If you like that shade, silver grey is also gorgeous and worth looking at. It wasn't overly rare (244 coupes and roadsters in RHD) so might be easier to find. As a lot of the Z colours it has a two tone look to it in the sun. Couple of pics of my old one that im sure everyone is fed up of seeing :rofl:
BMW Z4M Coupe CSL wheels by
Tom Scott, on Flickr
BMW Z4M Coupe rear by
Tom Scott, on Flickr
In terms of OE vs modified its up to you really. The cars that are modified tend to sit around for sale. The Z4M is niche and the buyers seem to be picky. OE cars sell quicker than modified and OE tend to hold value. It can work to your advantage if thats what you want tho. Especially if you plan on keeping it.
Many cars are modified then put back to stock and parts sold.
Well-suited suspension mods are KV3s for a coil-over kit or a B12 for a replacement for the originals. Big price difference and big difference in tunability, again, preference. The suspension on the Z is its weakest point so a system that more tunable gives better results. Needs tuning by someone who knows what they are doing. Biggest issue with the Z4M is the skittish rear because it doesnt have much travel and is stiff from stock can be sorted and completely transforms the car.
In terms of cars the NI cars do seem to sit around. Whether its an even more limited audience not really sure, there doesnt seem to be restrictions so who knows but going to NI and bringing the car back is an additional cost I suppose.
There are couple of trains of thought with cars that sit. 1. They are just too expensive - owners are still in covid mode and think their cars are worth a lot more than they are. 2. discrepancies - service, mot etc. Z4M buyers are picky and there are quite a few poor examples from history etc. 3. People tend to have a specific spec in mind, Z4Ms werent offered with packs so many suffer with missing spec. Thankfully most things can be retrofitted. 4. They are getting expensive to run and put on the road - tax is high top braket being £760 and less popular than an M3 for example. 6. Colour spec - there weren't many cars made in RHD 916 Z4M roadsters and 1054 Z4M coupes world wide. In RHD mine is 1 of 4 in the UK and only 1 of 9 in the world imola red on imola red.
You can have a look on here - it is a complete breakdown of cars in combinations.
http://perso.numericable.fr/tonyz4c/
You can really dive in with interior options etc. There is only one in the world of space grey with caramel interior its LHD and was sold in Germany.
Sorry if you already know half of this but more stuff:
Z4Ms were only available from 06-08, so best advice is to buy on condition and service history. Mileage is important, but with them zeroing in on 20 years old, condition and service are more important. Finding good cars with good service history, with documentation of this, is harder than it used to be. They are second or third cars, and many go over the 2-year period for oil servicing, etc, because the car's service light won't illuminate as the computer alters due to use. Regardless, they should have oil and brake fluid every 2 years and an inspection every 30k, inspection 1 then 2 and so on.
Inspections on these cars are more involved than others and include valve clearances. Some garages will tick it for doing more than oil and brake fluid so it is important to check what has been done, documentation is key. Good garages will give a sheet that will tell you the tolerances. It is important but not the end of the world, the main issue is they do go out of tolerance and means spending the money having another inspection 2 done which is £850ish, depending where you go.
Also if its a year out like 3 years and the milage wasn't huge, personally I wouldnt worry as much. If a major problem was to crop up it probably would have by now. These cars are far more robust than people give them credit for, its not a Ferrari you can use it and many have abused them and still hit the 150-200k mark without too many troubles (not to say you should). The E46 M3s are testament there are less Z4M with super high milage.
I mention specifics below because if you buy the wrong car at the wrong time in its service period, you can spend a lot on it quickly. I did exactly this, bought my second Z4M, a car I knew and had done for years, assumed it was ok, and it wasn't. Spent 4k on it very quickly, it needed an INSII. The disks and pads were warped all around, something I didn't realise, as the day I bought it was torrential rain, and it was only when you hit the brakes hard that you could feel the vibration. I had to chase a few other issues like the alarm system going off with faulty sensors, the xenon water system was leaking, the motor had seized, a broken rear spring, the wheels had been oversprayed, not dipped and powdercoated. Didn't realise until I got it home, etc, etc. I don't blame anyone but myself for it, but it took me longer to do what I wanted to it. I like to think I know what I'm looking for, and I made the mistake, so lesson learned, lesson passed on. It was a bit of a bad taste for a while and took the shine off, but it is what it is.
Brakes, Disks and pads - its roughly £800 an axel (with labour) so its important to check when they were changed. They should last 30k 40k if your lucky but worth checking as its not cheap. Sticky calipers are also common, hot disks and vibrations are signs. Also check if the brake calipers have been painted its amazing how many people dont know what they are doing and paint the pads too etc seen some really funny examples at Z meets. (I mention because the linked car has yellow painted calipers)
Tyres - obvious but worth checking as can save yourself a few £
Suspension - Z4Ms are renowned for snapping springs, it's two-fold. The OE springs aren't the best, but also the dampers do leak air over time, and the car tends to put more pressure on the springs. Look for suspension work as another expense. With their age, I would say the majority of cars will not ride as they did and need attention. Mine has done 80k, and I know they are toast, my next mod. Top mounts can squeak when they are on their way out. Also super rare, but with the Z's suspension being so hard, you can find some suffer from strut towers that can have stress fractures. Worth checking, again fixable, but you don't want to buy a car like that.
Engine hesitation - the throttle position sensors can go and the car can feel like it hesitates when revving from idle or it can happen through the rev range. Easy to fix there are three, one on the pedal, one on the front and rear of the engine. The vanos going can also be a cause of hesitation but less common.
Vanos - can go, not cheap around £1000 for a refurb unit but its not as common as you would read. You can often hear it on cold start if you know what to hear for but a rough idle and hesitation and general poor running are signs. There is a vanos test that can be done which takes 10-15 mins runs the car through the rev range and will tell you whether its in tolerance. Had mine done twice and passed both times.
Engine/gearbox mounts - you can have a look at the drivers side mount from the engine bay and if you get it in the air both sides are visible. That being said its hard to tell until they are out. They collapse over time, the passenger side is closer to the engine heat shield and tends to go first, causing excessive engine movement and the drivers follows, you can feel it. Stab the accelerator on a test drive and if you can feel the drive train move excessively, they need doing. (the engine obviously does move naturally but its pretty obvious).
Rod bearings - there is a lot of info, a lot of opinions, no real signs of wear. You can get oil assessments, but it will only give you info on the period the oil has been in - these are more helpful if you have these tests over multiple oil changes. The general opinion is that at around 80k, they should be changed.
As it's a popular thing to do to give peace of mind, there are cars on here from 25k up to 150k that have had them done, and there are always opinions on whether you've saved the engine or they didn't need doing. There is evidence that the damage is done early on in the bearing's life. There are so many examples on here where they have been pulled out of the car at 50k and 100k and they look exactly the same. So its a personal decision. Its cheap insurance considering its £1200ish vs 8-10k for a rebuild but at the same time I think its blown out of proportion. The Z4 is a small sample size as there weren't many made, but it also has the last generation of bearings, which are better.
That being said ive been on the forums for 14 years and I think there have been 2-3 cars that have actually had bearing failure. 2 I remember were heavily tracked cars. Again super low sample size but personally, im not concerned about mine. Unless the car has had a large number of owners, then I would be more inclined to get them done. At the end of the day you dont know how the car was driven by previous owners.
Engine bolts - these can shear - pretty rare and I think there was a recall but not 100%. Not seen one for a long time.
Exhaust - as i mentioned above exhaust mods are common both of my Z4Ms have had exhausts that haven't been put back together correctly. The exhaust hangers can snap and the back box will hang a touch. On both my cars I had all the bolts and accessories replaced so it sits properly good example this is what mine looked like with an aftermarket exhaust with aftermarket exhaust hangers. On my second the X pipe had been cut at the clamp point and sleeved and it was leaking was a right mess had to source a new xpipe.
The back box exhaust clamps can rust through too and need cutting off to replace, thankfully you can get replacements now that are split and bolt together.
Roof - if a roadster, the roof can wear. Many people dont think to put the roof up and down when it is wet but the material saturates and expands and rubs on the rubber seal at the back when it is closed and can cause wear holes - they are triple-lined lined so it will be mainly cosmetic but worth bearing in mind. You can pick up roofs for £2-400, so again, not the end of the world. They also suffer from roof motor failure, again, relatively simple to sort and relocate.
Coupe - the rear boot lid is a perfect place for water to sit and the boot can start to rust under the window seal.
Windows - window actuators are common to go. Both of mine have gone maybe im just unlucky! Not too difficult just fiddly and the inside door seal need removing and its a one time product. Getting the sealant off is a pain but again not the end of the world. If you get a specialist to do it just bear in mind its time consuming. I had mine done and think it was about £300 for the first one. Its often that there are issues and the door seal isnt put back properly which can lead to water ingress in the driver or passenger footwell. Check to see if its damp under the floor matt.
Xenons and washer system - the xenon bulbs can change to a pink colour over time or if they dont match the maybe one went and was replaced should be done as a pair really. The headlights washer system is does leak, cracked tanks and split pipes. My motor was seized which wasnt expensive about £100. The xenon washer covers can also break as they arent well attached the clip break really easily. You can buy colour-matched covers for £30-35 not the end of the world.
Side mirrors - they are heated and over time the glue can loose its adhesion and the mirrors fall out, worth having a quick check.
Doors - the roadsters doors are definetley more tinny than the coupes, dont know why just an observation. Clunk isnt as satisfying.
Seats - cars that have had lots of seat time loose they're sponginess not sure if its time or seat hours.
Interior wear - as with many of BMWs of this gen there are soft touch plastics that degrade - steering wheel surrounds, buttons, function panel in the centre console and the cover for the sat nav screen. The steering wheel is the main offender - buttons and surrounds can be removed and the finish rubbed off, painted, wraped etc or you can replace them entirely but its not cheap. I bought new for mine and the buttons were about £150 on their own. Glove box is a bit of a poor design with a foot that clips into the door which has the resistance. It pops off so easily and the glove box slams.
Body work - they are low and susceptible to stone chips front bumper, wings, bonnet and the rear end of the side skirts. Check the alignment of the panels. The front bumper is harder than most to line up and a lot of people freak out that the car has been in an accident. Pretty common to take the front bumper off and often they arent aligned well so it wouldnt be too much of an alarm.
Seals and windscreen - worth checking the condition of the windscreen again they are low and at a good angle where they get stone chips. They are getting harder to get BMW windows and the third party screens dont fit well. Same with the seals third part seals dont fit properly and can leak. If they are old there have been a lot of examples of cracked seals and its tough to replace without removing the window. On the coupe, there is a seal on the rear 3/4 window panel where the door window meets the 3/4 B pillar, hard to explain but its a little flap and they often lift and get misshaped and look a bit of an eyesore. This is often put back with silicon and ive seen a lot that are messy.
Loads of info. Its not to put you off, the cars are brilliant and really robust for what they are! Just a list of things ive learned or delt with in the last 14 years of Z4M ownership.
Hope that helps.
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