e86 z4/m front bumper fitment query

[where.is.lee]

Hi all,

I've been in the market for a z4mc for some time and just went to look at a car that I am interested in. The front end fitment seems to give me questions and wanted to ask you all if it's normal for fit an finish of the e86. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures.

- seemed to be quite a large gap between the bumper and headlights (enough to see some daylight/empty space)
- passenger side of the front bumper at the top near the grill isn't flush with the bonnet and seems to be risen 5mm whereas drivers side is flush.
- passenger headlight washer jet cover is bubbling
- all nuts and bolts looked untouched with no tool marks.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Zedebee]

Obviously you are worried that the listed issues are indicative of crash damage, which they could be.
Normal = the panel gaps should be even and symmetrical.
However, if the bumper has been off for any good reason (e.g. to change the fog lights or repaint the strut braces) it can be quite difficult to line up again, so it’s not necessarily an issue.
Pictures would help, a lot.

 

[curvature]

When I bought my coupe the gap between the top of the bumper and the bonnet looked bigger than it should be.

As you may have read I then had a minor knock that smashed the headlamp and damaged the paint to the bumper so off it went to the main dealer to be repaired and they said that the bumper had been removed at some point and not clipped back into position properly hence the larger gap.