[jefe2000]

I'm seriously considering an LBB '18 OG M2 LCI with 6-speed manual and sunroof that's for sale at CarMax. It has about 29K miles on the odometer and looks to be nearly flawless (from the photos). I haven't seen the car yet in person; I'm awaiting the car to be transferred to Northern CA so I can see it and test drive.

From what I can tell, it was a one-owner car before being purchased by CarMax. I'm not sure how specific to be, so I'll just say that it looks like it lived its life and was serviced at a BMW dealership along the 210 corridor in the greater northeast-of-LA area.

I'd love to [virtually] meet the original owner and learn more about this car. I'm hoping the owner might be active here in these forums. If this sounds like it was your car (or you know who owned it), please feel free to reach out and PM me or maybe respond here in this thread. I'd love to hear from you and more about the ownership experience with this vehicle. Thanks in advance!

[west1]

The car fax will tell you where the car is from and it’s service history. I’d recco getting a private shop PPI before you buy the car. This way you’ll get another baseline of what’s up with the car. Welcome to the club if you do complete the buy. They’re great cars and a blast to drive.

[jefe2000]

That's great advice. Thanks west1!

I obtained an AutoCheck report (Experian's competitor to CarFax, near as I can tell) on the M2 which lists the car's history. And I stopped by my local BMW dealer and ask one of their SA's to look up the VIN. Their service history matches exactly with the AutoCheck report. Looks like the car was serviced at BMW Monrovia throughout its life in Southern CA.

I don't know how CarMax works with regard to PPIs. I'll have to ask them about it. It may be that they want the purchase to go through, have a post-purchase inspection performed, and then rely on their 30-day full-refund return policy if the inspection turns up something unexpected. We'll see…

[west1]

Originally Posted by jefe2000

That's great advice. Thanks west1!

I obtained an AutoCheck report (Experian's competitor to CarFax, near as I can tell) on the M2 which lists the car's history. And I stopped by my local BMW dealer and ask one of their SA's to look up the VIN. Their service history matches exactly with the AutoCheck report. Looks like the car was serviced at BMW Monrovia throughout its life in Southern CA.

I don't know how CarMax works with regard to PPIs. I'll have to ask them about it. It may be that they want the purchase to go through, have a post-purchase inspection performed, and then rely on their 30-day full-refund return policy if the inspection turns up something unexpected. We'll see…

I recco buying the CarFax as well. cheap insurance to confirm the data sets match or that you're getting new data. As for PPI, TELL CM that you want an independent shop PPI and that YOU'RE paying for it (which you should, and again, cheap insurance on your part because you don't want ot buy a POS car). There should be no reason why they wouldn't have the car sent to your shop of choice (it should be reasonably close/near to the CM you're buying from).

I've bought used BMWs since 2005 (10 of them, we're 5 drivers) and have followed my own advice and have never been burned. The one time I bought a 325i, without PPI, i flipped it in 10 days as it was way below my standard. I broke even on that deal but the headache wasn't worth my time. A PPI would have saved me the time and headache.

Your goal/objective is to get all the data to line up and to your desired/expected spec and condition. You're spending likely $54k for this car plus tax so I'd want to ensure it's a clean car that'll run the way it should and will pass SMOG down the road (some people remove the Cat which'll get you farked in CA when you go to SMOG it down the road). And any mods can be good or bad, depending on if you want/like/need them.

[jefe2000]

More great advice, thanks! I'll go ahead and pick up a CarFax report as well.

In the meantime, if the original owner is active on these forums, I'd sure love to learn some of the story of this car! Thanks, all!

[jefe2000]

Hi all. I ended up going through with the purchase. I'm very excited! I posted a short intro thread for anyone who's interested.

Thanks again for the great advice in this thread!