Pre-Purchase Inspections: What has been your experience?

[hexagone]

Trying to get a sense of experiences that buyers/sellers had with PPIs on their M3s.

I realize this experience is all over the board, especially with not-common vehicles like well sorted, low mileage M3s, and ones where specialists are few and far in between:

• How much did you pay for a PPI?
• Was the PPI you got thorough enough?
• What was the PPI missing?
• How did you find the dealer/shop/person that did the PPI?
• Did it include photos?
• Did you get undercarriage photos? Are these important to you?
• Was a compression test included/important to you?
• Did the PPI include a paint reading / do you care about one?
• Did you trust the PPI?/ did you buy the car because of the PPI?
• Have you ever gotten a PPI ahead of selling a car?
• What do you think is missing in the process of getting a PPI (as a buyer or seller)?
• How would the experience of buying a car far away be improved to you?
• How much was cost a factor in the PPI (buying or selling)

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[deansbimmer]

A PPI is more to identify whether the seller is representing the vehicle's condition honestly. A quick once over. Not an in depth dissection of the entire vehicle like you would for a rare collectible Ferrari etc.

Compression tests are unusual for these cars due to the not-so-easy access.

Most of the bodywork where identifying abnormal paint thickness would matter is plastic (fenders/bumpers). Those measurements are difficult to obtain unless the shop has (and knows how to use) an ultrasonic film gauge which is highly unlikely. Most shops don't have any kind of paint thickness gauge.

You can request a shop go through everything you'd want, but to do a basic inspection with photos and documentation, paint measurements, and compression tests would take hours... It won't be cheap. Expect $500-1000 around here. Or a one hour basic once-over to spot glaring issues would run around $100 (shop labor rates)

At our shop we have the tools and expertise with these cars so do it all for around $200, so it'll just depend on where the car is and who is available to look at it.

[PACarGuy]

I've paid between $50-200 for PPI's I've done in the past. As deansbimmer said, it's mainly to go over the condition of the car to verify condition and spot any egregious needs, and I've definitely relied on it to help inform the purchase price.

I did a PPI on my M3 at a nearby BMW indy shop, which took a little less than 2 hours, and it cost me ~$200. Once I found the car I was interested in, I used bimmershops.com to find a shop nearby to do a PPI, called the dealer to ask them to let me take it for PPI and brought it there myself. The tech drove it, went over the body, the engine bay, the fluids and filters, put the car on a lift to check undercarriage, suspension, wheels/tires, look for leaks, etc. and then checked for codes. He didn't use a paint meter, but went over all the panels, inside door jambs, bumpers, hood, etc. Finished up with a printed report and recommendation for necessary work. In my case it identified need for wheels to be straightened, new front tires, new front lower control arms and sway bar links. Everything else looked good. I used the PPI printout to negotiate the price down at the dealer.

For the car I bought for my daughter 2 years ago I did a PPI at a nearby garage for all of $50, which was a good deal. They spent about an hour with me and the car, doing mostly what I described above. I didn't get (or need) a written report because everything checked out on the car, but the inspection made me feel confident in the overall condition.

There are also remote PPI services (AiM Certify, Lemon Squad, etc.) you can use where a tech will travel to the location of the dealer or seller and do the inspection on site. Obviously this limits the ability to see the full undercarriage, but it's still a decent alternative if you can't find a nearby BMW shop that will do it. But when the car is not near you, it's a good way to increase confidence in the deal.

[zipper228]

Paid $120 here in LA at a german indy shop, which included paint test (wasn't a requirement for me, seller had already disclosed paint work from car being keyed). Turned up about $1800 in non-critical but eventual repairs that seller was unaware of, leaking valve cover gaskets being the bulk of it. He offered to either take care of these items first or deduct the estimate from the selling price, so PPI paid for itself 10x over IMO.
Like the above posts, it isn't terribly thorough but if you find a shop that knows these cars and knows what things to look for, it should provide good value and peace of mind

[roastbeef]

i think i paid around $220 for a PPI done by a bmw dealer. this was basically to get the car up on a lift and have it looked at to make sure it wasn't in an accident and there weren't any obvious red flags. i was injured at the time of my purchase and couldn't get under the car and crawl around.
this was a small amount of money for peace of mind to know the car was squared away and still under the bmw factory warranty. the only thing they "found" was that the rear tires were showing some [normal] wear and would need to be replaced soon. this was when the car was about three years old.

now that all of these cars are about 5 years old, you need to start putting more value into maintenance history. even the newer e9x m3's are going to start to show some of the typical major maintenances come up- battery, spark plugs (37k intervals), brakes, and possibly suspension components on a higher mileage car.

bmw didn't include photos, but i think they showed me a check-off sheet and notes the tech had. i was pleased with it at the time.
if someone tells you the rod bearings were replaced, press for more info on that. oem? aftermarket?

[SoCalRPM]

I've had mixed experiences in the past with PPIs going to general mechanics and such. However, the experience I had buying my e92 was very positive because I had the car looked at by a shop that specializes in German cars and specifically BMWs/Ms. The shop was ABR in Houston, TX.

They were very thorough, including using a paint depth gauge and sending me detailed photos with their report. They also pulled a Blackstone sample and sent it off on rush delivery for me, too. It was the most I've ever paid for a PPI coming in at about $350. But as I was purchasing from out of state and they were recommended and know these cars well, I was okay with paying the premium.

[elvism]

I had the seller take my car to a BMW dealership to have a certified inspection (200 point inspection if I recall) for $200. Of course I paid that. I didn't want to fly to another state to find out later the car was no good.