I'm caught in no mans land with regard to prepurchase inspections. We have all in the past slagged of BMW stealers who either have zero knowledge of the 8's or dont wish to be associated with them.Perhaps its different in the USA where there seems to be more of them but over here I certainly wouldnt trust my local dealer bearing in mind some of the work thats been attempted , or not, on my vehicle.
Hello All,
In my seemingly ongoing search for a good used 850 for my brother, I contacted the seller Bob Pendalton e-mail -
"Rambler411' who advertised his Red 91 850i in a post just below yesterday on the board here. He was very nice, he sent us pics that show a very beautiful car in and out, but when I requested that we have the car checked out by a professional Mechanic or dealer, he refused to let the car be examined prior to any purchase saying the car would have to be sold on it's own appearance and merit by looking at it only.

I advised him that his refusal to let the car be checked out caused a buyer to be very suspicious of his reasons and that anyone would be very foolish to consider buying his or any car without having a pre-sale exam of the internal mechanical and electronic components of the car. He still refused to allow the car to be examined. Saying that his experience was that a dealer would say things were bad just to get work from the car. I further advised him that there were excellent BMW mechanics in his area that were connected to and recommended by the BMW club, but apparently he still refuses to let the car be checked prior to a sale.

As I said, he was very congenial and nice, however there is no way the we would or should spend the money nor the time to fly to Orange country to see the car without being able to check the compression and the many complicated mechanical and electronic components of the car prior to sale. No responsible and sensible buyer should ever consider a car where the seller refuses to allow the car to be checked prior to sale. Please be advised if you were seriously considering the purchase of this car.
Regards, Kdg