Tripleskate Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 Well, after finding a few rather peculiar things while detailing my car, it looks like it was previously modified, and then returned to stock before Kelly BMW got ahold of it. So far, it looks like at one point, it had been lowered, had wide wheels/tires (drag radials???), had the front fenders rolled, and the ECU/DME had definitely been touched. I am beginning to think it was modded, thrashed, put away wet, and then the owner quickly put it back to stock when the lease was up to get rid of a potential ticking time bomb that they may have created... The car is CPO, which means that the dealership never "flagged" or notified their registry of the car being modified whenever they looked at it, for service, etc. I'll keep this brief, can Kelly BMW disclose a name or phone number of the previous owner so I can find out more about the car's history? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTaylor751647545500 Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 More than likely not. Probably violates a privacy policy of some sort. Even vehicle history reports like carfax & autocheck don't show the previous owner(s) names, just dates etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 Just go talk to the dealer. If they have a relationship with the previous owner, they should have no issue asking him if its ok to give his info out to you. That's what I'd try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripleskate Posted May 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 Just go talk to the dealer. If they have a relationship with the previous owner, they should have no issue asking him if its ok to give his info out to you. That's what I'd try. That was the plan. Tomorrow, I am going there in person, as Kelly has been a little underwhelming in terms of communication when a phone is involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTaylor751647545500 Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 I worked at 3 different dealerships here in Columbus. Customers ask all the time if they can get the name of the previous owner. Out of the 100's of times I was asked that while working at those 3, not once was I allowed to divulge that information. Often times, you have no way to know who owned the car previously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 How many days ago did you buy it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripleskate Posted May 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 How many days ago did you buy it? More like months. ~2.5 months ago. This is first time I have been able to go over the entire car with a fine tooth comb. When I first looked at it, I just checked the big mechanical bits, and that nothing seemed broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripleskate Posted May 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 I worked at 3 different dealerships here in Columbus. Customers ask all the time if they can get the name of the previous owner. Out of the 100's of times I was asked that while working at those 3, not once was I allowed to divulge that information. Often times, you have no way to know who owned the car previously. It's worth a shot. Not like I'm planning on attacking the guy, just want to know if there are things I should be looking out for. Especially if assumption is correct and the car saw a lot of drag racing time (clutch, gears, axles)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 If the front fenders were rolled, isn't it more likely it was just lowered, with some wheels? 135 wouldn't be my choice for a drag car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck531 Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 If the front fenders were rolled, isn't it more likely it was just lowered, with some wheels? 135 wouldn't be my choice for a drag car... Prolly had an LSX swap in it.. owner put it back to stock and traded it back in before the lease was up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M0nk3y Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 If the front fenders were rolled, isn't it more likely it was just lowered, with some wheels? 135 wouldn't be my choice for a drag car... It isn't uncommon for the 135 to see JB4 or similar chips putting down 400+. But I agree, especially with the E82 chassis anything more than 9" fronts you need to run extreme camber or roll fenders. OP - Make friends with Service Advisor. When I was searching for my Z4M, we pulled the BMW records and he gave me the full report, which ended up having the PO's phone number. I gave them a call, and while I didn't speak to the husband, I spoke to the wife. She talked to me for a bit, basically saying it was a weekend car, rarely driven, and never saw rain...very reassuring. In addition, the car only came with 1 key. She mentioned this and told me they were actively searching for it. About 2 months later, an overnight envelope came in the mail with the second key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 When I bought my specB I asked them to call the privious owner to see if be was ok with me talking to him about the car and see if be had parts to see. They did and it all worked out great. I bough winter wheels and tires, Cobb access port2, and a bunch of little good things to have. I know it's rare, but it can happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorne Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 Well, after finding a few rather peculiar things while detailing my car, it looks like it was previously modified, and then returned to stock before Kelly BMW got ahold of it. So far, it looks like at one point, it had been lowered, had wide wheels/tires (drag radials???), had the front fenders rolled, and the ECU/DME had definitely been touched. I am beginning to think it was modded, thrashed, put away wet, and then the owner quickly put it back to stock when the lease was up to get rid of a potential ticking time bomb that they may have created... The car is CPO, which means that the dealership never "flagged" or notified their registry of the car being modified whenever they looked at it, for service, etc. I'll keep this brief, can Kelly BMW disclose a name or phone number of the previous owner so I can find out more about the car's history? This isn't a certain 335 or 135 is it? If so message me detail. I might know a bit about the car. It's really hard especially if the previous owner never had a issue and it never got flagged. No lie I've helped more the one subaru owner put a car to stock because the dealer said they would give them 2grand more for trade in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truckin Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 Can you go to the BMV? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buelliganx1 Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 Ive had a new owner contact me before about a vehicle that I had traded in but that was in South Carolina. Thought it was weird that the dealer gave him that info because I was completely up front with the dealer about what I had modified on the truck and they had completely lied to him and he was calling to verify some things so he could potentially sue them. Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForeverMaker Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 The first owner of my Z06 was the CEO of Sears (at the time). Found out through dealer title paperwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBQdDude Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 Just go talk to the dealer. If they have a relationship with the previous owner, they should have no issue asking him if its ok to give his info out to you. That's what I'd try. This is how my last car traded in new owner got ahold of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 No lie I've helped more the one subaru owner put a car to stock because the dealer said they would give them 2grand more for trade in. very common. not many want to buy a car that's visibly modded. stock is best. always funny to see CL ads listing all these "expensive" mods and $20k "in it" comments then see it listed for 3x what typical selling prices are. not many fucks are given about people dumping stupid money in a car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsey Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 if it was modded the owner might have been on forums. Start posting pics and see if anyone remembers the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripleskate Posted May 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 if it was modded the owner might have been on forums. Start posting pics and see if anyone remembers the car. I have been searching any forum involving Ohioans and BMW's, but nothing has really panned out. Also, when I bought it, it visibly appeared to be a bone stock car with nothing that would make it stick out from the 1000's of other ordinary BMW's you see on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99BlownYellowGT Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 When I traded my mustang the guy who bought it somehow got my number. Pissed me off at first but then I thought about it and hoped somebody would do the same for me if I had questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinisterSS Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 (edited) was the car sold as a certified used car? if so then get the BMW district rep involved and go from there about your issues/concerns Edited May 17, 2013 by SinisterSS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Karacho1647545492 Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 As a salesman, the most I'd do for somebody is call the previous owner and ask how willing they are to help out. Most people are reasonable and are happy to let you forward their info. I'd never give out personal contact info without consent, I would get fired for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokeShank Posted May 18, 2013 Report Share Posted May 18, 2013 I Work At Kelly fyi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted May 18, 2013 Report Share Posted May 18, 2013 The first owner of my Z06 was the CEO of Sears (at the time). Found out through dealer title paperwork. Did the paper work say he was the CEO of Sears? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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