Z4MR Newbie

[Haggisman]

Hi all,

Finally got the car home today and of course, buying a car without a few problems wouldn't be normal!

Before I drove the car away I tested the roof (the seller said they'd greased the catches for me). The catches released fine but the roof pump is dead, and I get a red flash from the release button. They told me they had tested the roof 10-15 times this morning and everything was fine. When I got about 15 miles towards home I tested the roof again and still nothing, but can hear the relay under the glovebox clicking.

When I called them to explain that it's still dead they said that they may have blown a fuse by accident, but I'm not sure. The good news is that the pump has been relocated next to the passenger side seat, next to the rear bulkhead, so access is relatively easy albeit tight to hook up a multi meter and test for voltage / current drain.

Does anyone have any advice? It's a trade sale so the likelihood of me getting any recompense are slim, but may be able to persuade the seller to contribute towards a recon unit if I replace it myself (shouldn't be a difficult job if it's located in the cabin.

To top it off, on the way home I also noticed a xenon bulb which isn't working, but that's the least of my worries!

Can’t offer any advice on the roof but agree with your comments re that no matter how much you research the purchase there is always something that needs attention. When I bought my M3 the pre purchase inspection by a “respected” BMW race engineering firm didn’t tell me it had been converted from LHD to RHD and it had the colour changed amongst other things. Fortunately I did know this already and it had been well executed as proven by 7 years of hard track usage. W

When I bought the Z4 the pre purchase inspection didn’t report the worn bushes that I replaced immediately.

I hope that the “Trade” deal helps compensate for any work you need to do to the car and at least you will know you have done the work properly.

Enjoy the car, warts and all.

[alex.baker1989]

Sorry about the thread spam, but I couldn't help but go and fiddle myself in pitch black! Checked fuses and seemed fine, then decided to get full access to the pump and remove the sock-type cover someone used to conceal it, only to find the connections were loose and one of the spade plugs had fallen off.

Re-connected and sure enough, the roof lives! Bit disappointed by the shoddy workmanship to re-locate the motor though, but that can be sorted easily. The only remaining issue now is that the roof needs a nudge off the catches most times I open it - more than it did before. It looks like the seller has used white lithium grease on the catches - not sure if this is a good idea or not?

[Jembo]

Hi Alex, glad you arrived safely home.

If it’s a trade sale, it’s covered by the sale of goods act which means it must be of merchantable quality for 3 months unless specifically mentioned/defects itemised on your sales invoice.

Firstly follow up in writing (email) covering todays events - someone telling me they tested it 15 times sounds like they knew there was a problem when it doesn’t work when u test it before leaving & problem continues.

In the email ask what they suggest to do to rectify the matter... put the ball in their court, rather than u dance around & let us all know the outcome

[alex.baker1989]

Thanks for everyone's input here so far.

Being on gardening leave for a month I've got ample time to play around with and get used to the car. Today I decided to tackle the roof sticking issue once I realised the hydraulic pump was fine. The garage had previously sprayed a load of white lithium grease in the catches which got the roof stuck on every attempt to open it.

I cleaned all of the gunk out, replaced with all purpose grease and decided to lube the frame hinges at the same time. Now the roof opens and closes without getting stuck at all, so that problem is solved and am relieved it turned out not to be a weak pump.

The next thing to have a look at is the drivers head light. It constantly steams up and the Xenon bulb has died (conveniently waited until after I picked it up). Has anyone ever attempted a DIY fix to stop water ingress? The only other option is an expensive one....

I've also tried dabbing the throttle to see how consistent the clunky diff is, and you do get clunking when I do that. I hope a fluid change could fix this.

Other than that, I managed to get her nice and clean today inside and out, which is always a good way to get to know the car. As always though, this introduced me to more stone chips, scratches and swirls. Next up is a bit of detailing and a decent polish!

[mr wilks]

Headlight problem Alex , i had similar woes on recent Z with zenon,s .
Start by checking the ballast / self level are working & also the pop up washer is working correctly & not ( like mine ) spraying water onto the bottom of headlight where those control units are ?
Bulbs are fairly simple to replace ( don't touch with power on ) then finally dry the inside out with hair dryer before getting a new rear cover as the seal on the rear does perish
Diff / you could do with meeting up with forum guy to compare as they can feel gruff if not used to them