Originally Posted by
vmspionage
That's the thing I hate about those little mom and pop dealerships, there are lots of shady cars they pick up from auctions usually with tons of problems and no service history. The 99 M3 I just looked at was literally falling apart, gas door hanging off, airbag light on, broken power mirrors, front end damage, emblems damaged, etc. Of course none of that is advertised, they try to slip it past you and hope you see it before you sign the check. Shit like that makes me want to lease a new bimmer instead of dealing with all the BS.
Don't limit your searching strictly to VA.
Look for cars people can vouch for on any of the bimmer forums, pay someone who knows the cars to look over it for you if it's too far to do it yourself, and fly out there to drive it home if it sounds good. I had to go to Florida to find the M I've been trying to find for months.