Looking at buying a z4

C

chris_p

Member
Hi,
I've decided to buy a new car and the z4 seems to tick all the boxes for me, I made a viewing on one Sunday and I made the mistake of falling in love with the first car I've viewed lol.

It's at the lower end of the price spectrum but all seems to be well, I'll be doing a full hpi/mot check later tonight to make sure everything is legit.
The car in question is a 53 reg 3.0i in sterling grey with a nice amount of toys: black heated leather memory seats, business radio, parking sensors, xenons, cruise, auto lights etc.

Paint and bodywork seems in good order, the front bumper would benefit from a respray/blow over due to stone chips and there's a few parking dings which need pulling out, I've had an offer accepted which I'm extremely pleased with.

Engine seemed nice and smooth, didn't notice and crunching of the gears etc, all seemed mechanically well what I can see, I'm no mechanic! The roof went down in around 10 secs, and the same vise versa. It rained on the test-drive and there was no leaks.

I noticed on the test drive I did hear a few little knocks from the rear of the hood, not too intrusive but it was something I was aware of, anything to worry about?
What other things should I be checking for? I browsed the buyers guide on here btw :)

Many thanks, hopefully with any luck I'll be a Z owner soon!
 
hello,

there shouldnt be any knocking sounds from the rear/hood - only the occasional 'squeak' that can easily be fixed

Check out Alan J's buyers guide http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21281
 
Hi and welcome. As with any pre owned purchase its a case of checking all the obvious. I have tried in my checklist to cover all the Zed issues and more general ones. If in any doubt just walk away - there's others out there! Good luck and let us know how you get on. :thumbsup:
 
ranski said:
hello,

there shouldnt be any knocking sounds from the rear/hood - only the occasional 'squeak' that can easily be fixed

Check out Alan J's buyers guide http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21281
Click to expand...

Already checked the guide as I said mate, I don't think it sounded worrying just a small observation
 
christhomasleeds said:
Knocking noises from the rear of the car are often the dreaded snapped rear springs...
Click to expand...

Not that kind of noise tbh, sounded like it was coming from the hood more than anything!
 
AlanJ said:
Hi and welcome. As with any pre owned purchase its a case of checking all the obvious. I have tried in my checklist to cover all the Zed issues and more general ones. If in any doubt just walk away - there's others out there! Good luck and let us know how you get on. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the welcome mate :)

I'll give it a proper test drive etc this Saturday and go from there!
 
Broken springs has an unhealthy metallic sound to it, and you can hear it clanging (like someone working on an anvil in the distance) if you lower the roof / window.

Knocking does sound unusual though? Were trade plates on when you drove / was there anything in the boot? Noises in the boot - and I imagine a tradeplate bouncing around could be the same - tend to sound somewhat like a dull knocking sound.

As said if you're not sure - walk away. Autotrader has quite a few 3.0s available if you're willing to travel a little. Also an AA/RAC check can't hurt if you're unsure about underlying mechanicals but otherwise happy with the car.
 
Boogle said:
.. / was there anything in the boot? Noises in the boot - and I imagine a tradeplate bouncing around could be the same - tend to sound somewhat like a dull knocking sound.

As said if you're not sure - walk away. ..
Click to expand...

+1. I've had things in the boot moving around making dull sound. I didn't realise at first what is was coming from!!

Good luck with your purchase. Go view again, and check the boot. Have you paid a deposit yet? As already suggested by others, walk away if not entirely happy, because going with your gut feeling is the way. Good luck.
 
Currently having issues with HPI.

The issue date is not matching up with the dvla, I don't think it's anything too serious but won't buy it until that's been resolved. The seller is completely in agreement. I would imagine it's something to do with the fact there's been a couple of private plates on there but who knows, calling hip/dvla again tomorrow.

The springs aren't broken, I had that on my e46 m3 so I know the noise, sounded like a tamberine, or a tool box in the back!
I may have exaggerated the noise tbh, you know what it's like when you're testing a car all senses are working overtime lol.

Providing I can get to the bottom of the hpi I will test drive it again and see.
 
Sorry to hear about the blip with the HPI and DVLA. What timescale have they said it may take to sort out?

Just to let you know, my car previously had 2 private plates on it in the past, and I had no issues with the HPI check I did or DVLA details. Good luck. Let us know how you get on; I hope it is just a blip.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom