Anyone have experience with Autonation Inspection Process?

[AggieZig]

Hello All -

New member here in search of his first E90 M3. I've been stalking this forum for a while and searching across the country for the "right" car for a few weeks now.

I wanted to ask and see if anyone has experience with Autonation and their 125 inspection process? If so, how does it compare with a traditional PPI?

The BMW dealer that has one of the cars I am looking at is an Autonation dealer and have put the car through their inspection. Supposedly it passed with flying colors.

It's a one-owner 2010 with around 61k miles that was a trade-in for a new car. Its Jerez Black on Fox Red (not extended) and a real looker. There are only two downsides with the car for me:

1) It's located in another state, so arranging a traditional PPI, etc. is not the easiest thing to accomplish. I would probably have to fly up to take the car to an Indy and then it could possibly be a wasted trip if something serious was found and the dealer did not want to fix or adjust price.

2) There is a paint crack on the hood that the dealer has offered to fix. Apparently they would remove and respray the entire hood with OEM paint.

Well, maybe #3 - I wish it was a 2011. But, I can get over this.

Anyways, I would appreciate any feedback on the Autonation process if anyone has gone through the experience before.

Thanks in advance!

[GRUESOM3]

What's the price and what transmission is on the car? Paint crack as you describe might be a car that had been painted before, usually you won't see paint cracking on a car this old.

[Munichm3]

Originally Posted by GRUESOM3

What's the price and what transmission is on the car? Paint crack is you describe might be a car that had been painted before, usually you won't see paint cracking on a car this old.

Wise words. My e46 m3 was a 2002 and the paint was pristine when I sold it. My e92 has no signs have clear fading or cracking.

[BOOF-M3]

Their inspection is a joke. I almost bought a 2010 X5M from them. There were so many issues including, dying battery, washer fluid line spraying directly into the engine bay, a/c not cooling off the car, tail light blown, car pulled hard to the right on a stop due to a worn pad I'm sure. There were more items but can't recall them all. And then they are no haggle. If I were you I would not buy that car without an inspection. The only good thing is that you have five days to bring the car back for your money for any reason.

[AggieZig]

It's a 6MT and the price is $31,500. That price was before he mentioned the crack so I did try to pressure for a decrease in light of the re-paint.

In looking at the pictures (can post soon) the crack looks like someone closed the hood on a tool, and a small dent and paint crack were the result.

It sounds like the Autonation inspection isn't really worth anything and that I would have to insist on a PPI.

If not this car, I have a second in mind that is on the local CL. It's a 2011 6MT slicktop with 42,000 miles (but four owners). It has a recent, clean blackstone report and the owner is open to a PPI. The only reason I'm not chasing this car is that it's SSII / Black interior. I love the silverstone but I'm just "meh" on the black - seems boring.

[Ngilbe36]

I bought my car from AutoNation in Houston. On February 11th, 2017 Here is my experience. To answer the OPs question, just read #1.
I flew from Detroit down to Houston to pick up this car. I had been working with a sales rep for a few weeks to make sure everything was all set when I arrived. I had specifically asked about any imperfection with the car, not because I would be deterred, but because I felt it was a reasonable request considering I would be buying it by all intentions unless it had extreme problems. I was told there were no imperfections in or out (Problem 1). We also had discussed in MUCH detail the finacial work surrounding this and had an agreement which in which certain rates had been all but guaranteed, I understand this is up to the bank and not the dealer (Problem 2). I was also slightly worried about the out of state registration and titling process but was assured that they do it all the time and it would not be a problem (Problem 3).

#1 I got to Houston and got to see the car in person for the first time. Within a few minutes, I had found multiple undisclosed issues.
- The car had not been washed in what looked like weeks
- The front bumper had been repainted and it was close...but not a match.
- The felt front undertray was completely missing.
- There were minor scratches and one ding
- The AutoNation preformed service records showed it had been "filled" with 8 quarts of 5w-30 (As you may know, that's not enough...the oil light came on 40 miles outside of Houston)

Obviously all of these things can be fixed without too much trouble, but it was all time and money that I did not account for because I was informed otherwise. So basically to answer your question, I believe there inspection process is garbage.

#2 My APR was 4x higher than what we had discussed as late as Friday afternoon (I flew down Saturday). After arriving, I was told that they had my financial information available Wednesday and "should have" sent it to me before I got there. When I got back to Michigan I refinanced the M3 and got a rate 1/5th the percentage AutoNation had set up.

#3 This was the big one.
After a days of calling and being sent from the receptionist to a phone where I would leave a voicemail and never get a return call, I finally got someone to assist. My name is Nick, I have replaced the AutoNation employees name with "Fred". Note, "Fred" was not my salesperson. My salesperson "no longer worked there" when I started my inquiry. Fred was as helpful as he could be given the circumstances.
Here is the email chain.
______________________________________

Apr 25, 2017 at 9:23 AM, Nick wrote:
I purchased a 2011 BMW on 2/11/17. I was told I would receive the plate and title from 4-8 weeks. I still have not received anything and have not heard anything as to the progress of this. Please provide me with some answers/details as to:
Why this is taking so long?
What can I do to speed this along?
When should I be expecting to receive my plate?
This is getting ridiculous that no one can give me any information on this.
________________________________________

Apr 25, 2017, at 1:32 PM, Nick wrote:

I just called Michigan Secretary of State and they said they HAVE NOT received any documents pertaining to my VIN. Call me at (###)###-####immediately.

Thank you.
_________________________________________

Nick

I personally completed the reassignment of your title and all required documentation and sent it to our 3rd Party Titling Service.

I am not currently in the office, but will be glad to follow up with them as soon as I'm back tomorrow morning.

Your title documentation was sent to our titling service at the beginning of March. We had to wait on a duplicate title to be sent to us from the State of Texas, which caused a small delay on our side.

I will follow up with our titling service to get you a status. In the meantime, we will be happy to overnight an updated temporary tag to you if needed.

Thank you,
_________________________________________

On Apr 25, 2017, at 3:38 PM, Nick wrote:

Thank you Fred,

For the most part, this is all that I have been looking for. Someone to respond and confirm that indeed the process is underway. My current temp tags expire 5/13 if you do not believe that my official plates will arrive before then, then yes, please send me another set of temp tags.

Please keep me updated with any further information.

Thank you
____________________________________________

On Tue, Apr 25, 2017 at 4:44 PM, Fred wrote:
You are very welcome. I apologize for the lack of information. I've been offsite in training this week, so I apologize for not being able to respond sooner.

I do believe we will be able to have your plates completed by then, but I'm going to have my receptionist go ahead and overnight you another temp tag just in case, so there's no worry on your part.

I will also let you know tomorrow what I'm able to find out from our titling service about the status.

Again, I apologize for the delay. Have a great day.

Thank you,
Fred

Sent from my iPhone
___________________________________________
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2017 10:41 AM
Fred,
Has there been any update since last week?
What did you learn from your follow-up with the titling service?
Thanks
___________________________________________

Hi Nick,

I apologize, we are currently wrapped up in month end close.

I was able to find out that our titling service sent your paperwork to their representative in Mississippi by mistake (I can’t answer how that happened). They have received your paperwork back and it is being sent to their representative in Michigan, which will take the paperwork to the local tag office. I’ve asked them to give me an update once the paperwork is received and in process by Michigan. We also owed just a bit more money, so I cut that check on Friday and sent it off.

Did you receive your updated temporary tag? I had them extend it out to June just to be safe. I don’t anticipate any further delays with getting your plates to you.

Sorry for the delay, please let me know if you have any other questions.

Fred
_______________________________________

From: Nick
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2017 1:17 PM
To: Fred
Subject: Re: Plates for Vehicle purchased 2/11/17

Ha. That's funny. As long as the paperwork is accounted for. Yes temp tags arrived. Thank you for following up on this.
________________________________________

On Tue, May 9, 2017 at 10:01 AM, Fred wrote:
Good morning Nick,

Michigan has rejected the registration of your vehicle because we do not have the current insurance card. The card we have is for the 2016 Ford F150 that was provided in the deal. Michigan requires a copy of current Michigan insurance showing the BMW VIN number. Is there any way you can scan over a copy of the current insurance card to me? They said everything else looked ok to them to process.

Thank you for your help.
_____________________________________________

From: Nick
Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2017 9:05 AM
To: Fred
Subject: Re: Plates for Vehicle purchased 2/11/17

Insurance Card for the BMW is attached.
________________________________________________

On Tue, May 9, 2017 at 12:37 PM, Fred wrote:
Thank you so much. This is perfect.
________________________________________________

On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 11:02 AM, Nick wrote:
Is there any update on the progress of this issue?
We are now over 13 weeks since the purchase of this vehicle.

__________________________________________

May 17
Hi Nick,

I spoke with our title agency. They walked your paperwork into the Michigan DMV on 5/15 (Monday). They have stated that average turnaround time for Michigan is 10-14 business days, but often shorter than that in their own experience. The will be sending your plates and registration directly to you via overnight UPS once it’s completed.

They did confirm that all paperwork is in place and the fees are correct, so there should be no further hang ups.

Please let me know if you don’t receive the plates within the next week.

Thank you!
_____________________________________________

To Fred May 25
I have received my plate and registration.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

In the end, it took 14 weeks and 5 days to receive my title and registration and then immediately turned them back in to do the refinancing.

On a positive note, mechanically the car has had 0 issues in 9k miles since I picked it up.
And they lived happily ever after...

Sorry about the lengthy explaination, but I wanted you to see the whole picture.

[BOOF-M3]

This was Gold Nick. I found myself reading it like it was a script for a bad soap opera. I was sad to see it end but happy for you that it ended well and that your car is running perfectly. The issue you experienced and myself could have happened with any dealer as it seems 50/50 today whether the experience is going to be a good one or not. OP, all you can do is your homework (PPI, check the dealerships Yelp and google ratings) as you have begun to do and hope for the best. I can tell you one thing that I know for certain, never take someone's word for it when making a purchase of this size. Whether it is a dealer or private seller, some people will do whatever it takes to get a vehicle sold. Good luck.

[AggieZig]

Wow, Nick. Those three issues would drive me nuts.

It really seems like I'm going to have to babysit the dealer if I go that route... My biggest fear would definitely be flying across the country to find the car is not as described and pictured.

I wish there were more 2011+ 6MT Fox Red cars around. It seems like every 6MT Fox Red I come across is an 08, and I really want the LCI taillights.

Thanks for all the feedback

[Ngilbe36]

Originally Posted by AggieZig

Wow, Nick. Those three issues would drive me nuts.

It really seems like I'm going to have to babysit the dealer if I go that route... My biggest fear would definitely be flying across the country to find the car is not as described and pictured.

I wish there were more 2011+ 6MT Fox Red cars around. It seems like every 6MT Fox Red I come across is an 08, and I really want the LCI taillights.

Thanks for all the feedback

Besides all the issues, flying cross country was an AMAZING way to do this. I got to see parts of the country I had yet to see and it was a good way to really get to know the car. A friend and I left the dealer at 2pm Saturday and drove +1,300 miles to arrive back at my house at 11pm Sunday. I also worked Friday and Monday. We had such a blast, 2 weekends after this we flew to Atlanta to do the same with a C6 Z06 for him!

[dparm]

I bought my Corvette out of state (not AutoNation, BTW) and it was fairly painless but I did take a lot of precautions -- namely that I drove 8 hours there and 8 hours back earlier in the week to see the car for myself and make sure everything was as-advertised. Had I not done that, I would've missed two issues. I did point them out and they were fixed by the time I returned to pay for the car on the weekend.

Sorry to hear your experience was subpar.

[AggieZig]

Here are some pics of the hood damage, FWIW:

[GRUESOM3]

There was defenetly a dent there and then pushed back, or filler. Can u take a pic of that location from underneath? That could give you more clues, but it's really not something to make you walk away. These things do happen.

[AggieZig]

Originally Posted by GRUESOM3

There was defenetly a dent there and then pushed back, or filler. Can u take a pic of that location from underneath? That could give you more clues, but it's really not something to make you walk away. These things do happen.

I asked for a bottom-side picture but was told the hood is already off being repaired (funny because at first he acted like he was going to wait until someone committed to do the repair).

He assured me no filler work / original paint... I asked to see pics of the repair job.

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by AggieZig

I asked for a bottom-side picture but was told the hood is already off being repaired (funny because at first he acted like he was going to wait until someone committed to do the repair).

He assured me no filler work / original paint... I asked to see pics of the repair job.

Make sure they do not Carfax the repair. If that shows up a month from now it will cost you down the road when you go to sell it.

[AggieZig]

Good catch, BOOF

[GRUESOM3]

Originally Posted by AggieZig

Good catch, BOOF

Car prep like this isn't going on carfax. It's not insurance related.

[jeremyuhh]

Funny, I’m watching the same car. I also spoke to Luke and had similar plans of flying down and driving it or having it shipped back to LA. He actually FaceTimed me and showed me the car. He also showed me more rock chips on the hood and when I asked to see the valve cover he said he couldn’t show it to me beacause it was covered by a lot of plastic (he was referring to the intake plenum). From then On it confirmed that these salesmen know very little. He also told me there are “dings” and signs of wear because it’s a “used” car. It’s a huge gamble flying out of state to purchase a car, I’m still waiting for that 09+ Alpine white 6MT to pop up locally.

[jeremyuhh]

Originally Posted by AggieZig

Well, maybe #3 - I wish it was a 2011. But, I can get over this.

Are there differences in the 2009/2010 compared to the 2011 ? Or do you want a 2011 only because it is the latest year ?

[AggieZig]

Originally Posted by jeremyuhh

Are there differences in the 2009/2010 compared to the 2011 ? Or do you want a 2011 only because it is the latest year ?

Too funny that you're watching the same car. My salesman (Chris) did not mention the rock chips... He did at least seem to be knowledgeable about the car / M3 in general.

Something about the car / dealer is making me hesitate and that's probably not a good sign. Combine that with the hood dent / crack & travel and I'm not sure it's a strong contender.

I'm hoping for a 2011 for a couple of reasons...
- LED Taillights
- Bluetooth Audio Streaming though iDrive (can be retrofitted on earlier cars but steering wheel buttons wouldn't work with cheaper options)
- Later style rod bearings (does not fix issue but seems to fail earlier on if it does)

[jeremyuhh]

Originally Posted by AggieZig

Too funny that you're watching the same car. My salesman (Chris) did not mention the rock chips... He did at least seem to be knowledgeable about the car / M3 in general.

Something about the car / dealer is making me hesitate and that's probably not a good sign. Combine that with the hood dent / crack & travel and I'm not sure it's a strong contender.

I'm hoping for a 2011 for a couple of reasons...
- LED Taillights
- Bluetooth Audio Streaming though iDrive (can be retrofitted on earlier cars but steering wheel buttons wouldn't work with cheaper options)
- Later style rod bearings (does not fix issue but seems to fail earlier on if it does)

Yea, its decently priced with the mileage it has. I have an uncle out in Chicago, so maybe i could make a trip to visit him and drop by the dealership as bonus.

2009s and up also have the LED tail lights. Correct me if I'm wrong. Or are they LCI without LEDs?

Again, don't 2009s and up all have bluetooth ? is that standard? or an option?

Cant comment on the rod bearings. Dont know if they updated it starting with 2009s but either way I'd have them replaced.

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by GRUESOM3

Car prep like this isn't going on carfax. It's not insurance related.

If something doesn't feel right about the car then walk away. There are a lot of cars for sale. You will buy this one and have a ton of problems with it. A month later the perfect car will come up for sale right in your own city.

[AggieZig]

Originally Posted by jeremyuhh

Yea, its decently priced with the mileage it has. I have an uncle out in Chicago, so maybe i could make a trip to visit him and drop by the dealership as bonus.

2009s and up also have the LED tail lights. Correct me if I'm wrong. Or are they LCI without LEDs?

Again, don't 2009s and up all have bluetooth ? is that standard? or an option?

Cant comment on the rod bearings. Dont know if they updated it starting with 2009s but either way I'd have them replaced.

So to my knowledge (and I could be wrong) the 2009-2010 have the LCI taillights / trunk lid but they are non-LED. I believe the E92 received the LEDs before the E90 did. Again, could be wrong.

Yes, they do have bluetooth for phone calls but media streaming requires the combobox on 2011+ cars. Granted, you could always plug in with USB, it's just an extra step.

The 08-10 cars had copper-based rod bearings and the 11+ had aluminum & tin alloy based bearings. They all have potential failure points as the clearance stayed the same. However, there is some data out there that suggests the 11+ aluminum bearing cars tend to fail earlier in their life if they are going to fail. Either way, the safe bet is to do the RBs. It just has to be factored into the purchase price.