tpaxadpom

I got a question on SMG tranny. If you are trying to go up hill from a complete stop will it roll down hill? I've read that it won't roll down for 3 seconds. Should you use your emergency brake like on true manual or simply hold it with the gas pedal?

Are there any adjustments that you can do in Idrive? Or is just normal and sports mode (550i)?

mbmw530i007

A SMG transmission car will roll downhill, there is no magic 3 second time that it'll hold you have to drive it like a stick and if you do a little too much uphill the iDrive comes with an unpleasant message that the clutch has over heated.

John@Motorcepts

With a flooded car, you have to be careful. The SMG contains more modules and electronics. Although the SMG unit should be sealed, you never know how long the modules have sat for. One thing I'll check first, check the modules INSIDE the trunk underneath the spare. Check the modules inside there. Remove the module from the connectors and look for corrosion. If there is corrosion, walk away.

Next, drive the car and see how the SMG behaves. See how it shifts. GO to a higher gear and go almost pedal to the metal to see if it slips. Make sure to get documentation of the SMG clutch replacement and see if they programmed the clutch after it was replaced. If you know someone with access the the GT1, then you can check to see how much life is left on the cliutch and run a FULL diagnostic on the entire system to check for faults. $17K for an 08 does seem very tempting. But there can be hidden problems you'll never want to see. If seller refuses for the car to be hooked up on the GT1, walk away.

tpaxadpom

thanks for your input guys. The car is 07, not 08. I called dealership and they charge $165 for vehicle pre purchase inspection. Other shops do inspection for much less (as low as $90) but I don't know if I can trust them.
I just found another car, this one is 08 also with salvage title (flood, but autocheck doesn't show that). Though asking price is ~$25k.

tpaxadpom

Talked to the owner of 08, it has lots of options and looks clean. 4000 more miles then on 07. He will let it go for $23k though I didn't really negotiated a whole lot. The car is in different state but I will be there next weekend. I need to make a decision now as the owner of 07 is flying out of country and tomorrow is the last day I to buy it. I'm not in the rush as we have 3 other cars. Maybe I should wait until 2012 BMW come out, prices on 08 should go down and get one with the clean title.

Does cold package come with rubber mats or regular ones? Both cars have cold package and one of them has rubber mats (which I don't like).

John@Motorcepts

Oh yeah,. I forgot that 2008 has no SMG.


Cold weather packages do not come with rubber mats. Rubber mats are an accessory.


Where are you located? We do FREE pre-sale inspection for forum members. We are located in Queens NY, 10 minutes away from JFK.

John@Motorcepts

And for $23K. you can spend a few more thousand and purchase a 2008 550i with a clean title. We get cars from auctions all the time and it's NOT THAT expensive although used car prices did go up. We can get you a higher mileage 550i with clean title (60-80K miles) for around $26K to $29K. 2007 550i will go for low $20s for high mileage and lower mileage will be mid $20s.

tpaxadpom

I'm in Portland, OR.

That's what I figured. $23k for car with salvage title that will be practically impossible to sell in the future is a way too steep. I would consider it if it was <$20k. I wonder when 2012 BMW 5 series is going to come out. It's the time when KBB price will go down even further.

I confirmed with the seller that rubber mats were purchased separately and original mats are still available. I'm glad this forums exist as you guys helped me a lot.
I decided to hold off on the car purchase. 07 for $17k was very tempting though. I feel burned out as it was very hard decision. Hopefully I won't regret in the future.