Hello everyone! I love the forum, lot's of great info. I have been reading for days! I have learned a lot so far! I am looking at 2 cars in the next couple days:
04' vert AT with around 100k miles - private sale- CA for 4 years (45k miles) then MD for rest - 2 owner - most records - no accidents (prod. date 07-07-2004)
05' vert AT with around 75k miles - dealer - PA for 5 years (20k miles) then NY for rest - 4 owners - no records besides autocheck - 1 accident last summer (prod. date 04-05-2005)
The 05' wants about $1500 more for the car than the '04
I looked up both VIN for the option list and the only differences are that the 05 has a couple extra things (which I am not even sure I care about):
464 SKIBAG (which i don't even know what that is, but i don't ski anymore...lol)
488 LUMBAR SUPPORT (which I don't think I really care about)
502 HEADLIGHT WASHER (which again seems like just another thing to repair at some point, do I really need it??)
251 RUN FLAT INDICATOR (can't I just check my own tire pressure??)
Now the '04 has the 639 COMPLETE PREP. CELLULAR PHONE where the '05 has the 640 CAR TELEPHONE PREPARATION.....I'm not totally sure what the difference is even after tons of googling and reading. Hopefully you guys know the difference.
So here are my questions (sorry there are so many):
What differences are there between the '04 and '05 years? Is there any body changes or anything I should know that makes one better than the other?
Are the 25k less miles and the couple options (above) that the '05 has over the '04 worth $1500 difference in price?
If they haven't done the cooling system, belts, pulleys, and control arm bushing replacements what is a rough estimate on cost for all that work?
What about DISA and VANOS which it seems everyone talks about replacing. Is that something I should do and again rough cost?
How about fluids (brake, dif, trans, any that I am missing). Should I just do them all so I am starting fresh when I buy the car and again rough total cost?
I am planning on keeping the car a long time (10+ years) so i want to make sure it's top notch and ready!
There is a local BMW shop near one of the cars that quotes me $100 to look the car over before I buy it. Is that normal price? (I'm still looking for a shop near the other car)
Thank you everyone for any advise/info you can offer!!