Buying a Z4, advice please

D

Daffy

Active member
 Bath
Hello Fellas,

Long time lurker on here and am looking to buy my first Z4 in the next few weeks! WOOP! :)

...anyway, I was wondering what I should be looking for when purchasing a second hand Z4; what are the known problems? What sort of specification should I be looking for? Which alloys are the most desireable?

I'm looking at a 2003-2005 3.0L SE, do I go for a manual or an auto? 107s or 108s etc...I'm so confused.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

All the best,

Daffy (Martin)
 
Cheers lads, I'm off to see one tonight and another hopefully on Wednesday.

Silver or Sterling Grey....?
 
Maldives blue.........

seriously in that kind of age range I would look at condition rather than colour...

unless you are right in the middle of london go for the manual...... it is a sports car..

A lot of 108 alloys of that age when i looked were pretty shabby..... but you might come across a nice set. I think M-seats are the business .
 
Sports seats, bluetooth, nav all desirable. Full service history essential, a garaged car would be good, less weather getting at the hood and it's delicate motor, a known problem on pre-06 cars.

I think wheels tell you about how the car has been looked after by it's owner. If they are curbed, filthy and the inner rim is full of tar and road dirt then chances are the owner hasn't looked after the car as well as he/she might have. You could do a lot worse than looking on here at the 'for sales' most people who are regular on the forum are OCD when it comes to their cars :D
 
Check the tyres, Bridgestone Runflats make it tramline like a, er, tram
Check the hood motor, rear springs, airbag sensors, and window winder mechanisms - all weak points.
Manual vs auto - your choice. I prefer autos.
3.0 vs anything else. No contest. Why order a weak coffee?
 
Daffy - welcome to the forum.
Daffy said:
Hello Fellas,

[Long time lurker on here and am looking to buy my first Z4 in the next few weeks! WOOP! :)]

...anyway, [Which alloys are the most desireable?

I'm looking at a 2003-2005 3.0L SE, do I go for a manual or an auto? 107s or 108s etc...I'm so confused.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

All the best,

Daffy (Martin)]
Click to expand...

Surely what YOU WANT, in terms of alloys and type of gearbox is the most important. Anyway, if looking at second hand and that age, there will be less room for choosing particular options and you may find you will have to compromise.

107s all the way :)
 
My tuppenceworth is find the interior you like first and work from there

I started with black and ended up with grey - no, its not a hair story ..... but true
 
Morning fellas,

I had my first viewing of one of my shortlisted Z4s last night. T'was a lovely car great colour combo. Sterling Grey with Grey hood.

1. There were a couple of points of concern, There was a small creak from the right rear quarter, Is this normal?

2. The 108 alloys were superficially in good condition, but were badly corroded inside the rim where it's less noticable. Can they be refurbed and at what cost?

3. There was a slight "knock/wobble" in the front suspension, and I do mean very slight. Is this a sympson or worn bushings or is this level of play just more noticable in a Z4 with the top down than it is in my E46 330Ci

One other point, can satnav/parking sensors and bluetooth be retrofitted and at what cost?

Cheers lads.

N.B. Going to look at a silver 54 plate Auto later. I need to decide on the colour and if i can make do with the gearbox.
 
My alloys are being refurbed at this very moment. £62 each plus VAT for full acid strip, repaint and lacquer. Lots of co's offering this on interweb. Where are you?
No creaks or knocks on my 04 with 65k. Sounds like it needs new bushes. All of these items can be retrofitted - instructions on this site.
 
Cherck list in my signature - perhaps worth printing off and working your way through it when you go to view.
 
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