A 'bargain' BMW 320i that was 10,000km from a $5,800 engine-out job

Why a cheap BMW is never a cheap BMW

The listing was $3,000 below market for a 2015 320i LCI with the full BMW dealer service history. The photos were taken at a Mosman address with harbour views. Everything about the presentation said 'genuine downsizing sale'. The price was the only signal that something was off — and in the used-European market, a sharp price is almost always a deferred-maintenance price.

What the inspector found

• Cold-start at 7am: 3-second rattle from the front cover, fading as oil pressure built.
• ISTA/D scan: Vanos cam-offset 5.4 KW° (BMW workshop spec is under 4.0 KW° for the N20) — outside tolerance and consistent with a tired chain tensioner.
• Oil-filter housing gasket: active leak weeping onto the exhaust heat shield — visible from below with a torch.
• Coolant level: 15mm below the 'MIN' mark on the expansion tank — consistent with a slow internal weep.
• Service history: last BMW dealer stamp at 82,000km. Independent stamps after show 15,000km oil intervals — BMW spec for the N20 is 10,000km.

Outcome

The buyer offered $19,500 — asking minus the quoted chain job, housing gasket and coolant pressure-test from a BMW specialist in Artarmon. The seller countered at $22,500 and produced a 'recent mechanic's report' that said 'no faults found'. The buyer walked. The listing was still active eight weeks later, now at $21,990.

"I wanted it to be clean so badly. Dean let me listen to the cold-start myself. Once you hear that rattle, you can't unhear it — and you definitely can't unsee the oil dripping onto the exhaust."