I’ve had fairly good success screening used vehicles based on the repair history listed on their Carfax report. If there isn’t a history of oil changes and other timely services, I don’t bother to continue to look at it.
Some dealers/service centers dont report service, or only report to either CarFax or AutoCheck. Might be ruling out a lot of cars unnecessarily (my Volvo dealership, for instance, does not report to either, and ran into a handful of Lexus deals that only report to Autocheck), but whatever makes you most comfortable at the end of the day.
If I find a Lexus, Benz, BMW etc with oil change history in Jiffylube, I’ll cross it off my list LOL.
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I agree it’s a bit of a risk. But I am mostly buying very used cars with 100-175K, so am most interested in their last 5 years of maintenance history. I will make the assumption that they received service during their warranty period to keep the warranty active (even if the dealership doesn’t report it). And if they didnt have that maintenance, they would have grenaded already. What concerns me is if a vehicle is 10-12 years old and only has 2 service records listed (and has had multiple owners), I would probably exclude it.
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Only a luxury car? I was under the impression that any car w/ service at JiffyLube should probably be crossed out… 
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Looking at a 2013 BMW 128i with 70k miles for 9k.
What do people think about that one instead?
- Brakes never changed
- oil and maintenance done regularly at Indy shop (claimed by owner)
- 2 tires are good. Replaced because of flats. Two need to be changed
- carfax seems clean but missing service due to Indy shop.
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Single owner? Any reason you are now looking at BMWs?
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Yes one owner.
Not specifically looking for BMW. Looking for low cost, this popped up and seems to have good reviews online.
Want to pretend to save money now or later?
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70k and brake never change? That’s suspicious. Any maintenance on suspension/strut/bushing? Do PPI.
BMWs don’t make good beaters unless you are doing literally all the work yourself.
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Low cost & BMW. LOL, Get a lexus or toyota if you want low cost maintenance. Don’t get me wrong. I have 2002 e46 and my wife had 2005 camry. While I love my e46, my maintenance cost is much higher as well. This is with very reasonable family friend mechanic and sourcing my own parts.
Hell no, as nice as the last NA motor is for the 1er, that’s the wrong kind of “beater” to get. You WILL get nickel and dimed on it and that plastic cooling system is about ready to cost $$$.
Maybe I missed it in your post, but is there a reason you are opposed to getting into a new Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla? They will be reliable beaters, and you can drive them into the ground.
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Huge RED FLAG right there. Factory BMW brakes MAYBE last 20-30K miles. BMW recommends pads AND rotors be changed out every time the cra needs brakes.
It’s a toss up between a new Toyota product and a used one.
Don’t reinvent the wheel
I was going to say the same exact thing. He wants a Lexus period, luxury, flashy. Lexus and beater do not go in the same sentence. If he really wanted something practical, corolla or Prius, Toyota tercel but he wanted a Lexus, status symbol. lol 3 mile commute no need for a Lexus.
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Older Lexus can be had for cheap and they are reliable even in higher miles. I see no problem with that. One of my target car is 2006-2009 Lexus SC, 150k miles can be had for $7-10k, within OP budget.
It is not cheaper than a Corolla or a tercel or a prius. Remember OP is only driving 3 miles, he could even get a scooter. No need for a Lexus for a 3 miles commute, come on. He could get a beater and be perfectly fine. Lexus SC is a different animal than a RX.
ES or RX won’t have a much higher expected maintenance cost than a Camry.
Regardless of model it’s much more important to get a well-maintained car with the fewest needs as possible. PPI PPI PPI!
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