Close to buying – advice requested please

[James63]

Hello everyone, this is my first post and I hope soon to be a full member of the Alpina community. I live in Geneva and for some time have had my eye on a silver 2002 B3 3.3 X Switchtronic (the X being 4x4, which as far as I know is not common in the UK but has done a lot of sales out here). About 20k miles, properly serviced.

I actually test drove this car some time ago, loved it but found the price a bit high. A week ago they knocked another 3500 pounds off the asking price, so I went back yesterday.

Very nearly bought it there and then, but managed to restrain myself as there were a few small worries in the back of my mind. Over a sleepless night they have moved to front of mind, and I now present them here in the hope that I may get some advice.

Any problems could be the result of the fact that the car has just spent the entire very wet winter outside in the garage forecourt with virtually no use. The specific worries are:

A. Under hard acceleration there is a fairly ferocious crackle, which is great, but overlaying it a kind of whooshy whistly sound, which doesn’t sound bad either, but I don’t remember it from the first test drive and I’m not sure it should be there. Could be some ferocious air-sucking going on under the bonnet I suppose?

B. The autobox causes a noticeable vibration through car when at idle. When shifting to neutral or park the vibration disappears. Again, don’t think this was there last time.

C. Autobox semed a little slow-witted, thunked a bit on hard changes (but sweet enough on part-throttle). And moving from drive to reverse, a slight (but more noticeable than on say a BMW 330 auto) thunk, and the process seemed to take a long time for the electronic brain – at least a second.

Love cars but don’t know too much about the mechanicals (except that they can be a major headache) . Hope to hear from you all soon that I am being paranoid...

[alpina46]

Does the car have a warranty ?
I think i'd want the car inspected by a good mechanic for peace of mind.

The thunk could be the 4x4 drive ? not to sure though.

Sorry i cant offer you any more help.

[neil]

Hi James

Yep if your in any doubt the warranty is the only way to go - plus making sure it covers the transmission etc.

A good mechanic should be able to give you a more inform idea - particularly one familiar with ALPINAs - is that possible ?

Neil

[Chas]

Wow! A 4x4 B3... I want one.

I had no idea BMW were still doing these, let alone Alpina. Why not in the UK

[James63]

Hi,
Thanks for the replies, yes, there is a warranty which allegedly covers everything for 12 months. But, surprising as it may sound to some, the Swiss garages are not well known for either doing a particularly good job or honoring their commitments. In any case it would certainly be hopeless complaining about an increasingly slow, vibrating, thunky autobox unless something actually broke – otherwise it’s always the standard “they all do that” response.

I might be able to find a mechanic to have a look, but in the meantime I guess I just wanted to ask if your cars, esp. the B3s, sound and behave similarly or not. For example, is the idle completely smooth or is there some vibration?

I don’t think the 4x4 should be a factor, I have driven two auto 330xi BMWs which were virtually indistinguishable from non-4x4s.

Of course, the ‘box may just need a full oil change after standing immobile for so long. Is this possible, or did I read somewhere that they are sealed for life?

The BMW and Alpina 4x4s are very popular out here for snowy mountain pass related reasons, right now in CH there are 30 B3s on sale on the main car internet site, of which 16 are 4x4 Tourings. At the moment I drive a manual 330xi and find it very good. But not quite as good as a good Alpina...

[sward]

So, did you buy it then?
Regards
Simon