[Lotus99]

Hi there, sorry if I've not searched ahead of time... I've got a 2008 335 currently, which is a twin turbo setup (N54), and somewhere around 2010 IIRC they switched to a single (twin scroll?) turbo (N55).

I am in the market for a used 535 wagon, and was wondering if anyone can tell me if the same change in the turbo happened with the 535 wagon as well, and if so, exactly when?

I'm considering buying a 2008, 2009 or 2010.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT - Any other significant changes from one model year to another? I believe 2010 got the newest version of iDrive.

[gatoman39]

2008-2010 wagons all have the N54 engine and all the ones I've seen are iX models or AWD. Unfortunately you can't get the new F11 wagon here in the States, not sure about Canada though.

[Lotus99]

Thanks for the reply. It is a shame wagons are slowly dying off in NA... We're not getting it here either.

Do you know of any other major changes b/w model years that might impact my decision? Only one I found was that the new version of iDrive was installed in 2010, but I don't think there were other significant changes from 09.

[gatoman39]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

Thanks for the reply. It is a shame wagons are slowly dying off in NA... We're not getting it here either.

Do you know of any other major changes b/w model years that might impact my decision? Only one I found was that the new version of iDrive was installed in 2010, but I don't think there were other significant changes from 09.

If there is anything it will be largely cosmetic like LED taillights, or differeent colors available. This will largely mean little to someone in the aftermarket, compared to mileage, accident damage, vehicle history and the dreaded HPFP.

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by gatoman39

If there is anything it will be largely cosmetic like LED taillights, or differeent colors available. This will largely mean little to someone in the aftermarket, compared to mileage, accident damage, vehicle history and the dreaded HPFP.

You're right, those things are certainly more important, but (and I know I don't have a big selection to go off of already) I figured if I'm not in a rush, at least I can configure my "ideal" used wagon and look for that. The options from what I can see didn't change much year to year, other than that M Sport package was available for 2010.

The one other thing I might insist on is getting a CPO car, which at least will take some of the worry away for 4/5 more years...

There's only one used wagon right now for sale in ALL of Canada! There's a local car dealer here who imports US cars, so I was going to leave my order with him and see what he can track down, since most likely I'll end up buying one from the US.

PS We don't use Carfax up here for Cdn cars, but how reliable is it in terms of disclosing everything for US cars? Is it more of a gimmick and one should rely more on the visual inspection done by a good tech? (which will be tough for me to arrange I suppose seeing that I'll probably have to commit to the car if my local dealer is going to bring it in just for me)

[gatoman39]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

PS We don't use Carfax up here for Cdn cars, but how reliable is it in terms of disclosing everything for US cars? Is it more of a gimmick and one should rely more on the visual inspection done by a good tech? (which will be tough for me to arrange I suppose seeing that I'll probably have to commit to the car if my local dealer is going to bring it in just for me)

The wagons are pretty rare, but there are a bunch in the states. Car fax is good as a baseline to see how many owners the car has, if there is a lien on the car (important in a private sale, less if from a dealer),maintenance history, etc. Not all accident damage is reported on Carfax, even CPO cars that have been in accidents aren't always reported. I would go with, test drive and have a mechanic you trust get it on a lift, to see if anything is leaking or loose. If it's CPO'd you have recourse for things that break, but if a car has been in an accident and repainted, you just have to live with it and hope the repair was done properly. Or you can do all this yourself, but it will take more time and like you said you're choice is limited.

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by gatoman39

The wagons are pretty rare, but there are a bunch in the states. Car fax is good as a baseline to see how many owners the car has, if there is a lien on the car (important in a private sale, less if from a dealer),maintenance history, etc.

Not all accident damage is reported on Carfax, even CPO cars that have been in accidents aren't always reported. I would go with, test drive and have a mechanic you trust get it on a lift, to see if anything is leaking or loose. If it's CPO'd you have recourse for things that break, but if a car has been in an accident and repainted, you just have to live with it and hope the repair was done properly. Or you can do all this yourself, but it will take more time and like you said you're choice is limited.

Thanks, great info and CPO checklist. The biggest thing I have to figure out is if my local dealer finds a car somewhere in California, for example, if he's willing to bring it in for me to do all the stuff above but still have the option not to complete the sale if I find something seriously wrong. I doubt he'd take that risk on a rare car like this, as he'd end up with it in his inventory if I don't buy it.

So how he manages to verify the car's state, if he has a local contact where the car physically is, is the key I guess if I have to buy it sight unseen.

Lots of people though seem to buy cars online from different states or thru Ebay. How do they manage to satisfy themselves of the car's condition without seeing it?

[gatoman39]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

Lots of people though seem to buy cars online from different states or thru Ebay. How do they manage to satisfy themselves of the car's condition without seeing it?

I would never buy a car sight unseen, but that's just me. If it's a car that's still under warranty you're gonna have to have a lot of faith in the CPO process. If you want a wagon that badly, you don't have that many options with BMW. I'm guessing Volvo or Subaru doesn't float your boat?

[Lotus99]

Yeah, I'd never do it either ideally, but as you say, if there are none around, and I want one, I don't think I've got a lot of options unless I wait around a while for them to pop up locally...

We've got an 09 XC70 actually, but it's almost a lemon, it's got issues every other month. So I thought that getting rid of it now with 2 years left on its warranty might be easier than right when its warranty runs out. There's very few high horsepower AWD wagons out there now. Audi A6 Avant is super rare (4 for sale in all of US right now!), which is the other car I'd consider. Subaru Outback isn't as luxurious as these and I read its ride was soft, but I might check out the 2011 model.

PS Do you know if a used car can be CPO'd after the fact? I noticed in the checklist that they're pretty strict about having all the service records, etc. so if that stuff's not available, I wonder if it would be possible if one buys a car from a non BMW dealer, then goes and pays a BMW dealer to CPO it.