Missed oil change on a 535i and its effects

[Prany]

Hi,

I am new here, just joined. Sorry for my long post. I just bought my first BMW (CPO) and have a very important question about it-

I bought a certified pre-owned 2016 BMW 535i from a dealer in San Jose yesterday. The car is in pristine condition both inside and out. It is exactly the one that I have been looking for for quite a while (matches all features and color combinations I was looking for). It's a fully loaded car with all possible packages (M-sport, driver assistant, driver assistant plus, lighting package, premium package, 19" premium alloy wheels, multi-contour Nappa leather seats, heated front seats, Harman-Kardon premium audio etc. etc.) in beautiful Alpine white. When I took the test drive, I loved it and decided to buy it right away. Everything on this car was looking great and like-new. However, there was just one thing that I wasn't comfortable with- the service history of the vehicle stated that it was a leased vehicle and the first oil change happened at around 21k miles and 2 years after the sale date. The next oil change happened 10 months later at around 30k miles. I know BMW recommends changing oil every 10k miles. I enquired about it with the sales person and he said that it is possible that the service center might have missed to update the service record but the vehicle would have surely got the oil change, or may be the owner got it done elsewhere. I wasn't convinced with this (how can BMW miss to update service record, or why would somebody take a leased car to a third party garage), but the dealer said that they will provide me with the detailed history in a day or two to confirm where and when the oil change had happened around 10k miles.

I took the car home and got it inspected by a third party mechanic (specialized in BMWs). He inspected everything and said everything is fine with the car. But he found a very small oil seepage from the oil-sump gasket (just one). He said nothing to worry about it, probably the car actually ran for 21k without oil change and the gasket started to fail due to excessive heat. He further added that synthetic oils don't loose their properties so soon, so it must have not caused any damage to the engine. He was also able to pull more details of that car and showed that the car had oil indicator turned on for few thousand miles before the first oil change. I also called the dealer in LA where this car was originally sold and serviced and they said that they don't do such blunders of missing to update the database.

When I went back to my dealer to see if they found any records, they started talking in circles and giving all excuses. When I told them about the above things, they said they can cancel the deal. They also showed me an email from their HQ which said that HQ is allowing them as an exception to certify this car (which they obtained today only to save their back).

My questions-
Should I return this car because it might give some engine trouble in the long run, or it should be fine? Do you think the engine is durable enough to tolerate old oil for so long (the third party guy said that the indicator was for an oil change reminder, but the vehicle never showed signs of Low-oil warning (he pulled this data from the vehicle's computer).

PS:
1. The car is running totally fine right now with 31k miles on it.
2. It is like new, and I absolutely love it. It would be difficult to find another fully loaded CPO in such a great cosmetic condition.
3. It has exactly 2 years of warranty on it (1 + 1)
4. I am planning to keep it for 3-4 years.

[MauiM3Mania]

If I bought this car and it ran fine, wasn't burning oil, planned to sell it in a few years and love it as you say, I'd not return it.

You should do an oil change now and pull a sample and have it analyzed. An oil test will reveal if there is excessive wear taking place and other issues that you should now about any used car. See https://www.blackstone-labs.com

Turn around is fast, in case the test comes back 'bad' your options would still be open?

[f10_M550i]

My two cents.... oil change is every 10k miles, but synthetic oil can last much longer in normal driving.
What knucklehead drives a BMW 1000’s of miles, with the oil change reminder light on, and it’s a free service? Pass for family emergency as the only exception to this. (Sidenote: Might be able to track them down by looking at the Bluetooth on your car and see if they forgot to remove their smartphone, then ask them )

Anyway...if you’re only keeping the car 3-4 yrs I wouldn’t worry about it.
I fell sorry for the guy that buys it when has +100k miles. Skipping oil changes shortens the life expectancy of the engine in the long run.

[srschang]

21,000 is high, but I think would be reasonable. I recently sold a 2008 528xi with 203,000 miles. I changed the oil when the car told me to, it was usually changed between 15,000 and 20,000 miles. So 21,000 is not too far out of the ballpark.

[jclausen]

I would change at 5,000 or 7,500 miles