Getting car sorted

[CliveN]

I am reviewing options on getting my 31000 mile MC fully sorted. As already advised on here it has windows that don’t seem to drop enough and don’t do a “one touch close” on the drivers side, and the air bag warning light is on. Otherwise is seems healthy with very clean oil and if starts okay if a bit tardy compared to others I have heard. The underside suspension and diff has surface corrosion but consistent with a 16 year old car in the U.K.

While it had an inspection 2 at Fairfield Leigh on sea in April there is no record of the valves being checked so I suspect they haven’t. Should I worry? The service also picked up the front shock gaiters has split. Does this need doing if it’s to be a fair weather car from now on?

Luckily I live close to Bristol so I will be using Reddish fit my inspections and will probably get another inspection 2 done there in 2025 for paranoias sake.

In terms of the electrical stuff who is best around bristol/ Newport or us if something any competent tech could do if they have the right bmw diagnostic kit? What I am not sure about is how complicated are they to sort given that these cars were the first BMWs to be quite technological and might be quite tricky to sort out.
Thanks for your advice - I am still intending to go to see Andy beech when we get better weather

 

[Mr Tidy]

My MC has never started instantly the way my 3.0Sis did, but at least it always starts so I just live with that!

Mine hadn't had an Inspection service for about 25K miles when I bought it, and you could hear a bit of tappetty noise when starting it from cold so sure enough when I had an Inspection 2 done it needed shims to get 5 valve clearances within tolerance. So if you have no rattle it's probably OK. You could always try calling Fairfield as they should be able to confirm what they did seeing as they are a BMW main dealer.

Sorry I can't help with your electrical issues - I just go to Ross at RBM for things like that!

 

[abar121]

As above, give Fairfield a call and see what was done.

I think you can re-program the one touch quite easily, have a search on here. I seem to remember having to do it yonks ago.

Post a video of a cold start if you want some comparisons on here. Mine starts after about a second of cranking, maybe two, so not instant like some cars.

My car has done a similar mileage, the underside of the car is still almost like new. Given that your car might have spent sometime near the coast, maybe consider having the underside treated including behind the wheel liners.

 

[enuff_zed]

You could try speaking to [ref]colb[/ref], who is somewhere near Neport I believe. He appears to have every piece of software you could ever need and should be able to diagnose and advise on most issues for you.

 

[CliveN]

Thanks all. I am working around my car now to address the surface corrosion on the suspension. It comes off with scorcbrite. I have seen another live thread about air bag modules not being available anymore and of course I have an airbag warning light on. I am beginning to get paranoid that the last owner “fixed” the problem and then offloaded it on to me….. does all of this mean that our cars are going g to be undriveable in the future due to lack of electronics? If so I have just wasted £20odd k….

 

[colb]

Currently away in the USA back 8thNovember can scan the car with Launch Diagnostics for a health report to see what faults are present. Windows probably need a reset. PM me after the 8th to fix up a date.

 

[abar121]

Our cars share so much with the E46 models (and others), which are still so common around the globe.

There is huge aftermarket support for our cars, as well as plenty of very helpful forums such as this. Don't worry about long term ownership!

 

[CliveN]

Thank you all. Hi Colb I am in Spain until Dec as well so no hurry. I will try and pm you. I am in Chepstow.

 

[colb]

Ok get in touch when your back we do have a Zedshed Cymru What's app group with Z3 and Z4 members spread over South Wales and Bristol to keep in touch off the Forums Zroadster and Z4forums. If you want to be added on PM me with your phone number and I will add you in.

 

[CliveN]

Thanks for all your replies to date. I must be an internet cretin but I find it incredibly difficult to find out who best should supply what I judge to be simple service items such as flexible brake lines and replacement coil springs and suspension components. When I tap in the car or it’s registration most of the companies google throws up can’t supply anything. As such I suspect people on this forum must have found out where to go for what. Some stuff will have to be from BMW (one single rear spring for instance - one is newish). I don’t want to have to go to BMW for everything. While on anyone have a prefer rust removal treatment so that I can remove the slight surface rust from the suspension?

 

[Ole gits rule]

I would contact Autotec in Caerleon, no fancy showroom like Redish or Forza (I went to Forza and they were to busy to even talk and asked me to come back in a few days) but far better pricing and more personal service.

They certainly know their stuff in there.

 

[CliveN]

Yes I have tried for a by phone several times and….let’s say I received no response. Thank yiu

 

[plenty]

BMW are actually the best source of most parts if you want to stay with OEM. Use RealOEM to identify part numbers then call your local BMW dealer for prices and availability. Or call any BMW dealer as they can all post to you and have access to the same parts database.

If you will consider aftermarket parts then Autodoc has a huge selection, although the large number of options and brands on offer can be overwhelming.

For surface rust I like Bilt-Hamber Hydrate-80 which is a very similar product to Kurust.

 

[CliveN]

Thank you very much. Yes I think will keep OEM but many on here indicate that sometimes oem parts can be bought elsewhere for less. I do already have a very good relationship with Cotswold Cheltenham so I will always try them first.