New owner - where to start?

[mrwkuk]

Hi all,

I had been on the look out for a modern 2 seater sports car that I could actually fit in for years (having tested most 2 seaters on the market, from Alpine's to older Z4's and just about everything inbetween), and on a whim this week I test drove a 2019 G29 (sDrive 20i Sport) and it actually fit me perfectly. So i put the deposit down on the spot. Picking it up next week.

So with that in mind, I hadnt actually done a ton of research into this specific car beyond a few cursory google searches and reating autotrader. I am buying it from a reputable BMW main dealer that claims to do all the checks etc, and stamps it with "BMW approved used", etc. so I would hope I am not buying a lemon. Nothing obvious jumped out at me on inspecting the car itself (Less than 30k miles, and 1 owner, and looks immaculate inside and out).

Assuming the car is fine, what else do I need to know? Are there any major failings of this car? Are there any easy fixes for common issues? What are the MUST HAVE extras that can be added to a 2nd hand car? (i.e. not factory options) Are there some settings in the iDrive you should always change? Anything I should know before signing on the dotted line?

I am assuming a lot of this has already been covered in this forum somewhere so please feel free to tell to me to "just search". I am doing that, but not 100% sure what to search for so some friendly pointers to existing threads would be great too.

Cheers

 

[PSQ777]

Hi all,

I had been on the look out for a modern 2 seater sports car that I could actually fit in for years (having tested most 2 seaters on the market, from Alpine's to older Z4's and just about everything inbetween), and on a whim this week I test drove a 2019 G29 (sDrive 20i Sport) and it actually fit me perfectly. So i put the deposit down on the spot. Picking it up next week.

So with that in mind, I hadnt actually done a ton of research into this specific car beyond a few cursory google searches and reating autotrader. I am buying it from a reputable BMW main dealer that claims to do all the checks etc, and stamps it with "BMW approved used", etc. so I would hope I am not buying a lemon. Nothing obvious jumped out at me on inspecting the car itself (Less than 30k miles, and 1 owner, and looks immaculate inside and out).

Assuming the car is fine, what else do I need to know? Are there any major failings of this car? Are there any easy fixes for common issues? What are the MUST HAVE extras that can be added to a 2nd hand car? (i.e. not factory options) Are there some settings in the iDrive you should always change? Anything I should know before signing on the dotted line?

I am assuming a lot of this has already been covered in this forum somewhere so please feel free to tell to me to "just search". I am doing that, but not 100% sure what to search for so some friendly pointers to existing threads would be great too.

Cheers

I know it's a factory option, but the wind deflector is pretty much a must have. Hopefully your car has one, but if not it can be retro fitted with the parts costing around £500.

 

[mrwkuk]

It doesn't seem to have one fitted, but i have asked them about this. I did a quick look on google/ebay and they appear to be only about £160 direct from germany for the mesh one, although i noticed in a couple of photos that some people have a glass/polycarbonate one? That would seem to be the better option for rear visibility. Any idea where i can get that ?

 

[PSQ777]

It doesn't seem to have one fitted, but i have asked them about this. I did a quick look on google/ebay and they appear to be only about £160 direct from germany for the mesh one, although i noticed in a couple of photos that some people have a glass/polycarbonate one? That would seem to be the better option for rear visibility. Any idea where i can get that ?

There are a few other bits needed. You can install it yourself or a dealer can do it. From what I have read (but not experienced) the glass one is better for rear visibility but lets in a little more turbulence. There are several manufacturers of them.

Here's an installation guide: https://g29.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1626825

 

[q96169we]

Welcome to the forum.

I don't think there is any common fault or major issue to the car. As with any cars, there are always some threads about different issues some owner experienced on their G29. However, I think they are all quite isolated scenarios and not affect wider G29 owners. One thing, which I personally don't consider it as an issue or fault but indeed very annoying when happens, is the m sport brake system. Stone may fall into the gap between the disc and the metal protection plate behind and stuck there. Depending on the position of the stone and size, it may make some very loud and high pitch noise. This topic is covered in this thread (https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=115181).

About the wind deflactor, it comes as part of comfort pack. I don't think it can be specified individually (maybe wrong on this). So if your car has comfort pack, then it will certainly have the wind deflactor. However, if it doesn't have from factory, then retrofit it requires more than just the mesh. Both plastic covers of the anti-roll bars need to be replaced to have the slot to hold the mesh. I think the glass deflactor is the same. It's designed to sit in the slot to hold the original mesh deflactor.

 

[mrwkuk]

There are a few other bits needed.

Ah fair enough. I will have a read up, and see what needs doing.

 

[PSQ777]

Hi all,

I had been on the look out for a modern 2 seater sports car that I could actually fit in for years (having tested most 2 seaters on the market, from Alpine's to older Z4's and just about everything inbetween), and on a whim this week I test drove a 2019 G29 (sDrive 20i Sport) and it actually fit me perfectly. So i put the deposit down on the spot. Picking it up next week.

So with that in mind, I hadnt actually done a ton of research into this specific car beyond a few cursory google searches and reating autotrader. I am buying it from a reputable BMW main dealer that claims to do all the checks etc, and stamps it with "BMW approved used", etc. so I would hope I am not buying a lemon. Nothing obvious jumped out at me on inspecting the car itself (Less than 30k miles, and 1 owner, and looks immaculate inside and out).

Assuming the car is fine, what else do I need to know? Are there any major failings of this car? Are there any easy fixes for common issues? What are the MUST HAVE extras that can be added to a 2nd hand car? (i.e. not factory options) Are there some settings in the iDrive you should always change? Anything I should know before signing on the dotted line?

I am assuming a lot of this has already been covered in this forum somewhere so please feel free to tell to me to "just search". I am doing that, but not 100% sure what to search for so some friendly pointers to existing threads would be great too.

Cheers

Returning to your original question I'll add some more items. The over the air updates to the car's software seem to be somewhat random. Just read various forums and you'll see people only getting updates when the car is in park, they are in clear line of sight to a phone mast, the battery is full charged, there is an F in the month, and they have rolled up one trouser leg... you get the idea. Personally with my car if it updates itself then fine, if not I let the dealer sort it out for free when I go in for an annual service.

Quite a few people complain that the in-car music system isn't great, whether standard or the HK upgrade. It's definitely worth playing with the sound settings to get a more rounded sound rather than accepting the defaults.

As for iDrive settings, the first cool thing is that the numeric buttons are actually programmable rather than just for choosing radio stations. I have things like radio, spotify, nav home, tyre pressure, ring specific people set-up on my car.

The iDrive controller surface is actually a drawing pad for letters. If you can actually use it then good for you. I've never managed to get a post code in without giving up in frustration first. Much easier is to use the touch screen keyboard, that appears when your hand moves within 3 inches of the screen.

Switching off nag systems is something else you might want to consider, depending on what is installed on your car. Mine has a few (lane departure etc.) and most are now off. The model year you are getting means switching them off means they stay off, rather than turning back on when the car is started.

 

[Mr Tidy]

I hardly know anything about the G29s, but welcome to the forum.

 

[Nanu]

Welcome to the forum.

No specific issues about the G29, the settings on all the toys are just down to personal taste and you will adjust these settings over a period of time. You will also find toys you didn't know you had and some you will never need on the idrive.

Enjoy and don't forget to post pics or it will be commented on.

 

[mrwkuk]

The over the air updates to the car's software seem to be somewhat random. Just read various forums and you'll see people only getting updates when the car is in park, they are in clear line of sight to a phone mast, the battery is full charged, there is an F in the month, and they have rolled up one trouser leg... you get the idea. Personally with my car if it updates itself then fine, if not I let the dealer sort it out for free when I go in for an annual service.

I work in IT, this is entirely what i expected tbh. Do you get a choice of when to apply the updates or do they just happen? As long as they dont brick the car, thats fine tho.

Quite a few people complain that the in-car music system isn't great, whether standard or the HK upgrade. It's definitely worth playing with the sound settings to get a more rounded sound rather than accepting the defaults.

It seemed fine to me. Coming from a smart roadster almost anything is an improvement tbh.

As for iDrive settings, the first cool thing is that the numeric buttons are actually programmable rather than just for choosing radio stations. I have things like radio, spotify, nav home, tyre pressure, ring specific people set-up on my car.

Thats a really useful thing to know. I had assumed they were just for the radio.

The iDrive controller surface is actually a drawing pad for letters. If you can actually use it then good for you. I've never managed to get a post code in without giving up in frustration first. Much easier is to use the touch screen keyboard, that appears when your hand moves within 3 inches of the screen.

Theres a strong possibility i will just use waze via airplay/android auto. But if not on screen keyboard is a blessing than trying to use the dial or a gesture pad.

Switching off nag systems is something else you might want to consider, depending on what is installed on your car. Mine has a few (lane departure etc.) and most are now off. The model year you are getting means switching them off means they stay off, rather than turning back on when the car is started.

Yeh, the lane detection was starting to get a little overbearing driving around for the test drive. But being able to re-enable it quickly for long-distance cruising would be handy. Can this be assigned to one of the afformentioned buttons?

 

[mrwkuk]

No specific issues about the G29, the settings on all the toys are just down to personal taste and you will adjust these settings over a period of time. You will also find toys you didn't know you had and some you will never need on the idrive.

Thats kind of the point of this thread. I know in the past I've come across some esoteric features in systems months, if not years, into using them that would have been a blessing from day one.

Enjoy and don't forget to post pics or it will be commented on.

Pics will get posted once i collect it.

 

[PSQ777]

The over the air updates to the car's software seem to be somewhat random. Just read various forums and you'll see people only getting updates when the car is in park, they are in clear line of sight to a phone mast, the battery is full charged, there is an F in the month, and they have rolled up one trouser leg... you get the idea. Personally with my car if it updates itself then fine, if not I let the dealer sort it out for free when I go in for an annual service.

I work in IT, this is entirely what i expected tbh. Do you get a choice of when to apply the updates or do they just happen? As long as they dont brick the car, thats fine tho.

Quite a few people complain that the in-car music system isn't great, whether standard or the HK upgrade. It's definitely worth playing with the sound settings to get a more rounded sound rather than accepting the defaults.

It seemed fine to me. Coming from a smart roadster almost anything is an improvement tbh.

As for iDrive settings, the first cool thing is that the numeric buttons are actually programmable rather than just for choosing radio stations. I have things like radio, spotify, nav home, tyre pressure, ring specific people set-up on my car.

Thats a really useful thing to know. I had assumed they were just for the radio.

The iDrive controller surface is actually a drawing pad for letters. If you can actually use it then good for you. I've never managed to get a post code in without giving up in frustration first. Much easier is to use the touch screen keyboard, that appears when your hand moves within 3 inches of the screen.

Theres a strong possibility i will just use waze via airplay/android auto. But if not on screen keyboard is a blessing than trying to use the dial or a gesture pad.

Switching off nag systems is something else you might want to consider, depending on what is installed on your car. Mine has a few (lane departure etc.) and most are now off. The model year you are getting means switching them off means they stay off, rather than turning back on when the car is started.

Yeh, the lane detection was starting to get a little overbearing driving around for the test drive. But being able to re-enable it quickly for long-distance cruising would be handy. Can this be assigned to one of the afformentioned buttons?

For the software update I've heard of people downloading on to their phone app then transfering, but my last BMW did everything automatically. I don't worry about it, the dealer can sort it. I did get a message the other day that my apps were being updated. No idea which ones, but my nav seems to now have a new floating next direction feature on the map.

I pay the toll to use the in-car nav, it just works and I like having every car function available always. But that's just my preference. If you have a HUD apparently it does work with the Apple/Android integration, but I've not tried it myself.

I suspect you can assign the lane detection to a button, but I haven't tried it. Basically you long press a button which assigns the action to whatever is highlighted on the touch screen.

 

[Matthewstorm]

Google maps does not show in the HUD.

 

[F1SpaceMonkey]

Hi all,

I had been on the look out for a modern 2 seater sports car that I could actually fit in for years (having tested most 2 seaters on the market, from Alpine's to older Z4's and just about everything inbetween), and on a whim this week I test drove a 2019 G29 (sDrive 20i Sport) and it actually fit me perfectly. So i put the deposit down on the spot. Picking it up next week.

So with that in mind, I hadnt actually done a ton of research into this specific car beyond a few cursory google searches and reating autotrader. I am buying it from a reputable BMW main dealer that claims to do all the checks etc, and stamps it with "BMW approved used", etc. so I would hope I am not buying a lemon. Nothing obvious jumped out at me on inspecting the car itself (Less than 30k miles, and 1 owner, and looks immaculate inside and out).

Assuming the car is fine, what else do I need to know? Are there any major failings of this car? Are there any easy fixes for common issues? What are the MUST HAVE extras that can be added to a 2nd hand car? (i.e. not factory options) Are there some settings in the iDrive you should always change? Anything I should know before signing on the dotted line?

I am assuming a lot of this has already been covered in this forum somewhere so please feel free to tell to me to "just search". I am doing that, but not 100% sure what to search for so some friendly pointers to existing threads would be great too.

Cheers

I know it's a factory option, but the wind deflector is pretty much a must have. Hopefully your car has one, but if not it can be retro fitted with the parts costing around £500.

Not 100% true - i never use mine so have taken it out. when i have the roof down i prefer the windows all the way down too.

 

[weegeoff]

It doesn't seem to have one fitted, but i have asked them about this. I did a quick look on google/ebay and they appear to be only about £160 direct from germany for the mesh one, although i noticed in a couple of photos that some people have a glass/polycarbonate one? That would seem to be the better option for rear visibility. Any idea where i can get that ?

You will have to put German VAT on top of that

 

[mrwkuk]

You will have to put German VAT on top of that

True but that wouldnt put it near the £500 noted above. The extra parts needed do increase that price though so i expect its probably not far of that once its all said and done.

 

[mrwkuk]

Not 100% true - i never use mine so have taken it out. when i have the roof down i prefer the windows all the way down too.

I guess its down to personal preference. I will run it for a while and see what its like.

 

[PSQ777]

You will have to put German VAT on top of that

True but that wouldnt put it near the £500 noted above. The extra parts needed do increase that price though so i expect its probably not far of that once its all said and done.

These are the required parts and prices posted elsewhere which adds to £469. Though this was from 2019.
[1] Wind Deflector (54 34 9 481 141) £197
[2] Windschott (54 34 7 457 891) £110 x2
[3] Trim roll b (51 46 7 459 683) £26
[3] Trim roll b (51 46 7 459 684) £26

 

[mrwkuk]

These are the required parts and prices posted elsewhere which adds to £469. Though this was from 2019.
[1] Wind Deflector (54 34 9 481 141) £197
[2] Windschott (54 34 7 457 891) £110 x2
[3] Trim roll b (51 46 7 459 683) £26
[3] Trim roll b (51 46 7 459 684) £26

Yes i already found several places selling them, but I would think you probably dont need the "windschott" (especially not at £220 for that tiny bit of mesh/plastic) as thats just the bit that fills the hoop and that is mostly blocked by the seat.

Either way, its something for after ive got used the car for a bit.

 

[dr_john]

Never experienced the car without the wind deflector so its benefit is unknown to me.

However it’s fitted on my 4 year old g29, I specced it on order for around £200 on a new build. It’s included on all new cars now as standard.

I wouldn’t touch the clear ones, as an aerospace engineer I would say that the lack of ventilation to let the air flow through would render it useless and could only lead to buffeting and actually make wind effects worse. OK, they look pretty cool, depends on your priorities 8)

Welcome to the forum btw!