Just bought my first Z4 Coupe 3.0si SE (Black, Red Leather, 142k)

[Fred Smith]

Hello Forum,

I have posted a bit elsewhere, but here's my proper new member post... just picked up a high mileage 2006 Z4 Coupe... sold on the forum in 2021 in what appears to be very good condition (see bottom photo) and then had a few years of driving around Europe and then sitting on and driving around the streets of London (see top photo for the 2024 appearance - in reality it looks decent from a distance but up close the minor-ish faults are easy to spot!) The previous owner (2021-24) seems to have done a decent job of doing what needed doing, but a car like this is inevitably going to deteriorate unless you wrap it up in cotton wool or spend and lot of time and / or money putting every fault that appears right. And if your car is sat on the streets of London you would have to be mad to take it to a body shop at the first sign of defect.

My plan is to do everything necessary to keep it going as a reasonably reliable road-legal car, and gradually repair and upgrade, at a fairly low cost if possible, to make it as close to perfect as possible. Given the mileage it's never going to be a top top vehicle... so I can make modifications guilt-free, which is a nice bonus. I'm never going to make a profit on it, but it would be nice if any expenditure is low and enhances value.

My bodywork and mechanical experience and knowledge are fairly low, but I am not clueless and looking to increase my stock of tools and learn much more. It is probably unrealistic due to family commitments and time constraints, but I would be open to being a second set of hands for any decent amateur mechanic or body worker near me in return for a bit of knowledge and experience.

I am in no way looking to sell, but - assuming I find myself enjoying the car as much as I did on the journey home yesterday - I can see myself owning a Z4 Coupe long term, and long term it might be nice to upgrade to something lower mileage and nicer. But it might be nice to keep a car that I will have got to know, and which I can enjoy without feeling too precious about.

There are so many things I am going to want advice on... I hope the search function on this website works efficiently!

I think that the first thing I am going to want advice on is the wheels. Currently the car has 19” Veeman V-FS34 Wheels in Gloss Graphite, with fairly new Continentals up front and some well-worn, poor order cheaper tyres on the rear. The wheels look OK from a distance but would very much benefit from a refurb. Before I need to spend money on tracking and new rear tyres I need to work out my plan for the wheels -

(1) Do I get the wheels refurbed? Any recommendations of how much I might spend getting it done, and who would you recommend (I am based in SW Surrey)?

(2) How much are the wheels / tyres worth in current condition? I am open to selling them if anyone is interested and wants to get in touch.

(3) If I do sell them what do I replace them with? I am minded to go with something 18", in black, lots of spokes, but not too crazy.

For what it's worth the roads around me are a disgrace. I am not looking to lower the car. Saying that I was pleasantly surprised on first drive... the ride was nowhere near as harsh as I expected even on these wheels, and in some ways better than my daily driver (a cheap old estate car with stock low-profile tyres / rims.)

And one more thing from the advert "There's a very small oil leak from the cam cover nothing serious but should be noted"... I am very much of the opinion that the best time to do any repair on a car is ASAP, but then again I am not going to be driving the car much anyway... how quickly would you want to get that sorted if it were your car?

[pvr]

Welcome aboard, this is a bit of a Hotel California though

Your plan sounds good, but within no time you will have spent 100% of the purchase price. Within 10 months I had done that

Obviously you made a mistake in buying a coupe but at least you don’t have to worry about the roof

[Fred Smith]

Welcome aboard, this is a bit of a Hotel California though

Your plan sounds good, but within no time you will have spent 100% of the purchase price. Within 10 months I had done that

Obviously you made a mistake in buying a coupe but at least you don’t have to worry about the roof

Don't me wrong... I very much see the risk that I will spend a lot of money... but on the other hand I am hoping to do bits and pieces myself, and may well make a decision like "sod it, I'll keep the scruffy wheels and just put a couple of half decent tyres on the back when the current ones finally go". Bodywork (issues are minor) I may well do myself (even if the end result will likely be a little imperfect). Much as I would love to be driving round in a show car I also love the freedom that imperfections give you! So long as it basically looks fairly smart if you don't look too close, and there isn't rust actively eating away at it, I'll be content.

In the meantime hopefully I will have some fun being the owner and getting to drive it!

[Zedebee]

Ignore pvr, he’s a perfectionist and bought a Scottish car by mistake. These cars can be maintained cheaply if you’re happy to buy second hand or aftermarket parts and you are reasonably handy with a spanner.

[paddy wright]

Looks great- welcome along!

[Mr Tidy]

Hi and welcome to the forum, as well as the exclusive Coupe club.

I think those wheels look great, but so many Veeman wheels do!

I took a couple of 17" alloys to MyAlloys in Basingstoke last week for a refurb and they are charging £81.50 inc. VAT per wheel to acid strip and powder coat. They were recommended by a couple of forum members and did a great job on my Coupe wheels in 2021.

Most wheels seem to sell on here in the range of £200 to 300 with a few exceptions for something special, but it's hard to tell from that photo quite what sort of condition yours are in.

I can see the appeal of 18s, but personally really don't like black wheels because you can't really see what they are especially on a black car.

Leaks from the cam-cover gasket (and oil filter housing gasket) are common on these N52 engines which tend to use a bit of oil anyway. If it leaks onto anything hot you often get smoke and can smell burning, so really replacement is probably best done sooner rather than later - it's not like you'll need to do it again for a long time so why not get the benefit of no leaks?

Anyway good luck with your plans.

[Pondrew]

Ignore pvr,

That is the best advice I have heard on here in a long time.

[Pondrew]

Stick some pictures up of the wheels. It is quite easy to refurb wheels as a DIY, if they are not smashed to bits. Takes a bit of time, patience and a quite a bit of wet and dry, but is do-able. Generally can be done without removing tyres aswell!

[Scubaregs]

Welcome.

[Fred Smith]

I think those wheels look great, but so many Veeman wheels do!

I took a couple of 17" alloys to MyAlloys in Basingstoke last week for a refurb and they are charging £81.50 inc. VAT per wheel to acid strip and powder coat. They were recommended by a couple of forum members and did a great job on my Coupe wheels in 2021.

Most wheels seem to sell on here in the range of £200 to 300 with a few exceptions for something special, but it's hard to tell from that photo quite what sort of condition yours are in.

I can see the appeal of 18s, but personally really don't like black wheels because you can't really see what they are especially on a black car.

Leaks from the cam-cover gasket (and oil filter housing gasket) are common on these N52 engines which tend to use a bit of oil anyway. If it leaks onto anything hot you often get smoke and can smell burning, so really replacement is probably best done sooner rather than later - it's not like you'll need to do it again for a long time so why not get the benefit of no leaks?

Thanks for the MyAlloys recommendation. I will get in touch with them.

I can see why people like (say) silver wheels and the silver grills on a black car... but I quite like the "stealth" all black look, and could even be tempted to remove the 3.0 si and Z4 badges as well as leaving the black grill and getting / keeping black wheels! The car came with the silver grills which I will keep so that the new owner can fit them if / when I ever sell. Wheels can easily be changed back to silver if I sell and the buyer doesn't like black. Saying that I am quite keen to do things that enhance value AND I like, not things which I like but no-one else does!

Pondrew... please see close ups of the worst wheel... I have watched wheel refurb videos online and might consider giving it a go, but to be honest I think that for me, if they get a refurb at all, it will be a professional job, or it will be a really quick (30 mins per wheel?), "file and hand-paint" type of job to make sure anyone looking has to get a bit closer before seeing they're not in great order!

[1536Z4]

but I quite like the "stealth" all black look, and could even be tempted to remove the 3.0 si and Z4 badges as well as leaving the black grill and getting / keeping black wheels

A definite welcome from me . A man after my own heart

[darich]

Welcome....from a fellow coupe owner.

[coldel]

Welcome along. Big miles does not automatically mean big bills, if you bought something well maintained and had remedial work done as and when it was needed its purely a case of carrying that on. I presume at that mileage its had some of the bigger jobs done like the water pump.

I am in Twickenham so maybe not a million miles from you, also my mate is around the corner also in a Z4 and we are both tinkerers with our cars fixing stuff ourselves

[Fred Smith]

Welcome along. Big miles does not automatically mean big bills, if you bought something well maintained and had remedial work done as and when it was needed its purely a case of carrying that on. I presume at that mileage its had some of the bigger jobs done like the water pump.

I am in Twickenham so maybe not a million miles from you, also my mate is around the corner also in a Z4 and we are both tinkerers with our cars fixing stuff ourselves

It's hard to be certain. There is one big gap between services around 80k miles ago... the owner two ago certainly bought it very nice and maintained it, or otherwise refurbished it. It has had the water pump done recently - the previous owner ("Hi there if you're reading!) seems to have let some things slide, but did what needed doing. Funnily enough my main car (which I have owned for 10 years) is the same year and my to do list on that is as long if not longer than the to do list on the Z4, so I can hardly have a go at the seller, not least as he priced the car to reflect imperfections.

I am in Guildford, so you're not far up the A3 at all.

[coldel]

If its just perishables around the edges rather than anything big, certainly something you can crack on with. I changed the cam cover gasket on my previous E86, £45 BMW gasket and two sets of hands made short work of it. Gaskets get brittle as hell on these cars, its all normal stuff. You might want to also check the valvetronic gasket (the metal tube sticking out the side) as that leaks too and leaks oil down into the spark plug wells, but again only costs about £15 for a replacement and takes literally 30 mins.