E89 purchasing......

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danmiddle2

Active member
A friend of mine is after an E89 35is and has picked out this one as a bit of a bargain:
http://www.oakwoodsgroup.co.uk/used-bmw-z4-for-sale-Kent-1399.htm

Aside from the higher than average mileage for the age, and it being an auto (his preference) - can anyone see anything wrong with it?

From what I can see of the declared service history; its needed a lot of brake part replacements - is this normal for these? I guess auto's have higher brake wear, but there does seem to have been a lot.

I am going to look at it with him next week. Aside from the usual, is there anything in particular to look out for on these?

Thanks

Dan
 
Good price, yes millage is a factor in this but looks very clean inside and out and the bolsters of the drivers seat look great for a car of this millage. Clearly looked after.

The brakes are down to how it's driven, possibly driven a bit hard but it's a lovely car to drive and very fast. The rear replacement seem about right given millage.

Can't think of anything else you'd need to look at really other than general condition of the car. You'll not get any service pack due to that being used up over the 50k miles.

I checked the other night and at last count there was only 196 of these models on the road so very rare and a very good price given the age.
 
Angie4m said:
Good price, yes millage is a factor in this but looks very clean inside and out and the bolsters of the drivers seat look great for a car of this millage. Clearly looked after.

The brakes are down to how it's driven, possibly driven a bit hard but it's a lovely car to drive and very fast. The rear replacement seem about right given millage.

Can't think of anything else you'd need to look at really other than general condition of the car. You'll not get any service pack due to that being used up over the 50k miles.

I checked the other night and at last count there was only 196 of these models on the road so very rare and a very good price given the age.
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Much appreciated, thank-you.
 
jayware33 said:
You won't get 30 MPG as it states, I hardly get 22 :(
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Whereas I am currently getting 34mpg A roads and town driving. I get nothing less than 26 in town and it gets blasted every trip. Depends on how heavy your right foot is but the note from the exhaust is amazing. It's not for everyone but it is lovely. The sports exhaust fitted to the 35is is 10db louder than the 35i
 
the 35is is only available with this gearbox BTW - its not really an auto in the traditional sense, it's the top of the line DCT (Dual clutch transmission).

More like a manual gearbox that has been automated to give lightening fast shifts.

My MPG seems to hover at 23-25mpg around town, 30mpg at a steady motorway speed, 33-35 on A roads being gentle with the throttle.

Personally 60k miles is a bit high for my taste with this kind of car - I would be very tempted to keep looking a while longer. Lots of cars with less than half that milage within 5k of the price - for me I would spend that tiny bit more & get a lower milage vehicle.

I would worry about expensive things like the DCT & engine having issues in later life - mine will be long gone before that milage hits & be something someone else has to worry about :)

Matt
 
matsmith749 said:
Personally 60k miles is a bit high for my taste with this kind of car - I would be very tempted to keep looking a while longer. Lots of cars with less than half that milage within 5k of the price - for me I would spend that tiny bit more & get a lower milage vehicle.
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It depends on how much you drive your car. Me personally I do less than 2k a year so for a car like that I wouldn't be adding too many miles before I maybe parted ways with it. But honestly can't see that millage being a problem really.

As for lots of cars where are your looking? There is only 196 registered 35is's in the UK. BMW UK AUC have 3 for sale, two listed on autotrader of which 1 is a BMW AUC one and the other is the one in this thread. If someone is looking for a 35is then there is not a lot of cars out there infact on the past two months there has only been 7 for sale and most haven't stuck around long. But I agree that for 5/6k more you could get a car with less miles but you'd also need to get an older car your looking 8/9k more for a low millage car of that age. Even then the next available car is a 2010 with 17k for just shy of £30k so a pretty big jump
 
Angie, yes I know they are are a bit thin on the ground, but they are out there if you look & sit tight for a little while.

I picked up my mint condition fully loaded 35is, 21k miles, 1 owner car for £26k back at the end of November.

Took me 2 weeks to track down & do the deal - it can be done.

My point about the milage was just that it would make me nervous & walk away - this car has a highly tuned twin turbo engine / DCT gearbox. Personally I have no idea what the long term / high milage reliability will be like as they have not been around long enough to find out :)

This car is cheap because it has to be in order to move it along, and the only obvious reason I can see is the 60+ milage.

There was a high spec 35is on this very forum for sale a few days ago with something like 40k miles, he was asking £20k for it if memory serves me right.... cars are out there.

Matt
 
I take your points Matt and yes there was a car a available on here recently however it didn't come with a 2 year warranty to boot like the one in the ad which adds a extra peace of mind if not buying new or from a dealer who offers a warranty of more than a few months unless a AUC usually.

We are now at the time of year where the convertible market becomes a sellers market and the buyers market period is over. Yes there are cars to be had but if the person in question doesn't have 26/27k to spend and this is their price range then it's not a bad car for the money given the warranty offered. Yes the terms would need to be looked at but it makes it attractive and what second hand car seller would put a warranty of that length on a car which they didn't think was a good car to begin with?

I'm sure Dan will let us know how his mate gets on with the car. Given the millage and interior I would think it's done quite a lot of motorway miles. I can't get over how a car with that millage is so clean inside from the pictures.
 
Angie4m said:
jayware33 said:
You won't get 30 MPG as it states, I hardly get 22 :(
Click to expand...

Whereas I am currently getting 34mpg A roads and town driving. I get nothing less than 26 in town and it gets blasted every trip. Depends on how heavy your right foot is but the note from the exhaust is amazing. It's not for everyone but it is lovely. The sports exhaust fitted to the 35is is 10db louder than the 35i
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Well im not quite sure how you manage 26mpg in town I also get 22mpg max around town , i dont have the lightest touch but I dont think Im that lead footed , I do agree in other conditions low thirty's are possible but there is a bit of me that says if you are going to try & squeeze every last mile out of a gallon why would you buy this sort of car
 
chasBMW said:
Angie4m said:
jayware33 said:
You won't get 30 MPG as it states, I hardly get 22 :(
Click to expand...

Whereas I am currently getting 34mpg A roads and town driving. I get nothing less than 26 in town and it gets blasted every trip. Depends on how heavy your right foot is but the note from the exhaust is amazing. It's not for everyone but it is lovely. The sports exhaust fitted to the 35is is 10db louder than the 35i
Click to expand...

Well im not quite sure how you manage 26mpg in town I also get 22mpg max around town , i dont have the lightest touch but I dont think Im that lead footed , I do agree in other conditions low thirty's are possible but there is a bit of me that says if you are going to try & squeeze every last mile out of a gallon why would you buy this sort of car
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Exactly this is not a car aimed at the green mob so why people need to bring up the MPG is beyond me. If that's your thing then this is not the car for you. Plus most people now realise that mpg figures are not real world.

As for my MPG, I drive when there is little traffic. I live in the centre of Edinburgh (just off Dundas street) and also work about 500 yards from where I work so I don't tend to sit in a lot of stop start traffic etc.
 
I was getting around 17mpg around town (I did like that exhaust!) and 33mpg on a run slightly better than my Cayman\Boxster though you could see 40mpg if in a 50mph contraflow and zero'd the average mpg button :wink:
 
Thanks for all the feedback. We're going to look at the car in the next few days... will keep you posted.

All the best,

Dan
 
My 35i now has 55K miles and it still drives as good as the day I got it......no main issues.....in for the odd thing....mainly cracked wheels. But the engine has been great. Look out for the crackling exhaust flaps...

The cream leather isn't easy to look after but regular cleaning helps.....
 
I recently purchased a 2010 Z4 sdrive 35is with 65,000 miles on the clock. Full BMWSH & an ex BMW garage owned car. The interior shows little sign of wear apart from some paint worn on the steering wheel and it hasn't many options but I wasn't bothered as it is only for occasional use. I did worry about the high mileage but I felt the price I paid was worth it (£16,500). I had my local BMW garage check to see what work it had had done and only a couple of things were shown ( a speaker & an injector replaced). I haven't added many more miles to it yet but I have to admit that the several times I have taken it out have been absolutely fantastic, especially with the roof down. The sound it makes is great and I am loving it. I am really looking forward to the summer and I might even keep this car for longer than I originally thought.
Anyway, what I was really trying to say is that buying any used car is a risk but I wouldn't be put off too much by high mileage if the price is right for you (and it has a full service history helps). I think the car you are going to look at, looks great and I'm sure if you take it for a spin, you to will be addicted!
 
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