Booked an hour in at my local garage

[Jake1987]

Morning everyone,

So this weekend I picked up an 03 3.0i Auto with 77k on the clock - not being the most mechanically sound person in the world, I have asked my local garage to spend an hour looking over the car for my peace of mind.

Is there anything specific to the Z4 I should be asking the garage to check aside from the standard checks they would normally do?

Thanks

Jake

 

[Mr Tidy]

Z4s can suffer from oil leaks from the cam-cover gasket and oil filter housing gasket. While I would hope they'd notice anyway it might be worth mentioning them.

The metal rear brake pipes can suffer from corrosion just in front of the passenger side rear wheel, otherwise I think it's just the usual stuff you'd look at on any car.

Hope it gets a clean bill of health.

 

[Unitedleeds1919]

I’d have had a vehicle inspection prior to purchase not been funny but you could have negotiated on the price or got work done but now you got to foot the bill if anything is found hopefully it’s all ok but I’d look into the aa or rac inspecting before purchase in future, legitimate sellers with nothing to hide should welcome it.

 

[True-Blue]

Is this a garage that you know and trust?

I’d be very wary of paying a garage to spend an hour ‘fault finding’ any car I owned without good reason.

I’d be surprised if they don’t find anything they can ‘fix’

 

[Rich8]

Check rear springs. The tail often snaps off them.

 

[brillomaster]

I think its a perfectly decent idea... just before i went on a european trackday i had my car up on a ramp to see if there was anything that might cause me a problem down the line. the technician gave everything a good prod and wiggle, and came back with a list of things he'd noticed. most of them werent anything of concern, the only thing i actually had actioned was removing some rusty brake heat shields.

but it certainly gave me piece of mind that the car should be broadly speaking ok, which it was.

Only thing i would say, is make sure you are actually there at the end of the hour, so whoever looks the car over can actually show you anything amiss.

 

[enuff_zed]

[ref]Jake1987[/ref], it is a good idea and hindsight is a wonderful thing, but at least you will know what the potential issues are.
As mentioned, make sure you get a full tour round to show you what they found. Get photos maybe and pop them up on here for further opinions.
Bear in mind that even the most honest garages may not have full experience of your car, therefore they may quote a lot more for repairs if they don't know about shortcuts etc.
There are many on the forum who work on our own cars and have developed and shared little tricks to make things quicker and easier.
Don't commit to anything repair-wise without seeking further opinions.

This seems to be becoming my mantra, but at that age and mileage, if they haven't already been addressed then you should consider new shocks, vanos seal replacement and most importantly, check the disa valve is secure as that can break and goes straight down the inlet manifold!
These are all things that could well appear perfectly good to a garage inspection so they may not pick up on them.
Where are you located, may be a spanner-wielding forumite near you who could help keep any costs down.

EDIT: Sorry, just remembered you're in Dorset and this is the second time I've given you this lecture. :roll: