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Mr Tidy
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Post by Mr Tidy » Sun May 10, 2020 8:37 pm

To be fair my aversion to TI and black is because I've had a silver with black/charcoal overload over the years!

My last car before I bought my first Z was a TI silver 1 Series with charcoal trim that I had for over 6 years. :roll:
Coupes because stunning!
Current - Silver Grey MC, Imola Red heated Nappa & carbon trim. Aeros, H & R Coil-overs, 224s, OE Strut brace, Nav, cup-holders, DSP Hi-Fi, pdc, cruise, MFSW, no CDV! E90 330i daily
Gone - Montego Blue
Gone - Ruby Black

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R60BBA
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Post by R60BBA » Mon May 11, 2020 1:43 am

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/clas ... fied-clean

What do we think about the choice of alloys folks?
Current: 2002 E46 M3
Current: 2004 R53 Cooper S
Current: 2005 997 Carrera S
Gone: 1998 E31 840Ci Sport
Gone: 2007 Z4 E86 3.0Si Sport
Gone: 2001 Z3 E36/7 2.2i San Remo Individual
Gone: 2015 F21 116d M Sport
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Post by Philly_Sweden » Mon May 11, 2020 9:53 am

R60BBA wrote: Mon May 11, 2020 1:43 am https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/clas ... fied-clean

What do we think about the choice of alloys folks?
Amazing of course.

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dougie1142
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Post by dougie1142 » Tue May 12, 2020 12:15 pm

R60BBA wrote: Mon May 11, 2020 1:43 am https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/clas ... fied-clean

What do we think about the choice of alloys folks?
Big fan of that, makes the roadster very appealing!


What does everyone think of this Z4MC? I like the spec, but want the experts (you guys!) opinion. I know its been linked before but i didn't see too many comments on it.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Z4-M-3-2 ... Sw~KxeZjPa

Image
Last edited by dougie1142 on Tue May 12, 2020 1:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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bakes100
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Post by bakes100 » Tue May 12, 2020 11:06 pm

Thought about enquiring into that one myself however it looks a little rough round the edges. Missing one strut alignment pin, damage to the drivers door seal and that’s just from photos.

I’m not sure what spec you’re after but there is a low spec ruby black one on eBay that looks tidy for 15.5 k , he will take 14.5 k for it ... Although always difficult to get an idea of condition from photos.
2006 BMW Z4M Coupe - Sapphire Black
2007 BMW Z4M Coupe - Silver Grey - GONE

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AndyBeech
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Post by AndyBeech » Tue May 12, 2020 11:29 pm

bakes100 wrote: Tue May 12, 2020 11:06 pm Thought about enquiring into that one myself however it looks a little rough round the edges. Missing one strut alignment pin, damage to the drivers door seal and that’s just from photos.

I’m not sure what spec you’re after but there is a low spec ruby black one on eBay that looks tidy for 15.5 k , he will take 14.5 k for it ... Although always difficult to get an idea of condition from photos.
That pin is just for camber and quite common to not have, nothing to worry about.
Z4MR - Gruppe M, Bilstein PSS10, CSL's + 18" CSL reps with semi's, RTAB Limiters, Powerflex’d, PF Camber Arms, K-Sport BBK / RSL-29, GC Camber Plates, Strut Brace, Exhaust valves, custom brake cooling, complete underside refresh!

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Post by bowser134 » Tue May 12, 2020 11:34 pm

dougie1142 wrote: Tue May 12, 2020 12:15 pm
R60BBA wrote: Mon May 11, 2020 1:43 am https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/clas ... fied-clean

What do we think about the choice of alloys folks?
Big fan of that, makes the roadster very appealing!


What does everyone think of this Z4MC? I like the spec, but want the experts (you guys!) opinion. I know its been linked before but i didn't see too many comments on it.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Z4-M-3-2 ... Sw~KxeZjPa

Image
That car has been for sale for a couple of months now. I enquired about it at the start of March. He was very up front and honest when he saw I was a BMW Specialist from my email address. A few things he listed was the drivers bolster which needed work..
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Post by lucasxdiniz » Wed May 13, 2020 12:01 am

bowser134 wrote: Tue May 12, 2020 11:34 pm
That car has been for sale for a couple of months now. I enquired about it at the start of March. He was very up front and honest when he saw I was a BMW Specialist from my email address. A few things he listed was the drivers bolster which needed work..
Just my two cents on the driver bolster: it shouldn't be a deal breaker as it's easily restored even DIY. A bit time consuming as you leave stuff to dry, but easy enough to do and certainly cheap. Even professionally it's not the end of the world.
Z4MC: Interlagos Blue | Individual Champagne
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Post by mike k » Wed May 13, 2020 11:01 am

I have been looking at a Z4M for a while now and was initially put off by the high running costs especially the insp2 service, but i keep coming back to them and have decided if I can find a nice one to just ignore the running costs !

I have seen the below advertised fairly local, I would prefer a higher spec but its looks like a nice example with good history and pretty clean mot history. Do people think £15.5k with 80k miles is about right ? Also can anyone give any pointers on what to look out for as I keep reading horror stories regarding Vanos, Conrod bearings and a few failed head gaskets...... should I be worried or are the issues blown out of proportion ?

The car in question is;
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-BMW-Z4M ... SwpMNetVI-

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R60BBA
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Post by R60BBA » Wed May 13, 2020 11:19 am

mike k wrote: Wed May 13, 2020 11:01 am I have been looking at a Z4M for a while now and was initially put off by the high running costs especially the insp2 service, but i keep coming back to them and have decided if I can find a nice one to just ignore the running costs !

I have seen the below advertised fairly local, I would prefer a higher spec but its looks like a nice example with good history and pretty clean mot history. Do people think £15.5k with 80k miles is about right ? Also can anyone give any pointers on what to look out for as I keep reading horror stories regarding Vanos, Conrod bearings and a few failed head gaskets...... should I be worried or are the issues blown out of proportion ?

The car in question is;
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-BMW-Z4M ... SwpMNetVI-
1. Good choice in car

2. Inspection II isn't that bad, considering it is done every 4th service

3. Non-Sat Nav cars are more desirable due to the 'flush' dashboard, however that car not having heated seats is a bit of a let down

4. Don't buy on mileage, buy on condition. Mileage is only relevant if you are looking for an investment, at which point you would need below 60,000 miles (and not go above that during your ownership)

5. Slightly higher mileage cars which have a book full of receipts of wear components replaced will be cheaper, both in terms of price and running costs and should also be depreciation free miles. Only downside to this is that your friends might comment that you drive a higher mileage car, but then who cares

6. VANOS is touch and go, best way to check if it's okay or not is to get your mechanic to check the tabs whilst conducting a valve adjustment on an Inspection I or II service

7. Rod bearing shells are also touch and go, the general consensus is that they should be replaced every 80,000 - 100,000 miles. However if the car has been looked after, i.e. warmed up properly and had regular oil changes than in theory, the shells can last much longer. There are US S54s which have gone past 200,000 miles on original internals. I also know of one car owned by a BMW Watford technician, an E46 M3, which has 260,000 miles on it and has not had shells, VANOS or HG replaced [albeit most of the miles were autobahn miles as he used to work in Munich and used his car as transportation for going to and from the UK]). Nevertheless, the problem on rod bearing shells is that it is impossible to know how the previous owner treated the car and so I would barter them into the purchase price of the car, perhaps offer to meet the owner halfway if he is not willing to cover the full cost (which is usually around 1,200). Note you will also want to replace the engine mounts while you are down there. If buying from a dealer you may find that he is reluctant to budge, at which point it would make sense to request a warranty to cover you for the period you are owning the car. Only issue with this is when you sell the car, (the warranty will most probably be up) and you will be selling a higher mileage vehicle without the service done and so future buyers will try and barter you on this

8. HG - don't bother replacing this until you are presented with pinking or unfortunately have to do a VANOS overhaul. Purely replacing your HG for preventative maintenance is the biggest waste of money

9. Don't be worried, just go in knowing that unless these jobs have been done, you may have to spend some cash sorting them throughout your ownership. If looked after properly these cars are pretty much bulletproof

10. Good luck :thumbsup:
Current: 2002 E46 M3
Current: 2004 R53 Cooper S
Current: 2005 997 Carrera S
Gone: 1998 E31 840Ci Sport
Gone: 2007 Z4 E86 3.0Si Sport
Gone: 2001 Z3 E36/7 2.2i San Remo Individual
Gone: 2015 F21 116d M Sport
Gone: 2012 A3 Sportback 1.2TFSI

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Post by mike k » Wed May 13, 2020 12:19 pm

R60BBA wrote: Wed May 13, 2020 11:19 am 1. Good choice in car

2. Inspection II isn't that bad, considering it is done every 4th service

3. Non-Sat Nav cars are more desirable due to the 'flush' dashboard, however that car not having heated seats is a bit of a let down

4. Don't buy on mileage, buy on condition. Mileage is only relevant if you are looking for an investment, at which point you would need below 60,000 miles (and not go above that during your ownership)

5. Slightly higher mileage cars which have a book full of receipts of wear components replaced will be cheaper, both in terms of price and running costs and should also be depreciation free miles. Only downside to this is that your friends might comment that you drive a higher mileage car, but then who cares

6. VANOS is touch and go, best way to check if it's okay or not is to get your mechanic to check the tabs whilst conducting a valve adjustment on an Inspection I or II service

7. Rod bearing shells are also touch and go, the general consensus is that they should be replaced every 80,000 - 100,000 miles. However if the car has been looked after, i.e. warmed up properly and had regular oil changes than in theory, the shells can last much longer. There are US S54s which have gone past 200,000 miles on original internals. I also know of one car owned by a BMW Watford technician, an E46 M3, which has 260,000 miles on it and has not had shells, VANOS or HG replaced [albeit most of the miles were autobahn miles as he used to work in Munich and used his car as transportation for going to and from the UK]). Nevertheless, the problem on rod bearing shells is that it is impossible to know how the previous owner treated the car and so I would barter them into the purchase price of the car, perhaps offer to meet the owner halfway if he is not willing to cover the full cost (which is usually around 1,200). Note you will also want to replace the engine mounts while you are down there. If buying from a dealer you may find that he is reluctant to budge, at which point it would make sense to request a warranty to cover you for the period you are owning the car. Only issue with this is when you sell the car, (the warranty will most probably be up) and you will be selling a higher mileage vehicle without the service done and so future buyers will try and barter you on this

8. HG - don't bother replacing this until you are presented with pinking or unfortunately have to do a VANOS overhaul. Purely replacing your HG for preventative maintenance is the biggest waste of money

9. Don't be worried, just go in knowing that unless these jobs have been done, you may have to spend some cash sorting them throughout your ownership. If looked after properly these cars are pretty much bulletproof

10. Good luck
Thanks for the detailed reply :D
Just read further through this post and seen the car was listed on collecting cars in march and sold for £12750 so slightly odd the dealer still has the car, the last insp2 was done in 2013 with an insp1 in 2016, and an oil service in 2018 and 2019, it will be due the insp2 service anytime now, looking at the close up of the wheels on collecting cars the discs dont look to good either so seems the car needs a bit of money spending on it quite soon, unless they drop the price quite a bit think I will give it a miss.

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Post by mr wilks » Wed May 13, 2020 1:26 pm

mike k wrote: Wed May 13, 2020 12:19 pm
R60BBA wrote: Wed May 13, 2020 11:19 am 1. Good choice in car

2. Inspection II isn't that bad, considering it is done every 4th service

3. Non-Sat Nav cars are more desirable due to the 'flush' dashboard, however that car not having heated seats is a bit of a let down

4. Don't buy on mileage, buy on condition. Mileage is only relevant if you are looking for an investment, at which point you would need below 60,000 miles (and not go above that during your ownership)

5. Slightly higher mileage cars which have a book full of receipts of wear components replaced will be cheaper, both in terms of price and running costs and should also be depreciation free miles. Only downside to this is that your friends might comment that you drive a higher mileage car, but then who cares

6. VANOS is touch and go, best way to check if it's okay or not is to get your mechanic to check the tabs whilst conducting a valve adjustment on an Inspection I or II service

7. Rod bearing shells are also touch and go, the general consensus is that they should be replaced every 80,000 - 100,000 miles. However if the car has been looked after, i.e. warmed up properly and had regular oil changes than in theory, the shells can last much longer. There are US S54s which have gone past 200,000 miles on original internals. I also know of one car owned by a BMW Watford technician, an E46 M3, which has 260,000 miles on it and has not had shells, VANOS or HG replaced [albeit most of the miles were autobahn miles as he used to work in Munich and used his car as transportation for going to and from the UK]). Nevertheless, the problem on rod bearing shells is that it is impossible to know how the previous owner treated the car and so I would barter them into the purchase price of the car, perhaps offer to meet the owner halfway if he is not willing to cover the full cost (which is usually around 1,200). Note you will also want to replace the engine mounts while you are down there. If buying from a dealer you may find that he is reluctant to budge, at which point it would make sense to request a warranty to cover you for the period you are owning the car. Only issue with this is when you sell the car, (the warranty will most probably be up) and you will be selling a higher mileage vehicle without the service done and so future buyers will try and barter you on this

8. HG - don't bother replacing this until you are presented with pinking or unfortunately have to do a VANOS overhaul. Purely replacing your HG for preventative maintenance is the biggest waste of money

9. Don't be worried, just go in knowing that unless these jobs have been done, you may have to spend some cash sorting them throughout your ownership. If looked after properly these cars are pretty much bulletproof

10. Good luck
Thanks for the detailed reply :D
Just read further through this post and seen the car was listed on collecting cars in march and sold for £12750 so slightly odd the dealer still has the car, the last insp2 was done in 2013 with an insp1 in 2016, and an oil service in 2018 and 2019, it will be due the insp2 service anytime now, looking at the close up of the wheels on collecting cars the discs dont look to good either so seems the car needs a bit of money spending on it quite soon, unless they drop the price quite a bit think I will give it a miss.
You will do well to buy one of these that requires absolutely nothing spending within a few months.
That car if you got it for £14500 would give you £2k throw at it & still not be ott for a 80k car.
If it's local (Clitheroe) why not take a look & see if it appeals.
If you are local I can recommend a excellent bmw tech in Grt Harwood for ins2.
3 ZMRs
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Post by dougie1142 » Wed May 13, 2020 3:23 pm

mike k wrote: Wed May 13, 2020 11:01 am I have been looking at a Z4M for a while now and was initially put off by the high running costs especially the insp2 service, but i keep coming back to them and have decided if I can find a nice one to just ignore the running costs !

I have seen the below advertised fairly local, I would prefer a higher spec but its looks like a nice example with good history and pretty clean mot history. Do people think £15.5k with 80k miles is about right ? Also can anyone give any pointers on what to look out for as I keep reading horror stories regarding Vanos, Conrod bearings and a few failed head gaskets...... should I be worried or are the issues blown out of proportion ?

The car in question is;
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-BMW-Z4M ... SwpMNetVI-
Are you the chap that just placed the deposit on it?! I just contacted them to make an offer too! :evil:
Well done if so!

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Post by abar121 » Wed May 13, 2020 4:01 pm

mr wilks wrote: Wed May 13, 2020 1:26 pm
mike k wrote: Wed May 13, 2020 12:19 pm
R60BBA wrote: Wed May 13, 2020 11:19 am 1. Good choice in car

2. Inspection II isn't that bad, considering it is done every 4th service

3. Non-Sat Nav cars are more desirable due to the 'flush' dashboard, however that car not having heated seats is a bit of a let down

4. Don't buy on mileage, buy on condition. Mileage is only relevant if you are looking for an investment, at which point you would need below 60,000 miles (and not go above that during your ownership)

5. Slightly higher mileage cars which have a book full of receipts of wear components replaced will be cheaper, both in terms of price and running costs and should also be depreciation free miles. Only downside to this is that your friends might comment that you drive a higher mileage car, but then who cares

6. VANOS is touch and go, best way to check if it's okay or not is to get your mechanic to check the tabs whilst conducting a valve adjustment on an Inspection I or II service

7. Rod bearing shells are also touch and go, the general consensus is that they should be replaced every 80,000 - 100,000 miles. However if the car has been looked after, i.e. warmed up properly and had regular oil changes than in theory, the shells can last much longer. There are US S54s which have gone past 200,000 miles on original internals. I also know of one car owned by a BMW Watford technician, an E46 M3, which has 260,000 miles on it and has not had shells, VANOS or HG replaced [albeit most of the miles were autobahn miles as he used to work in Munich and used his car as transportation for going to and from the UK]). Nevertheless, the problem on rod bearing shells is that it is impossible to know how the previous owner treated the car and so I would barter them into the purchase price of the car, perhaps offer to meet the owner halfway if he is not willing to cover the full cost (which is usually around 1,200). Note you will also want to replace the engine mounts while you are down there. If buying from a dealer you may find that he is reluctant to budge, at which point it would make sense to request a warranty to cover you for the period you are owning the car. Only issue with this is when you sell the car, (the warranty will most probably be up) and you will be selling a higher mileage vehicle without the service done and so future buyers will try and barter you on this

8. HG - don't bother replacing this until you are presented with pinking or unfortunately have to do a VANOS overhaul. Purely replacing your HG for preventative maintenance is the biggest waste of money

9. Don't be worried, just go in knowing that unless these jobs have been done, you may have to spend some cash sorting them throughout your ownership. If looked after properly these cars are pretty much bulletproof

10. Good luck
Thanks for the detailed reply :D
Just read further through this post and seen the car was listed on collecting cars in march and sold for £12750 so slightly odd the dealer still has the car, the last insp2 was done in 2013 with an insp1 in 2016, and an oil service in 2018 and 2019, it will be due the insp2 service anytime now, looking at the close up of the wheels on collecting cars the discs dont look to good either so seems the car needs a bit of money spending on it quite soon, unless they drop the price quite a bit think I will give it a miss.
You will do well to buy one of these that requires absolutely nothing spending within a few months.
That car if you got it for £14500 would give you £2k throw at it & still not be ott for a 80k car.
If it's local (Clitheroe) why not take a look & see if it appeals.
If you are local I can recommend a excellent bmw tech in Grt Harwood for ins2.
All true, but it's easy to get caught up with a high mileage car that needs even more work than was apparent when purchasing. You then end up with a high mileage car that has cost at least as much as a lower mileage example, yet will never be worth as much. Unless you do some mega miles anyway.

I remember having this discussion with a friend who bought a cheap high mileage 986 Boxster S. Although the gearbox / engine was sound, he still ended up spending ~5k to bring it up to par. He could have bought a nice average mileage 987 for that.
'07 Z4M Interlagos Blue. All options except extended leather.

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Post by mike k » Wed May 13, 2020 4:46 pm

dougie1142 wrote: Wed May 13, 2020 3:23 pm Are you the chap that just placed the deposit on it?! I just contacted them to make an offer too!
Well done if so!
No not me unfortunately I was going to give them a call shortly.

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