Advice on car I am looking at.

0

06Z4

Member
So as the title says I am looking at a car to buy. It is a 2006 BMW Z4 3.0i with around 12,000 miles. Yes I know seems crazy, but all documents back that the miles are original. Car has service records to show oil was changed once a year. 2 of the tires are actually still original and owner says the other two were replaced due to dealer recommendation. (So I know right off I am buying 2 tires if I pick this car up as 13 year old tires sounds too hairy to me. haha)

So with that background what is everyones opinion?
-What is a fair/good purchase price?
-What should I inspect specifically? Common issues and etc..
-Is the super low mileage something I should be concerned about?
-What kind of maintenance am I looking at over say 2-3 years and say 50,000 miles.

Not very hands on mechanical, but I can do the basics of course like oil changes and etc., but anything else I go to a shop a good friend of mine works at.


Thanks and look forward to discussing and if I move forward being an active member here as I am on other enthusiast sites of cars I own/owned...
 
wow, their won't be many with that kind of mileage. As tempting as they sound, unused cars can have as many problems as high-milers (although a little different)


Interesting. Maybe worth a couple of grand premium over other "average" milers on that engine/age?
 
The first question everyone on here will ask is what options it has, some like heated M sports seats are considered essential.

I’m guessing it’s never had an inspection 1 or 2 at that mileage but I wouldn’t be concerned about that. Has the car been stood for any extended period of time....if you post the reg we can check that for you.

The tyres will definitely need changing at 13 years old irrespective of their wear. In any case the originals will be runflats and you need to bin them asap.

As far as price is concerned I would put that at £9k - £9.5k, but I am assuming it’s a 3.0Si. You don’t say if it is coupe or roadster?
 
It is the i not si according to window sticker I found in the car. So it is a roadster with manual transmission, sport package, and premium package with leather heated seats. I have seen the full service records and other than an oil change once per year and the two tires being replaced back about 6 years ago it hasn't had really anything else done to it. They mentioned when it got the last oil change they did some sort of recall this past month as well as alignment.

The low miles and the fact to have that low miles concerns me. With 12,000 miles it was driven less than 1,000 miles per year. That is a lot of sitting for sure.

Anything I should be looking at for? I took it for a test drive and only thing I really noticed is steering felt a little notchy, but since that test drive they took it to have the yearly oil change and yearly state inspection and while there they had an alignment done so maybe that is fixed.
 
Dependent on how the miles have Been done. How the car has been stored. Take a good look underneath. Does it look like a 12000 mile car under there. Has the car been standing for long periods, has the handbrake been left on. Has it been left in gear on a slope. Check the calipers are fully fit, not binding at all. Has the brake fluid been changed regularly.

Most important though get a good long test drive in and check the car feel like new out on the road.

Assuming it all checks out. You may just have found a little gem. :thumbsup:

Run a search on notchy steering on the forum. It is quite common and an oil change won't help as it is electric.
 
An interesting proposition!

Define "notchy" steering. That could be the well-documented Z4 sticky steering. Back in the day it set you back a £3,500 steering column replacement but the cause is well understood now and it can be remedied without too much hassle.
 
Is it a 1 owner car and has it been garaged it’s entire life or sat outside?

What was the reason given for the lack of use?

What does the MOT history tell you?
 
Owned by an older couple and they say they basically only took out on sunny weekends and the cars paint and everything combined with the miles looks evident that. Car was garage kept and I assume kept like I found it which was in first gear with the e-brake engaged in a flat garage with garage door.

As far as notchy steering I mean like when driving it would just notch around when turned slightly one way or another. Not a smooth feeling like I would expect. Hard to really explain, but let me know if I need to add details or maybe ask a question and I can answer it. Sorry.

It is a 1 owner car. What is MOT history? Carfax looks perfect. They said that they bought it as a nice weekend car (3rd car) and never used it like they planned. Majority of the miles from the sounds of it came in the yearly years and in the most recent years they said most of the miles came from taking it to the yearly service appt. which is reason for sale since they aren't using it they said they wanted somebody else to enjoy it for what it is.

Fluids I don't think other than oil change have been changed so I plan to change fluids and tires as soon as I get it if I get it.
 
06Z4 said:
As far as notchy steering I mean like when driving it would just notch around when turned slightly one way or another. Not a smooth feeling like I would expect. Hard to really explain, but let me know if I need to add details or maybe ask a question and I can answer it. Sorry.
Click to expand...
Definitely sounds like sticky steering. It gets worse in the heat. The steering issue on my car was hidden from me by the owner keeping it in the nice cool garage until test drive time. I collected the next day, after the car had been sitting out in 35°C heat and the steering was dreadful. I have since researched it (including excellent info from this forum), fixed it and have adjusted the sticky steering out of a few cars on the forum. It takes about an hour. This may even be the reason they are selling the car. Keep it out in the heat for some time if you can, to let everything get hot. THEN drive it.
 
Yeah they didn't even notice the steering really and said it feels normal to them. They said they always thought it was how a sporty steering was. They own 2 SUVS so I believe them. haha

What kinda fix am I looking at if it is what you are talking about? It was a hot day when I drove it and I took it down the interstate and a back road and it didn't get better or worse as I drove.
 
I did forget to mention there seem to be some suspension squeak when you get in and out. Sounds like maybe in the rear. I pushed down on it a few times and it seemed to mainly squeak only in the rear.
 
06Z4 said:
Yes in the states. What tipped you off to that? Also what does that change to make more sense?
Click to expand...

Over here in the uk, 2006 cars are si models-the earlier cars are 3.0i’s :thumbsup:
Rob
 
Ahh gotcha. Is this mainly a UK site? I didn’t know that when I signed up, but looking it appears it may be.
 
06Z4 said:
Yeah they didn't even notice the steering really and said it feels normal to them. They said they always thought it was how a sporty steering was. They own 2 SUVS so I believe them. haha

What kinda fix am I looking at if it is what you are talking about? It was a hot day when I drove it and I took it down the interstate and a back road and it didn't get better or worse as I drove.
Click to expand...
If a stranger believes there to be an expensive issue with their car that they're trying to sell to you, they will often act ignorant and play the innocent card. Never believe a stranger who is trying to sell you something, as honest as they may appear.

The adjustment can be found in the lengthy "Sticky Steering" thread in the Problems sub-forum on this site. Let me know if you can't find it with the Search function. It requires the removal of the trim above the driver's foot well (three screws), loosening of two pinch bolts (tricky to access) and then you rotate a ring in the column motor to reduce the stiction in the steering column. I do this with the wheels off the ground for a finer touch.
 
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