Clutch life

M

malibudave

Member
I didn't really know where to put this question, so seeing as I am new, I thought I'd put it here.

Anyways, gonna go and have a look at a Z4 Coupe in a week that has 35k on it. Assuming its had an average driver, what sort of life would you expect to have left in the clutch? Indeed, should it have been changed by now? It looks as though a change to a clutch is a pretty expensive job, so if its near the end of its life I might need to negotiate it down a bit.

Any thoughts much appreciated..
 
35k should be nothing for an 'Average' driver, although its kinda like asking how long a piece of string is! Just do the usual checks, feeling for shudder etc (even though mine has shuddered a little when cold for the last 30k!)

It should last 100k easily :) NA cars are also a lot kinder to clutches than boosty turbos!
 
malibudave said:
I didn't really know where to put this question, so seeing as I am new, I thought I'd put it here.

Anyways, gonna go and have a look at a Z4 Coupe in a week that has 35k on it. Assuming its had an average driver, what sort of life would you expect to have left in the clutch? Indeed, should it have been changed by now? It looks as though a change to a clutch is a pretty expensive job, so if its near the end of its life I might need to negotiate it down a bit.

Any thoughts much appreciated..
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Bought my 53 plate in May. Just paid £1,200 for new clutch and flywheel. 45k miles.

All you can do is ask what has or has not been done recently and factor it in.

I don't agree that you can get 100k out of a z4 clutch under any driving.
 
Driving style dictates clutch life (among other engine components) - gentle use and 100k plus should be easily possible imo.
 
mine was replaced at 35k..

3 owners before me though including BMW as a demo car, so who knows how well or otherwise it was treated :?
 
It's a tough one. Mines done 95K and feels like new although I don't doubt it'll need doing sooner or later. As mentioned drive the car, see where/ how it takes up drive, whether you can drive it smoothly after a short time behind the wheel ( some tired clutches can be tricky). Low mileage cars can have hard lives but you can generally spot this with the overall condition of the car/ attitude of the owner :D
 
jonny5 said:
It's a tough one. Mines done 95K and feels like new although I don't doubt it'll need doing sooner or later. As mentioned drive the car, see where/ how it takes up drive, whether you can drive it smoothly after a short time behind the wheel ( some tired clutches can be tricky). Low mileage cars can have hard lives but you can generally spot this with the overall condition of the car/ attitude of the owner :D
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I would agree with this.

You can buy, say, a 3-4 year old car that only has 15k on, which sounds great (and may well be, of course), but it can also indicate that it has never been anywhere other than backwards and forwards around town, and as such, as had lots of clutch-use into the bargain. Conversely, a higher mileage car may have done nothing but motorway; subsequently involving very little clutch-use.....

Doesn`t always follow, but food for thought ?
 
Clutch life has only partly to do with total mileage covered. Far more important is the type of mileage and how its been driven.

One mile in the rush hour in London will wear the clutch more than a 100 mile trip on the motorway.

A driver who habitually holds the car on the clutch rather than using the handbrake will also be replacing his clutch prematurely.

Keeping the clutch engaged rather than putting the car out of gear in traffic will also prematurely wear the release bearing.

I'd rather buy a high-mileage car in top condition (motorway miles) than a low miles job from the middle of a big city.
 
AlanJ said:
Driving style dictates clutch life (among other engine components) - gentle use and 100k plus should be easily possible imo.
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OK Alan,..on paper... but I don't think this is what the majority of second hand buyers will experience. There's a lot of people on here buying 5 to 7 year old cars most of which will have had one or more previous owners possibly with different driving styles. Put this together with the Z4 being a sporty car and I don't think there will be many of these cars that have been driven like a hearse.

I think anyone buying a car with 40k+ on it runs a good the risk of replacing the clutch during their ownership. My approach has been to buy a 7 year old car and now drive it reasonably careful and hold onto it as long as I can to get the most out of any damage I inherit and have repaired.

But I agree with the point made by others that theres a lot of difference between motorway and city driving.
 
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