To start, this is going to be a bit of a long post…. I am deciding to write into this thread in hopes of some reassurance and knowledge of a few issues - and maybe make a friend.
This is my first car of real value and I am trying to do it right.
I’m 25 and just got a -
• 22’ M240I X-Drive
• 26 thousand miles
• good service history
• 1 owner.
• Owned for 2 month roughly
I have had some fun with the car for sure, but I do not dog it and I want to keep it clean. I wash it weekly and am looking into tint and ceramic/ppf currently as the summer is approaching and want protection.
I would say I already am a bit of an anxious person and do over stress sometimes, especially when it comes to money or knowing I made a bad decision monetarily. I don’t expect to fully get any answers on whether I made a bad purchase or am financially stable enough for the car, more on the side of wondering what I am in for with owning this car.
I don’t have a large payment, and I don’t mind putting some money into service. What I don’t want however is a money pit that needs a turbo n tranny in 2 years.
What I am worried about:
I got the bmw pre buy inspection, on top of this car being bmw certified pre owned and having the service package till ‘28 - why am I noticing things they did not…
Already….. one side of the front grille does not seem to be working (they move independently and one side is not, it is loose to the touch) - this just happened seemingly in the last day or 2. I did wash the car the other day but I was gentle (or so I thought) - could it really have been me? Nothing is chipped, scratched, or broken off. I assume there is a small servo or motor that controls it that is either broken or not connected now.
(Included photo of grille with one side open/broken)
When I first drive the car, it seems like it shifts out of first a touch harder than any other time or any other gear. Is this normal with the model? It does not fully jerk or anything but I would say it is a touch noticeable that in sport or comfort mode the first gear kinda does a tiny jump to second. The reason I bring it up is because if I continue to drive for a while it does not seem to do that? Am I just not used to having a fast car and I’m being dumb? I had my buddy who has 2 m cars drive it and he said it drove amazing and he noticed nothing at all, but he did not drive it first, I did. I always let the car warm up and drop down to 700rmp (I know there is debate, I just do it) but it still just seems to do that little bit stiff of a shift.
After talking the car on its first road trip, a day or two after getting back, I noticed a faint “shhhh” noise coming from the back right wheel area. It seems to have gone away after a short time, but just curious if anyone has any thoughts or if that is crucial to get checked out… I would think with this low mileage I should not be needing to do bearings/bushings.
Bottom line:
It seems like I’m going to be needing to give this car lots of love and money to keep it in good shape. Do these things sound like large enough issues where I should try to run away from this car sooner rather than later, or is this just the love of the game and these things are normal?
Basically, are these indications this car has been dogged on for the last 2 years, or am I over reacting and every once in a while you hear a tiny noise and your grille breaks.
I have not researched fully the cost of repair on the grille, any insight on this? Am I just going to have to have the dealer fix it, or is it worth calling around to try to find a specialized bmw shop who might help?
Any insights on these questions and issues would be appreciated. I’m hoping to find someone who maybe has had a few of the same things happen or cross their mind.
Thanks, Jack.