[talko17]

Sorry in advance for the long post. I just like to be detailed:

Found a killer deal on a 2016 X3. MSRP is $50,200 and we negotiated over the phone down to $47,700 OTD ($3k under invoice). Dealership was 60 miles away so we drove over there today to check out the car with the expectation of buying it.

When we got there, he took us to the back lot to see the car and the car was insanely dirty. Saw inspection papers in the glove box and it was inspected by the dealership in June. Car only has 3 miles on it so I can only assume it's been sitting there for the last 5 months or so. Battery discharge warning and low tire pressure warning went off as soon as we started the car, which would fall in line with the car sitting there for a while. None of that is really an issue for me, but once we started driving it, there was an uncomfortable vibration once we went over 40 mph. However that vibration only occurred while we were cruising. If I was accelerating while over 40, everything felt fine.

This particular X3 had the 19" double spoke rims on it. All the other X3's we previously test drove had standard 18's, so I was curious if the 19's just made road imperfections more apparent. We asked to test drive another X3 with 19's they had on the lot and that car drove perfectly, no vibrations at any point. Also felt no vibrations while braking so probably wasn't brakes or rotors.

Any idea what it could have been? I know it could be something as simple as the tires being unbalanced after sitting for so long, but we were also worried it could be a more serious issue. Salesman said he'll have service techs look at it tomorrow and call me back to let me know if it's been repaired or not.

We ended up deciding not to buy it today as something just didn't feel right. Didn't particularly get a good vibe from the salesman so not sure if I'll completely believe whatever he has to tell me after the techs look at it. He still tried to convince us to buy it today and simply said to take it in for repairs if the problem persists. Why would I buy a brand new car with the intention to taking it in for repairs the very next day.

Any opinions from you guys regarding whether we should still be interested in this car?

[ba ba boosh]

I actually get this vibration on the highway as well. When I'm coasting on the highway going 40-60 mph. At first I just attributed it to bumps on the highway, but now that you brought it up. Perhaps it's a bigger problem at hand. Maybe some experts can chime in?

[talko17]

Originally Posted by ba ba boosh

I actually get this vibration on the highway as well. When I'm coasting on the highway going 40-60 mph. At first I just attributed it to bumps on the highway, but now that you brought it up. Perhaps it's a bigger problem at hand. Maybe some experts can chime in?

Yea we weren't entirely sure if that's just how the car was but it was vibrating enough that it got our attention. It wasn't until we test drove the other X3 with 19's that we realized the vibrating was abnormal.

[ba ba boosh]

Originally Posted by talko17

Yea we weren't entirely sure if that's just how the car was but it was vibrating enough that it got our attention. It wasn't until we test drove the other X3 with 19's that we realized the vibrating was abnormal.

Vibrating in the steering wheel? That's what I am experiencing.

[talko17]

Originally Posted by ba ba boosh

Vibrating in the steering wheel? That's what I am experiencing.

Basically the whole car. My wife test drove it first as the car is for her. I felt it in my seat and noticed the visors were shaking as well while she was driving it. I drove it afterward and felt it more in my seat than in the steering wheel.

Was yours always like that or did it happen later on?

[rtb001]

There was some often report ~40 MPH vibration felt through the steering wheel in early year F30 3 series models, which I'm not sure how it got resolved, if at all. Thank god my F30 does not have any such vibration.

Personally, I think you should be thankful that you picked up the vibration during the test drive and BEFORE you bought the car. I would stay away from a "mystery vibration" at all costs since it might be very difficult to figure out what is causing it and fixing it. Not worth the anxiety and stress. Plus X3s are not exactly rare cars. Every BMW dealer in your area will be stocked full of them and you should be able to get another deal nearly good if not as good as the one you walked away from.

I would trust your gut instinct today. Not sure why the car is dirty and tucked in the back either. Although with only 3 miles, I wouldn't think anything shady has happened to it. Very odd that they didn't clean up the car after you spent time with them over the phone to pre-negotiate a price. Hell, when I called just to verify availability of my X3, and then scheduled a test drive, the dealer I bought from had it cleaned up and parked right in front when I showed up the next day. They were still a bit shady when it came negotiation time, but the car was spic and span clean!

[ba ba boosh]

Originally Posted by talko17

Basically the whole car. My wife test drove it first as the car is for her. I felt it in my seat and noticed the visors were shaking as well while she was driving it. I drove it afterward and felt it more in my seat than in the steering wheel.

Was yours always like that or did it happen later on?

No my vibration is in the steering wheel only. Cruising 40-60 MPH. Sometimes the Panoroof creaks when I make a sharp turn. But that's about it, knock on wood.

[talko17]

Originally Posted by rtb001

There was some often report ~40 MPH vibration felt through the steering wheel in early year F30 3 series models, which I'm not sure how it got resolved, if at all. Thank god my F30 does not have any such vibration.

Personally, I think you should be thankful that you picked up the vibration during the test drive and BEFORE you bought the car. I would stay away from a "mystery vibration" at all costs since it might be very difficult to figure out what is causing it and fixing it. Not worth the anxiety and stress. Plus X3s are not exactly rare cars. Every BMW dealer in your area will be stocked full of them and you should be able to get another deal nearly good if not as good as the one you walked away from.

I would trust your gut instinct today. Not sure why the car is dirty and tucked in the back either. Although with only 3 miles, I wouldn't think anything shady has happened to it. Very odd that they didn't clean up the car after you spent time with them over the phone to pre-negotiate a price. Hell, when I called just to verify availability of my X3, and then scheduled a test drive, the dealer I bought from had it cleaned up and parked right in front when I showed up the next day. They were still a bit shady when it came negotiation time, but the car was spic and span clean!

We're actually quite picky with what we want on ours and this was pretty much the only one within a 100 mile radius that had everything we wanted. If not this one, we will go ahead and custom build one.

With that said, you're probably right. Our gut instinct said not to buy it today and that probably won't change. I suppose unless he calls and says a simple tire change resolved the problem, but even then I'm not sure I'd believe him.

He did apologize right when we got there for not having the car ready. It was over an hour drive to get there so he had plenty of time to prep it. Guess he was just busy with another client before we arrived. For a split second we thought maybe he gave us a great deal because they knew something was wrong with it. But yea the car was blocked in by multiple cars and had only 3 miles on it, there's no way he knew about the vibration. He was just as confused during the test drive as we were.

[rtb001]

Ha, it is always a tug of war between getting a better deal on a off-the-lot vehicle versus getting exactly all the colors/options you want by ordering.

Got a pretty good deal on my fairly bare-bones F30 off the lot car, and still love driving it to this day, but I still regret the one option it was missing, the Xenon headlights.

Thankfully, I somehow found the one X3 in the area with the exact color combination (deep sea blue with ivory interior) and all the options we wanted that was sitting in a dealer's inventory when we bought it. ONE SINGLE deep blue X3 after I perused every single in-stock X3 in the inventories of more than a dozen BMW dealers in the greater DMV region!

OTOH, if you special order, you can always fly down to Spartanburg to pick up the car and make a bad-ass road trip out of it! Of course South Carolina is a lot closer to Maryland than California!

[Tjalle]

Tires that have been "sitting" for several months will be - temporarily - deformed. Especially with low pressure - tire could even have been damaged. I am talking about tire which triggered warning.
I don`t know about RFT:s, but I guess they are even more so.
I suggest you give it another go -if vehicle spotless and no vibrations - buy it - otherwise don`t.
Check tire which triggered warning.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Tjalle

Tires that have been "sitting" for several months will be - temporarily - deformed. Especially with low pressure - tire could even have been damaged. I am talking about tire which triggered warning.
I don`t know about RFT:s, but I guess they are even more so.
I suggest you give it another go -if vehicle spotless and no vibrations - buy it - otherwise don`t.
Check tire which triggered warning.

+1

I get tire flatting on my run-flat summer tires, if left a few days. Will be particularly worse if left standing on loose stone/gravel and with wide temperature swings.

Any vibration from tire distortion, due to sitting, should of disappeared on a test drive, but depends on how long it was. May require a good few miles (10+) for the tyres to warm and reshape again.

After saying the above, I'd be very cautious of buying unless I was sure it was the tires due to standing. Another set of wheels will prove if it is the cause.

[exon]

if the car sits on the lot for too long, it may have a flat spot on the tires. These being run-flats (extra rubber on the sidewall), flat spot may take a bit more miles to round out....

[epiphone3]

Probably flat-spotting on the tires. With it having sat that long, I'd wonder if the tires are still any good.

[talko17]

Originally Posted by Tjalle

Tires that have been "sitting" for several months will be - temporarily - deformed. Especially with low pressure - tire could even have been damaged. I am talking about tire which triggered warning.
I don`t know about RFT:s, but I guess they are even more so.
I suggest you give it another go -if vehicle spotless and no vibrations - buy it - otherwise don`t.
Check tire which triggered warning.

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

+1

I get tire flatting on my run-flat summer tires, if left a few days. Will be particularly worse if left standing on loose stone/gravel and with wide temperature swings.

Any vibration from tire distortion, due to sitting, should of disappeared on a test drive, but depends on how long it was. May require a good few miles (10+) for the tyres to warm and reshape again.

After saying the above, I'd be very cautious of buying unless I was sure it was the tires due to standing. Another set of wheels will prove if it is the cause.

Originally Posted by exon

if the car sits on the lot for too long, it may have a flat spot on the tires. These being run-flats (extra rubber on the sidewall), flat spot may take a bit more miles to round out....

Originally Posted by epiphone3

Probably flat-spotting on the tires. With it having sat that long, I'd wonder if the tires are still any good.

Ok seems like the tires seem to be the most obvious resolution. From researching I'm also reading that flat spots will always vibrate at the same speeds, which that car did.

Doesn't that normally go away from driving after a while though? We test drove the car a total of 9 miles and it was still vibrating. Maybe that wasn't enough given the car has sat for 6 months?

If it is indeed just the tires, would you guys request them replace all 4 or you think it could driven out after enough miles?

[E90SLAM]

If the car had been sitting in the lot for 5 months? Wound't it need some sort of engine stabilizer or something?
The engine oils and lubricants would be relatively "lean" (cannot think of some other words to describe). Maybe let the car idle for a while and let engine oil work around before the test drive would help.

That combined with cold deform tires might cause the vibration?

Just some thoughts, but wise decision to walk away if you have any doubts on the car.

[Tjalle]

As said above: you should not buy unless spotless and no vibrations - it is up to dealer to resolv.
There is a risk that the tire with low pressure has a cord which has been damaged - but if no vibration= no damage. If RFT:s, there should be no damage to cord.

Note: flat spot is something you (Formula 1 cars - which does not have ABS) get when lock-up and damaged thread.

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by Tjalle

As said above: you should not buy unless spotless and no vibrations - it is up to dealer to resolv.
There is a risk that the tire with low pressure has a cord which has been damaged - but if no vibration= no damage. If RFT:s, there should be no damage to cord.

Note: flat spot is something you (Formula 1 cars - which does not have ABS) get when lock-up and damaged thread.

Which Hamilton does it all the time~

He meant the shape of the tire shape deformed while in storage, or even overnight during winter. Just the wrong terminology.

Most likely that car might end up becomes a loaner?

[exon]

Originally Posted by talko17

Ok seems like the tires seem to be the most obvious resolution. From researching I'm also reading that flat spots will always vibrate at the same speeds, which that car did.

Doesn't that normally go away from driving after a while though? We test drove the car a total of 9 miles and it was still vibrating. Maybe that wasn't enough given the car has sat for 6 months?

If it is indeed just the tires, would you guys request them replace all 4 or you think it could driven out after enough miles?

9 miles seems short for a car sitting still for 6months... i would at least do 20 minute at highway speed. Also the colder the weather the longer it takes.

But, you might also want to ask why this X3 sat on the lot for so long without getting sold... Maybe the vibration is the reason, maybe it is something else than flat-spotting.

[talko17]

Just wanted to update the car was supposed to be looked at first thing Monday morning, but according to the salesman he couldn't get it squeezed into the service techs schedule. Heard nothing whatsoever yesterday, and this morning he texts saying he'll know if it was fixed today or not.

I can't really imagine with a potential sale pending they couldn't get the car looked at for 2 days. Safe to assume it's a bigger issue that's taking longer to fix and he just doesn't want to disclose that info?

Also anyone know if carfax shows details for new cars? If it does, are the service guys required to document this information if the car hasn't been sold yet?

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

If the car had been sitting in the lot for 5 months? Wound't it need some sort of engine stabilizer or something?
The engine oils and lubricants would be relatively "lean" (cannot think of some other words to describe). Maybe let the car idle for a while and let engine oil work around before the test drive would help.

That combined with cold deform tires might cause the vibration?

Just some thoughts, but wise decision to walk away if you have any doubts on the car.

I've used Flexseal with great success in this situations. It ensures that no leaks form during my absence.

[Roundown]

Originally Posted by ba ba boosh

Vibrating in the steering wheel? That's what I am experiencing.

No- that's not right. There should be no discernible difference in road feel when cruising. I have 19" on my 15 X3 and had 18" on my 2011.

[Roundown]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

I've used Flexseal with great success in this situations. It ensures that no leaks form during my absence.

Any car built in Europe or SA before/near a holiday will also sit for a quite some time (at port, in transit, at VPC) before being delivered (and while waiting for purchase).

The seals and hoses are new and the gas will likely be German (and ethanol free)- so moisture isn't likely an issue.

Tires might have flat spots which might cause the vibration. Even run flats will spot after a long time. Particularly if it wasn't parked on a flat surface.