Greetings from Bedfordshire

Going to check the car out tomorrow, paying a mechanic £120 to check it out for me so I hope it's not a waste.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Z4-Red-Leather-Silver-Manual-6-Cylinder-2-5-New-Roof-Motor-58KMiles-Stunning/162921631293?hash=item25eee2ce3d:g:swoAAOSwB15alYn3

Here is the link to the car if anyone would be kind enough to provide their thoughts on it.

Thanks!
 
Looks from the ad, that someone has ironed out any main issues you could get, (the roof motor etc) looks like a nice example, lets hope you enjoy the drive :D
 
RustyZ4 said:
Looks from the ad, that someone has ironed out any main issues you could get, (the roof motor etc) looks like a nice example, lets hope you enjoy the drive :D
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Yeah, it seems good from the ad so I am hoping it holds up true in real life :D it all sounds good but it has been on sale since February 21st for whatever reason and yes let's hope so!:D
 
Looks good OP, and I love the red leather! Plus it seems to have had an enthusiast owner if the roof motor has been moved.

I sold a 325ti a month ago with the same M54 2.5 litre engine that had done 103K miles and still ran really sweet. I bought it in November 2014 on 80K miles and apart from servicing it only needed a cooling system refresh a few months after I bought it (typical) and a new PAS pipe.

Roadsters don't generally sell quickly when we have snow, so I wouldn't be too concerned about how long it's been advertised for!

I hope it lives up to expectations - then you can post some photos! :thumbsup:
 
Mr Tidy said:
Looks good OP, and I love the red leather! Plus it seems to have had an enthusiast owner if the roof motor has been moved.

I sold a 325ti a month ago with the same M54 2.5 litre engine that had done 103K miles and still ran really sweet. I bought it in November 2014 on 80K miles and apart from servicing it only needed a cooling system refresh a few months after I bought it (typical) and a new PAS pipe.

Roadsters don't generally sell quickly when we have snow, so I wouldn't be too concerned about how long it's been advertised for!

I hope it lives up to expectations - then you can post some photos! :thumbsup:
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Thanks for the vote of confidence! And I suppose you are right, most people like to wait until the sun comes out to go roadster shopping :D And I hope so too, looks like the viewing has been changed to Saturday now though, so hopefully on Saturday a picture of my car will be going up :wink:

I was wondering what you guys think, the car is actually being sold by one of those private types of dealers. As in, it was bought from the original private owner by another gentleman who just sells on cars for a profit but without actually being a real dealer. Would you guys avoid this kind of seller or go for it if it seems to be the right car?

Thanks
 
Well I bought my 325i Touring from a fireman who was also probably what you would describe as a "private trader".

He had trade plates so wasn't just selling from the street - he said he used to work at a Mercedes main agent and got most of his stock from main agents who took part-exs that they wouldn't put on their forecourt.

If you like it and it seems to be the right car for the right money I wouldn't worry too much about who is selling it!
 
Mr Tidy said:
Well I bought my 325i Touring from a fireman who was also probably what you would describe as a "private trader".

He had trade plates so wasn't just selling from the street - he said he used to work at a Mercedes main agent and got most of his stock from main agents who took part-exs that they wouldn't put on their forecourt.

If you like it and it seems to be the right car for the right money I wouldn't worry too much about who is selling it!
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Haha fair enough! I might ask this gentleman about how he picks his cars or something, see what he says. I am not sure why but I always overthink these kind of situations and start to think of what can be wrong with the car :D I guess I will find out soon, fingers crossed it's all good :D

Oh and another question (I apologise to everyone for asking so much), on the MOT history there was an oil leak from the engine at one point, the seller said this was due to the rocker cover gaskets which have been sorted now. I was wondering how much oil could have actually leaked and would it have been enough to cause any harm to the engine? Or do these cars have an oil indicator which would warn if the oil was too low? Thanks again for all the help guys.
 
Rocker cover gaskets do leak and they do get worse (a job to do on mine this spring). Very unlikely it'd leak enough to cause big oils losses and affect the engine. I'm out of the UK at the moment so can't check, however I'm pretty sure mine has a low oil or low oil pressure light at ignition, which I guess would then light up if too low. I check my oil every 2 weeks and occasionally have to top up, but only around half a litre between changes.

I presume you've HPI checked the car? Haven't used it for a while, but I used to use 83600. Text the reg to that number and they give you basic details, colour changes, insurance, police interest. It was £3.50 a text. Like I said, not used for quite a few years, your choice.

Good luck with the viewing :thumbsup:
 
Lance said:
Rocker cover gaskets do leak and they do get worse (a job to do on mine this spring). Very unlikely it'd leak enough to cause big oils losses and affect the engine. I'm out of the UK at the moment so can't check, however I'm pretty sure mine has a low oil or low oil pressure light at ignition, which I guess would then light up if too low. I check my oil every 2 weeks and occasionally have to top up, but only around half a litre between changes.
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Okay that is good to hear thanks :)

Lance said:
I presume you've HPI checked the car? Haven't used it for a while, but I used to use 83600. Text the reg to that number and they give you basic details, colour changes, insurance, police interest. It was £3.50 a text. Like I said, not used for quite a few years, your choice.

Good luck with the viewing :thumbsup:
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Yeah I have had it checked, and it has come up all clear :) and thanks, I will put an update in this thread when I finally get that viewing done :D
 
Well I viewed the car today guys. A bit rougher than I imagined it would be. Bad respray on the rear quarter panel and the left tail light also has a small crack in it. Middle tail light also seems to damaged as it is sitting loosely. I was surprised the by the interior as there was a lot of cracked/flakey looking leather around the handbrake and the gear knob was pretty badly worn out for 59k miles. It felt sort of rubbery too when shifting, I am not sure if this is normal as it's the only one I have felt. Also only 4 records of it being serviced, 3 stamps and then one invoice. Oh and around the roof, there is a seal that seems to be damaged on both sides, he told me it happens when they removed the roof to change the motor and says it's a cheap fix, but I am not sure. Got a picture of it though if anyone would have a look for me :) and also the roof rattles when it's down, not sure if that is a common one. Would be great to hear what you guys think :)
 
From what you have said, I would walk away, bad respray cracked lights, oil leak etc it’s not been well looked after and the roof should not rattle,
There are cars coming up all the time now,won’t be long to find a good one
 
RustyZ4 said:
From what you have said, I would walk away, bad respray cracked lights, oil leak etc it’s not been well looked after and the roof should not rattle,
There are cars coming up all the time now,won’t be long to find a good one
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Yeah it definitely was not as good as he made it out to be. If it had more service history to it I wouldn't mind but just disappointed by that. I guess I will be back to looking for a bit more :(
 
Hello guys. So I got a mechanic to check another car for me. As well as needing 4 new tyres, and discs at some point, but my main concern is he says there's some oil misting on the gearbox. The mechanic said it's likely to be a seal somewhere but I was wondering what you guys thought of this?

Thanks
 
They are presumably referring to a thin coating of oil on the gearbox, rather than oil actually dripping.The oil may, of course, not be from the gearbox itself, if its a car you really like, perhaps you can see where the 'oily bit' and the 'dry bit' join and get some idea as to where it is coming from.
If its not too serious, good be a good haggling point,
 
RustyZ4 said:
They are presumably referring to a thin coating of oil on the gearbox, rather than oil actually dripping.The oil may, of course, not be from the gearbox itself, if its a car you really like, perhaps you can see where the 'oily bit' and the 'dry bit' join and get some idea as to where it is coming from.
If its not too serious, good be a good haggling point,
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I called the mechanic again, he said it's misting on the underside of the car. He said it wouldn't put him off buying it, but it would have to be addressed at some point. The dealer reckons it is not the gearbox and it is actually from the rear diff. I will have to wait a few hours for the report which will have pictures of the underside. I will try and get the price down a bit more to take into account the costs of the repairs. Thanks for always responding to me, Rusty :D
 
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