tips for buying a 2011 328/335

[chriscpm]

Everyone,

I've had a 2011 335d since it was new. It drives like it was new, so i was going to hold on to it for 3-4 more years.

My wife would rather have a used BMW than another lease on an ATS/CTS or Lincoln. She really doesn't like the hood on the 2012+.

If I find a one owner car, that was serviced by the dealer, I think its a safe bet. Is there anything else I can do to protect myself? I think all the 2011s are too old to be CPOs, but I'm not positive if a dealer can just do it anyhow. I'm not so worried about the small stuff breaking, but the big stuff get expensive.

Also, is there a website to punch in the VIN to know the exact options. The used listings are fuzzy sometimes. I though leather would mean premium package, but maybe not. Without premium, there is no bluetooth (I think).

I have 2 that are in my specs. Both with mileage in the low 30s.

Any insight would be helpful.

Chris

[NY Scotsman]

I see 2011s at dealers w CPO. You should be able to find them.

Google "bmw vin decoder" and you'll find websites.

[raysts]

There are tons of 2011 CPO in BMW dealers lot with low mileage as 4 years lease in 2011 expired this year.

[grussell]

The best way to protect yourself-
Buy one with available maintenance records so you can see what has been done.
Take it to an independent shop that specializes in BMW's and have them do a prepuce have inspection.

www.bmwvin.com

[chriscpm]

Thanks everyone.
The VIN decoder really helped. The heated steering wheel was a must have. That one wasn't always clear. Plus the USB.
I did find a CPO 328 2011. One of the fairly close dealers had one. The manager told me that they are fairly hot sellers due to the price point and popularity of that style. He looks for under 60k 2011s to CPO.
The only thing that bugs me is that so many dealer serviced cars go long on the oil changes. The one I bought was a CPO, but still thousands over and months over on the first oil change. More than one other was even worse than that. It's really poor policy for BMW to hassle people so much. Basically, if your car is in for one things slightly early, they refuse to do the change early. The cars are great though.

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Here is my 335:
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Here is the 328i xDrive that we pick up tomorrow. I plan to put the same wheel on it.

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