New Buyers Guide

G

gheda

Member
Hi all

I'm in the market for a Z4 and going to look at one with a view to buying this week. Its a late 03 model with about 80K on the clock.

Has anyone got any tips on what to look out for both driving or in the car or in its service history which should definitly be there or definitly not be there?

So far i've read stories about the rear springs? and the vanos o-rings?

Any tips greatly appreciated!
 
Hey and welcome...

make sure it has been serviced :D check which wheels and if the 108 star spoke check very closely for corrosion or bad refurbs...

springs can go - at 80k they have probably already broken about 3 times :rofl:

happy hunting :thumbsup:
 
Although not high by most car standards 80k is higher than you'd expect on a Zed. Not that Zeds won't take the mileage, far from it, but many have a more cherished life and are used less. Mine is older than that with just over 40k.

Factor that into your negotiations.

All the usual stuff when buying of course, paperwork, receipts, check out the MOT history on the gov sight. Ensure everything works, especially hood and every single button does it's job, right down to seat motors, aircon. Nose cone is vulnerable to scrapes and chips too
 
Thanks for the replies so far

Yeah i'm not a great fan of the high miles but its the only way to put a z4 in my price bracket considering my trade-in

whats the official service interval? i'm a little concerned as the history for this one only has offical bmw jobs done at 12K, 38K, 65K and now ~80K

Are the springs that big of a problem?
 
mine had 77k on the clock, but the service history was all there, plus the springs were already changed to aftermarket ones so i was happy when i bought mine. saying that after the meet we had on sunday mine rides quite low, the ride is hard with run flat tyres but i can live with it.

id look at the history and see when all the milage was done, in my case it was early in the cars life whilst under warranty and servicing was done timely at main dealers, and in more recent years the miles were well below average. all depends on the price and what spec you want, if your in any doubt have the rac do an inspection perhaps?

good luck :thumbsup:
 
klarky said:
mine had 77k on the clock, but the service history was all there, plus the springs were already changed to aftermarket ones so i was happy when i bought mine. saying that after the meet we had on sunday mine rides quite low, the ride is hard with run flat tyres but i can live with it.

id look at the history and see when all the milage was done, in my case it was early in the cars life whilst under warranty and servicing was done timely at main dealers, and in more recent years the miles were well below average. all depends on the price and what spec you want, if your in any doubt have the rac do an inspection perhaps?

good luck :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

well the services (atleast the official log) has a gap of 26K between 12K and 38K which seems one heck of a gap to me?

i know she's just been put through her mot and serviced by bmw if that counts for much?
 
There's two very big gaps there, 26 between 12k and 38k then 27 between 38k and 65k.
Very odd, the owner may have gone for services every two years, or they've not marked every second service, which should be an inspection (aka important/expensive service)

Even with lots of gentle miles, the services shouldn't be more than 17-18k apart.
 
Welcome :thumbsup:

As above should have more history not saying it all needs to be BMW but i keep all receipts for everything.

BMW can do a check on the car i you are really concerned and tell you everything from new unless they have not seen the car for a few years
 
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