Buying an 2006 e86 3.0si coupe

[Sam4090]

Hi guys, I’m currently am looking at a 2006 z4 3.0si coupe, with 76,000 miles going for £10,990.
I’m brand new to this forum and I have never owned a z4 before. So before I go any further with this car, could anyone let me know how the service history looks on it?

Thank you for any help

 

[inkey$]

Difficult to see at that [low] resolution and those angles.
Any chance you could summarise the mileage and list out what was done, when and where? Might be easier.
Welcome to the forum, btw

 

[Sam4090]

Hope fully these are a bit clearer

 

[Sam4090]

Here are the other few ones

 

[inkey$]

No clearer I'm afraid :lol:
Stamped book wise though (which I can see), things seem to have been done in basically the correct order.

This car stamps show:
- Pre-Delivery Check - 31.3.06
- Oil Service @ 7814 miles - 30.10.08
- Insp 2 @ 21,620 miles - 9.8.10
- Oil Service @ 35,141 miles - 9.1.12
- Insp 1 @ 46,499 miles - 13.3.14
- Oil Service @ 64,332 miles - 29.3.16
- Insp 2 @ 66,422 miles - 18.3.21
- Oil Service @ 76,171 miles - 4.1.23

To me, all this looks great up until 2016 when it looks like it was taken off the road and SORN maybe? Next service is 5 years and just 2000 miles later, but its an Inspection 2 which is good after being off the road for a while. Then its been used for another 10k miles in 2 years up until the latest service in January this year, which again - I'd say is a good thing. Next inspection would be Insp 1 and due 2025, but its probably worthwhile giving it another oil service this time next year.

Cant comment on the other receipts but they'll likely be for things like brakes, suspension. bits etc - all standard consumables on these cars. If it was me, I'd check when it last had tyres (check date stamps on them), check through the receipts, make sure its HPI clear and take it for a drive to see if you like it. Also give it a quick MOT check.

Hope thats useful.

 

[Sam4090]

Ah ok thank you very much. I’ll have a look into the tyres etc, and I’ve got a test drive booked this Sunday which will of course help me make a decision on whether I buy it. As for the price, would you say £11,000 is fair? I’ll leave a link to auto trader if you’d be so kind as to have a look. Thanks! https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212182607831

 

[inkey$]

Looking at the ad, and the MOT history, I'd say that looks pretty good actually for the mileage and condition. Zachary Luke Cars is a person that seems to pop up more and more when it comes to buying up coupes and reselling them on.

MOT wise it says it passed in 2016 and 2017 without incident - then in 2018 it had 3 x suspension advisories and a couple of failures. 2019 it had advisories on corroded brake pipes (common) and tyre baldness - so defintely check the tyres and make sure they're not cheapo ditch-finders. My guess is the owner probably decided not to get the car serviced during those 5 years as it wasn't doing the miles.

£10,990 for a low milage car with decent service history and what looks like a nice stack of receipts seems okay to me. Obviously go in hard (£9500) and meet Zachary at around the £10k mark :lol:

 

[enuff_zed]

Well I've been spinning the old laptop round trying to keep up, but one thing I can't see is mention of water pump replacement?
I'd think with that mileage you are potentially getting close to the failure point if it's the original.

 

[Sam4090]

Hmm I’ve heard water pump replacement is expensive.
I’ll copy the link to the file, which may be clearer. Third time lucky!
Ok cool, I’ll try my best haha.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/105TVzfK5qaI9oncAkMV-Krt2GVmH1y8f/view?usp=drivesdk

 

[inkey$]

Well I've been spinning the old laptop round trying to keep up, but one thing I can't see is mention of water pump replacement?
I'd think with that mileage you are potentially getting close to the failure point if it's the original.

Good point. I could 'just' make out its had a new rocker cover gasket, but no mention of waterpump or belts. Although I guess mileage wise it could still be a few thousand miles away from need those, even remedially?

 

[inkey$]

Hmm I’ve heard water pump replacement is expensive.
I’ll copy the link to the file, which may be clearer. Third time lucky!
Ok cool, I’ll try my best haha.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/105TVzfK5qaI9oncAkMV-Krt2GVmH1y8f/view?usp=drivesdk

Not expensive really. A few hundred pounds for the pump, temp sensor and any belts while you're int here, plus labour. Not a long job tbh.

 

[Sam4090]

Ok, well if it’s not too expensive I suppose it may be alright overlooking. if the rest of the car is in good shape of course

 

[Zedebee]

Even at the asking price that’s not too bad, particularly from dealer where you have the protection of the sale of goods act. Zachary Luke has a good reputation too and seems to know the Z4 well. Autos do tend to be less sought after and therefore cheaper than manuals, but if you want an auto that is to your advantage. Personally, I’ve had a manual coupe and I now have an auto roadster; my next coupe (there will be one) will be an auto.

If you can get a water pump change thrown in for free, so much the better; or haggle down the price by £500 and do it yourself.

Service history is better than many and the spec list is good (heated sport seats, cup holders, professional hi-fi). It’s missing cruise control but that is an easy diy retro fit for around £150 or less. Go for it.

 

[Mr Tidy]

Looks like a good example and doesn't seem too expensive considering it is being sold by a trader.

Water pump life seems a bit random. The pump in my first E86 died at 60K miles, but Ross at RBM reckoned my 2nd one still had the original pump at 91K!

Good luck anyway.

 

[inkey$]

…. my next coupe (there will be one) will be an auto.

Thats my plan too

 

[Sam4090]

Yeah initially I was interested in a manual, however the fact that they are around £2k+ more helped me settle for an auto lol. And also the fact that I’ll be using the z4 as a daily driver so an auto would most likely be more comfortable when commuting.
One other question I have is regarding the engine. I’m aware that the later models have the N52k engine as opposed to the N52 in the car I’m looking at. Just was wondering if there’s much point holding out for a later model with the N52k, or if there’s not enough of a difference between the two.

 

[Sam4090]

Yeah initially I was interested in a manual, however the fact that they are around £2k+ more helped me settle for an auto lol. And also the fact that I’ll be using the z4 as a daily driver so an auto would most likely be more comfortable when commuting.
One other question I have is regarding the engine. I’m aware that the later models have the N52k engine as opposed to the N52 in the car I’m looking at. Just was wondering if there’s much point holding out for a later model with the N52k, or if there’s not enough of a difference between the two.

 

[Sam4090]

One other question I have is regarding the engine. I’m aware that the later models have the N52k engine as opposed to the N52 in the car I’m looking at. Just was wondering if there’s much point holding out for a later model with the N52k, or if there’s not enough of a difference between the two.

 

[Sam4090]

One other question I have is regarding the engine. I’m aware that the later models have the N52k engine as opposed to the N52 in the car I’m looking at. Just was wondering if there’s much point holding out for a later model with the N52k, or if there’s not enough of a difference between the two.

 

[Mr Tidy]

Here's a link to a thread about the differences between the N52 and N52k:- https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=105709&start=45

My first Z4 was built in October 2006 so had the later "black-top" N52k but my next one was built in August 2006 so had the earlier "silver-top" non-k version.

To be honest there really was no detectible difference in how they drove or performed. The reason is a long story but only 1 full day passed between them so I would have noticed any difference.

I saw the N52k apparently had a revised water pump - but in my case it wasn't improved! The pump on my N52k engine died at 60K miles but my non-k engine seemed to be on the original pump when I sold it on 91K miles.

Both my 100+k mile 3 Series had the early engine. I wouldn't bother which version a car had, condition and history are far more important.