2002 BMW 3-Series Description
Up for sale is a 2002 BMW 330xi, 1 family-owned vehicle (technically 2 owners: father originally, and now son (I am in my 40s)). The vehicle history report shows an 'accident', but that was hail damage. I guess it gets labeled an accident when insurance gets involved? I don't know, but the car has never been wrecked. Plus, the vehicle history shows that this 'accident' was in 2012, and the car has been sitting since December 2008. The damage is 2 hail dents in the roof. My father-in-law is the insurance agent, so he can get this information for the prospective buyer.
Car has: black/black, 5 sped, rain-sensing windshield, Bi-Xenon self-leveling headlights (very cool feature!), sunroof, reverse-sensing system, 17 x 7 wheels on brand new tires, SuperSprint cat-back exhaust (have original exhaust which must go with car), heated sport seats, AC Schnitzer pedals & shift knob, and aftermarket head unit stereo. It is in great, great shape. I have a 3-ring binder on the car, as I keep on all of my cars. It is a huge & heavy binder that I am anxious to give to the next owner. It has a clear title, and the car has never had a major accident. The car does not get driven, so it needs to go.
My father owned the vehicle for a short period of time before me, as he wanted to move on to his next project car. This car was originally located in New Hampshire, where it resided for 5 years before moving to Texas, where it has been located since 2007. The car has not been driven much since December 2008. The reason: I have had company cars since then, so the car has sat for years. That unfortunately took a toll on the car, and I wanted to fix that, so I have spent quite a bit of money on the car since 2008 (roughly $9K), the most recent bills to fix all issues with the car (1 shop had the car for 7 months, no joke). You would think that after all of this that I would keep it, but this car just doesn't work for my family.
*Just had A/C checked and recharged, so it's blowing cold again.
Update 7/31/2016: drove the car last night for date night with my wife, and the car drove great. Even my wife commented 'This car still drives great!' A/C was cold, still shifts & accelerates smoothly. Wish I could keep it, especially after all that I've spent on it, but this is taking up space in the driveway.
The list of recent repairs:
1. front power door locks - 110, 528 mi
2. front power windows - 110, 528
3. new airbags (BMW recall; no accidents) - 110,528
4. new tires (4) - 205/50R-17 Bridgestone Potenza RE70 Sport XL
- 110,493
5. new cabin air filter - 110,493
6. engine wash - 110,493
7. new valve cover gasket - 110,493
8. front & rear seats reconditioned (BMW shop's suggestion, & they do look great) - 110,493
9. new spark plugs - 110,493
10. new parking brake - 110,493
11. new trunk lift supports - 110,493
12. new engine oil level sensor & sender - 110,493
13. oil change - 110,493
14. new fuel level sender & in-tank pump - 110,493
15. new blower motor resistor - 110,493
16. new front brake service - 110,493
17. new front CV joints - 110,493
18. new front strut assemblies & control arm strut mounts - 110,493
19. new drive belt & tensioner - 110,493
20. new clear lights around car - 110,493
21. new front kidney grille - 110,493
22. new rear differential bushings - 110,493
23. new front clip & hood paint (had Invisibra that had cracked & taken paint with it when it came off) - 110,493
24. sunroof repaired: shade mounts had broken, rendering sunroof unusable; works great now - 110,493
25. new headliner & pillar coverings (headliner had padding added for extra comfort & sound deadening - 110,493
26. oil change - 108,979
27. new coolant expansion tank - 106,973
28. new pressure hose assembly - 106,973
29. complete coolant exchange - 95,045
30. complete A/C system charge & go - 95,045
31. oil change - 95,000
32. BMW recall - tail lamp connectors - 106,756
33. new stereo head unit - 2009 (year)
34. new window tints (incredibly hit in South TX) - 2009 (year)
35. new alternator - 102,354
36. oil change - 102,354
37. new MAF sensor - 85,976
38. new crankcase vent valves, return pipe, vent pipe, connection line, vent hose - 85,976
My father's goal with this car was to create an AWD M3, as he lived in New England, and BMW would not create such a car (too niche). So he had an ESS supercharger installed, AC Schnitzer headers, SuperSprint exhaust, and larger wheels & tires installed. My father did this when he was about 70 years old. Oddly, I didn't like all of this stuff, so I had everything but the exhaust system removed (great sound & car breathes much more freely with exhaust). After removal of all of these high performance parts, the car drove like a dream. . .no issues whatsoever.
The car does not get driven, which is such a shame because now it is almost completely fixed. It will make a great car for the next owner.
Still needing to get fixed:
1. hail dents in roof: received insurance money (thusly the accident report in the car's history, as the car was never in an accident) for this, but I decided to put that money towards the mechanical issues. I will always address mechanical issues before visual issues. There are two small dents, nothing major. Happened during a major storm that caused millions of dollars worth of damage down where I live.
2. sunroof button panel: it is falling from the headliner. It was supposed to be fixed at the major service from 2015-2016 at 110,493 mileage. The shop failed to do this. I'll patch it with some cloth glue on the inside.
3. ski pass cover won't attach in the trunk (probably needs new clips = ~$20, I'm guessing)
4. front door lock regulators - all locks but driver's door are remote. I'd get a stereo shop or electronics shop to fix, or just install an aftermarket power door lock kit. BMW wanted way too much for me to justify the repair.
5. BMW says it needs tensioner struts? I've heard of struts, but not tensioner struts. Car still drives great.
To give you extra confidence, my wife used this car when she was pregnant, and I had complete confidence in the car.
I have all of the original parts for the car (exhaust system, front & rear lights (I went to all clears), interior lights (I installed all LEDs), etc.). They are in a box in the trunk (minus the exhaust, which is in our climate-controlled storage unit).
The next owner is getting a low mileage (110,683/14 years = 7,905 miles per year), rare black/black, very rare 5-spd manual, essentially 1-owner car. All major repairs have been done to the car, and the car has brand new tires (maybe 150 miles on them?). The car has sat in the driveway for 8 months now since getting out of the shop, which tells me that it's time for the next owner.
Good luck, and good bidding!!
On Aug-23-16 at 08:12:20 PDT, seller added the following information:I verified with the insurance company yesterday that the accident reported in 2012 is indeed from the hail damage when I filed an insurance claim.