Computer Diagnostic Report

[Type1Dude]

Hi Guys, I am a newbie and am about to buy my dream car, 2014 650i xDrive. I am planning on taking the car to an independent bmw mechanic to check the car out. I am wondering if the computer diagnostics can provide report for each time and how long the low oil alert is on, or for that sake, every alert that has ever been raised by the car?

I am concerned when I see a personal lease on Carfax, who has only been to BMW service 1 time for and the "Engine electrical system checkedEngine oil/fluid leak checked". This car has 55k miles on it, which should not be aproblem, but if the oil is not topped up when alerted or changed, or the brakes have not been serviced... maybe I should be skeptical until I can see a diagnostic report, if it can show me if there are gremlins in this car that say, "Don't buy me."

Thanks for your advice.

p.s. I am buy this through CarMax. Should I go to a BMW dealer to inspect the car (cost?) or can an independent BMW mechanic just do the same?

[328 Power 04]

BMW dealer will have a ton of that info already stored. The car has a very detailed telemetry system (not wireless) that tells the dealer computer nearly everything about the condition of the car, procedures, software versions, etc. This is called FASTA.

However the dealer doesn't really have the capability to interpret the data for minor details (like how many times a low oil light has been triggered), although data like this is usually recorded by the car. BMW warranty service (and warranty voiding service) usually goes through this data with a fine comb when people try to take advantage.

All this data gets updated to BMW's central servers and can be pulled as historical information.