Low miles & Z4's = Trouble?

T

tallstevef

Member
Hi All,

Just wondering about this after taking a look at a very low mile '57 plate Z4 coupe a week or so ago and hearing the "ticking"... I'm only averaging 4 or 5k miles in a year, would this kind of driving (low miles, v.short trips, hardly no time to warm up) kill or at least cause major issues for the 3.0Si or M engines? My thinking was that even if I did get a "non-ticking" Z4C but had that usage pattern that potential HVA / ticking issues might (or would) crop up in short order?

I suppose my occasional (once or twice a year) trips out to Oxford and Bath might clear things up for a while, but as you can see these are sporadic...

Any thoughts?

Cheers

Steven
 
What do you call a 'very low mileage' '57 plate coupe?

I've had no issues or ticking with my '07 zed, which had done 12,500 miles when I got it in June last year (now at 16,500)
 
One I saw was at a dealer and on about 16.8K miles... Ticked like a goodun' on startup from cold though - was quite shocked how noisy it was and that I actually picked up on it!

I guess it depends on how the car accumulated it's miles. you could rack up 16K or so with lots of very short trips, with little or no warm up... Or you could have (from the sounds of the previous post) a car which hasn't been driven much, but when it has had had much longer journeys...
 
tallstevef said:
I guess it depends on how the car accumulated it's miles. you could rack up 16K or so with lots of very short trips, with little or no warm up... Or you could have (from the sounds of the previous post) a car which hasn't been driven much, but when it has had had much longer journeys...
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Can't speak for the previous owner (which is probably what matters), but the majority of my driving is short trips across town etc.
 
Hmmmm, mine would probably be 2 trips a week <2 miles (shopping) and 2x4 miles and 2x8miles at the weekend... Maybe I'd do more "pleasure" miles if I had something like a Z4C / MC! :)
 
tallstevef said:
Hmmmm, mine would probably be 2 trips a week <2 miles (shopping) and 2x4 miles and 2x8miles at the weekend... Maybe I'd do more "pleasure" miles if I had something like a Z4C / MC! :)
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My 3.0si has 91k on & is silent on cold or warm start , now doing only short trips / max 30/50 miles a week on average .
Maybe your "ticking" car was due oil change ?
oil choice of course is important ?
I would say in the main that a tappety/ticking 3.0 N52 engine was a rarity & not the norm
 
I bought a runaround to prevent my z4c developing this issue (amongst other reasons). I do very low mileage but not many short runs in it now ..
 
If you get one that's had the head changed it won't be an issue. If like the one you found is Tappety then walk away.

Short journeys won't help but there is no rule. My old car only ever did 20+ mile journeys and had the problem until the head was replaced.
 
I got my car 2 years old with 8k miles... I've had it for 3 years now, with 25k miles and its a bit ticky when first started but that goes away after its warm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
srhutch said:
If you get one that's had the head changed it won't be an issue. If like the one you found is Tappety then walk away.

Short journeys won't help but there is no rule. My old car only ever did 20+ mile journeys and had the problem until the head was replaced.
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You had your head changed under new car warranty didn't you?

Most Coupes will be out of new car warranty now and its doubtful it will be covered under AUC.

When I mentioned this to a dealer he said that it doesn't cause any damage. Just an annoying noise until the engine warms up. :(

Not sure if it was BS though
 
Well mine has no problems at the moment but the extended warranty runs out in feb and I can't decide if I should pay for another year for peace of mind?
 
Another factor is the typical N52 HVA noise can be temporarily masked by running the engine at high rpm for a few minutes. If the noise was that noticeable, you'd think a dealer would attempt to mask it. So perhaps they couldn't, indicating maybe something more serious? Or they're just clueless.

I don't think minor tapping would cause damage if it goes away after a decent drive. It sounds like some have been bad enough to maybe be damaging, so it's a bit of a judgement call.

Short trips are hard on an engine. But there's something to be said for low mileage examples too. And the fact there's often no way to know if they are hard miles or not, I'd say it may be worth another look. I would decide about the noise after seeing if it's just a cold startup thing or it still persists after a good test drive.

OTOH, if cold startup noise is going to make you crazy, only consider N52s with documented head changes.
 
This is the car I was seriously considering - my local BMW garage has been talking to the dealer in Blackheath - they have provisionally agreed to allow me to buy the car from my local dealer down here but since this I saw your post and have backed off as I'm concerned about this "ticking ". My dealer says predictably that isn't an issue . I also had concerns about the aftermarket exhaust wondering why anyone would want to change that with a fairly new car and such low miles. I am wavering again because it is a very low mileage car that is cheap for an AUC - they reduced it again to £13295.

Ironically I'm even taller than yourself ( 6'7 " ) and like you manage to make myself fit in any car I've owned. I'm also like you very fussy.

They have said there are some stone chips on the front - were they noticeable enough to be annoying ?

Did you get as far as seeing the service record ? Has it had an Inspection 1 ?

Was it all original with no new paintwork ?


Hope you don;t mind me asking ?
 
When I looked at the car it had been raining (I know!) but generally I thought the condition of the car was v.good / excellent. I think I spotted a small stonechip on the bonnet, and a few v.small scuffs on the alloys... Aftermarket exhaust did sound good, I was more worried about emissions issues - i.e. passing MOT's. On the positive side it was at least a "known" brand / manufacturer.

I do think it seemed less noisy after the test drive - even though the drive wasn't that long... Maybe 4 or 5 miles, mixed roads and a short run on a dual carriageway. Pulled well, smooth and linear, ride was harsh (runflats) and a bit crashy over bigger speedbumps.

Price was / is good and I got a v.good offer on my PX, but the fact of the odd spec (non-leather seats) and the ticking of the engine made me think others were / are worth looking at. It is still tempting though!

Didn't see the paperwork on services, it was apparently last serviced by Blackheath back in July(?) - apparently there was a scuff on the front bumper / wing which was repaired / painted / touched in by the dealer prior to it going on the forecourt. There was a fair time waiting for it to come back (I had my eye on it for a while!) so don't know if there was a lot of work done, or if it was delayed due to other reasons...
 
Thanks Steve - I think I'm being dazzled by the low mileage and the fact it;s an AUC - The dealer did mention the kerbing on the rear alloys and said he was going to get them refurbished - I asked specifically if it had had any paintwork done - he didn;t mention any thing about the front/bumper wing being repaired. Thinking back he glossed over this - probably is worth the money but not really what I'm looking for .
 
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