High Mileage a Concern?

[dk345]

Hi Guys,

Sorry for the new user, first post combination here, but hopefully I'll be joining the ranks of Z4 owner very soon.

I'm in the market for a used E89 and have a question regarding mileage. How big a concern is a higher mileage on these cars? Whichever one I buy will be covered by a BMW warranty as I've heard great things about it, but should I be worried?

To give a bit more context, I have around £20k to spend on a 35i. I'd quite like a 35is but the budget doesn't seem to stretch that far. I've got my heart set on Deep Sea Blue and Ivory White interior after seeing one in the flesh a couple of months ago. Sadly back then I didn't have the money and now that I do there's less on the market that suits my requirements.

There is, however, a 35i or two on autotrader in the right colour that are within budget, but come will more than 60k miles. I know this means I fall into the more expensive BMW warranty, but it's only another £12 a month.

Is there any mechanical reason as to why I should stay away from these cars? They represent a significant saving cost wise, but I don't know if I'm opening myself up to a world of issues by going for a high mile example.

Sorry for the long post, any advice is greatly appreciated. Cheers.

 

[thepits]

Hi, welcome.

Define High Mileage.

IMHO [and experience - on non-Z's] BMW's are only just run in at 100,000 miles

 

[Zed Five]

My E89 3.0 has done 117,000 miles with me in it. Not a concern at all. Drives like new. However, knowing that I do high miles I did deliberately steer clear of turboed cars. However, in hindsight, it was probably over caution on my part.

 

[dk345]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Not actually specifying a mileage in my post was a poor mistake to make! :roll:

60k, 75k and 77k are the mileages on the cars I've spotted over the past couple of weeks.

The replies so far are encouraging. I am just a bit concerned regarding the DCT gearbox, twin turbos and high pressure injectors and so on.

 

[Maniac]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Not actually specifying a mileage in my post was a poor mistake to make! :roll:

60k, 75k and 77k are the mileages on the cars I've spotted over the past couple of weeks.

The replies so far are encouraging. I am just a bit concerned regarding the DCT gearbox, twin turbos and high pressure injectors and so on.

Get a warranty and then it's less of an issue if something does go. If it's any consolation, ive had quite a few problems but nothing big like gearbox or turbos etc

 

[R.E92]

Surely with a 20k budget you will be able to pick up a low mileage example.

 

[JayEmm]

My z4 is the first BMW I have had with less than 100k on the clock.

Miles on bmws do not concern me, I actively seek out high milers as better value.

Go on the owner or dealer, the history and the condition. If they use the miles to excuse anything beyond stone chips or a worn bolster, walk away.

 

[Angie4m]

Surely with a 20k budget you will be able to pick up a low mileage example.

Really what is high or low mileage? Surely it all depends on age. The Z4 was released in 2009 so we are getting into almost 6 year old cars where 60k is not regarded as high. It would be nearing 5 years for the 35is as that was a 2010 release.

Cars are designed to be driven and I've never known a forum to be so obsessed with milliage and lack of for that matter. I'd rather have a well maintained, good example high milliage car over a low milliage, shonky car.

How many miles do you think you will be putting on the car dk345? If it's not lots then it's not an issue, if it's lots in a short period of time then maybe hold out a little longer for the weather to get a bit colder and maybe you might find a lower milliage example.

Just out of curiosity where have you been looking? Private, non franchise dealer or a bmw dealer? If it's a BMW dealer you are going to pay a premium when you could save by going private or non franchise and purchasing a warranty of out with the 3 years. BMW will supply you with one for a reasonable price (around £400) as long as the servicing is all up to date.

 

[Avallon]

Those mileages should be fine, depending on the mileage you plan to do and how long you plan to keep the car for.

What age car would you be looking to get?

Also, bit off topic have you considered going for new but smaller capacity? You may find that payments on a PCP for a new 28i (nearly as quick) work out near to what you would spend on a used car....

 

[dk345]

Surely with a 20k budget you will be able to pick up a low mileage example.

My budget is £20k and yes, this will allow me to get a low mileage (20-30k) example. But that's my question. If the difference between a 30k mile Z4 and an 80k mile Z4 is some slightly more worn out leather and older suspension then it's worth saving 5 grand and going for the higher mileage. If, however, 80k sticks it firmly in turbo eats itself territory I'd be best to stay away.

If I can get away with saving myself 5 grand then I will!

Surely with a 20k budget you will be able to pick up a low mileage example.

Really what is high or low mileage? Surely it all depends on age. The Z4 was released in 2009 so we are getting into almost 6 year old cars where 60k is not regarded as high. It would be nearing 5 years for the 35is as that was a 2010 release.

Cars are designed to be driven and I've never known a forum to be so obsessed with milliage and lack of for that matter. I'd rather have a well maintained, good example high milliage car over a low milliage, shonky car.

How many miles do you think you will be putting on the car dk345? If it's not lots then it's not an issue, if it's lots in a short period of time then maybe hold out a little longer for the weather to get a bit colder and maybe you might find a lower milliage example.

Just out of curiosity where have you been looking? Private, non franchise dealer or a bmw dealer? If it's a BMW dealer you are going to pay a premium when you could save by going private or non franchise and purchasing a warranty of out with the 3 years. BMW will supply you with one for a reasonable price (around £400) as long as the servicing is all up to date.

Thanks for the reply. I know there's a lot of negativity towards car mileages when you get closer to and beyond 100k and most of the time its needless. However, a Z4 (or any BMW for that matter) is what I imagine to be a more complex car, hence I was worried that turbos, gearboxes, adaptive suspension setups and the like would become troublesome after a certain distance. I know it isn't an exact science, I was just trying to gauge whether there were any traits current owners had identified.

I've been looking everywhere; I'm not going to buy a car solely from the BMW AUC network. If a car takes my fancy at BMW, a dealer or private I'll have a look. I've waited a few months for the weather to get worse and prices fall, which they have done, but I'm in no rush. I can wait another month if needs be.

It's just there are zero 35i/is's available in Deep Sea Blue/Pure White Design with < 50k miles for my budget. Whereas I can find 3 on autotrader alone that look good but come with more than 50k.

Sorry for the gigantic rant - I get the feeling I'm not really asking a question anymore

 

[dk345]

Those mileages should be fine, depending on the mileage you plan to do and how long you plan to keep the car for.

What age car would you be looking to get?

Also, bit off topic have you considered going for new but smaller capacity? You may find that payments on a PCP for a new 28i (nearly as quick) work out near to what you would spend on a used car....

I've been looking at 09,10,11 cars, simply as that seems to be what my budget will get me.

I see myself keeping it for two or three years really, unless something comes up! Mileage... Around 10k a year if my sums are to be believed.

I'll admit I hadn't taken a look into PCP on a new car, that's quite interesting. I guess I got a bit carried away with the cash readily available, and I've never entertained the idea of new assuming it'd be out of reach! I'll take a look at what Broadspeed and the like are offering.

 

[R.E92]

When I was buying I found there was no shortage of low mileage cars, especially 35i/is cars as people seemed to buy them as weekend toys.

As I do about 14k miles a year I made low mileage a priority. If I was keeping it as a second car it would be less important.

The car may not explode when it rolls over 100k but everything wears out at some point. If you have a warranty it's not as much of an issue.

 

[JayEmm]

The alternate perspective is if you know you will be putting a lot of miles on the car, you may as well get a high miler. Taking a car from 20 to 50k is a big difference but 100 to 130 people don't care.

Plus a car like that will have been serviced more regularly and in the non-X world these are often company cars which sit on the motorway and have main dealer histories . I'd rather a car which has done 60k on the motorway and had four services than a car which has done 20k in London and had one.

Ups and downs for everything!

 

[Maniac]

I still see mileage as a bit of a misunderstood concept. Personally I'd rather have a car with a few miles on, that's used for regular, long journeys and is well serviced.

Cars with low mileage are not necessarily weekend toys, they could be doing very short commutes with a lot of stop and starting and no time for the engine and so on to warm through. You could have more trouble with a low miles car in that instance.

 

[dk345]

Well, whatever car I decide to go for in the end will be chosen because of the whole package; dealer, car, history, spec, price.

I think this thread has eased some of my concern regarding the higher mileages. Most of the terrible things that could go wrong should be covered by a BMW warranty. And maybe things will be hunky dory.

Saying that, I'll probably end up buying one that's only got 20k