Help & Advice needed Starter Motor issue

[danrowlands27]

So I put on some old clothes yesterday ready to give the car a good clean inside and out.

BMW Z4 - 03 E85 - 80,000 Miles 3.0 Litre Silver.

The car has been idle for the last week or so due to Covid. I have been half on the fence weather to sell the car as its just not doing any mileage as I am now working from home. I was literally going to post yesterday on the site advertising the sale of the car and put the feelers out.

Went to turn the Car to give it a spin - The car wont start - Had breakdown recovery out this morning and after several attempts, bump starting, Using jump leads he has come to the conclusion that the Starter motor is faulty or stuck inside the engine.

I have 7 days to tow the car to the Garage. I am fairly new to the area I live in. With me trying to sell the car also I am mindful of cost and being ripped off.

Coming from someone who doesn't know a lot about cars. Any ideas on how I can cut cost down? or what costs to expect? (I haven't got the skills or knowledge to do this myself) and will need to rely on a local garage to help me out and get fixed before selling.

Do I gamble and buy a second hand starting motor before it goes to the garage? Any recommendations or the parts I need to maybe rectify this issue.

Any advice on the matter is appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[groovy_hippy]

I had a new starter motor fitted on my facelift 2.5 (so, N52 engine) at my local Indy for just under £300 if that helps?

 

[danrowlands27]

I had a new starter motor fitted on my facelift 2.5 (so, N52 engine) at my local Indy for just under £300 if that helps?

Thanks Groovy Hippy - In my mind I was hoping for a similar price but just made some enquiries with local garaged and potentially quoting a heck of a lot more. Out of the £300 how much did the part cost?

 

[groovy_hippy]

Part was 149, labour was 144 (1.5 hours). I looked at doing the job myself but it’s a pain to get at the starter motor on an N52, not sure about on the pre facelift though...

 

[Mike6]

Easy to change the starter motor on an E85. You dont need much mechanical knowledge just follow the guides on this site. The starter motor is fairly cheap at ECP and you should be able to change it in under two hours. Did it myself last year and saved a fortune.

 

[Mike6]

Meant to add that the starter motor only cost £65 and has worked fine since fitting.

 

[colb]

Put you reg no in on Carparts4less website and see what starter motors they have just replaced my 2.5 e85 starter motor, minimum tools required and 2 bolts hold that in. Took old one out whilst awaiting delivery, when it turned up I fitted the new one in 30mins. There is a surcharge on their starters and youy have to ring them for a return code, they then send you a label to print off to send the old one back. Got my refund within days of them getting the old one back.
TIS info on replacement here for M54 engine https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e85-z4-3.0i-roa/repair-manuals/12-engine-electrical-system/12-41-starter-motor-with-mounting/BrmkJjW

 

[steveanders0n]

I cancelled my order with Carparts4less as it totalled up to £238 and my starter motor is 15 years old so worried it would get rejected.

In the end, I found the bosch 0986017110 starter for £92 at Amazon with next day delivery

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004ZK2B4Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Carparts4less

 

[colb]

Blimey £238 for a starter motor, the one for my E85 2.5 from Carparts4less was just over £50 + a £28 surcharge pending return of old unit, mine was 17 years old and accepted back and I got my surcharge back.
Looking at what they offer for your model I assume you went for the Bosch starter, that carries a hefty surcharge no wonder it was £238. I went for the RTX starter for my 2.5, all good seems fine, car starts first turn of the key.

 

[steveanders0n]

I thought i would go for the Bosch to get the 3 years warranty and to add to the cars service history. When i checked the RTX is only 12 months.