Currently starting my search for a used Z4 ideal car would be 3.0 may of found one on a 53 plate with SMG box with only 23000 miles whats the view on such a low mileage car a good buy or a bad buy at 8.7k What are the known pitfalls with a Z4 with such low mileage?
Low mileage Z4
- Thread starter exmazdamx5
- Start date
tonywilde666
Member
I am also looking for a low mileage 3.0 and have found that many owners do not realise that a service should be carried out every 2 years regardless of mileage. I have seen several 03/04 year cars that have only have 2 services in 6/7 years. I am beginning to think I may have to compromise on service history as this seems a common problem with low mileage cars where the owners just wait for the computer to tell them when the service is due (based on mileage, not time). Good luck.
tonywilde666 said:
What part of the country are situated Tony? as the one I am thinking of looking at may be near you like you I would rather see a 40-50k car with correct service history
Do not be put off by low mileage cars a lot of Z4s are weekend cars like mine so do not clock up the miles i bought mine a June 04 in Jan 08 with 11k on the clock shes now showing around 25k.
She had her inspection 1 last year so next service was 15k away now down to 10k so will not be another 2 years but i do service the car between BMW services my friend is a tech for BMW so we service her on my drive as we did on Saturday i never leave oil in the car for more than a year and i keep all my paperwork for everything even a washer
She had her inspection 1 last year so next service was 15k away now down to 10k so will not be another 2 years but i do service the car between BMW services my friend is a tech for BMW so we service her on my drive as we did on Saturday i never leave oil in the car for more than a year and i keep all my paperwork for everything even a washer
Common problem. Mine was just about needing a service when I bought it - previous owner was under the impression it wasn't due until 8k miles or so (what the OBC was telling them).tonywilde666 said:
Low mileage can be good or bad:
Good - pampered/weekend car and treated well, enthusiast, etc.
Bad - could be a weekend car but driven bloody hard when it is used, or could be low miles due to all city driving. Service history is key, as is attitude of seller IMO.
Edit:
bought mine at 18k and 4 years 2 months old, currently 28k and 6 years old - mine's going to end up beign seriously low miles for the age...
Not strictly correct that the car needs servicing every 2 years.
Here's the extract from a 2003 manual (the age of car your talking about)
It just has to have the oil changed and under separate section the brake fluid is a 2 year time based change.
While conventional systems rely on distance
traveled alone to determine when a
service is due, the BMW Maintenance System
has taken the actual conditions under
which the vehicle is operated into consideration
for years, because miles can be
traveled in many different ways:
From a maintenance point of view,
62,000 miles / 100,000 km accumulated in
short-distance urban driving are not the
equivalent of the same distance covered at
moderate speeds in long-distance highway
travel.
The BMW Maintenance System includes
the Engine Oil Service and Inspections I
and II.
Determining the maintenance intervals
based on the actual loads on the vehicle
covers every kind of operating situation.
Minimal use drivers, who drive fewer than
6,200 miles / 10,000 km per year, should
nevertheless have the oil changed at least
every 2 years since engine oil deteriorates
over time, regardless of use.
While I change my oil every 7,500 miles or annually whichever is the sooner I woudl not worry unduly about a low milage car that missed a time based oil change. It's not like driving it huge distances on old oil.
I do echo the sentiment of a11y and personally I don't like ultra low mileage older cars. They can spell trouble. I was once offered a 15 year old Escort that had done 1,600 miles from new. Old boy drove it to the village shop every couple of day and had never been on a single journey of more than a few miles. It still had plastic on the rear seats but needed a new engine/rebore and the tyres etc. were rotton.
Here's the extract from a 2003 manual (the age of car your talking about)
It just has to have the oil changed and under separate section the brake fluid is a 2 year time based change.
While conventional systems rely on distance
traveled alone to determine when a
service is due, the BMW Maintenance System
has taken the actual conditions under
which the vehicle is operated into consideration
for years, because miles can be
traveled in many different ways:
From a maintenance point of view,
62,000 miles / 100,000 km accumulated in
short-distance urban driving are not the
equivalent of the same distance covered at
moderate speeds in long-distance highway
travel.
The BMW Maintenance System includes
the Engine Oil Service and Inspections I
and II.
Determining the maintenance intervals
based on the actual loads on the vehicle
covers every kind of operating situation.
Minimal use drivers, who drive fewer than
6,200 miles / 10,000 km per year, should
nevertheless have the oil changed at least
every 2 years since engine oil deteriorates
over time, regardless of use.
While I change my oil every 7,500 miles or annually whichever is the sooner I woudl not worry unduly about a low milage car that missed a time based oil change. It's not like driving it huge distances on old oil.
I do echo the sentiment of a11y and personally I don't like ultra low mileage older cars. They can spell trouble. I was once offered a 15 year old Escort that had done 1,600 miles from new. Old boy drove it to the village shop every couple of day and had never been on a single journey of more than a few miles. It still had plastic on the rear seats but needed a new engine/rebore and the tyres etc. were rotton.
Well I just sold my 53 plate with 35k miles for £9k guess it is dependant on the seller whether they can be arsed with all the tyre kickers. I just wanted mine gone quickly so priced it accordingly. There are bargains out there but anything that low I would always check and double check the history. Especially previous MOT's and of course the servicing.