MOT fail help

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Blueman

Member
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Hi all, as you can see my z4 failed its mot. My local garage doesn’t allow me to supply my own parts and they didn’t give me a quote as they want to charge for the airbag light investigation which I declined. I’m already £3800 deep in repairs and it still needs allot of work. It’s my only car. Would you guys cut your losses and get a reliable daily or push through and keep throwing money at it? I only have a few grand to either repair or sell it cheap and buy a different used car.
I love the car but the repairs are getting me down.

It’s a 2003 2.5i with 146k miles on it. Bodywork is in bad condition, roof doesn’t work, valve cover gasket is leaking as I can smell burnt oil.
 
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The airbag problem could be very problematic, but the rest is quite straightforward. Given the age and mileage, it will never be worth much even when fixed, so I would let it go.
 
The airbag light will be the killer. Likely to be one of the very rare modules on an 03.
Btw, investigating that takes about 2 minutes with a decent code reader!!
 
I would suggest that the SBSL is dead looking at all that lot.
You should be able to use the code reader to see the part number. If it ends in 3985 you are joining a long queue and will be paying £200 or more for a secondhand module that may or may not last.

Whilst the rest of the stuff is fixable, don’t throw good money after bad.
Get the left side carpet up behind the seat and check the state of the module. Nothing to lose by at least cleaning up the plugs, but I’m not too hopeful.

Whilst the airbag light can be made to go away by other means, you have no guarantee that any of the airbag system would function if needed.
 
Sorry, the dreaded MOT, we've been there a few times. Unless you really are attached to that Z4 and it is your perfect car, then let it go. £3800 in and still a long list is not good.
I am about to spend a few thousand on the engine of my E39 5series, but the rest of the car is excellent, so I can justify it to myself ( but not my wife!) 🙁
 
Wow, that is quite a list. :eek:

Given the age, mileage and likely value of the car I don't think I'd want to sink a load more money into it, unless I had some sort of emotional attachment to it. It would probably be cheaper to just buy another a replacement.
 
Clearest case for 'cutting your losses' I've seen.

That car has obviously had a hard 146k miles. Put it out of it's misery (and yours).
 
OP. I would think it’s time to be realistic and sell it for spares. If you can’t break it yourself then maybe one of the members on here would take it on?
Get yourself a runabout daily car for now.
Out of interest, I have a 2.5i with only 66k on the clock that is sat in a garage waiting for me to crack on with it. Needs a replacement EPS motor, suspension refresh and a few other bits and pieces to get it back to very good condition. It’s silver and manual box. Come the spring it will be ready for a new home. If it’s of any interest to you then I’m happy to provisionally put you top of the list, with no firm commitment from you.
I need to price up the parts I need yet, but it’s going to come in significantly under what you’ve already paid out on yours.
 
You’d make a decent amount breaking your car even with the bodywork issues and current faults. Let’s say a conservative £2-2.5k

I’m willing to bet that the car you are driving is baggy AF and the car potentially you could get from Martin (other cars and sellers are available) will be a huge step forward in quality and longevity
 
Its hard reading but i would cut you losses there and get one that hasn't had such a big Paper Round...
thats just this years MOT and for certain there are other problems ready to pop up for next years....
I would look at breaking it , recovering money to put with your repair kitty
Spend the funds on a car thats had an easier, more pampered life...
 
enuff_zed said:
OP. I would think it’s time to be realistic and sell it for spares. If you can’t break it yourself then maybe one of the members on here would take it on?
Get yourself a runabout daily car for now.
Out of interest, I have a 2.5i with only 66k on the clock that is sat in a garage waiting for me to crack on with it. Needs a replacement EPS motor, suspension refresh and a few other bits and pieces to get it back to very good condition. It’s silver and manual box. Come the spring it will be ready for a new home. If it’s of any interest to you then I’m happy to provisionally put you top of the list, with no firm commitment from you.
I need to price up the parts I need yet, but it’s going to come in significantly under what you’ve already paid out on yours.
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That's what I would do, it'll be a good car (y)
 
Firstly I would like to thank you all for the help, support and advice it has really helped me make a decision as I’ve been in turmoil for weeks!

@enuff_zed I would happily take you up on that offer thank you! I can find a cheap runaround in the meantime.

As far as breaking goes I’m not mechanically inclined so I’d prefer to sell it intact spares or repair. If anyone’s interested let me know.

Thanks allot guys 🙏
 
Blueman said:
Firstly I would like to thank you all for the help, support and advice it has really helped me make a decision as I’ve been in turmoil for weeks!

@enuff_zed I would happily take you up on that offer thank you! I can find a cheap runaround in the meantime.

As far as breaking goes I’m not mechanically inclined so I’d prefer to sell it intact spares or repair. If anyone’s interested let me know.

Thanks allot guys 🙏
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I've sent you a PM with my contact details. As I said, no commitment expected. You may well find something better in the meantime.
Whereabouts are you? I'm assuming that with that list of major fails the car would need to be trailered away?
 
enuff_zed said:
I've sent you a PM with my contact details. As I said, no commitment expected. You may well find something better in the meantime.
Whereabouts are you? I'm assuming that with that list of major fails the car would need to be trailered away?
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Thank you, you may be right if the right car pops up but for now I’ll take a break from Z4s.

I’m based in Cardiff and it will need to be trailered away due to the fail but it does run and drive.
 
Blueman said:
Thank you, you may be right if the right car pops up but for now I’ll take a break from Z4s.

I’m based in Cardiff and it will need to be trailered away due to the fail but it does run and drive.
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Well you are in a good place, as Barry (@Umfaan) is in Miskin. Hopefully he can help out?
 
You have made the right decision to get rid of the money pit. May I suggest you get a Japanese car as your runaround? A Honda Civic Mark 8 1.8 can be bought for around £2 to £3. It's boring but reliable!
 
raymond.harper said:
You have made the right decision to get rid of the money pit. May I suggest you get a Japanese car as your runaround? A Honda Civic Mark 8 1.8 can be bought for around £2 to £3. It's boring but reliable!
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That’s a really good shout as I was already thinking of a Japanese car to give me a well needed break from the stress of my car. I’ve never owned a Japanese car before and always hear good things about them in terms of reliability.
 
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