[katatonia]

I'm buying a 2011 335xi 3500kms away and will be driving it back. I had the seller take the car to a small bmw indie shop as that was the best option near him. The mechanic told me the car needs 4 new tires, a wheel bearing and a 4 wheel alignment, and an oil change. I asked him if he thought the car would be safe to at least drive home and he said absolutely no way on those front tires. He said the alignment is pretty bad and is chewing the tires, but the wheel bearing will be fine until I get it home. I called the seller and gave him the news and he got offended and said that's bs and they will be fine and sent me pics of tread on each. They look worn but I don't see how they couldn't take 3500 more kms? Is the shop just scaring me into buying tires from him? I would rather just buy those locally.

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Also, the seller said that the service light is only on because it's on a timer? He said he had the oil changed 5000kms ago and the car has been parked for the last 8 months or so. Thoughts on this? I'll be changing the oil when I get home, just wondering if I'll be able to do 3500 highway kms on this oil if it is indeed past due.

[fravel]

FWIW, the pic you posted is of the rear tire. The tread looks ok, but tread depth isn't the only indicator of tire condition, there could be dry rot in the sidewalls. Tires also only have a shelf life of 6 years or so, so if they were in storage for a few years before they went on the car they could be past their end of life.

Seller is correct that oil service light could be on a timer, but it does also monitor oil condition and make suggestions based on that, I don't know if there's a way to tell which system tripped the light.

[ArcticRik]

I would either get new tires put on before the trip, or have the seller do it

[Hacksaw]

If its a negotiation, then talk the owner into getting a wheel alignment and putting on tires, or take the cost of tires and alignment off the price and deal with it when you get home.

However, given the amount of miles you would be driving that thing, I would be more concerned with the wheel bearing.

That many miles is very iffy should the cause of the wear really being the wheel bearing. You cannot really put a range or limit on them when they go bad. Short drives I have seen them last people an absolutely amazing amount of time. One guy ended up driving his vehicle for a number of years without replacing it, only to sell the car and pass the problem on to the new owner.

But on a long duration drive like that, it would be prone to generating more heat than say a 20 mile daily trip would create.

If it were me, and the seller would not be doing any of the repairs (Good idea because a lot of the time disgruntled owners tend to not make good decisions in your stead) I would have him discount the total cost to cover at least a good portion of the tires and alignment, unless of course the price already accounts for the additional work)

I would then pre-arrange to have tires waiting at a shop in the area and have them do the mount and balance and alignment. It would not hurt to go with a wheel bearing on hand (Assuming here it's one of the fronts based on the tire wear) and have that swapped out as well. And I would bring my tools and have some other items on hand as well pick up some distilled water just in case.

[wren57]

Why not have it shipped to you? May be cost effective when you consider time + gas + mileage depreciation etc.

[robthewrench]

If the seller was un-willing to meet any of your requests, it might be in your best interest to find a different car. Selling / buying is a negotiation process. I would assume he would agree to the oil change and any other work to put out the service reminder. These are low cost and he shouldn't expect to sell a car with a service reminder light on.

The tires cost more, but should be easy to resolve. Have the seller measure the tread depth with a tire tread measurement tool. 2/32" is the minimum allowed depth. At that point the tires must be replaced. The tread depth new is typically around 11/32". So 9/32" of wear occurs during the life of the tire. If you know what type of tires and the expected longevity (20k-25k miles for summer run-flats for example), you can estimate if how much more wear is available.

Here's another option for the tires. Just tell him you want new tires, but are willing to cover half the cost. Let the seller find a decent deal on tires to minimize his half of the cost, but they must match the current type (summer, all season, etc...)

If the seller is not willing to budge, walk away.

[engineer73]

That picture of the front right is really bad. There is one outer band about 1" in from the sidewall that looks like its almost down to the thread carcass. Also if you look at how he took the picture of the front left tire, he left out the entire outer tread area like he is hiding something. If this guy doesn't see that his tires are bad who knows what else he has neglected on his car. find something else or get him to come to an agreement.

[Kolyan2k]

Indy shops do tend to lie in order to get that extra buck from you, but at the same time since he is doing ppi he is responsible for you to get home safely and whatever doesn't meet the requirements is not safe even if it's ok to drive another 3500-5000 km or even miles.....

Why not buy the car and at the same time make an appointment with local tire shop to price match tirerack and get it done quickly if they are bad, or maybe your ppi mechanic willing to price match as well..... obviously get the alignment done at the same time. Change oil at home to be safe.

[neverdone]

My question is, why are you buying that car from that far away? There has to be a ton closer to you....