I have a 2000 E39 (which I purchased in Jan 2010) that apparently was a BMW CPO car. Going through the service receipts that I was given, I found an invoice for the replacement of many components of the air conditioning system (pump, drier, etc.), but there were no prices for the parts. A "CPO" processing fee was charged instead. My car came apparently came out of the CPO warranty in 2006 just before hitting 100k miles. All of the service receipts I have date from after that time. Is there any way to get the maintenance/service history from the CPO program? I particularly want to know when the last time the water pump was replaced. I'm getting ready to do a preventative maintenance service for the car as 150k miles is right around the corner. Thanks!
A car's service history is considered personal information of the owner of record as of the invoice date(s), because the invoices usually contain personal data such as addresses and telephone numbers. For this reason, a dealership that is on the ball will not release the service history to subsequent owners. You might have some luck if you can persuade them to contact the prior owner(s) on your behalf and ask for consent to release the records to you. The master vehicle database the dealer can query from the car's VIN will have records of recalls, warranty campaigns and service bulletins that affected your particular car. It will not have records of mundane service visits. When you have specific questions like "when was the water pump last replaced, if ever" your best bet is to ask the dealer to search the invoices on file and find that information for you. However, that does require you to know which dealership(s) serviced the car and could be a nuisance if they're not near you.
OK... My car has had four owners. Owner #1 (unknown) bought the car new in NY, and appears to have traded it in. Owner #2 bought the car as a CPO car in CA, and subsequently sold it to owner #3 after the CPO warranty expired. I'm owner #4, and I know the names of the two previous owners. I get the impression from what you wrote that only the dealer that did the service would have the records of the service. I know the dealer that did the AC service, and the dealer that sold the car to owner #2. Owner #2 lived about 50 miles South of my location. I may try to visit the dealer that sold the car as CPO (and/or the dealer that did the AC service) and try my luck. Also, I just cleaned my engine yesterday. The water pump looks quite new. Are there date codes stamped on the plastic housing?
Exactly right, with a few exceptions as I mentioned (recalls, SIBs, etc.). And the owners of course, if they're records hounds like a bunch of us. Owner #1 may be unknown but you should be able to find dealer #1 with relative ease, and then you'll be all set. I'm pretty sure the center that originally orders/delivers a car is recorded in the vehicle database as part of its history. Any dealer's service department should be able to get at least the center ID number for you. If they can't give you the name on the spot, a call to BMW NA Customer Relations should be all you need to get the dealership from the ID. Note you need to talk to the service department even though you're trying to find where it was sold. The sales staff don't need to deal with the vehicle database and may not have the necessary training or access. Once you've located all the dealers who worked on the car, basic people skills should get you most of the service history. After all, you don't need tremendous detail, just whether and when anything unusual has been repaired on the car. I'm not sure what you're looking at because AFAIK, the water pump housing is metal.
They can give you a complete breakdown... I have had it done for me before, but you have to be nice to them since they have to remove the personal info before giving it to you... Chuck
