1 year with Z4 - personal thoughts

[zriha]

Today is our anniversary, the anniversary of the day when my girlfriend and partner pushed into the direction of Z4. Yes, pushed me, as we were looking for a car, 2020. wasn't good for us, business suffered from COVID-19, Zagreb was struck with a devastating earthquake, and the year started when my partner had a car accident and "killed" her Fiat 500C that was our main daily driver. A year before that, I sold my MX-5.
So I was in the mood of having a decent "grown-up" car-like Toyota RAV-4, or Toyota Prius, Mazda 3 etc..

Then I got a tip for a friend, 2003. Z4 2.5 is for a sale, we know the ownership history, hell, I know the owner. So, I said, let's check it up, if you like it (to my girlfriend) we will buy it.


This was one of the photos in the ad. It was a nice specimen, 190.000 km, full ownership history, and service history (came in the large folder with every receipt, dated 18 years).

After a test drive, she said, let's buy this and let's go to Tuscany for a 10-day vacation. The year was crazy, so were we.

So how was a one year with Z4 (and over 10.000 km)?

Well, I heard that I have a German Alfa, that this will not be soo good car, and yes, I can tell you guys, we are almost like Alfa owners. Nothing, and I mean nothing I had bad with my 2 Mazda MX-5 (1.8 , NB models), just regular service and drive it. But with Z4, everything is a study.

From that quirky M54B25 engine, which really has an astonishing sound and drives like a butter, to a crazy top that sometimes works, and sometimes say - hell I am not going to close

And I have to admit, I wanted a Z4, the moment I saw him, I said to myself, after Miata, the only roadster I want is either Z4 or Boxster. And I am not so disappointed, we use Z4 for long drives, for the daily drive, we have a Mini. But for me, Z4 is like a grand tourer, not a roadster. Nice to drive, comfortable and with enough power.

So, now we have on the clock 201.000 km and what we had to check/repair:
a. 2 front shock absorbers - yeah, they went dead after the Tuscany, I was expecting that from an 18 year old shock.
b. That oil speckles on the rear bumper - oil separator did the job - change it.
c. Regular maintenance - oil, filters, stuff

And yes, we treat the beauty with full ceramic coating and everything:







Still, there are some small fixes to be made like:
- repaint front bumper - to many injuries from the road - small road stones - but it's ok for now
- rubber on the front windshield - it's just gone
- finally fix the top - change the cables that are making a short circuit - shout out to bigwinn - thanks for all the help, still didn't tackle the issue, but I will, I promise!
- and yes, oil consumption - guys from the BMW specialist told me it's ok, and I can try to experiment with oil grades (switch back from 5W40 to 5W30) but 1 litre per 1.000+ km is reasonable as we use the car on the highway and backroads, making 400-800 km per road trip.

Am I a Z4 fan? Well, I become one, thanks to my girlfriend and you gents! There is some magic in 6 cylinder front-engine, rear-wheel-drive roadster.

This is us, on one of our numerous roadtrips.

And that's it, gents, I just want to thank all of you for advice, comments, help, and just making me feel the part of the community, even I am in Zagreb, Croatia, and often alone with Z4, as Z4 is not so common in our country, so I can't ask anyone for the advice.

And last, fill up those tanks on our Z4, and just enjoy them!

Bonus photo:

 

[bigwinn]

Love it!

I’m a year in too- great write up and echoes my sentiments

 

[Mike6]

Nice looking car. Same colour and model as mine. We have enjoyed a few lovely holidays in Croatia pre Covid and it is a lovely country. As a real ale fan I was bowled over with Tomislav. Imagine my surprise when we got chatting to someone in the hotel and Tomislav was his name!!.

 

[M1k3yC]

Thanks for sharing your experience - this is a great write up and I'm pleased that you've had lots of fun with the car! Enjoy the next 10,000km

 

[1536Z4]

A year in for me also and loving it I just need to get out in it more rather than working on it I enjoyed your write up and good to see your z4 being kept it great condition although it does help that you are a detailer

 

[Zulu4]

Great update.
And old Dubrovnik is one of the most amazing cities on Earth.

 

[Spahr]

I’ve had my silver 2003 2.5 for ten months now. I would buy another one immediately if something happened to this one.

It’s been a really fun car with a great looking design that I think is a future classic. My car was a one owner who kept it in near perfect condition - it looks new. Most people are shocked when they find out it’s 18 years old.

I have noticed that prices for these cars are going up pretty fast here in the USA.

 

[tomscott]

Fabulous! Great to see Zs loved and cared for!

 

[Mr Tidy]

That's a great write-up.

It's good to see you are enjoying your Z4. It sounds like a keeper - and your girlfriend for persuading you. :lol:

 

[Big Bad Boris]

That's a great write-up.

It's good to see you are enjoying your Z4. It sounds like a keeper - and your girlfriend for persuading you. :lol:

Yeah, means the girlfriend is definitely a keeper too !!

 

[john-e89]

Great car for sensible money…good for you.

 

[Jembo]

Over 200k & the love still grows… I sometimes wish I still had my 3.0 roady… incredible car for touring, long May it continue

 

[zriha]

Thank you gents for your warm words.

I see some of you visit Croatia, so I hope you will visit again if all goes well with the pandemic, and then, just drop me a message so we can have a small meetup

Great update.
And old Dubrovnik is one of the most amazing cities on Earth.

Yes, Kings Landing I was there in May, as I own a small consulting company (In Croatia and newly open in the UK) and we worked for the former Mayor of Dubrovnik - political campaign. Love it! It was a real pleasure.

As a real ale fan, I was bowled over with Tomislav. Imagine my surprise when we got chatting to someone in the hotel and Tomislav was his name!!.

I am not an ale fan, but yeah, Tomislav is a good brand, and a common name in Croatia, one of the famous Croatian Kings was named Tomislav. I would also draw attention to this - https://thegarden.hr/ very good ale in Croatia.

Just to add to the topic - yesterday we went for a nice ride and treat Z4 as it should be treated. I am really starting to love this car. Even though I still need to make myself comfortable driving it, we just need a good weekend track day and I will be good with him.

 

[Dark Diggler]

Great review, I am 1 year in next week, I've just had the road tax and insurance reminders and it's worth every penny.
I hope you continue to enjoy your journey with your car

 

[colb]

Comming up 2 years at the end of this year since I got my 2003 2.5, 93k on the clock, needed a few things doing to get it where I wanted it as an addittion to my 1.9 Z3. Replaced the cam cover gasket that was showing signs of leaking onto the exhaust, old one was very hard and brittle as were the central spark plug well gaskets. Replaced the round rubber seals for the cover retaining bolts as well, some people make the mistake of using the old ones, they go hard and prevent getting them torqued up correctly as they won't compress sufficiently. All fluids and filters changed was a priority so I knew what was in there.
Replaced the AUC sensor also known as the stink sensor it's located on top of the radiator top rail under the plastic front engine bay cover,rather than pay BMW's high price I sourced the sensor thats inside the unit and replaced that for £17 as opposed to over £70. Its function is to detect traffic fumes outside and close the outside air intake to stop the fumes entering the cabin. Also had a code for the thermal oil level sensor, replaced that when oil was changed but have since had the code return, maybe try another brand next time.
Obtained a second key as the car only came with one key, bought blanks from ebay, blades cut by local locksmith but had to resort to a mobile locksmith to code the key to the car, my attempts at coding with an AK90+ key coding machine failed to get a working key. Locksmith read the EWS module by using pin outs on the eprom chip and coded the key to one of the slots I didn't have a key for.
Syncing the keys for the central locking was easy using the pressing of buttons method.
A set of refurbed 18 inch wheels turned up so these were bought and a new set of tyres fitted to them.
Roof motor was relocated to the boot as a precaution, on pulling it back into the boot, I found the motor had already been changed at some time in the past, it was dry and as new condition, dodged a future bullit by doing the relocation as the car is parked outside all year round.
Fitted some led DLR lamps in the lower grill to make the car more noticable to other drivers, did the same to my Z3.
Fitted after market heated seat pads to the seats and wired trhe switches into the gear stick surround, decided against using the oem switch unit that can be obtained used and the wiring that is supposidly tucked away in the car if it came without heated seat option. Thought it best to use the prewired switches that came with the kit. Fitting the pads went ok just loads of hog rings to remove and then replace once the pads are installed.
Just had the Aicon regassed which has restored it to blowing nice and cold, there was pressure still in the system when it was connected up to the machine which reassured me that there were no leaks. Once regassed the aircon was run and a can of cleaner was set off inside to circulate through the vent system to kill any bugs that may have built up. Nice fresh smell now in the car.
Later same day had the Traction control light light up together with an amber handbrake warning light, also noticed the DSC button and DSC light were inhibited. Code read revealed fault with No1 Brake pressure sensor on the master cylinder, had this code a few weeks back but on that occassion it cleared with my code reader and stayed off until its reappearance. I had already obtained a pair of replacement sensors via ebay for circa £12 each so had them ready, quick change of the faulty sensor and clearance of the code restored all back to normal, DSC button and dash light restored to normal operation.
Also made a boot lid liner using hardboard covered in van liner material, looks much better when the boot is opened now.
No doubt other things will crop up over time but its running very well now, run out of things to do now other than drive it and wash and polish it.

 

[zriha]

Comming up 2 years at the end of this year since I got my 2003 2.5, 93k on the clock

Thanks for sharing this with us! You had quite good 2 years and a lot of work with your Zed.

I still didn't tackle the rooftop problem, as I am lazy, and also oil consumption is always an issue here, but this video made me laugh:
[youtube]Kn4ZnT5qPpo[/youtube]

 

[05_3.0i_zoom]

pressure sensor on the master cylinder

Can I get the link please? I have amber brake light with exclamation mark inside a circle. on

 

[colb]

I bought 2 of these, only needed one replacing, other is in my spares stash.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294478780921?fits=Car+Make%3ABMW&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item44904d99f9:g:600AAOSwC-Nhb7r~&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACoPYe5NmHp%252B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsS%252Fwocn770hnih0B3mVHNZ5BWyxhwdrU%252FPnpDg4FCYLhZLJpgYXfC40P2Zg9vY2Pc2TXumQad8BJjj54wJg5DKUPyrmGNbktriN0Zyg8tbD%252BrwYLrFP1cAZVER9JpBLCfKh%252BVzJKHnnmfshYkW44rwIn2zQ3qVd7x0x1aiLExf0a87ud%252BR1dF66lcz1rMamYPw5STcyLxyUwwIrbMiP5WZhVi0vAdMEBoGaMSvKsD4eLy7z0f%252FXapJFvorHiD0ddcMZjitepPotSNXpIFgpPRnnJZZK7GePa6D37cGBMNZvcmcBWZcsiGEQEHaXXZ%252Fp%252BOTHni3j3YIQwe883Ur3rNqgbAz8OlLTkVgHXkyZ9ZT5vof4IHs3146OzdTO9eCkRUcUHNTs2i%252F2gUGcjBIIESfOuC%252F73jg9Xk%252B6BvSnBktj%252BRA35XDHKXHjCjlOgqsbgAzxuqlUrVDFld0z8LE9ffzlQqfDg8AhbHk1U83ycSoFrnc7cwi8aI2SsSg4uUxCQ1ymS6z%252BwqQOKdN8V8yMz1fCit4%252BjEre5tF4k0mFLC5WUMB1uDCOZVJxHlf9O2V4vtSGce%252BYden%252F0yKqH70ivKE2ogBj%252BcKG8w%252B58M8u4iR%252FhcUEBeUFz7ExiTUPcr%252F4hd6d3oo7Q3aiw%252Bm%252B3lGNUd2itaIJhMitXonT8r2tYoovNTh4dQ686AhR3FTZwI%252BjUceNY618z5pS%252BO9UU6yvvg3Oxaq8rJDPMMRe5oFbQkXEmUTbqvqgpt7S5TcRf1SWYjet25HoL7kXOd%252FKcV%252FCKGmqSAJdXLJItDEF569jXEeNFEEndgTq8%252BA3zkO5Zal9b6gVYelfjcuuLZIkybxiN4ECA%253D%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524