Let’s be honest – buying a new European car these days feels like signing your life away. With import tariffs making new BMWs and Mercedes cost more than a San Jose house down payment, smart buyers are hunting the used market. We’ve been helping San Jose drivers navigate European car purchases for years, and trust me, there are some expensive mistakes you definitely want to avoid.
Service Records Are Everything
Seriously, if the previous owner can’t show you a thick folder of maintenance receipts, walk away. European cars aren’t forgiving like your old Toyota.
We’ve had customers bring in “great deal” BMWs that needed $15,000 engine rebuilds because someone thought they could stretch oil changes to 15,000 miles. That’s not how German engineering works, folks.
Summer Heat is Your Enemy here in San Jose.
Those plastic coolant tanks in BMWs and Audis? They crack like crazy in our 100-degree summers. Pop the hood and look for white crusty residue around the expansion tank. See any? That’s trouble waiting to happen. We just did a $3,500 cooling system job on an Audi because the owner ignored a small leak.
Technology is Expensive to Fix
Press every button, test every feature. That fancy massage seat in the Mercedes might seem like a nice bonus until it breaks and costs $1,200 to repair. We see it all the time – customers fall in love with all the gadgets and then get sticker shock when something goes wrong.
Get Our Pre-Purchase Inspection
Look, I know spending a little money on a car before you even buy seems crazy, but we’ve literally saved customers from buying $8,000 disasters. Just last month, we inspected a “perfect” BMW that needed a new transmission. The seller mysteriously lost interest in negotiating after that.
Want to beat the tariffs? Buy smart, buy used, but buy with your eyes wide open.
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