New Owner - First Impressions

[craigdm]

The journey from Surrey to Lancashire gave me a good insight to ownership.

1. The ride is REALLY firm. The advert said it had 18" wheels, which I thought would be a good compromise. Turns out they are 19"
2. It's big and heavy, much more so than the MX5 and more than the E85 3.0Si I ran a few years ago.
3. It needs more power. 20i goes okay, but hoping it will go better after the Superchips man comes round next week.
4. DAB radio reception isn't the best and it doesn't seem to move seamlessly to the best receiver. Had to manually change it as I travelled up the country.
5. The roof mechanism isn't as smooth or refined as my old SLK.

I like the colour (Crimson Red?) and the wheels (don't know what style they are)
While playing with the iDrive, noticed there was an option to Update Software. Is this possible, and is it worth the hassle?

Now need to sell the MX5, the wife insists we don't need two convertibles in the household :roll:

 

[Chippie]

Congratulations on the new purchase
The wheels are 326’s the rears are prone to cracking, if you still have run flats on I’d suggest changing them to non run flats,
I think there was only one update to the idrive software and chances are you already have it, I think you can check it on the bmw website
I also find my DAB pretty poor reception wise although don’t tend to have music on that often, prefer to listen to the straight six

 

[brillomaster]

Looks like a lovely motor! sure a bit of remapping work will free up plenty of extra ponies.

such a shame about 326 wheels being so prone to cracking, they do look really nice. though as Chippie says, you might be able to stick with them if you get rid of run flat tyres and avoid potholes. Indeed given the age of the car i'd give the wheels a thorough check over to see if they had been repaired already.

 

[craigdm]

Bit of a bugger about the wheels. Is there a fix, or is it a replacement job?
How could I tell if they had been repaired?
The two rears are brand new run flats that were fitted yesterday to get the car through it's MOT.

 

[Pickster]

If they've been repaired you'll be able to spot the welds on the inside edge where the cracks usually appear. Or check MOT history for failures due to cracks. Having said that i'm running 326's on mine with run flats and had no issues.
Great looking car Melbourne Red is the colour

 

[N4LLY]

Also on 19" 326's Run flats were on the car for 6 years before i ditched. No issues here.

Went for non run flats for the improved ride and grip.

 

[Ole gits rule]

Great looking car - love the colour.

Also running 326's with run flats and no issues so far and I live down a dirt track as such, wi be switching to non fun flats when the time comes

 

[craigdm]

Having a good look round today and noticed some water near the battery tray. First noticed that the foam was moist at the bottom where the towing hook is stored, then looking down the two holes next to the battery tray it looks like there's a void under the tray and there was a bit of water in there as well. Not that much but I'd be interested to hear if this is in anyway normal :?

 

[Deepseaskateboard]

original-261c3418-d218-493e-8b22-aa3f339cdde8.jpeg
Having a good look round today and noticed some water near the battery tray. First noticed that the foam was moist at the bottom where the towing hook is stored, then looking down the two holes next to the battery tray it looks like there's a void under the tray and there was a bit of water in there as well. Not that much but I'd be interested to hear if this is in anyway normal :?

There shouldn't be any water at all.

That can cause all sorts of issues, the least of which is a new battery and a big expensive one : a new roof motor.

It’s likely some of the seals need replacing around the boot.
A quick search on this forum should show posts about this issue and how to source / replace the seals.

If you were sold the car by a dealer, best to contact them asap and get that sorted.

 

[craigdm]

original-261c3418-d218-493e-8b22-aa3f339cdde8.jpeg
Having a good look round today and noticed some water near the battery tray. First noticed that the foam was moist at the bottom where the towing hook is stored, then looking down the two holes next to the battery tray it looks like there's a void under the tray and there was a bit of water in there as well. Not that much but I'd be interested to hear if this is in anyway normal :?

There shouldn't be any water at all.

That can cause all sorts of issues, the least of which is a new battery and a big expensive one : a new roof motor.

It’s likely some of the seals need replacing around the boot.
A quick search on this forum should show posts about this issue and how to source / replace the seals.

If you were sold the car by a dealer, best to contact them asap and get that sorted.
[/quote]

The dealer is 250 miles away so don't think that will be an option. I'm hoping that it's just due to some excessive cleaning before sale. Is there a void under the battery tray? I'll probably try to get access there, dry it out and then monitor it.

 

[Argyll Andy]

The dealer is 250 miles away so don't think that will be an option. I'm hoping that it's just due to some excessive cleaning before sale. Is there a void under the battery tray? I'll probably try to get access there, dry it out and then monitor it.

I’d at least be notifying the dealer immediately incase this does grow arms and legs.

As mentioned there’s seals that sometimes need remasticed and the lights and surrounds can be a source of leaks.

Hope it’s a nice easy fix

Lovely looking car btw

 

[Zed Baron]

Also on 19" 326's Run flats were on the car for 6 years before i ditched. No issues here.

Went for non run flats for the improved ride and grip.

just had my 326s refurbed yesterday after being on the car the last 7 years.... no cracks

 

[Zed Baron]

Also on 19" 326's Run flats were on the car for 6 years before i ditched. No issues here.

Went for non run flats for the improved ride and grip.

just had my 326s refurbed yesterday after being on the car the last 7 years.... no cracks

 

[biZ4rreMids]

Congratulations on the purchase of you gorgeous looking car although I am biased being the owner of a Melbourne red 20i with type 326 alloys.

I switched to non run flat tyres with increased profile on the rear to 255/35/19 to give a bit of extra protection to the alloys. Also remapped to 281bhp which makes a huge difference.

 

[Ole gits rule]

Also on 19" 326's Run flats were on the car for 6 years before i ditched. No issues here.

Went for non run flats for the improved ride and grip.

just had my 326s refurbed yesterday after being on the car the last 7 years.... no cracks

Had mine done 3 months ago and the same

 

[Mr Tidy]

Your car looks great in that colour and on those 326 wheels (despite their possible issues)!

As it's just had 2 new run-flat tyres if you are considering swapping to non run-flat it might be worth looking for a set of 18 - or even 17s for better ride quality.

I'm sure a remap will make a big difference, and hope you can get the niggles sorted.

 

[Pondy]

+1 on notifying the dealer on water in boot (unfortunately it's doubtful on over-zealous cleaning).
The MX5 (if it's a 2.0) is a lot lighter but has no blower and 158bhp. The Z4 is a heavy old bucket but has the N20 2.0L twin-turbo which was strangled with the mapping from the Bavarians. The superchips (re-map kings now) map will free it up and you will notice a massive difference in all departments of the rev band. The torque is night and day different too from 1500rpm.

As said above look at MOT history for historical issues with the 326Ms. If they have been repaired I personally would replace them with A/M wheels. Melbourne is a lovely colour IMO

 

[YDB]

Another one here with 326 wheels. No cracking issues so far but changing to non run flats was just like everyone said, a huge improvement in ride quality.