Soon to be Z4 23i owner - did I get a good deal?

[cargomango]

Hi all, new to this forum so I hope I post this correctly. [

I’m looking to pull the trigger on a 2010 Z4 E89 23i and wanted to get some thoughts from fellow owners before I do. I guess my main concerns are with the service history gaps and number of owners, so I wanted to check if this would bother you or if its to be expected with cars this age.

Service History: 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2024 — gaps between 11–15, 15–17 and 18-21, but picked up again after that. Recent work includes rear shocks, tyres, coil springs, discs/pads.
MOT History: Some recurring advisories on rear shocks and inner tyre wear. A couple of cracked wheel incidents years back. Most things have since been sorted.
Price: £6,900 (down from £8,000)
Mileage: 88k
Ownership: 7 previous owners — should I be worried? My assumption is that it's typical for convertibles; people buy them, enjoy the summer, move on.
Current Warning Light: Amber "car on ramp" symbol — the seller took it to a mechanic a few days ago and sent me the diagnostic printout which points to low charge (battery only shows 11.9V)

Would love to hear your thoughts on whether the history gaps would deter you and if 7 owners is a red flag or just par for the course with these.

I've not seen many in this colorway and the interior looks amazing to me. Is £6900 is a good deal?

PS - it's my first BMW. I’ve only ever owned Hondas, so if I sound paranoid... that’s why

Appreciate any input — thanks.

[Mr Tidy]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

BMW work on "condition based servicing" so it's primarily mileage which is affected by how the car is used. Loads of short stop/start driving will reduce the mileage, long Motorway trips will increase it. But the caveat is regardless of miles it should be done every 2 years. So it had quite a gap between 2011 and 2015, but as it has been done more frequently since then I wouldn't be too concerned. For a car doing 10K or more per year mileage is typically about 18K between services. The mileage and date should will flash up briefly on the dash when you start the engine.

I think that amber lamp means it is due an Inspection Service which is really just a routine oil service and a load of checks. It's possible the last service wasn't done by a garage with the right software to reset it, or they forgot to do it. You want to avoid the battery getting too discharged because it can trigger all sorts of random warning lights. Maybe it is a bit low because the car has been sitting while it has been for sale?

The N52 engines in these are pretty bulletproof, it's only ancillaries like starters, alternators and water pumps that tend to die. On the topic of water pumps when they die the engine overheats within a mile, and at 88K miles it may not last too much longer. Some people get a new one fitted as a preventative measure, but new OE Pierburg ones cost £250 to 300 - so long as you don't buy from BMW.

I really rate these engines. I've had two in E86s, one in a 325i and currently a 330i that still performs brilliantly on 128K miles.

High numbers of keepers doesn't seem unusual for 2 seaters. People buy them to tick a box then move on to tick the next box, realise they need more seats, wife gets pregnant, they buy a dog, etc. My current Z4 had 7 previous keepers in 13 years when I bought it.

I like that colour combination as I always prefer an interior that isn't black!

All of my Z4s have been E86 Coupes so I'm not too familiar with E89 prices, but IMHO it doesn't look too expensive. Hopefully others will be able to help.

[Pondrew]

Is that space grey?

The only real concern for me would be the historic wheel cracks. Those are 296Ms which have a bad reputation for cracking. I would find out if they were repaired or replaced. If repaired, they will crack again at some point and wheels are expensive.

£7k isn't cheap for a 2010 23i in SE spec with those miles. But it also isn't massively overpriced if it's a good one.

What options has it got?

[MikeyH]

Welcome to the forum, space grey is a great colour. you also have the sport seats, so both are a bonus

[Zed Baron]

Is that space grey?

Isn't it Havana brown?

[cargomango]

On the topic of water pumps when they die the engine overheats within a mile, and at 88K miles it may not last too much longer. Some people get a new one fitted as a preventative measure, but new OE Pierburg ones cost £250 to 300 - so long as you don't buy from BMW.

Thanks Tidy, I think you're right, I've had this in the back of my mind too, so will definitely take a look at the Pierburg ones to save any issues later on. Appreciate the tip.

[cargomango]

Isn't it Havana brown?

Yep, it's the Havana brown

[cargomango]

What options has it got?

I believe this comes in the M sport package, so it has Sport and Heated seats with a wind deflector and adaptive M suspension.

RE: cracked wheels - that's a good point. The MOT wheel mentions were 2014 (offside rear) and 2017 (nearside front), and I've not seen any wheel replacement invoices from the seller, so might need to dig into this one.

[Mr Tidy]

RE: cracked wheels - that's a good point. The MOT wheel mentions were 2014 (offside rear) and 2017 (nearside front), and I've not seen any wheel replacement invoices from the seller, so might need to dig into this one.

The 19s do seem prone to cracking, especially if they are still fitted with run-flat tyres. It's a shame because they are good looking wheels.

[Pondrew]

Yep, it's the Havana brown

Oh dear.....
At least it's 'rare' I suppose.

[Pondrew]

I believe this comes in the M sport package

It ain't an M-sport, not according to the front bumper. That's an SE bumper.
I also seem to remember (I could be wrong, it has been known) that the 'nicotine-stain' brown was only available in the SE spec.
The 296M wheels are rarely seen on M-sport models aswell.
It does have M-sport seats, but those could be specified, as with the heating and it has PDC. Wind deflector was an option on all of them.
It is VERY unusual for a 2010 23i to have adaptive suspension. Have you put the spec through a (reliable) VIN decoder?

Here's a picture of the front bumper from an M-sport at a similar angle.

IMG_8963.JPG (143.78 KiB) Viewed 493 times

[raymond.harper]

You can contact BMW and ask if the car was seen by them in those gaps. I did this in my car a few months ago. Although they will not disclose what was done, they will tell you if the car was presented to a BMW garage and which one. You can then contact that dealer for more information. However, a BMW will struggle against a Honda in the reliability stakes. Check the hydraulic lines and wiring to the roof.

[Zed Baron]

It's a nice colour combination.

[cargomango]

I believe this comes in the M sport package

It ain't an M-sport, not according to the front bumper. That's an SE bumper.
I also seem to remember (I could be wrong, it has been known) that the 'nicotine-stain' brown was only available in the SE spec.
The 296M wheels are rarely seen on M-sport models aswell.
It does have M-sport seats, but those could be specified, as with the heating and it has PDC. Wind deflector was an option on all of them.
It is VERY unusual for a 2010 23i to have adaptive suspension. Have you put the spec through a (reliable) VIN decoder?

Here's a picture of the front bumper from an M-sport at a similar angle.
IMG_8963.JPG

Ah I must have been thrown off by carcheck.co.uk whilst checking the MOT history it had it listed as M-sport. I did run it through a VIN decoder yesterday (https://www.mdecoder.com - not sure if it's reliable but it was the only one that seemed to work) and it had these listed:

S481 Sports seat
S2VF Adaptive M chassis
S494 Seat heating driver/passenger

[cargomango]

You can contact BMW and ask if the car was seen by them in those gaps. I did this in my car a few months ago. Although they will not disclose what was done, they will tell you if the car was presented to a BMW garage and which one. You can then contact that dealer for more information.

Good to know, thanks for the tip