Hi from Hampshire, now with coupe!

P

PaulHR

Member
 North Hampshire
Hi all, I've come to the conclusion that I need a coupe in my life. It'll be some firsts for me, first BMW, first big capacity engine and probably the most expensive car I've ever bought in 40 years of motoring.
My colour preferences are white, montego blue or one of the silvers, not got my head round it all yet but I'm trawling through the forum for all the relevant information on what to look for.
Budget wise I might be able to stretch to 10k but would rather spend about 8k or less.
No sure about mileage yet but the high mileage cars look to need money spent in preventative maintenance but I happy to be corrected on any of my assumptions. It will be for daily use but I only do 4-5000 miles a year so not heavy use.
Right, got to get back to my research but I'll be back with daft questions I'm sure. :D

Cheers,
Paul.
 
Welcome to the forum Paul. You are fortunate to be in the UK searching for your first Z. You seem to have a healthy budget and sure you will find the right car for you. Lots of help available here on the forum. Good Luck.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum, Paul. :thumbsup:

I'm on the Berks/Hants/Surrey borders, and sadly sold my Montego Blue manual Sport Coupe 2 weeks ago - typical! For a fair bit less than your lower budget too but it had done 91K miles, although I don't think it needed and immediate maintenance.

Anyway, good luck with your search - they are great cars. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks chaps. Mr Tidy, I found your add yesterday, I said a few choice words to myself when I saw where only about 10 miles away. Never mind, not sure if I'm ready to buy yet. I haven't even driven a Z4 thus far.
 
That was bad timing, although mine went before you joined the forum! The buyer came from South Wales.

But if nothing else you would have found out if an E86 was the car for you without going far!
 
Ok people, due to family issues I find myself with no time to actually go hunting for the coupe of my dreams but plenty of time to worry that I'm doing the right thing.
Will I just be buying a money pit, what are the true running costs (daily drive, about5000 miles a year) and other such questions.
Sadly it doesn't look like I'll be out and about hunting for my coupe any time soon so in the meantime I just need you good people to reassure me that they a good car.
Bottom line is I know it's what I want but I'm having way to much time to think about it. :-|
 
Hi OP. These cars are perfectly good daily drivers. I bought mine with 86k on the clock two and a half years ago. Have racked up over 20,000 miles and no real issues apart from the water pump (at 101,000 miles so I was asking for it!) which was repaired for less than £400. I would recommend forging ahead with buying one when you can. It will put a smile on your face every time you drive it. Best car I have ever owned. :driving:
 
Ok people, opinions please. Went and had a look at a coupe today in a dealers. Had a test drive and am now sold on the idea of a coupe, it was great :D . This is the description,
Full Inspection 2 Service Including Diff Oil Change, New Water Pump + Thermostat, 4 Fully Refurbished Alloys with 4 New Goodyear F1 Tyres, Factory Fit Pop Up European Satellite Navigation, Electric Seats with Memory Function On Drivers, Heated Seats, Rear Parking Sensors, Bluetooth Connectivity, Cruise Control, Air Conditioning, Remote Central Locking with 2 Remote Keys + Plastic Skeleton One, Beige Leather with Matching Door Cards, Piano Black Fascia, Xenon Headlights, Last Keeper Has Owned Since 2010, Radio/CD Next MOT due 19/10/2020, 4 owners and 66000 miles. Colour black metallic (ruby black?)
The only faults I could find are as follows mechanically there was a quiet ticking at idle from cold (hydraulic tappets?), very slight weep from a electrical connection on the side of the head (drivers side) and scored discs but with plenty of meat on them and pulled nice and straight under braking. Cosmetically, scuff to paint on front bumper below passenger side headlight, a small vertical crease to the bottom rear edge of passage door , broken reflector front wing and a broken glove box hinge. Generally it seemed to be a pretty genuine car. The work was carried out by RBM.
Asking price £9400.
Your thoughts please.
Cheers,
Paul.
 

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Just remembered, slightly notchy first gear engagement one slightly oxidized headlight lens.
Cheers,
Paul.
 
You don't state the year but , as far as the ticking noise is concerned (They say) it is more pronounced with the earlier pre 2007 models with a silver top engine than with the later black top n52k engine due to all sorts of things that I don't understand . As far as the price is concerned a private sale with the same spec would be closer to £8500. The notchy gear change from 1st to 2nd , especially from cold, is par for the course with these cars . Good to see they've put some decent tyres on it instead of the ditch finders dealers usually opt for. :driving:
 
Hi again Paul. :thumbsup:

It sounds like you've been bitten by the Z4 bug we all suffer from on here. :lol:

It sounds like it has a good spec with quite a few of the options fitted, but I think it is Sapphire Black. I know you've already been to see it, but there is a plate on the driver's side inner wing that will tell you the build date and the colour. Alternatively ask ARO for the last 7 characters of the VIN and use one of the VIN decoding websites to get the full OE spec.

It had its 1st MOT in September 2009 so I imagine it will have a silver-top engine. I've had one silver top and one black top and there was no difference to how they drove, although the silver top did suffer more from the ticking at idle when cold as does my 330i with a silver top. But it seems to not cause any issues other than the sound of it, and tends not to happen if the car is used regularly and of course that one has probably sat unused for several days!

The change from 1st to 2nd is often not great, but can be improved by getting the Clutch Delay Valve removed, having the gearbox oil changed (even though BMW claim it is sealed for life) and swapping the gear-knob for a ZHP or something similarly more heavily-weighted.

You could find one cheaper privately, but probably not one that has just had an Inspection 2 and a new water pump so you should have up to 2 years or 15K miles before it needs anything done to it, and those 2 jobs alone would cost way over £500. Plus you get the benefit of a warranty and the knowledge that if it needs any warranty work it will be done by Ross, who was at Sytner for 15 years!

If you do go for it I'd ask them to get the glove box sorted as part of the deal - I think the hinges are part of the actual glove-box itself and a new one isn't cheap.

You know you really want to - good luck anyway. :thumbsup:
 
Hi chaps thanks for the helpful advice, yes it is a 56 plate and yes Mr Tidy I think the bug has bitten deep! I'm pleased to see that your thoughts are the same as mine as far as work done is concerned, it's all the things I would look to have done so lots of peace of mind there.
I don't think I should be concerned about the bodywork issues too much, they are fairly straightforward fixes that can be done slow time. General body condition is what I'd expect of a 14 year old car with surface scratches in the usual places, no fresh paint or anything like that.
The interior is good with minimal bolster wear on the seats, just the dreaded glove box that needs sorting.
I'm going to mull it over and perhaps go back for another longer test drive and we'll see how it goes.
One last question thought am I placing too much emphasis on lower mileage as I am awhere I could be paying alot less for a car with higher milage and I know alot of you good people have cars with many miles on them and know issues.
Thanks again,
Paul.
 
Quick update, all things being equal I will be in possession of above mentioned coupe next week! :D :D :D
 

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Just seen this - looks sweeeet..

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202002237640716?onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&sort=distance&model=Z4&advertising-location=at_cars&postcode=gu124rf&radius=1500&make=BMW&page=1
 
KevBrowne said:
Just seen this - looks sweeeet..

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified ... BMW&page=1
Click to expand...

It does look good, but as it is an SE it doesn't have the desirable M-Sport seats that sell for around £750 a pair or the M-Sport steering wheel and suspension plus it looks like it has 17" wheels too. But it still doesn't seem expensive for anyone who doesn't mind SE spec.
 
KevBrowne said:
Just seen this - looks sweeeet..

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202002237640716?onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&sort=distance&model=Z4&advertising-location=at_cars&postcode=gu124rf&radius=1500&make=BMW&page=1
Click to expand...

Kev, that started at £9400ish some weeks ago and if your interested you might want to check its mot history.
 
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