[thatBimmerBloke]

Last year around this time I traded in my CPO 2014 328ix after a year of owning it for a fully loaded 2016 435ix M-Sport (minus Adaptive Suspension, it has all other options). I was a noob when it comes to cars 2 years back, got the 328 when I moved to Wisconsin after grad school, I didn't need a car in NY. Before that I wasn't even in this country and didn't have a lot to do with cars.

Getting back to the point, the dealer offered me higher than the KBB(non-private/dealer) value for my 328ix(17k), it was the end of the year, 28th of December(2018) and they were just trying to get rid of the cars with 2016 build date. I got the 435ix with about 35k miles for 30k, back then here in Wisconsin even the cheapest 435ix M-Sport that was only 3 years old sold by BMW dealer in this 30-35k mileage range was about 33-35k. The car I got isn't CPO but I did buy 3yr warranty for about 3k. They told me it didn't have history of oil change which the owner did himself or at some dealer outside of BMW network, I was just too excited and didn't pay much attention which obviously was stupid of me, I have learnt my lesson now

Recently I managed to get hold of the carfax of my car and it shows first oil change at 20k, BMW doesn't have any record in their database either. My question is is there a way to find the oil reset counter in the car by scanning it? If by chance the previous owner was a moron and did not change the oil till 20k miles then what sort of damage would the engine have incurred and can I find it out? I'm just being cautious before I invest more in the car, if there is a serious concern then I'd just wait 2 more years till the warranty expires and hand it back to the same dealer. The car drives great and I push it hard, it has 45k miles on it right now.
Any useful insights apart from mentioning that I should have done more research at the time of buying would be highly appreciated, we learn with experience and from mistakes like these

[adhrp]

My N20 consistently received 17k mile oil changes in its first 50k miles. I had no problem with that interval, and sitting at 102k miles now, I have absolutely no engine issues. I now do oil changes mid-way into the 17k OCI because BMW changed their OCI to 10k 2014 onwards. If your car received BMW oil, I think going 20k miles (especially just once) won't have caused any issues. If the car is running fine, I wouldn't worry about it.

BTW I went to grad school in Madison and still miss the place! Go Badgers!

[thatBimmerBloke]

Originally Posted by adhrp

My N20 consistently received 17k mile oil changes in its first 50k miles. I had no problem with that interval, and sitting at 102k miles now, I have absolutely no engine issues. I now do oil changes mid-way into the 17k OCI because BMW changed their OCI to 10k 2014 onwards. If your car received BMW oil, I think going 20k miles (especially just once) won't have caused any issues. If the car is running fine, I wouldn't worry about it.

BTW I went to grad school in Madison and still miss the place! Go Badgers!

Badgers and Packers are pretty huge over here

I'm more concerned as it was the first oil change and there is more engine wear during the break-in period, do they also recommend the first oil change at 10k miles?

[adhrp]

Originally Posted by thatBimmerBloke

Badgers and Packers are pretty huge over here

I'm more concerned as it was the first oil change and there is more engine wear during the break-in period, do they also recommend the first oil change at 10k miles?

There's no early first oil change (so 17k for my car; I guess 2014 onwards received it at 10k), except I heard for M cars.

[adhrp]

I have also heard that the first oil is a specially formulated oil for engine break-in and should not be changed out particularly early. Not sure if this is actually true or not and whether it applies to our engines.

[thatBimmerBloke]

Originally Posted by adhrp

There's no early first oil change (so 17k for my car; I guess 2014 onwards received it at 10k), except I heard for M cars.

Got it, thanks. Car drives great, no rough idle or anything. Hopefully nothing was damaged. There is also a chance that the guy wasn't a total moron and did the first oil change himself or at some other place outside of BMW network. I'm planning on installing the Eibach Pro Suspension Kit and eventually tune and bolt ons after the warranty expires, so just making sure there isn't any damage before I put more money into it.

[Wgosma]

Want to learn if the engine is internally shedding excessive metals? (i.e. gauge bearing wear, etc). Pull a sample of the oil and send it here https://www.blackstone-labs.com/?ses...sisvc%29%29%2F

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by thatBimmerBloke

Recently I managed to get hold of the carfax of my car and it shows first oil change at 20k

Carfax only reports what's shown in publicly accessible data bases. If no one puts the information out there Carfax has no way of reporting it.
It's no secret when the car needs an oil change, it tells you with a message on the dashboard. If you want to see when it's due next you can find it in your iDrive. On the Control Display:
1. "Vehicle info"
2. "Vehicle status"
3. "Service required"
Required maintenance procedures and legally
mandated inspections are displayed.
4. Select an entry to call up detailed information.

[thatBimmerBloke]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Carfax only reports what's shown in publicly accessible data bases. If no one puts the information out there Carfax has no way of reporting it.
It's no secret when the car needs an oil change, it tells you with a message on the dashboard. If you want to see when it's due next you can find it in your iDrive. On the Control Display:
1. "Vehicle info"
2. "Vehicle status"
3. "Service required"
Required maintenance procedures and legally
mandated inspections are displayed.
4. Select an entry to call up detailed information.

I'm aware of that, I am just concerned about the potentially missed 1st service at 10k miles by the first owner, and if the engine would have incurred any damage from that. Hopefully he did it himself and that's why it's not in carfax or BMW database. If the owner did it himself or at some indy shop is there a way to find it out? Like an oil reset counter in the car?

[thatBimmerBloke]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

Want to learn if the engine is internally shedding excessive metals? (i.e. gauge bearing wear, etc). Pull a sample of the oil and send it here https://www.blackstone-labs.com/?ses...sisvc%29%29%2F

That would also determine if the engine has some damage due to late first oil change? Blackstone sample should be after a few thousand miles of oil change?

[Wgosma]

Originally Posted by thatBimmerBloke

That would also determine if the engine has some damage due to late first oil change? Blackstone sample should be after a few thousand miles of oil change?

Analysis won't tell you about history earlier than the oil sample your would provide; but if there was some 'damage' done, so to speak, in the past then it's perhaps more likely that the motor will continue to wear/shed metals at higher than normal rate. I'm not an oil analysis/motor expert but I've done this on my cars over the years, spot check w/Blackstone testing - it's not costly and might put your mind at ease going forward on oil change intervals.

Food for thought. See sample I had done about 2 years ago on an older E39 sedan I owned - give you an idea of what report will detail.

Good luck/Bill

[thatBimmerBloke]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

Analysis won't tell you about history earlier than the oil sample your would provide; but if there was some 'damage' done, so to speak, in the past then it's perhaps more likely that the motor will continue to wear/shed metals at higher than normal rate. I'm not an oil analysis/motor expert but I've done this on my cars over the years, spot check w/Blackstone testing - it's not costly and might put your mind at ease going forward on oil change intervals.

Food for thought. See sample I had done about 2 years ago on an older E39 sedan I owned - give you an idea of what report will detail.

Good luck/Bill

Thanks! How did you get the oil out for analysis? I got it changed just 2.5k miles back so it will be a while before another oil change. They do sell a quick draw pump for $35, any other option? Also do I need to replace the oil that I'll take out for analysis?

[Wgosma]

Here's how much oil - sample size, not a lot. Probably do it at next oil change is simplest way

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by thatBimmerBloke

How did you get the oil out for analysis?

Pull the oil filter cover within a few minutes of stopping the engine, there's enough oil in the housing for a while before it drains back down to the crankcase. You'll need a cheap turkey baster to draw it out.

[thatBimmerBloke]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

Here's how much oil - sample size, not a lot. Probably do it at next oil change is simplest way

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Pull the oil filter cover within a few minutes of stopping the engine, there's enough oil in the housing for a while before it drains back down to the crankcase. You'll need a cheap turkey baster to draw it out.

Thanks guys! I suppose I can wait till next oil change or use Billfitz 's method to grab some oil and send it to them. It looks like a 2"x3" jar, engine should be fine if this much oil is missing?

[adhrp]

Originally Posted by thatBimmerBloke

Thanks guys! I suppose I can wait till next oil change or use Billfitz 's method to grab some oil and send it to them. It looks like a 2"x3" jar, engine should be fine if this much oil is missing?

I would highly recommend waiting till the next cycle so that the oil has cycled through your engine for several thousand miles and collected some real particulates (unless you plan to get rid of the car over the next 7-10k miles or so). Plus it'll give you an idea of how your OCI is working out for your car. Do post it here so we can get a datapoint as well.

[jackstrath]

Just out of interest what does that cost you guys in the USA?

[thatBimmerBloke]

Originally Posted by jackstrath

Just out of interest what does that cost you guys in the USA?

You mean the oil analysis? $28.

[thatBimmerBloke]

Originally Posted by adhrp

I would highly recommend waiting till the next cycle so that the oil has cycled through your engine for several thousand miles and collected some real particulates (unless you plan to get rid of the car over the next 7-10k miles or so). Plus it'll give you an idea of how your OCI is working out for your car. Do post it here so we can get a datapoint as well.

You are right, I'll just wait till the next oil change, should be in another 3-4k miles. I'll post the results once I get it done.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by thatBimmerBloke

My question is is there a way to find the oil reset counter in the car by scanning it?

If you have access to ISTA-D you can check the counter to see how many times the oil was changed and reset but not the exact dates.

A little extrapolation, you might be able to figure it out.

[thatBimmerBloke]

Originally Posted by Poochie

If you have access to ISTA-D you can check the counter to see how many times the oil was changed and reset but not the exact dates.

A little extrapolation, you might be able to figure it out.

That would definitely help as I know how many times the oil change has been documented. I have ENET cable that I used for Esys on my previous car, do I need to buy ISTA-D? I also have the Vgate obd adapter. Any instruction guide? Thanks.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by thatBimmerBloke

That would definitely help as I know how many times the oil change has been documented. I have ENET cable that I used for Esys on my previous car, do I need to buy ISTA-D? I also have the Vgate obd adapter. Any instruction guide? Thanks.

Yes, as far as I know, only ISTA has the option for the maintenance. To be honest, the dealer can easily check the counter also, if they really want to help. It's there for them, not us and not that difficult.

If you do get it ISTA or you want me to tell you where dealer has to look, PM and I'll guide you where exactly it's located.