Claiming an abandoned E89 Z4

[rooaw]

Morning,
This may be along winded post, but hopefully I can get some answers! I have come across a E89 Z4 which has been abandoned for a number of years, last MOT'd in 2016. I was looking at claiming ownership (legally), I have spoken to the DVLA regarding this matter. It has a working electrical circuit as far as i can tell, the battery is dead, but when I hooked it up to my car, the tailgate mechanism functioned and it opened, so that's a start.

But, it has no steering wheel, initially, will any steering wheel fit it? I don't want to spend £££ on a Z4 wheel if it isn't going to work, and I end up scrapping it.

It also currently does not have a key, so I can't take off the handbrake, is there an emergency release somewhere so I can get it onto a trailer and to a garage to programme a key?

TIA for any responses, anything will be helpful!

 

[Marcoose]

It’s the proverbial ‘project car’. Been there, done that, it’s fun, it will burn a gigantic hole in your pocket.

What year and trim is this gem?

 

[rooaw]

Indeed, familiar with the holes in the pocket! Its a 2009 sDrive3.0i manual.

 

[Pondy]

My first thought is why would someone abandon a 7-8 year old car without a very good reason? :?

 

[B21]

You can fit most BMW steering wheels, obviously the air bag light will come on and controls will not work on the wheel but that's irrelevant in the current situation.

Reference EPB..you can manually release the brakes by removing the wheels and backing the adjusters off. Probably best NOT to have a battery connected.

If you google rear brake pad changes it will cover this.

If you go ahead best to get a good de-bug /programming tool such as Bimmergeeeks Protool

 

[enuff_zed]

Reference EPB..you can manually release the brakes by removing the wheels and backing the adjusters off. Probably best NOT to have a battery connected.

Could you also do that with a code reader that has the brake wind back facility for pad changes, or would that need the ignition on and a key?

 

[rooaw]

My first thought is why would someone abandon a 7-8 year old car without a very good reason? :?

That was my first thought, however it has electrics of some sort, and the HPI check has come back clear with no finance outstanding, so can only imagine it is someone with more money than sense, unless there is an electrical bug somewhere else that I am missing...

 

[rooaw]

You can fit most BMW steering wheels, obviously the air bag light will come on and controls will not work on the wheel but that's irrelevant in the current situation.

Reference EPB..you can manually release the brakes by removing the wheels and backing the adjusters off. Probably best NOT to have a battery connected.

If you google rear brake pad changes it will cover this.

If you go ahead best to get a good de-bug /programming tool such as Bimmergeeeks Protool

thank you very much for that, would a £40 off Amazon fit, or is there a specific spline size I need?

that would work, all I need to do is be able to winch it on to a trailer.

 

[Pondy]

Could you also do that with a code reader that has the brake wind back facility for pad changes, or would that need the ignition on and a key?

You need power to the motors from somewhere to move them if still attached to the car. They can be manually wound back if off the car.
In this situaton I would just remove the motors from the carrier bracket (three or four small machine screws on each) and pry the pads apart manually. Chances are they will be seized on after that amount of time anyway. The motors can then be wound back manually at a later date before re-attaching.

 

[B21]

Reference EPB..you can manually release the brakes by removing the wheels and backing the adjusters off. Probably best NOT to have a battery connected.

Could you also do that with a code reader that has the brake wind back facility for pad changes, or would that need the ignition on and a key?

Amazingly (for me) I don't know..

The OP seems to want to do things on the very cheap to start with hence my suggestion of mechnical intervention only..

 

[B21]

My first thought is why would someone abandon a 7-8 year old car without a very good reason? :?

That was my first thought, however it has electrics of some sort, and the HPI check has come back clear with no finance outstanding, so can only imagine it is someone with more money than sense, unless there is an electrical bug somewhere else that I am missing...

Just be aware that these cars are packed with electronics..when they go wrong it can be very very difficult to de-bug and troubleshoot them..caveat emperor..

Having said that ..good luck!

 

[rooaw]

The OP seems to want to do things on the very cheap to start with hence my suggestion of mechnical intervention only..

I don't want to invest money into a project which isn't going to work, and one that I could end up breaking in the near future.. once I can get it on a trailer and assess it all properly, and get a key coded and get it started, that's when I can start investing in it more heavily!

 

[Chippie]

Surely you can’t just trailer away the car without first agreeing a sale with someone, wouldn’t that be theft?
Until legal ownership is established I wouldn’t be spending anything on it.

 

[B21]

The OP seems to want to do things on the very cheap to start with hence my suggestion of mechnical intervention only..

I don't want to invest money into a project which isn't going to work, and one that I could end up breaking in the near future.. once I can get it on a trailer and assess it all properly, and get a key coded and get it started, that's when I can start investing in it more heavily!

As they say 'I get that'..hence my suggestion of manually dismantling the rear brakes..

You will need a good code reader at some stage though for a project of this nature..there will be probably dozens of faults lodged due to the battery decaying but then you will have to see which return or stay..

 

[Rockhopper]

Surely you can’t just trailer away the car without first agreeing a sale with someone, wouldn’t that be theft?
Until legal ownership is established I wouldn’t be spending anything on it.

Presumably the DVLA has released the registered keepers details, or at least contacted them? If you fill in a V62 that'll start the process. Of course the registered keeper is not necessarily the legal owner.

 

[Smartbear]

Surely you can’t just trailer away the car without first agreeing a sale with someone, wouldn’t that be theft?
Until legal ownership is established I wouldn’t be spending anything on it.

These are my thoughts as well, i wouldn’t contemplate taking a car until I’d communicated with the owner & negotiated a price. Cars like e89’s aren’t free :?
Rob

 

[pvr]

<packing my bags to collect one of those cars in Dubai airport covered in years of dust>

 

[john-e89]

Surely you can’t just trailer away the car without first agreeing a sale with someone, wouldn’t that be theft?
Until legal ownership is established I wouldn’t be spending anything on it.

These are my thoughts as well, i wouldn’t contemplate taking a car until I’d communicated with the owner & negotiated a price. Cars like e89’s aren’t free :?
Rob

Agreed too. Somebody will have the V5 for that and it's up to them wether they let it rot to nothing or not, you can't go around claiming things for yourself just because it looks abandoned.

 

[rooaw]

Surely you can’t just trailer away the car without first agreeing a sale with someone, wouldn’t that be theft?
Until legal ownership is established I wouldn’t be spending anything on it.

Absolutely, that part is in progress, it won't be going anywhere until that is finalised.

As they say 'I get that'..hence my suggestion of manually dismantling the rear brakes..

You will need a good code reader at some stage though for a project of this nature..there will be probably dozens of faults lodged due to the battery decaying but then you will have to see which return or stay..

Thank you, I have access to one when it comes to it! Just trying to look ahead on how best to start this all off.

 

[B21]

Its a mixed bag..a friend picked up a siezed E85 20i for £180....some fresh discs and pads plus a few bits n bobs and it was running fine..others I know with E89 electrical issues took months to resolve..