Considering a 2004 convertible

C

C58

Member
Hey all,

newbie here! so long story short ive been looking at getting a convertible for a while and for the price the z4 seems a great option. Ive found a couple that I like and im going to test drive with a view of buying one later this week, the only concern is the issues that in my research the cars seem to have. To give you an idea ill be looking at spending about £5k so looking at probably a 2.2 with lowish mileage (45-60k) or a 2.5 / 3 with a bit more (60-90k)

firstly is there any advantage of going 2.5 / 3 over the 2.2 (apart from the obvious performance improvements) to my mind id rather get a lower mileage car thats slightly slower all things considered than a bigger engine on a car thats done more miles ... is that right?

secondly are there any issues I should be aware of? from my research it seems like the roof motor on these cars are particularly bad with some people going through one every other year. Is there an advantage of buying one which has had a new motor fitted? or is it just pot luck? looking at the forum posts with the relocation it seems having a look at the motor requires the roof off so how would i go about checking it during a test drive? the other thing ive found (im a massive geek and have put lots of reg numbers from auto trader z4's in my price range) and it seems that lots of them have issues with the springs (a common reason they seem to be failing mot's) how worried should i be about this and realistically how much of this can i check on a test drive?

anything else you guys could recommend would be great

thanks in advance :)
 
I think its generally accepted that the 3.0L is the best of the bunch engine wise. Not just the best performance but the most reliable and will be the easiest to sell again later.
A new roof motor is a good thing to have as they do fail but it seems fairly random as to when the fail. Keeping the drainage holes clear can help.
I wouldn't worry too much about the springs. its common for them to snap but they are cheap to replace.
 
Water pump should be changed around 80,000 I think.

Roof motor may or may not fail. You're only hearing of the motors that have failed. I'm on my 2nd Z4 and never had any issues.

Twitchy steering is another that's a known issue. Again only from owners who have had issues.

Front bushes will need replaced sometime. Most folk usually upgrade the bushes and it maybe replace the wishbones too.

Springs should be viewed as consumables and pretty much guaranteed that within the next 2 years at least one will fail if it's a daily driver.

You should also be checking the Service History and the online MOT History checks. That will give you an idea of any previous MOT failures and any work done so that you can check the work has been done.

Depending on the mileage you should really budget for the Car + maybe £500 - £1000 in hand to get new tyres, a good service and an alignment done. That should leave you with cash left over or get anything else fixed.

Parts etc. are relatively cheap and there's loads of info on the forum for just about everything relating to these cars.

Remember these are not new cars and need a certain amount of looking after to keep them on the road.
 
Thanks for the replies, a couple that ive found have just had their 15k service done so im hoping that means that there wont be too much to pay out in the beginning. most of the issues ive come across on the MOT checker seem to be wishbone & tyre wear related.
 
C58 said:
Thanks for the replies, a couple that ive found have just had their 15k service done so im hoping that means that there wont be too much to pay out in the beginning. most of the issues ive come across on the MOT checker seem to be wishbone & tyre wear related.
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It usually is.

For Tyres make sure it's either the same tyres all round or same tyres on each axle.

They're great cars but as I said they do need a bit of looking after although not as much as a TVR as they come with a prayer book and a tow truck!
 
My best piece of advice once you've bought it is to delete your login for here

I've spent far too much on my car so far because of this place. :rofl:

That said, I'll probably keep it longer than any other car I've owned
 
russ67 said:
My best piece of advice once you've bought it is to delete your login for here

I've spent far too much on my car so far because of this place. :rofl:

That said, I'll probably keep it longer than any other car I've owned
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Good advice :)

Mike
 
The 3.0 is such a peach of an engine, I'd favour a properly serviced higher mileage 3.0 over a 2.2 any day.

Roof motor aside (just think of it as a Zed ownership tax), nothing really to worry about over and above bying any 12 year old car.
 
The 2.2, 2.5 and 3.0 in the pre facelift are all M54 engines so are all bullet proof. If lower mileage lower performance fits you bill then go for it. Might be a little harder to move on though.
 
Buy the 3.0 mate or you will only end up regretting it. I had mine for 2 years and loved every minute of it. Went on 4 track days and never had any problems.
 
Perhaps it's me but the performance I experience from a 2004 2.2 still brings on smiles and a bit of amazement from owners of more exotic machinery. The engines are brilliant, mine has 126k on the clock and still pulls like a train.
Certainly suspension bushes, radiator expansion tanks, front/rear discs and the dreaded passenger seat belt and airbag warning lights are fairly common on high milers. So try and avoid.
I would say with your budget you would get a 50/60 k mile model and the cost of the road fund licence might play a part in your final choice.
Good luck with your search you sound as though you know enough to buy a good one.
 
Throw a few more £ in the kitty & make this guy a offer http://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=87930
These don't come up that often & imo offers rarity , performance & value around your pricepoint :thumbsup:
 
Thanks for the replies all, i took one out for a test drive over the weekend and it drove lovely! As with everything theres a but! so when i drove the one I liked it had 2 warning lights on the dash, the traction control and the tyre pressure. I spoke to the guy who was there who was basically the mechanic, the owner wasnt around and this was a very small car sales place. He said it was just an issue that was because the car hasnt been driven alot and needed to be "reset" the owner was apparently away in germany picking up a new car and the computer to reset the warning lights.

my brother in law is a mechanic and said anything to do with abs or traction control warnings, stay the hell away from. the reason being is that abs and traction control have to be deal with by BMW mechanics along with the extremely high hourly rate and indy mechanics cant do anything about.

my question is, does that sound like a legit issue and why would it be so easily remedied? does it sound legit or do you think i should be wary?
i spoke to the owner today who is back and he said hes reset it and all the warning lights are gone now.

any advice would be much appreciated.
 
Hi, those lights don't usually come on for no reason at all-there's plenty of zeds for sale without the instruments illuminated like crimbo trees, id have a look at another :driving:
Rob
 
Sounds very much like the flat tyre indicator was triggered as that would give those lights. It works on the ABS sensor rather than actual tyre pressure as it simply detects a sudden enough change in rolling diameter of the wheels. Ask if they replaced any tyres as this triggers it. If you can get a test drive of at least 20-30mins then so long as the lights don't come back on it should be alright. They can also be triggered by a particularly harsh pothole.
 
Steve84N said:
Sounds very much like the flat tyre indicator was triggered as that would give those lights. It works on the ABS sensor rather than actual tyre pressure as it simply detects a sudden enough change in rolling diameter of the wheels. Ask if they replaced any tyres as this triggers it. If you can get a test drive of at least 20-30mins then so long as the lights don't come back on it should be alright. They can also be triggered by a particularly harsh pothole.
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My low pressure light came on once & I'm sure it didn't light the traction control light as well?
Rob
 
im taking it for a 50 min ride tomorrow hopefully over to my brother in laws to give it a once over but hes not too knowledgeable about zeds traction control / abs

I dont think the tyres have been changed recently as they looked pretty worn but the pot hole thing is fair enough, just wanted to know if anyone had had any experience. im assuming theres no way they could just unplug the wires? just seems random theres a warning light that sticking it in a computer would turn off
 
Smartbear said:
My low pressure light came on once & I'm sure it didn't light the traction control light as well?
Rob
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I think mine did but I can't recall for sure...

Mine was activated by a jolt over a rough joint coming off the Eurotunnel train.
 
Id reset the tpms as these can trigger for a variety of reasons
ie wheels changed ? Tyres changed ? Pressures changed ?
Ive had countless BMW s with TPMS & never has it triggered another fault light
I would be braced for at best a sensor replacing or worst the ABS pump module thingy :cry:
Need to get the fault codes read , possibly similar problem here http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=88095
 
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