exactly the same. Don't know about you but if I can drive a large and comfortable 5200lb X5 for the same cost of a civic, I'm going to choose the X5.

I think the problem here is you have bad information and have since developed an opinion based on that information. I think if you did the extensive amount of research I have done or just watched the market for a month, you'd have a different opinion.[/QUOTE]

The main thing -- Where a person is located. Gas is cheaper here
always has been compared to diesel. Diesel in the passenger field
is F250, duramax and cummins. Farm/ranch trucks. You see few diesel
cars. They don't make sense for the extra cost. On the road the best
my X will do is 21-22 mpg. The dealer ran an diagnostic and no codes
or problems are coming back even after performed repairs on the
diesel emission. Nothing more can do till code shows up. Just like gas
motors some do better than others.

So they will low ball yes, but when no market for
the vehicle why would they take a risk. They have the means to
trade within there network and could maybe transport the SUV to a
more desirable location. When brought the vehicle, salesman said
they had to take on a dealer swap. Lookers but no takers. I did
because they had a large diesel credit applied. Now its not such a
good deal. This dealer will send out emails every so often if interested
in trading. It may be KBB or Black Book ?? but the reply comes back
from the dealership. LOL my X has been in enough they know what
it looks like.

So where your located, diesel makes sense, here its as if
running on coal. The repair hassle is a killer.