2004 BMW 330i ZHP AT w/ 91k miles (Allen, TX) - $8,500

[BMWCurves]

Found on Craigslist. Mystic Blue on Gray leather interior. Does not have the Cold Weather Package, cannot determine if it has the Premium package.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/5444915470.html

[BMWCurves]

Relisted, $8,500: http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/5496127309.html

[ELCID86]

Nice looking.


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"ZHP is a garbage option anyway- just some cosmetic upgrades with a different cam and diff to claw back some of the performance lost fitting those hideous and heavy wheels. Any 330 with a 3.46 diff will smoke a ZHP every time. The whole Mafia thing reeks of childish behavior." - anonymous

[SCA]

I had a PPI performed on this vehicle yesterday (03.23.16) at Ultimate Bimmer Service in Carrollton, Texas. A very through PPI as a matter of fact... Hats off to the owners Ryan and Brent whom are both former BMW Center technicians. Outstanding PPI as well as customer service. I highly recommend them if you are in need of a PPI in the Dallas/Plano area. http://www.ultimatebimmerservice.com

I am not purchasing the vehicle and because of this I cannot honestly recommend with a clear conscience that anyone else within the ZHP Mafia family purchase this vehicle unless they are willing and knowingly prepared to make the necessary 'needed' repairs themselves otherwise you are looking at spending thousands of dollars per the PPI. It is bound to cost significantly more if you cannot DYI.

If anyone becomes even remotely interested in this vehicle please reach out to me via PM and we can discuss the specifics.

* Note I also ran a CarFax on the vehicle. 4 Texas owners with a clear Texas title. Seller purchased the vehicle at auction and had the front and rear bumper covers repainted along with the slick top roof.

[BMWCurves]

Thanks for following up. Sorry to hear the car won't work out, but there will be others.

[fredo]

That car looks good in pics. Glad to hear you decided to pay for a PPI.

[SCA]

That car looks good in pics. Glad to hear you decided to pay for a PPI.

It is supposedly a 15-20 footer. It appears that the vehicle has sat out in the Texas sun for the majority of it's life. Not to many items favorable mechanically as well. Money well spent in my opinion.

[fredo]

This car has been FS for a couple of months. Check post #16 here, it looked promising:

Link (http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?17450-FS-2004-ZHP-sedan-Mystic-gray-91k-miles-AT-9-000-Dallas-TX&p=472304&highlight=2004+mystic#post472304)

[russiamutha]

Hey guys, this car belongs to me. I will reply back with more information for anyone actually interested and I welcome Sean to post his findings about my car.

[russiamutha]

If anyone becomes even remotely interested in this vehicle please reach out to me via PM and we can discuss the specifics.

* Note I also ran a CarFax on the vehicle. 4 Texas owners with a clear Texas title. Seller purchased the vehicle at auction and had the front and rear bumper covers repainted along with the slick top roof.

Please post your findings into this thread, I have nothing to hide for potential buyers.

Disclaimer: I am a licensed Texas dealer

Yes, I did purchase this vehicle the auction as I've mentioned over the phone. I have purchased and sold at least 8 ZHPs, 5 of them are owned by members on this board and ZHP page on FB. Everyone of them are happy with their purchase. If you want me to publicly disclose last 7 digits of every ZHP I've sold, I will do so. With that said, this ZHP came from Moritz BMW, in fact, all of my ZHPs came either from Moritz or BMW of Dallas. The reason why they don't sell them on their lots is because they don't want to waste their time on buyers with $8k budget looking for 13 year old BMW in CPO condition. Same reason why most BMW dealers stopped performing PPIs...

I did disclose that I had bumpers and roof resprayed along with hood. No, I did not have "frame restoration" type respray, obviously it wouldn't make sense to spend 4-5k on Ferrari quality paint if your budget is only $8k for this car. Yes, in Texas it is very common to have faded panels - for your reference I will post pictures of my Imola car.

[russiamutha]

That's interesting, because Brent had pointed out that front passenger side fender was painted when in fact it never was. He mentioned that paint on rear quarter looks rough and was only able to point a small "paint" run. That small "paint" run is actually clear coat, since none of the quarter panels had been repainted. I did not want to argue with Brent as he stated, and I quote "I am not a paint expert".

So, a non-paint expert makes a bold claim that this car is 20 footer? Brilliant. Somehow parts and service guys at Classic BMW didn't think it was a 20 footer when it went in AFTER this PPI because whatever they did caused DSC and Brake lights to illuminate (more on this later).

Here's my offer:

Anyone interested in this car: get an inspection done by a professional body shop and if this car is indeed a "20 footer" or had its front fenders repainted - I will refund Sean's PPI costs.

[russiamutha]

I am not purchasing the vehicle and because of this I cannot honestly recommend with a clear conscience that anyone else within the ZHP Mafia family purchase this vehicle unless they are willing and knowingly prepared to make the necessary 'needed' repairs themselves otherwise you are looking at spending thousands of dollars per the PPI. It is bound to cost significantly more if you cannot DYI.


Please feel free to post results, I'm sure a potential buyer would appreciate:

First of all, I have a question: What do you expect out of 12 year old BMW? I mean, do you seriously think you will buy ANY 12 year old vehicle that wouldn't need at least a few thousand of dollar in maintenance/repairs? I mean, I am not sure I understand your logic of shopping for a 10+ year old vehicle with $8k budget thinking it wouldn't have any issues. It is a used vehicle, it will have problems. My 2013 M3 with 14k on odometer had issues, too. I guess if we utilize your logic of "spending thousands of dollars" then none of us should be buying pre-owned cars.

I can't imagine taking a typical 335i for PPI to Ultimate Bimmer Service, pretty sure they would declare it a total loss.
Average price of 100k mile 335i is about $12k, so:
- $1500 fuel pump
- $1000 for water pump
- $2000 for injectors
- $3500 for turbos
- $2000 for misc issues

I don't want to sound like a financial advisor but if you only have $8k as your budget, a 10+ year old BMW probably should not be on top of your list. And based on your other posts, I really don't think you should be shopping on the forums or CL, I think your destination should be http://www.enthusiastauto.com - I can't imagine they can't find a right car for you with zero issues.

--------------------

Moving along..

DISCLAIMER: I've recommended Eurosport Automotive for PPI, they had been in business MUCH longer than UBS, rated much higher than UBS and have performed PPIs on EVERY single vehicle I've sold to an out-of-state buyer.

Not sure what issues UBS had found with this car that would cost you thousands of dollars in DYI, but here's my take away on this whole experience:

- 1st issue that Brent noted was non-working rain sensor, and I quote "due to after market windshield". OK, so according to Brent none of our ZHPs on this board will have functional rain sensors if we did not install OEM windshield? Interesting and very bold claim. So I checked my Imola car and my brothers 330Xi and all three cars have after market windshield. Somehow rain sensors work, not sure how that is possible. Actually, rain sensor works on this Mystic blue ZHP works as well. He would know that if he knew how to properly test it. Hint: auto headlights and speed sensitivity works, all it needed was a calibration.

Rain sensor re-calibrated, problem solved. Total time: 10min. Calibration can be performed within ISTA, if they don't know how to do it, I'll happily provide my non-BMW-Certified support.

- 2nd issue (prior to PPI, they were made aware of recent valve cover gasket and oil pan gasket replacement)
Brent stated that valve cover gasket is cracked, leaking oil and has vacuum codes stored due to cheap parts.

- Apparently none of us should be buying OEM gaskets, according to UBS quality control team - OEM valve cover gaskets are cheap. Gasket is actually not leaking and it was a residue from previous gasket as confirmed later. Scanned proof of purchase of said gasket from Classic BMW is coming soon.

- Yes, DME does have stored codes for vacuum. However, my 2nd grade math tells me that they were store over 150 miles ago. I'll use my non-BMW-Certified experience here to tell you that no E46 will go for 150 miles without triggering SES light if it indeed has a vacuum issue. I have since put 300 miles on this car and codes are still stored at same mile marker. Brilliant diagnostic, A+.
Good news is, all of this work was just recently performed and is still under warranty - should shave off at least $1k off your "thousands of dollars" claim.
- 3rd issue - oil pan gasket. I've mentioned to Brent that engine was likely NOT washed after replacing the gasket. He noted that it was leaking but "appears sealed". So is it leaking or is it sealed? Or maybe just dirty to the point you can't tell?
I've recently sold a 335D on eBay that came in with massive oil leak, we've taken straight to Classic BMW who spent 3 hours washing the whole engine bay before finding the culprit: oil filter housing O-ring was not replaced during previous oil change. So, oil change + $5 oil ring solved the issue. In other words, if you don't know where the leak is coming from, its best to clean the area before you "assume".
Again, this is covered under warranty and it is not leaking as confirmed after rinsing the engine.
- 4th issue - control arm bushings are bad due to "cheap" parts.
Again, I guess we should issue internet-wide stop sale on Myle HD bushings. They had less than 25 miles on them prior to PPI, so I highly doubt they're bad.
- 5th issue - radio knob not working - yep, welcome to 12 year old E46 radio. We have 4 E46 in our family and none of the knobs work(they work for volume, but not to mute). Shocker.

On the way home about 3 miles away from UBS, my DSC and Brake lights came on. Coincidence? I called UBS and asked if they had examined the brake system since I am now have non-functional DSC. I was told that wheels were taken off for examination, not sure what type of examination required taking wheels off but they definitely left brake fluid reservoir practically open.

Honestly, I give two thumbs up to UBS - $300 service to take on zero liability.

So, please Sean, go ahead and post whatever information you have and I will disclose more information that I bet they didn't even find.

Over the years I've sold numerous BMWs on the forums (please search my name on other boards), personal and under dealer. I've sold to long time members and even vendors, hell - Vorshlag bought two cars from me HERE (http://www.vorshlag.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6553) and HERE (http://www.vorshlag.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8400). I have been fairly active within BMW community for over 10 years and have a reasonable/trusted reputation. I don't sell $**t.

Here's a tip for those who are shopping: if you want to get a condition report for the BMW you're interested in, schedule an oil change with the closest BMW dealer and request a complementary Vehicle Condition Report. It is a BMW standard form which includes about 75% of information found on BMW CPO check-list. This list will show REAL issues with the vehicle, most dealers will even plug-in ISTA if you ask nicely.

[danewilson77]

Let's keep this thread respectful.

Sent from an S6 Edge

[SCA]

FYI, my budget is not $8k. In fact, I never stated such. Furthermore, I have ZERO deserve to hash it out with you (Eduard), the seller via this forum. It is not the place... I have clearly moved on. You should as well.


*NOTE: For any ZHP Mafia member that is seriously considering purchasing this vehicle I will gladly forward the PPI I had performed. Three pages...

[russiamutha]

FYI, my budget is not $8k. In fact, I never stated such. Furthermore, I have ZERO deserve to hash it out with you (Eduard), the seller via this forum. It is not the place... I have clearly moved on. You should as well.


*NOTE: For any ZHP Mafia member that is seriously considering purchasing this vehicle I will gladly forward the PPI I had performed. Three pages...

You've stated it in your WTB thread, and if that's the case EAG should be on your speed dial.

Yes, please move on.

For those who are interested: if you purchase this vehicle and it indeed has three pages worth of issues - I'll refund every single penny and you can keep the car.

[SCA]

You've stated it in your WTB thread, and if that's the case EAG should be on your speed dial.

Yes, please move.

SMH... $10k must be the new $8k?

I had moved on. The PPI was performed two weeks ago. lol

[russiamutha]

SMH... $10k must be the new $8k?

I had moved on. The PPI was performed two weeks ago. lol

Difference between $8k and $10k is replacement of oil pan gasket and front control arm bushings.