nearly bought a Z4 today...

T

tim0409

Member
Finally found what looked like the perfect Z4 for me - 2008 2.0 Sport with 42k. Seller seemed honest and decent - asked him if there was any outstanding finance (he said no) etc so I made the 200 mile trip to see the car with the cash ready to purchase. When I arrived the car checked out and we went for a nice long test drive. I then agreed to buy the car and asked if I could connect my laptop to his wifi so I could do an HPI check. It came back with finance outstanding from the day he purchased it last year. He waffled and claimed the garage owner must have took finance out on the car(!?!), then he admitted that he had taken a loan out but couldn't remember with whom or how much was outstanding.... Since taking out the finance he had put a cheap private plate on the car so probably thought this would confuse the HPI check. What a chancer! I think he has fallen on hard times and was hoping to use the cash to buy another car without paying the finance off.

I made my excuses and left but 30 mins into my trip the seller started ringing me every few minutes - he couldn't find his car keys..I had picked them up (both keys) by mistake - tempted as I was to make life difficult for him I dropped the keys in at a nearby B&Q, telling them I had found them in the car park. His wife gave him a lift to collect them, so thankfully I never need to see him again.

So the search continues...every cloud has a silver lining - after driving the 2.0 I am now thinking a 3.0 might be a better option!

PS If you are looking for a car based north of Inverness I would urge caution.
 
Good work Tim. - A useful post and warning to others. :evil:
Good luck with your search too :thumbsup:
 
They are well worth it and I always do one before going to see a car.

Especially if it's 200 miles away
 
I suggest you test drive it with other engines too, or are you really sure you want 2.0 only and nothing else?
Are you looking E85 or E89?
 
AnttiO said:
I suggest you test drive it with other engines too, or are you really sure you want 2.0 only and nothing else?
Are you looking E85 or E89?
Click to expand...

I was initially looking at a E85 2.0 Sport, and whilst I like the way it drives and the fuel economy, I couldn't help but thinking it would be the perfect package with a 6 cyl.

I agree that I should have checked the HPI - I made a judgement about the seller when I spoke to him on the phone and thought the HPI check would be a formality - a judgment that later turned out to be incorrect! Lesson learnt.
 
Found another car which I have HPI'd this time! I'm flying down to collect it on Wednesday so all looks promising so far. I have decided that the 2.0 Sport is probably the best bet for me. It has done 65k but has a full history and apart from a scuffed alloy it looks to be in great condition. Will report back on Wednesday!
 
tim0409 said:
AnttiO said:
I suggest you test drive it with other engines too, or are you really sure you want 2.0 only and nothing else?
Are you looking E85 or E89?
Click to expand...

I was initially looking at a E85 2.0 Sport, and whilst I like the way it drives and the fuel economy, I couldn't help but thinking it would be the perfect package with a 6 cyl.

I agree that I should have checked the HPI - I made a judgement about the seller when I spoke to him on the phone and thought the HPI check would be a formality - a judgment that later turned out to be incorrect! Lesson learnt.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what mpg you get out of a 2.0 but I can tell you that I get about 28mpg on short local fun outs and just last week had a 140 mile round trip on the motorway and at 75/80mph my car was showing 38mpg :thumbsup: got to be happy with that.
 
Jollyjoiner said:
tim0409 said:
AnttiO said:
I suggest you test drive it with other engines too, or are you really sure you want 2.0 only and nothing else?
Are you looking E85 or E89?
Click to expand...

I was initially looking at a E85 2.0 Sport, and whilst I like the way it drives and the fuel economy, I couldn't help but thinking it would be the perfect package with a 6 cyl.

I agree that I should have checked the HPI - I made a judgement about the seller when I spoke to him on the phone and thought the HPI check would be a formality - a judgment that later turned out to be incorrect! Lesson learnt.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what mpg you get out of a 2.0 but I can tell you that I get about 28mpg on short local fun outs and just last week had a 140 mile round trip on the motorway and at 75/80mph my car was showing 38mpg :thumbsup: got to be happy with that.
Click to expand...

My 2.0 averages 42mpg, on a run its more like mid to high 50's. Not sure why you 6 cylinder guys think your cars are just as economical as a 4 cylinder. Physics just wouldn't allow it

Tim, I hope this one works out for you mate. If not gimme a shout, we can do a deal.
 
stlymch said:
My 2.0 averages 42mpg, on a run its more like mid to high 50's. Not sure why you 6 cylinder guys think your cars are just as economical as a 4 cylinder. Physics just wouldn't allow it

Tim, I hope this one works out for you mate. If not gimme a shout, we can do a deal.
Click to expand...

Seriously? 4 pot Zeds do 55+ mpg! Bloody hell, the way I drive mine I struggle to get over 25mpg! :driving:
 
GreyZed said:
stlymch said:
My 2.0 averages 42mpg, on a run its more like mid to high 50's. Not sure why you 6 cylinder guys think your cars are just as economical as a 4 cylinder. Physics just wouldn't allow it

Tim, I hope this one works out for you mate. If not gimme a shout, we can do a deal.
Click to expand...

Seriously? 4 pot Zeds do 55+ mpg! Bloody hell, the way I drive mine I struggle to get over 25mpg! :driving:
Click to expand...

They are capable of getting to this figure yes. But it is totally driver dependant. My fiance can only get 60mpg out of her mito, but when I drive it I always see at least 80. I must have a very light foot :)
 
Come on guys I owned a 2.0 facelift 2.0 Zed and whilst the real life mpg was good on a daily mixed motorway / a road 40 mile each way trip I averaged 38 mpg

Sure running down a hill at 50 zeroing the counter you can get a snapshot figure of mpg in the very high zone but it's just not reality

My 3.0 will average 33mpg on a similar run / use - this big difference between the two is when you hit traffic - then the mpg tumbles more on the 3.0

Personally I didn't buy the 3.0 for mpg - there are other reasons :evil:

But given the opportunity to choose between them again I wouldn't go back to the 2.0 - it was fun but the 6 is where the real fun is IMO
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom