Most reliable Z4 for £13k to £16k

[n1ck]

My last and only post was back in 2008 when I was looking to get the previous gen Z4. Plans were suddenly halted when, a few days later, we found out my wife was pregnant with our first child. 2 children and many years later I am finally looking forward to getting a Z4 that I came so close to buying all those years ago.

I am looking to spend somewhere between £13k to £16 (top end). Reliability is the top priorities over specs after an awful experience with a Mercedes that caused a great deal of stress. I’ve discounted the 18i for being too weedy so it’s between the 20i and 28i. This lands me with options such as:

2014 models with 30k to 45k miles
2016 models with 50k to 60k miles.

I’ve been looking through the forums as best I can but have been a little overwhelmed by all the numbers and reported faults which seem quite a few. Should I be looking at another car or is there Z4 with budget that has a good, proven track record?

Is there a model/year, engine type, trim type etc that is more dependable than others?

 

[warmasice]

If you think 18i is too weedy, a quick little remap would get you beyond 28i figures.

 

[buzyg]

You should be able to find a nice ///M Roadster for that money. The most reliable car I have ever owned. General running cost though are another matter. :wink:

 

[Ole gits rule]

The Z4 is no more unreliable than any other two seater, need to remember these cars are 14 years old now (e89) and quite. a few people come and join just to say they have an issue, no one comes on and posts what a great car to never been seen again.

I had mine 2.5 years and all that went wrong was a micro switch - £16 to buy and a sensible DIY job.

Just by the best you can and enjoy the car, oh and a good 18i is fine with a remap, same with a 20i - remap is £400 so buy a better 20i and get the map.

 

[Ole gits rule]

In fact Pondys car is pretty good at £12.5k, has been remapped and has a good spec - https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=142368&p=2014134#p2014134

 

[Pondrew]

In fact Pondys car is very very good at £12.5k, has been remapped and has a good spec -

Fixed that Sean, but thanks anyway!

 

[Pondrew]

I’ve discounted the 18i for being too weedy

I promise there is nothing weedy about an 18i with a remap. It is the identical engine as the 20i and 28i, just was strangled at birth by the BMW marketing department.

I've had mine for 2 1/2 years and only changed two £16 microswitches in the bootlid in that time. I would call that pretty reliable for a 10 year old car!

 

[Silverstar]

If you want the most reliable option then surely it has to be the NA 23i or 30i?

 

[Ole gits rule]

In fact Pondys car is very very good at £12.5k, has been remapped and has a good spec -

Fixed that Sean, but thanks anyway!

All in the eye of the owner - does look good though, best colour on a e89 Z4 (other than orange)

 

[n1ck]

Is that all the difference is between a 18i and a 28i? A remap? That’s mad.
I was intending to take out a warranty which would rule out the remap however I may reconsider. My only hesitation is that the Mercedes had £12,000 of repairs done. Most was done under warranty, however if I had it remapped I would have been footing the bill.

 

[Ed.Straker]

For a budget of £14,000 to £16,000 consider a 2015 onward 20i or 28i, ideally MSport

You could have a fully optioned car with iDrive otherwise known as sat nav with a decent sound system and almost all the extras Germans charge for

2015 onwards had various revisions to the engine that de facto makes it the most reliable taking into account age and mileage

Should easily reach 200k miles

As others stated a remap from a quality vendor can be done with no harm to the engine

Personally for such a car a warranty is just money down the drain

Have to decide which options you want

The auto box is a peach

 

[mcbutler]

3.0i

 

[n1ck]

[/quote]

For a budget of £14,000 to £16,000 consider a 2015 onward 20i or 28i, ideally MSport

You could have a fully optioned car with iDrive otherwise known as sat nav with a decent sound system and almost all the extras Germans charge for

2015 onwards had various revisions to the engine that de facto makes it the most reliable taking into account age and mileage

Should easily reach 200k miles

As others stated a remap from a quality vendor can be done with no harm to the engine

Personally for such a car a warranty is just money down the drain

Have to decide which options you want

The auto box is a peach

Thanks, that sounds like good advice. BMW offered a 3 year warranty for £599 which I thought was really good. For piece of mind I would probably go for that. Is reliability that good/parts that cheap that a warranty wouldn’t be necessary?

 

[Pondrew]

Is that all the difference is between a 18i and a 28i? A remap? That’s mad.

Yep. The N20 engine was designed by BMW to be 245 bhp as standard. So the 28i was the 'standard' model designation

The clever marketing people then thought to offer the same engine (and it is identical) in firstly the 20i (181bhp) then later in an 'entry level' version in the 18i (2013 LCI onwards) with 156 bhp. The 18i was an attempt (imo) to steal some sales from the Mazda MX5 which had similar power figures from a n/a engine.

The N20 is a good engine; the ONLY real question mark is the camchain guides, which is made of plastic on the earlier cars. These do tend to fail (apparently) but generally at high mileages and if the engine is not looked after well. A low mileage N20 (of any factory derivative) is a safe bet IMHO. Yes the N52 2.5 litre or 3 litre 6 pot are considered 'bombproof', but they were phased out in 2011 and are not very efficient on fuel, so finding one with low mileage is going to be rare.

Then you have the N54 in the 35i and 35is. If reliability is your thing, keep well away. The N54 is a superb engine but is very...erm..'fragile'.

 

[n1ck]

Spot on, thanks very much. I had read horror stories about the 2.0 engine, but I think that was referring to the 2.0 in the previous gen car.

 

[Silverstar]

Yes the N52 2.5 litre or 3 litre 6 pot are considered 'bombproof', but they were phased out in 2011 and are not very efficient on fuel, so finding one with low mileage is going to be rare.

Beg to differ regarding fuel economy, I really don't think there is much real world difference between the two engines but it's true they ended the N52 cars in around 2011 with some 2012 cars available. Low mileage ones are out there you just have to look but obviously if you want something newer than it has to be the N20.

 

[Pondrew]

Beg to differ regarding fuel economy,

 

[Zed Baron]

Yes the N52 2.5 litre or 3 litre 6 pot are considered 'bombproof', but they were phased out in 2011 and are not very efficient on fuel, so finding one with low mileage is going to be rare.

I've got a 2009 23i sitting in the garage with 38k on the clock (iDrive, heated M sport Seats, 19" M 326 alloys, PDC, extended leather etc.) which I've had for over 8 years. Great car, extremely reliable, regular oil and brake fluid changes done at my local dealership. Drove it from Glasgow to London last year, drove like a new car...and with the roof down all the way! One tank of petrol to get to London.... oh and I nearly forgot, the fantastic sound, something you don't get with the 4 pots!

 

[n1ck]

2015 onwards had various revisions to the engine that de facto makes it the most reliable taking into account age and mileage

What was revised? I’ve tried googling and can’t find anything.

 

[DonDon]

2015 onwards had various revisions to the engine that de facto makes it the most reliable taking into account age and mileage

What was revised? I’ve tried googling and can’t find anything.

That was the important design change to the cam chain system. If it failed, it was very expensive. A good indie garage can apply the fix to earlier engines for around £1,000.

There is a thread on here that has photos of the easiest to identify change. A plastic / nylon component changed from orange / brown to white (or possibly the other way round), but if you find the thread it will give you chapter and verse. Just type "site:z4-forum.com n20 cam chain" into Google (without the quotes). That is in general the best way to search as Google's searching algorithms are much more powerful.

Edit: Not the post I had in mind, but this thread has a reference in a post by ric19 on page 2 https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=113102&start=15 The linked article shows the original damaged brown guides and the new white ones.