Lies, Scam or HUGE failure to communicate? Story is full of holes! To the DEALER! BMW 325i 

if this was a scam, what was the scam?

A one-armed mechanic! You do so much work with one hand, while holding the camera with the other. Impressive!!

When the VIN mismatch came up, I instantly thought that someone must have swapped modules out.. and as this obviously wasn't done at a BMW dealership (else they'd have reprogrammed the VIN), you can't really trust most of the other trouble codes anymore. Who knows what crap those replacement parts (or worse, part clones) are writing to the CAN..

The 2 people you never lie to your doctor and your mechanic, they will always find out the truth.

I did work in a bmw specialist shop. Telling them to go to a bmw shop was a good decision. We see this with E46 all the time. The ABS code was actually a bad wheel alignment. The computer as soon as if you're going straight and the steering wheel is tilted because of a bad alignment it assumes that the steering wheel angle sensor is broken giving you a warning for abs, traction control, stability control. And we see people get units from eBay all the time put them in the car with the wrong mileage and it never fixes the problem and then they'll replace the steering angle sensor and it never fixes the problem it's the wheel alignment the wheel alignments off.

I'm a hvac tech and I do a lot of home warranty work and I constantly get jobs where the policy is like a week old and I can tell the unit hasn't been working for months which is fraud. When we work on something everyday we can tell when someone is pulling something

I have personally brought a few cars back to life from sitting over a year( usually 4 or 5) and there is no way, even in a garage, that it looked that clean after sitting. Maybe they cleaned it, but even the engine bay was flawless. I have a feeling it was from a shady dealer that wouldnt stand by it, and the customer was either looking for sincere help and was clueless or was hoping to get free work because they got scammed out of money themselves. Scams beget scams. Good work documenting and being informative!

BMW’s coded trouble codes are by design. They don’t want anyone working on their “as they age become endless money pits” vehicles.

Sounds like they just wanted someone to try to clear codes so they could flip it.

Hey Ray. Always trust your spidey senses.

someone needs to talk to Louis Rossmann and get onboard for the right to repair and those codes.

It has a vanos problem... Ah, a fully functional BMW.

Hey Ray, luv your vids. You are an Ace Mechanic in my opinion, and your attention to detail is exemplary. I hope your Boss recognizes your value as an asset to the shop.

My boss would say "she's a good customer we need to fix it" mean while she's only ever been here once, he doesn't want to miss out on any profit

Yep! working with 'the public' can be draining. Kudos for your diplomacy and restraint.

As a BMW tech I would say this car has been monkeyed around with and now they have invented a story to hide the fact.

The seatbelt and airbag codes plus sitting for so long, I was thinking the whole time it was a Copart rebuild or something similar.

You got to know when to hold em and you got to know when to fold em. Have not worked as a mechanic in years but the second that VIN mismatch came up I said "RUN!!!" There aint NOTHING good coming out of that deal

The whole car just screams shady from the start. Supposedly it sat for over a year but it looks like someone did the $100 package at the local car detailer. Even if it sat under a tarp in a storage container there would still be tons of dust

You can get generic codes from a BMW through the EOBD function. There are still going to be manufacturer specific codes but the ECU will still generate "standard" codes... to a point. That VIN mismatch on the ABS is usually the control module. It is also helpful to note that some BMWs require the battery to be 'initialized'. If I remember correctly, it just reboots the entire system and resets the "sleep" function. As clean as it is, this little Bimmer is going to need quite a bit of money thrown at it.

So much for the OBD2 system. It was put into use to make the system uniform.

Dealt with a very similar issue with my 2002 325ix. Dash was lit up like a Christmas tree and would occasionally go into limp home mode. Bought a scan tool for BMWs and started with about 15 codes that I finally got down to 3 codes that really made zero sense and all my trouble lights where stil on. Internet search suggested the engine harness so I removed cleaned and put dielectric grease on all the connectors, still had problems. Took more then a month of research and I finally ran across a TSB that suggested that I need to update the throttle body and replace the engine harness. Pulled the TB so I could read the date it was produced and it was pre update so ordered a junkyard TB of a newer date and waalaa, problem fixed. Didn't replace the engine harness but with all of the checks I did I was confident it was good. Yes the BMW codes suck and all of the modules seem to talk to each other turning on lights that don't seem to be part of the issue. I hate BMW for that. Nearly 3 years and 80,000 miles later it has been trouble free, knock on wood. The only constant issue I have is needing to replace the radiator surge tank every 6 months and the CCV twice. Finally spent the extra $ for an OEM surge tank so hopefully I get a year out of it this time and went to a regular PCV type system seems to have solved the CCV issue.

An older BMW with “problems.” That’s a first. Ok maybe not.

BMW and MINI’s are notorious for throwing codes when the battery is low. I throw 12, yes 12, codes when my battery is low. Since they came back after clearing there definitely is something wrong. You weren’t wrong for walking away.

This car looked way to good to have sat for a year. I have an old farm truck (92' ranger) that sat for 7 years and it started right up and I still drive it to this day. These guys where trying to scam you 100%, good call on calling it off.

As a BMW owner, let me assure you, they over engineer and over complicate EVERYTHING.

And thàt is why I am restoring my 1979 Volvo 240 wagon😆. No computer, no programming issues, no sofware read-outs.... Just, plain simple good old back to basic stuff I can fix myself😊. No ctrl-alt-delete needed😆. But I do enjoy watching this very much!👍

THANKS RAY for not getting involved in something that you dont have the proper documentation for most mechanics wouldnever admit to that you gave the customer best advice possible. good job

Replace Gas Cap, Exhaust Cam Position Sensor, and Front Passenger Seatbelt Receptacle. ABS will have to be done by BMW or a BMW specific indy shop

You made a good decision to not get too involved here. If you're unfamiliar with a piece of equipment then there's no shame in admitting that you're in over your head. These E46 BMWs are very easy to work on and repair but it does take a bit of preliminary knowledge to know where to begin. The generic scan tools, even the expensive ones are simply not equipped to deal with every single make and model on the road. They're "off the shelf" tools that work for a high percentage of vehicles but not for all. The simple fact that you didn't even know where the battery was tells us that you were in unfamiliar territory. Thank you for not destroying this ladies vehicle or taking her to the cleaner with replacement parts that it didn't need and you couldn't verify. This shows that you're far above the average mechanic working in this industry.

I worked on service desk/workshop admin at a Volvo main dealer. We had an older lady on service reception who could sniff out bull shit even on the phone. She would also spot the UK Ministry of Transport undercover MOT cars. It was dead handy as my OH at the time had a garage and would always get his inspection almost immediately after ours.

I had A 99 Chevy Prizm. When I bought it their Seemed to be Nothing wrong with it. So Naturally the first thing I did was an Oil change and Tune up. That's where I went Wrong! I was the Second owner,It had High mileage. We had it for like maybe 2 years. After Replacing Everything.I mean Everything and the light was Still on. I sent it to the Bone Yard! After the oil change we were going down the road,It handled pretty good until the Dashboard went Crazy! Towards the end of the Headache I figured out what the problem was. A Clogged Muffler. But it was to late I had my mind on Junking it. So I called A few people and they Ran it over with their trucks. 😉 Problem Solved.

This is why i love my Launch scanner because i can access alot of these imports and work on them easier with this scanner.

Ray, I'm with you, dont mess with it and send her on her way

I like that test light.

What Ray says: "I have advised her where to take her car for further service" What we hear: "I have told her where she can shove her car".

For me, the VIN Mismatch was the RED FLAG... and thanks but no thanks, take it to the BMW dealership.

A BMW with a Christmas 🎄 warning light display, I'm shocked I tell ya !

Like the Rainman's professonalism, especially not scaming the vehicle owner and directing that owner to a BMW dealership. Debo Excellent!

My "favorite" customers are the ones who get their codes read at Autozone, and brings it to me to install the part the guy behind the counter told them it needs to fix it. They never want to pay for diagnostics. The quote is usually "The code tells you what's wrong with it!" I usually tell them I'll diagnose it, and if the part you have is actually what is needed, I'll waive the diagnostic charge. I'd say 8 out of 10, the part they brought isn't the problem.

2:57 "Gonna circle back to that later, Psaki style." Nice one!

I recall something about having to program a battery in a BMW. AAA might not have had a battery in stock and picked one up at Batteries Plus. I agree that the car looks too clean for having been sitting for a long time unless they had it detailed. If it was sitting, there was probably a reason, like the cost of getting it's problems repaired.

If you install a new battery in BMW, you must grab a scan tool and perform a battery reset in the DME module. There is a circuit in the system that keeps track of the battery age, charging status, and prior history. When you put in a new battery, the system will get confused and start limiting power output and reduce charging capacity. I know it sounds dumb, but I've had similar problems with the various system modules and lack of charging because of this. I'm willing to bet the first thing a BMW shop does when they see that new battery is to run the battery initialization function and then see what happens. It fixes a LOT of electrical gremlins.

You can see on the dash straight away there is a control unit in the car that’s not chassis related coded , that full stop red dot between Mileage and trip lightened up .

The brake, ABS and traction control lights can sometimes be reset by turning the steering wheel lock to lock. Common issue after the battery dies...

I would suspect a past collision. Driver airbag deploy/ replacement without clockspring replacement, seat belt tensioner deployment/without replacement. May not even have an airbag in the steering wheel. Looking to get lights off to sell fast.

It's a BMW, so the check engine light is always illuminated. So normal vehicle operation.

Sometimes the deals you walk away from are the best deal for you

If it was sitting that long, they probably wanted warning lights cleared so they could get it to the dealer before they came back on……

As usual having my coffee with Ray. Good video 👍👍

I remember in 2006 when we bought a Brand New Chevy HHR Z24 2.2 liter..I couldn't find the battery ..pretty much all Domestic USA vehicles had the battery under the hood..NOT this one . It's under the Rear Hatch Panel with the Spare Tire..😳🤪

Hi Ray, so glad you are better and entertaining us again. I have a wry smile when you complain about European cars not having the same codes as the US vehicles that you are used to! Outside of the USA there is a huge world! Have you considered that European auto mechanics have a similar issue with US cars not conforming to European standards! Having said my rant, I completely agree with your decision. If you don't know enough about it, hand it over to someone who does.

I’ve been told that on newer euro cars, you need to have the battery “logged to the car memory” or it won’t recognise it, and can throw off error codes. - at least that’s how I understood the explanation, I’m a bike rider or classic car owner. Modern bikes are getting a bit too close to cars for tech, and any car post 1995 is modern to me! It seems to being driven by the global car companies who want to have total control over service and spares for quality control and to reduce law suits, but push it as a customer safety issue.

Kinda hard not to notice the Christmas tree of lights on the dash staring at you in the face every time you start the car. Seems to be a scam attempt.

As a small engine mechanic the amount of stuff that gets brought in and all we get is won’t start. Fail to inform it’s been hanging in the shed for 3 years or it was running at full noise then stopped or one that was completely seized then try and blame us for the failure.

Nice "Circle Back" Psaki reference.

BMW is notorious for not wanting anyone other than factory dealers to work on them. An owner of a BMW repair shop stated that BMW charged him $25,000.00 per year for being able to have access. He had an X5 in the shop that had set for more than a year because the front end was aligned by an ordinary alignment shop and the car had a check engine light because of it. He had to reload the software for the ECU from scratch and was required to have a UPS so that a power outage would not stop the download. I worked as a tech inspector at SCCA races and there were classes of cars that required the driver to have a shop manual for them but BMW would not allow them access. I always thought the owners did not want to spend the money until I talked to that BMW shop owner.

The proprietary codes are all about denying anyone except "authorized" shops work on the cars. The right to repair legislation in the EU is almost non-existent.

I bought one of these cars in 2019, paid 2k at 160k miles it sat almost 2 years with blown tranny until guy I got it from replaced tranny with 60k miles unit Been a great car but I’ve spent like 10k on parts and labor, interior work, catback exhaust, headers, CCA and 8k on the audio system. Running 0 gauge into trunk with 400amp alternator and 12k watt lithium battery system. I don’t live next to a dealer but have a European car only mechanic that has everything under the Sun for foreign cars and can do fabrication.

No way those lights weren't on earlier. Customer is looking for freebie work.

Long time e46 fan and owner here. You mentioned codes for steering angle and CANbus. I'd be willing to bet money it is the ignition switch. It has been known to happen producing these conditions.. Data is not being transmitted properly inside the steering column due to the failing switch..

Stolen vehicle maybe? It appears to be a little fishy for sure. The dealer will probably fire the parts cannon at it and after several thousand dollars in new parts and labor, it will still likely be messed up.

I like watching a craftsman at his work doing a great job. That must be the reason why I am watching so many of these videos.

Dealing with this customer reminds me of when people who go too the doctor about a problem and then don't give proper or true answers, yet still expect proper help. Just weird...

I have been binge watching your videos all day... I have to say on this one... it's your code scanner, not BMW. My brother and I use a $100 Blue Tooth scanner to an iPhone and get the correct codes that you were mentioning that your system doesn't not see. So I would suspect your Apollo system can't correctly communicate with the BMW. You may want to have your shop invest in another scanning system that can talk with EU spec cars. Just saying. FYI, this wasn't a scam. These lights on the BMW come up due to a couple of reasons. 1) the BUS system can't communicate due to a foreign signal, aka your scanner and a feedback happens. or more likely 2) when a new battery gets placed in, there is a reset procedure for the computer systems to blank them out and tell them there is a new battery.... failure to do that can cause these random lights to happen. So basically you don't know BMW's that are 20 years old. I know quite abit about this, as I have a '02 e46 330 and have encountered and fixed every issue that shown up for these cars, including the ones you came across.... bottom line, your ONE scanner, is not the correct tool.

I would have liked to see what popped up on a Carfax report of this car. How many people have owned this jewel ?

BMW ABS pumps have bad brushes that swell overtime and lose contact, ABS light comes on. You can change the motor part but if you change the valving it needs programed to your vin.

Another auto repair RU-vidr mentioned a while back that newer cars seemed to be using the nuclear option when emission components throw a code in a covert attempt to get cars into the shop faster. For example, a gas filler cap or emissions canister code would cause other convenience codes to be thrown also, maybe even stop them from working. Are you seeing anything that looks like this?

Nice to see how you cover the state of this car for sitting two years initially hehe.. It all make sense later in the video. This vid is actually a really good one, thanks!

"Scan tool?" More like scam tool! (I would have assumed the customer was just a clueless person, the type that puts tape over check engine light...not maliciously, but out just oblivious...)

@6:00 "... it almost locks me out of diagnosing it (because of funny BMW codes)".... time to raise your voice and support the Right To Repair movement.

First clue under the hood is the shock towers are a different color than the outer fenders. Maybe it was wrecked ?

6:00 Don't feel bad. My wife had a VW and the change holder is in front of the power port. She tossed coins in the holder and a penny dropped down the power port blowing the fuse. looked in the owner's manual and there is no fuse diagram. Searched the web no one has a diagram. Called VW and was told "This car is so new that no one knows what fuse does what. Please take it to your dealership and they can replace the fuse for you." It has been my experience that Germans don't do anything unless it is in a book, so you know they know where that fuse is.

You are right that the BMW E46 3'ers are difficult in the diagnostic process. They reward you by being one of the best, most affordable used cars I've driven (I currently own two). That said, there is probably a problem that could be diagnosed but perhaps a BMW tech or someone with the experience is a better choice to help the customer with this car. True their story seemed wonky- but your experience with the car isn't the car's fault.

One thing that passes me off about really expensive diagnostic tools is the way they slavishly transcribe the code descriptions from OEM diagnostic computers. These OEM descriptions are often poorly translated from other languages and often highly ambiguous, leading to loss of time and occasional misdiagnosis. These DIAG tools often cost the price of a car and the software is not cheap either. You are absolutely right to moan about this. S........On and others should try and stick to OBD code descriptions, irrespective of whether the code is Pxxxx or and OEM number. The whole purpose of OBD is to standardise fault description and facilitate 3rd party repair.

Excellent rejection! I would not do any work on that shady BMW. Too many red flags. Let her take it to the dealer. I bet you she won't!

I'm impressed that a 2002 BMW is still running .

"I'll circle around saki style" 🤣

Just sold my dads 05 330ci Cabriolet and so glad we got rid of it

BMW = Bring Mucho Wampum!!! If you need service!😎

BMW diagnostic tools are incredibly cheap, and provide the most detailed diagnostics of any vehicle in existence.

What do you think… Was it stolen/reassembled from swapped stolen parts? Junkyard rebuild? Was it a flood car? Improperly modified?

Fun fact... Bmw and Mercedes tend to be extremely picky about what battery you throw in them and can cause all kinds of electrical gremlins if the car decides it doesn't like something about a battery.

Janky rebuild and they're trying to pawn it off to an uninformed buyer.

Condensation from the air conditioning was my first thought when they said clear fluid under the car while it was sitting there running. lol.

in germany we dont say "pop the hood", we say "mach ma die haube uff"

John Dingo has some excellent points in his comments. Just send them off to BMW dealer! Oh and they won’t be able to that because the VIN “issue” will come up😂

I can guess it was a my son or daughter put a battery in backwards then changed fuses and modules that cooked. Hence wrong battery not AAA and odd modules along with sitting.

I work for AAA and people always claim that we replaced their batteries, when all we did was a jump start

scam brilliantly avoided - scam would be to sue the shop and rainman for improper work.

Very wise to jump ship on this one as it would be a no win situation.

Definitely a scam! Or atleast not truthful about what is really going on

'and then we'll circle back Jen Saki style'. Gold.

Two years parked, a nearly 20 year old car, clean and neat, no signs of storage deterioration, AND the A/C works well enough to generate an evaporator "leak"? Immediately my spidey senses are tingling that something isn't right with what I'm being told about the car's history. His job is to fix cars, not decipher obvious bullshit from the customer. If the customer had just said, "Hey, I bought it off Craigslist, I have these issues", then you do your best and advise them honestly about what to do. It's a lemon, it's a money pit, do you want it repaired or restored or do you want to cut your losses? A BMW with 130,000 miles is ready for the crusher anyway, whether it's 2 years old or 20 years old. The parts costs alone will kill you. I'd take a rusty 1985 Chevy Celebrity Eurosport (Urinalsport) over that thing any damned day.

My company buys knauer hplc pumps (German). They changed the head design to include a sapphire ring that breaks all the time. All the other internal parts are the same except for the head. They changed the design so it would fail more often and cost you more money to service it. The older designs are much more reliable. Because it's FDA we can only buy Knauer pumps. About 3 grand each.

Congrats to over 58K subs!! Love the content and glad you have recovered from "RONA" "Sat for 2 years, AAA dropped a battery in it, and let it run..." Did they not check for critters? Even in a locked garage... they can get in...

Good job. Way to protect yourself!

Hey look at the bright side, the Snap On truck is there for MORE TOOL PURCHASES !!

When you said "open circuit"...coupled with sitting for a while, i thought mice damage. We'll never know :(

It’s kind of a good thing for you to record this stuff, especially when you first get to the car.