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Possible Alpina purchase! Advice needed

Alpina Specific discussion
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King2311
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Possible Alpina purchase! Advice needed

Post by King2311 » Thu Aug 08, 2019 3:46 pm

Hi folks 🙋🏻‍♂️

I’m hoping to purchase an Alpina Roadster S this weekend 😁

So I wondering if anyone had any advice of what to look out for? And also if anybody knows anything about the history of the car?

FJ05JVC IN STERLING METALLIC GREY WITH
RED NAPPA LEATHER SEATS @62k miles.

I also would appreciate any info on the price 🥴
Are they on the way up or down?
Would you consider it a wise buy at £15000ish?
I’m not looking to make money on it but I’d like to think I could keep it a few years and not loose owt.

Many thanks.

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buzyg
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Possible Alpina purchase! Advice needed

Post by buzyg » Thu Aug 08, 2019 5:04 pm

Welcome. :)

Take a look at this thread for a current idea of values.

viewtopic.php?t=88374&start=375

Hope it goes well and you can pop back and post up some pictures. :wink:
Image

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PerryGunn
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Possible Alpina purchase! Advice needed

Post by PerryGunn » Thu Aug 08, 2019 5:12 pm

FJ05 JVC is #198, BMW build June 2004, first UK registration in March 2005

I don't seem to recall seeing that particular car up for sale recently, you can look at viewtopic.php?f=50&t=88374 for an indication on pricing trends over the last couple of years but always buy on condition and provenance.

Check the service history fully.
- Check it had the 1200 mile running in service (there is some leeway on the actual mileage for this service and anywhere between 1000 and 1600 miles should be regarded as normal)

- Subsequent services as per the service book schedule (if low-mileage, should have a service every 2 years even if hardly used)

- 2 yearly brake fluid changes.

Other things to note:
- Rear coil springs are standard BMW items and they are liable to break on all E85/86 models (not an expensive repair)

- Vanos can get noisy, and may need changing at some point

- Sticky Steering: the electric steering on the E85 can suffer from degradation - and, in the early stages, it's worse when the column is hot. Get her stinking hot around your feet for half-an-hour or so and see if the steering starts to 'grab' when you turn the wheel. If this happens, it's likely to require a replacement steering column.

Test drive:
- Ask for the car to be cold when you get there. Start her up, and she should settle into a rough, loud, growly, idle. Let her sit on idle for 30-40 secs and the noises should subside of their own volition and she will reach normal tickover. If all this occurs (including the noisy bit) then all is well.

- When she has warmed a little, find a 'suitable road', open the tap in 2nd or 3rd and let her go. She should rev from 'trundling speeds' to the red line with no flatspots or hesitation. Any hesitation; ask questions. Could be Vanos, cam position sensor, MAF or a headgasket issue.

- Be aware that they accelerate brutally fast, so watch where you do it for license-preserving purposes.

- You should find she sits quite happily at 30 mph in 6th gear

- The B3s engine has a know appetite for head gaskets from about 60k onwards. Because Alpina bore-out the block the failure is normally at the narrow point between cylinders so there is no oil/water mixing and, as long as it's caught fairly quickly, should not cause any major trauma - other than the usual damage to the wallet. It's not a given that they'll all fail though - Mark Guthrie's car (#108) was on around 120k when he sold it and it was still on the original HG.

You won't notice it during an inspection, but oil consumption in the 3.4S engine is normal. You need to keep an eye on the oil levels because you won't get a warning light on the dash - the E85 oil level sensor isn't fitted as it's incompatible with the 3.4S engine.

Officially, Alpina only recommend 0w30 and TWS (for higher mileage engines) but, in practice, any fully synth that meets BMW LL04 spec will be fine.

Other than that, it's the normal Z4 checklist and the usual things that you look at on a car - panel gaps, signs of painting/repair work, overall condition etc. Bespoke Alpina parts can be quite expensive but some, such as the wind deflector, have direct BMW equivalents.
Alpina Roadster S #320
* Quaife ATB LSD * StrongStrut Braces * Turner RTAB Limiters * Gap-Tech RCH+ *
* Intravee & KCA-420i * Mini 0806 * Cheetah C550 * Stubby *

King2311
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Possible Alpina purchase! Advice needed

Post by King2311 » Fri Aug 09, 2019 9:26 pm

WOW!

Thank you very much for the detailed response.
I’m viewing it tomorrow so hopefully all will be well and I’ll be driving her home.

I’ll keep you posted. 👍🏻

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Possible Alpina purchase! Advice needed

Post by Aus_Pol » Sun Aug 11, 2019 10:34 pm

PerryGunn wrote: Thu Aug 08, 2019 5:12 pm - Sticky Steering: the electric steering on the E85 can suffer from degradation - and, in the early stages, it's worse when the column is hot. Get her stinking hot around your feet for half-an-hour or so and see if the steering starts to 'grab' when you turn the wheel. If this happens, it's likely to require a replacement steering column.
How are we getting the column hot? I'm not catching it?

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srhutch
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Possible Alpina purchase! Advice needed

Post by srhutch » Mon Aug 12, 2019 6:52 am

Put the heater on and direct to feet :wink:
Image

John.charlesfsc
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Possible Alpina purchase! Advice needed

Post by John.charlesfsc » Fri Nov 01, 2019 12:52 pm

Hi - I think this same car has appeared at an independent dealer with just circa 37k miles ?

damok666
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Possible Alpina purchase! Advice needed

Post by damok666 » Fri Nov 01, 2019 2:46 pm

Advertised as 37k but picture of the dash shows just over 62k.

https://smgmedia.blob.core.windows.net/ ... 782d90.jpg

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maxman
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Possible Alpina purchase! Advice needed

Post by maxman » Fri Nov 01, 2019 5:34 pm

Seems far to dear,for that sort of money I would be looking for a Z4 m,they have the best chance of retaining their value.

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Possible Alpina purchase! Advice needed

Post by AlpinaRS » Sat Nov 30, 2019 4:01 pm

I'm considering looking at this car too, but is has no service history beyond the MOT certificates available on-line. Any views on what it might be worth considering the lack of history if it appears on the surface to be in good condition? Note that the MOT's were not done at dealers or specialists. Halfords was the quoted example.

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Possible Alpina purchase! Advice needed

Post by Italian Job » Tue Dec 03, 2019 9:49 pm

Looks like this one has caught the attention of a few of us...no service history at all, can't believe its never been serviced in its life, that seems implausible but BMW have no record of it.

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