Should I buy

BARRYJC

MEMBER
2008 BMW 318I
2.0L
MANUAL
86 MILES

Hi,

I am just about to purchase a second hand 3 series Msport, after getting the registration I checked the MOT and it has had a few previous failures.
-Offside Front Service brake excessively binding - 2017 and again 2018.
And the last years (Aug 2019)had an advisory for
-Offside Rear Shock absorbers light misting of oil or has limited damping effect (5.3.2 (b)

My question is should I buy this car, or is it a sign of more failures and problems to come.

Thank you in advance.
Barry

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4 Replies

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Based on these I would not let it deter me from buying the vehicle if you like it. The shock having a "misting" basically means the seal on the shock is starting to fail. It will eventually need to be replaced. However, it is not something that you need to do immediately. As for the other items, they were an issue and should have been repaired or they would have failed in the 2019 inspection as well. So I would not worry about them at all because they are fixed.

I don't see anything that would chase me off. If anything you can ask for a slight price reduction based on the fact that you will need to replace that shock.

Hopefully this helps. Let me know if you have questions. Thanks

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Wednesday, April 29th, 2020 AT 11:50 AM

ASEMASTER6371

MECHANIC
52,797 POSTS

Good afternoon,

Remember, this is a 12 year old car and you did not list the miles either.

As far as the repairs, that is nothing as it could have been normal wear and tear.

I would take the car to a BMW dealer and have it BMW certified to be sure there are no current issues or upcoming issues.

Roy

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Wednesday, April 29th, 2020 AT 11:51 AM

BARRYJC

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Thanks for your reply, it only has 86,000 miles. I’m absolutely clueless with cars so I appreciate your advice. I was just worried that I’d get a month in and need to repair. But this has put me at ease, so thank you.

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Wednesday, April 29th, 2020 AT 1:22 PM

ASEMASTER6371