High Mileage? High Maintenance?

B

Bayley

Member
You folks on here know your stuff about the Z4 to say the least.

What can you expect to replace on a car that is 70k+ miles plus.

There are alot of decent looking cars on auto-trader nowadays for a bargain price. Does the cost of maintaining a high mileage car out way the price of paying for a Z with say 40k mileage?

By the way Im no mechanic :thumbsup:
 
A well looked after car will be fine. I had an early pre facelift Z4 (now sold), bought with 66k on the clock.

An ABS pulse sensor failed, I had to get the strut brace re welded, and I needed a new rear light unit. Nothing major, owned the car 2.5 years, covered around 17k in her. Of course there were usual servicing items, brake pads etc.
 
The beauty of the Z4,s (non M) is the relatively cheap parts on routine stuff such as , bushes,discs,pads,springs, control arm,s etc which if the car has been looked after should be all you need / anything "major" would be really bad luck & in my time on here have heard very few having any significant problem,s
Get one with low owners, good history (ideally lots of invoices showing any recent jobs carried out ) & you should be onto a winner :thumbsup:
 
I bought mine with 19k on the clock, over 4 years on its now on 72k and probably one of the oldest Z4's on here (sept 2003)

Only had to replace the rear springs (common failure) and radiator hoses in my ownership.

I do however change the oil every year and it mostly does motorway miles
 
I beat you by 2 months :wink: Just over 92,500 miles and going back through the history it's not needed much, other than the usual rear spring issue it appears only to have needed regular servicing + pads.

ranski said:
I bought mine with 19k on the clock, over 4 years on its now on 72k and probably one of the oldest Z4's on here (sept 2003)

Only had to replace the rear springs (common failure) and radiator hoses in my ownership.

I do however change the oil every year and it mostly does motorway miles
Click to expand...
 
i bought at 98,000 miles and drove it 8,000 miles. Ive done about $3000 in repiars. I wouldnt say any of it was major. Tires were the most expensive (run flats).
Tires, Front suspension bushings, DISA, Starter Motor, 3rd brake light and valve cover gasket.

I would take a look at the buyer's guide/checklist. Well maintained car at 70k+ can be better than the thrashed at 40k.
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21281
 
My 2.2 is just over 10 years old with 124K on the clock, owned it for around 18 months and spent around £1000 on rear pads and discs, radiator header, sorting out the air bag light, 2 new tyres and the plastic engine undertray was missing, this excludes all the cleaning/polishing bits and cosmetic work like painting brake calipers, various badges and just lately roof covers from Germany.
The engine is a dream, good fuel consumption, no leaks and I'm hoping its good for a lot more miles yet.
Sometime in the future the front suspension and steering bushes will need replacing.
70K miles is still young! and wouldn't put me off if the price is right.
 
Mine is a 2005 Alpina (originally April 2004 "donor"), currently on 105k miles. Been with me 5 years, and I've replaced:

- Rear springs in the first year, under warranty (around £100 - £150) around 55k miles
- New steering rack in the first year, under warranty (around £400 IIRC) around 50k miles - noticed a tracking issue when I bought the car, and had it replaced as part of the purchase.
- New steering column (£2,000) to address a sticky steering issue, done under warranty around 80k miles
- Roof motor (around £600 - £700) around 90k miles

other than that its new discs and pads, tyres, and usual servicing goods, plus a small fortune in cleaning gear :)

Springs are a given, as is roof motor eventually. Sticky steering is a gamble - seems to hit some cars not others. As i had the warranty I argued in getting it replaced when I first noticed the symptoms. Took a fair bit of arguing with the warranty company but eventually got it done
 
I bought mine a few months ago with 109k on the clock, it is an oldie from 2003. I changed the disa valve - didn't really need it but did as precaution. I did the VANOS and that made such a huge difference but if you read posts on other sites then they say they can go in as little as 20k so I would be tempted in any car over 50k to do it as it cost me less than £100 and just a days work. other than that the car has history of springs going, and then random airbag issue but nothing more serious than any other car. I replaced my brake caliper for my mot - £60 I think, one for my mums pug 307 - £120 so as said above they are not expensive to run at all:)
 
Bought my 2006 ///M over 3 years ago at 67k and 4 previous owners. Now on almost 92k. Apart from brake pads and the usual consumable items the only things changed were two springs(common problem), a steering arm and currently the lambda sensors need changed. I've also just spotted my rear centre light has cracked...another common problem.

So apart from the lambda sensors (approx £670) not too bad at all.
 
The main thing to remember is that cars require constant maintenance - a 120k car can be in better condition and need less work doing than a 40k car. Things like suspension, brakes, fluids, bushes etc all need doing at regular intervals regardless of mileage. So the history is the important thing, not the mileage.
 
Mines an April 2003 3.0i with 91k. Bought it with 63k on the clock.

Costs are pretty good actually. Only engine related issue i've had was the rocker cover gasket. Easy job to replace.

Had a cracked expansion tank which is a common problem. A bit harder to replace, but do-able.

I've not had a repair thats cost over 100 quid yet.
 
ranski said:
I bought mine with 19k on the clock, over 4 years on its now on 72k and probably one of the oldest Z4's on here (sept 2003)

Only had to replace the rear springs (common failure) and radiator hoses in my ownership.

I do however change the oil every year and it mostly does motorway miles
Click to expand...


UPDATE :)

800 miles away in Switzerland and the 11 year old roof motor has given up the ghost (while the roof was down...)
 
Mines on 102k and soon in next couple of weeks fitting supercharger.
Main items may need replacing are:
Rear springs
Coolant header tank
Thermostat O ring
Airbag system can have some issues
Bonnet alarm sensor
Roof motor


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk pro
 
One further thought is that all the work carried out has been through my local BMW Independent specialist, I personally would not bother with the OEM dealers on older high mileage cars unless you have warranties issues to maintain. Value for money is the Indy way and there are some very good ones around.
 
Mine has 72k on the clock - i am the fourth owner and it didn't put me off. Saying that i have only had the Z for a few months so who knows.
 
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