Looking at a used 135i, carfax shows it was towed 8k miles ago. Red flag?

[romnation]

This is a 1 owner car and the carfax shows "Vehicle towed
due to a mechanical issue" about 3 years / 8k miles ago. Vehicle has under 50k miles. Immediately after, car shows:

Maintenance inspection completed
Brakes checked
Engine checked

Would the fact that the car has been towed be a red flag for you? Maybe HPFP died then? I don't see any other issues on the carfax. Obviously would need to get an inspection on the car before buying.

**EDIT**:
So it turns out there was some frame damage to the car. Left front upper reinforcement rail. Hood and fenders were also replaced. There is also some surface rust under the vehicle. Should I not even consider this car? Very unfortunate as it has everything I wanted. Here are some pictures:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...lU?usp=sharing

[HawkeyeGeoff]

Originally Posted by romnation

This is a 1 owner car and the carfax shows "Vehicle towed
due to a mechanical issue" about 3 years / 8k miles ago. Vehicle has under 50k miles. Immediately after, car shows:

Maintenance inspection completed
Brakes checked
Engine checked

Would the fact that the car has been towed be a red flag for you? Maybe HPFP died then? I don't see any other issues on the carfax. Obviously would need to get an inspection on the car before buying.

It could be a whole slew of things.

I'd just get it PPI and note that the tech look at the service information for the vehicle to give you a rough idea of what exactly happened.

As long as it didn't eat a belt through the front oil seal, you should be fine with how many different walk homes there could be on these cars.

[ejm3]

I would take Carfax with many grains of salt.
I've had them done on cars I've actually owned since new and seen bogus things on there that make no sense.
Its only good for showing when & where it was registered.

[c1pher]

PPI and that should tell you what you need to know. These are good cars overall. Not saying they don’t have little quirks but considering the level of performance you get are pretty reliable.

[MightyMouseTech]

I have had customers tow their vehicles in because of a tire pressure warning light. Got cold overnight and one tire went below the trigger point.

[1and1]

At under 50K miles currently it would have been under warranty when towed so was probably dropped at a dealership.

You can call a dealer service dept and ask them to look up the service records for the VIN. May need to call more than one dealer- some service advisers are more wiling to share service history than others...

As for what, really it could be anything. These are relatively complex cars and anything from turbo, to fuel related issues to DME failure, or perhaps just a simple battery or battery cable issue, could have resulted in a tow. Depending on the owner at the time it might have been as simple as a wheel weight falling off resulting in a minor vibration and they over-reacted..... Get the service history and you'll know for sure.

As long as whatever happened was properly corrected, and wasn't accident related, I wouldn't worry too much

[Matticus91]

I wouldn't worry about it getting towed. That could even mean it had a flat tire lol.

Both of my 1ers have been towed due to common issues, water pump and thermostat failure.

[Tommm]

My 04 GTO was towed three or four times in the first nine months. Dead battery each time. Turns out if I coasted into the parking lot at the train station with the motor off, the computer BCM didn't know the motor was off and the battery died.

Buried deep in the owners manual was an instruction to put the car in reverse when you shut it off. Almost missed my train a few times because of the extra nine seconds it took to shut the car off and take the whale of a key out.

Be afraid of a tow, be very afraid.

[714_2er]

Yea I wouldn't be too concerned about the tow.
My vehicle was towed to dealership for water pump that went out.was covered under warranty.

If carfax provides date of tow, look for service records with corresponding dates.

[xQx]

Originally Posted by Tommm

My 04 GTO was towed three or four times in the first nine months. Dead battery each time. Turns out if I coasted into the parking lot at the train station with the motor off, the computer BCM didn't know the motor was off and the battery died.

Buried deep in the owners manual was an instruction to put the car in reverse when you shut it off. Almost missed my train a few times because of the extra nine seconds it took to shut the car off and take the whale of a key out.

Be afraid of a tow, be very afraid.

LOL! While I'd love to make a "Made in America" comment, the Pontiac GTO was a rebadged Holden Monaro. I'd be surprised if it was made in Australia, but it was most likely designed here.

... and that sounds EXACTLY like a Holden.

There's a saying in Australia: ... as reliable as a handbrake on a Holden.

[Manual Transmission]

What I think is more interesting is that the car was only driven 8k in 3 years. There's a good chance that it could have sat for an extended period of time if it wasn't someone's weekend car or spare car.

[tock172]

I'm actually surprised to see such a thing reported on vehicle history report. I consider it to be a pretty useless piece of information considering most other states do not report minor occurrences like being put on a tow truck.

If you're looking for a car that has never spent time on a tow truck and likely won't have to see a tow truck again, don't buy something German. If you own enough of these cars for long enough periods of time, it will happen. That being said, I've had good luck with BMW. My Audi S4 was on a flatbed more times than I could count within a 6 month period. The only BMW's I've had end up on a flatbed were the two that I wrecked and then years later my first 2011 135i which suffered a failed water pump on the freeway. I coasted to a stop, had an excellent and highly courteous tow truck driver, and the issue was repaired under warranty.

[Captain Blood]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

I wouldn't worry about it getting towed. That could even mean it had a flat tire lol.
.

That's what I was going to say.

[doublevanosrc]

Did the OP ever find out the tow reason??

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by doublevanosrc

Did the OP ever find out the tow reason??

OP hasn't responded to anyone so who knows

[Tommm]

Originally Posted by Tommm

My 04 GTO was towed three or four times in the first nine months. Dead battery each time. Turns out if I coasted into the parking lot at the train station with the motor off, the computer BCM didn't know the motor was off and the battery died.

Buried deep in the owners manual was an instruction to put the car in reverse when you shut it off. Almost missed my train a few times because of the extra nine seconds it took to shut the car off and take the whale of a key out.

Be afraid of a tow, be very afraid.

Originally Posted by xQx

LOL! While I'd love to make a "Made in America" comment, the Pontiac GTO was a rebadged Holden Monaro. I'd be surprised if it was made in Australia, but it was most likely designed here.

... and that sounds EXACTLY like a Holden.

There's a saying in Australia: ... as reliable as a handbrake on a Holden.

It was made in Australia. It was a sweet car. The interior put many a BMW to shame, and other than a terribly long throw, just like most BMWs, the shift knob couldn't get swapped with a ZHP knob. That was my biggest complaint with the car. I had the low HP version. In 04 it only had 350HP. From what I read at the time, many cars had two different computer systems, and they don't always talk to one another. I didn't .

[romnation]

So it turns out there was some frame damage to the car. Left front upper reinforcement rail. Hood and fenders were also replaced. There is also some surface rust under the vehicle. Should I not even consider this car? Very unfortunate as it has everything I wanted. Here are some pictures:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...lU?usp=sharing

[135iTime]

I'd pass and find another one, there are more out there.

[tock172]

Originally Posted by romnation

So it turns out there was some frame damage to the car. Left front upper reinforcement rail. Hood and fenders were also replaced. There is also some surface rust under the vehicle. Should I not even consider this car? Very unfortunate as it has everything I wanted. Here are some pictures:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...lU?usp=sharing

It sounds like the car's been wrecked, although I couldn't see the frame rail damage you mentioned. You've already answered your own question. Why even consider something that's been in an accident? Onto the next one.

The rust, on the other hand, looks like what I'd expect for a midwest car that's been stored outside and driven through snow and salt.

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by 135iTime

I'd pass and find another one, there are more out there.

This^

RUN FROM THAT CAR!!

[Tommm]

Originally Posted by romnation

So it turns out there was some frame damage to the car. Left front upper reinforcement rail. Hood and fenders were also replaced. There is also some surface rust under the vehicle. Should I not even consider this car? Very unfortunate as it has everything I wanted. Here are some pictures:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...lU?usp=sharing

If the price reflects the diminution in value and you made your decision after having an expert review the car and confirm it was repaired correctly, do it. Assumes you will be happy with the car knowing its history.