A good friend if mine asked my advice on the purchase of an E46 coupe that really looked stunning.
detailed to the highest level, clean like an intensive care room, low mileage, and an interior that smelled leather and freshness.
Looking at it and after asking some questions to the owner, unfortunately received all the wrong answers.
“I am doing the maintenance in my own, the engine never needed anything so I just change oil and filters, etc”
I scanned the ecu with the iCarsoft and pulled some codes and values, such as idle, voltage on the coils, thermostat and other “smart scan” output and then decided to connect the laptop with the “official” diagnostic program.
Oh boy… three pages of shadow memory errors.
overheating, low oil pressure, misfires, sensors, abs…
and then I started interrogating the owner about these.
he claimed he had no idea and I advised my friend to either take the car to a shop, or run away.
His desire is so big for this car that he decided to have it checked by a professional, so I gave up.
But what I saw does not justify the “just the regular oil service” the owner claimed.
and having zero history available is another thing to consider.
nevertheless my point is: going to buy a car? Pay for a scanner before you pay for the car.
Cheers.
detailed to the highest level, clean like an intensive care room, low mileage, and an interior that smelled leather and freshness.
Looking at it and after asking some questions to the owner, unfortunately received all the wrong answers.
“I am doing the maintenance in my own, the engine never needed anything so I just change oil and filters, etc”
I scanned the ecu with the iCarsoft and pulled some codes and values, such as idle, voltage on the coils, thermostat and other “smart scan” output and then decided to connect the laptop with the “official” diagnostic program.
Oh boy… three pages of shadow memory errors.
overheating, low oil pressure, misfires, sensors, abs…
and then I started interrogating the owner about these.
he claimed he had no idea and I advised my friend to either take the car to a shop, or run away.
His desire is so big for this car that he decided to have it checked by a professional, so I gave up.
But what I saw does not justify the “just the regular oil service” the owner claimed.
and having zero history available is another thing to consider.
nevertheless my point is: going to buy a car? Pay for a scanner before you pay for the car.
Cheers.