E85/E86 3.0 Z4 Roadster - Manual Gearbox - Need to Find One ASAP!

[Ruofdez]

Hi all, looks like a great community here.

Edited: Started off a bit too particular but here's what I'm looking for now:

Must Haves
3.0 Engine - Either M54 or N52
Manual Gearbox
Heated Seats

Nice to Have
Lower Mileage - Budget should be able to stretch to something with lower miles but it's not essential
Newer - 2007-2008 - As above, though both low miles and newer is probably pushing the budget a bit.
Non Run Flat Tyres
Relocated Roof Motor
Vanos Seals Replaced (if M54)
M Sport Seats
Upgraded Factory Sound System
Rear Parking Sensors

 

[Crazy Harry]

Hi and welcome - and hunting for 3.0 roadster

I know this won't help but I'm going to post it anyway. This is a great forum I've learnt lots reading about other peoples Zed related problems .... but that can easily make you paranoid! It's like googling a mild medical complaint and reaching the assumption that you only have weeks to live.

Some Zed issues can be a real sod but are rare. You don't say what your skill level is with spanners or if you intend the Zed to be a daily driver or a weekend fun car - obviously one is more tolerant of breakdowns than the other. Quite a few members offer repairs as a business or as a well regarded (by other members) side line such as roof motor relocation. There is a wealth of information about independent BMW specialists - don't look at main stealer costs and let that influence your decision to buy a Zed; how to threads and members who will pitch in to help another member out.

Your not going to get all the breakdowns you list together (if you do start buying lottery tickets) and if you are very unlucky and get one they are all fixable.

Drop your budget a little if you must have a reserve to fund the breakdowns you list or put a bit away each month - and look for a roadster with heated Msport seats and get out and enjoy it :lol:

There said it - may be no help but its not as bad as you think - in any event enjoy your hunt; post questions about cars you're looking at and don't forget to post pics of yours when you get it.

 

[Ruofdez]

Thank you for the welcome

It's a fair point and I do see what you mean. The trouble is the reason I'm looking for another car is my last one suffered from a rare but known expensive issue, a bit like the sticky steering or HVA, so I'm unwilling to roll the dice again. I was initially considering an MX5 (mk3 2.0 Sport) where there's less to go wrong but IF I could find a Z4 with the rare but potentially expensive issues sorted then I'd go for it.

The roof motor and Vanos are less of a concern as they're not mega money but it seems the sticky steering or HVA can be both hard to diagnose and potentially costly and I'd hate for that to take the fun away from the car.

I'm not that great with the spanners and it will be my daily which is another consideration.

Maybe I'm just being paranoid but my luck doesn't seem to be the best with these things so I'm trying to be sensible :lol:

 

[Mr Tidy]

Welcome to the forum.

3 litre is definitely the way to go IMO.

I can understand you wanting to avoid known issues. You may have read about it on here, but the 3.0Si has an electric water pump and if it dies you're likely to get a bill for about £500 from a BMW Independent - my 1st Coupe needed one 18 months after I bought it, and 6 months after I bought my E91 with the 2.5 litre version of the N52 engine it needed one too!

Then again it is a great engine, thankfully. :lol:

Anyway good luck finding the right one.

 

[srhutch]

Hi and welcome.

Can only echo the above. Steering columns being replaced won’t guarantee it won’t happen again, and f8nding a car that’s had the head changed won’t be easy. I had a 2.5si that did get the head changed, but I sold it over 7 years ago and doubt the owner now even knows about it. BMW also stopped changing the heads due to cost and as a result there a very few documented on here having been changed.

I’d say M54 more bullet proof than N52, and both can suffer (rare though) from steering issues.

Also most have fixed the steering issue with a little fettling, not needing to replace.

By one it will be fine. Just make sure it has 6 cylinders. It’s the 4 pots that have the real issues.

 

[Ruofdez]

Welcome to the forum.

3 litre is definitely the way to go IMO.

I can understand you wanting to avoid known issues. You may have read about it on here, but the 3.0Si has an electric water pump and if it dies you're likely to get a bill for about £500 from a BMW Independent - my 1st Coupe needed one 18 months after I bought it, and 6 months after I bought my E91 with the 2.5 litre version of the N52 engine it needed one too!

Then again it is a great engine, thankfully.

Anyway good luck finding the right one.

I did see that and while that's not a cheap part it wouldn't be the end of the world. I've heard that the labour involved is fairly low. The odd £500 bill I could take, it's more the £1000-£2000+ bills that concern me, but thanks for mentioning that

Hi and welcome.

Can only echo the above. Steering columns being replaced won’t guarantee it won’t happen again, and f8nding a car that’s had the head changed won’t be easy. I had a 2.5si that did get the head changed, but I sold it over 7 years ago and doubt the owner now even knows about it. BMW also stopped changing the heads due to cost and as a result there a very few documented on here having been changed.

I’d say M54 more bullet proof than N52, and both can suffer (rare though) from steering issues.

Also most have fixed the steering issue with a little fettling, not needing to replace.

By one it will be fine. Just make sure it has 6 cylinders. It’s the 4 pots that have the real issues.

Oh right, I was under the impression that if the steering column had been replaced with a newer model that the problem was solved with no risk of it returning. If that's not the case then that changes things a bit.

I did think the chance of me finding an 3.0si with head changes was unlikely which is why I'm looking more at the pre-facelift with the M54 but interesting you say that they stopped changing the heads. Do you mean they stopped doing them as warranty repairs or just stopped all together? If all together then what does someone do if they get the HVA issue?

Definitely only going to go for the 3.0i or 3.0si thank you

 

[derin100]

All cars have problems specific to themselves. As said earlier, if you start reading forums you can develop a sense of paranoia that every single problem will befall you.

I can't be sure about the M54 in the E85 but I have fairly extensive experience of it in E39s and E38s, it too has its own set of well documented problems mainly related to the cooling system. If that fails on you at the wrong time it's new head-gasket time or worse. Ask me how I know!
This leads some people on forums to talkabout/recommend replacing basically the whole cooling system components as a matter of course if it hasn't already been done!
Yet despite this I've never actually done that. Yes, I had one bad experience in my wife's car because when it failed she carried on driving and the thing totally overheated and the head-gasket went. However, I have actually 10 cars with this engine and driven what must amount to 100s of thousands of miles and this is the one single big failure I've experienced.
Imagine the cost if I'd changed the entire cooling system in each and every one of those cars.

 

[Ruofdez]

All cars have problems specific to themselves. As said earlier, if you start reading forums you can develop a sense of paranoia that every single problem will befall you.

I can't be sure about the M54 in the E85 but I have fairly extensive experience of it in E39s and E38s, it too has its own set of well documented problems mainly related to the cooling system. If that fails on you at the wrong time it's new head-gasket time or worse. Ask me how I know!
This leads some people on forums to talkabout/recommend replacing basically the whole cooling system components as a matter of course if it hasn't already been done!
Yet despite this I've never actually done that. Yes, I had one bad experience in my wife's car because when it failed she carried on driving and the thing totally overheated and the head-gasket went. However, I have actually 10 cars with this engine and driven what must amount to 100s of thousands of miles and this is the one single big failure I've experienced.
Imagine the cost if I'd changed the entire cooling system in each and every one of those cars.

I also experienced that, that's the trouble whenever these issues seem to be possible, they happen to me Luckily in that case I got the car stopped and engine off in time to prevent any damage but took the precaution of replacing all the main cooling bits which I think was around £700 at the time. That was on an E39. However I do get your point, the chances are it would be absolutely fine, but after a number of big and very expensive failures in various cars I'm just trying to be sensible and plan for the worst. No good buying a car I can't afford to fix and I wouldn't want to sell it on to some unsuspecting person. BTW you and others may well have already seen it but I found a massive thread with a poll on a german forum about the sticky steering and whether people have experienced it and I believe it was about 1/4 had so not terribly uncommon.

I've seen that it's possible to take out a warranty with bmw-warranty.co.uk (I'm sure other companies offer it too) so I'm considering doing that at least for a year and that way if any issues crop up they will hopefully be covered. The comprehensive cover includes steering. My only concern is getting them to pay out should the worst happen, where it's an intermittent issue and hard to replicate.

Finding a Z4 with a steering column replaced will I'm sure be rare as hen's teeth despite that one I posted above being available last year, so the warranty plan might be a better way of protecting the downside and my paranoia. Sold my car the other day and it's being collected at the weekend so I can't hang around for more than a week or two for a car so I've got to be realistic. Not many Z4's for sale; the E85/E86 3.0 anyway.

Anyway sorry to ramble and thanks for the reply!

 

[Ruofdez]

I've updated the title and opening post as I realise I'm very unlikely to find the 'perfect' car in the next couple of weeks. If anyone is looking to sell their E85 3.0 please let me know. Willing to spend extra for a lower mileage example.

Thanks.

 

[Ruofdez]

Updated again. If anyone is considering selling please get in touch ASAP. I'm about to be carless so need to find something quickly. Thanks!

 

[derin100]

Then I think you may have to compromise on some of your criteria (I think the original wish list was probably nigh on impossible!).

But something like this might be worth a look as it has quite low mileage?

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1077310

 

[Ruofdez]

Then I think you may have to compromise on some of your criteria (I think the original wish list was probably nigh on impossible!).

But something like this might be worth a look as it has quite low mileage?

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1077310

Yep you're right there, I was being too picky before. It's because I just happened to look at a couple of ads in a row that ticked the boxes and assumed lots like that were out there. I realise that's not the case now! Thanks for posting the link, looks nice

 

[Darryl_1983]

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=98613

My dad is going to be selling this shortly, if it's of any interest.

It's had a new battery and alternator within the last 12 months. New rear springs and a few other little bits for its mot last year too.

 

[Ruofdez]

Thank you very much for the reply. It looks a lovely car and I’d have been very interested however earlier on I was fortunate enough to find a Z4. Ive just got back from picking it up so I’m no longer looking. I’m sure your dad’s will sell very quickly.

 

[Smartbear]

Thank you very much for the reply. It looks a lovely car and I’d have been very interested however earlier on I was fortunate enough to find a Z4. Ive just got back from picking it up so I’m no longer looking. I’m sure your dad’s will sell very quickly.

Hi, you know the score :worthless:
Rob

 

[Ruofdez]

Thank you very much for the reply. It looks a lovely car and I’d have been very interested however earlier on I was fortunate enough to find a Z4. Ive just got back from picking it up so I’m no longer looking. I’m sure your dad’s will sell very quickly.

Hi, you know the score :worthless:
Rob

Ha, here’s a photo. 3.0 manual. Very pleased with it so far. Long drive back (roof down of course!) so I’ll be having a better look over it tomorrow but first impressions are good.