The problem is in the last paragraph btw, the rest is just the story of my Z4 acquisition
So I test drove a Z4 3.0 SI 06 plate at a local dealer, I liked it but decided it really was ridiculous to have a second car anyway and that with the price of fuel being as outrageous as it is, a 3 litre engine was ridiculous too. Then the dealer rang and offered me some money off, then he rang and offered me a bit more off. I still wasn't convinced, 99,000 miles on the clock seemed high but then I have a 320d with 135,000 on it and that's running fine. I got a quote from Parkers and they reckoned, even given the mileage that, at £7100 the price was right, even a little low, so I threw caution to the wind and bought it.
Then the problems started, I did hear a slight whirring noise on the test drive but sort of thought it might be normal, the noise got a bit louder and I decided it wasn't normal. Also there was an occasional knocking noise and I new that was probably bushes. I took it to a garage who specialise in German cars and they confirmed there were indeed some problems totalling £2.3k to fix, the most expensive was the diff at £1250 for a reconditioned one. So I contacted the garage, they tried to fob me off with the 3rd party warranty, In my opinion 3rd party warranties are not worth the paper they're printed on, and this one wasn't either. I told dealer that they needed to sort this out they reluctantly agreed, probably realising that if they didn't I could return the car. So I took the car back to them along with a list of the things that needed to be fixed, they simply said, 'don't worry we'll sort it mate, it'll take a week'.
So I left the car with them and a week later went to pick it up, the dealer simply threw me the keys exclaiming proudly that the noise was gone. I asked the diff had been changed, he said it had. I asked it the bushes had been changed, he said there was nothing wrong with them as the car had passed it's MOT. I knew this was bullsh*t but couldn't be bothered to argue. I took the keys and went on my way.
The car drove well and the noise was gone. I've put about 1000 miles on it since the diff change, changed the front bushes myself and done an oil service and basically it's running well. And I must admit, even though it's been a hassle to get, I love driving it, I mean I know it's not the fastest car on the road but it certainly feels like it might be to me. The handling is great, though I'm going to change the run flats as soon as I can afford it as I'm sure they're just not right and they cause it to tram line horribly.
There is one issue I'm after some advice on, there is a slight knocking noise when engaging first and sometimes second gear, I understand this maybe an issue with the springs, but I also reckon it maybe the rear bushes or something to do with the diff change being done badly. Any ideas would be welcome.
So I test drove a Z4 3.0 SI 06 plate at a local dealer, I liked it but decided it really was ridiculous to have a second car anyway and that with the price of fuel being as outrageous as it is, a 3 litre engine was ridiculous too. Then the dealer rang and offered me some money off, then he rang and offered me a bit more off. I still wasn't convinced, 99,000 miles on the clock seemed high but then I have a 320d with 135,000 on it and that's running fine. I got a quote from Parkers and they reckoned, even given the mileage that, at £7100 the price was right, even a little low, so I threw caution to the wind and bought it.
Then the problems started, I did hear a slight whirring noise on the test drive but sort of thought it might be normal, the noise got a bit louder and I decided it wasn't normal. Also there was an occasional knocking noise and I new that was probably bushes. I took it to a garage who specialise in German cars and they confirmed there were indeed some problems totalling £2.3k to fix, the most expensive was the diff at £1250 for a reconditioned one. So I contacted the garage, they tried to fob me off with the 3rd party warranty, In my opinion 3rd party warranties are not worth the paper they're printed on, and this one wasn't either. I told dealer that they needed to sort this out they reluctantly agreed, probably realising that if they didn't I could return the car. So I took the car back to them along with a list of the things that needed to be fixed, they simply said, 'don't worry we'll sort it mate, it'll take a week'.
So I left the car with them and a week later went to pick it up, the dealer simply threw me the keys exclaiming proudly that the noise was gone. I asked the diff had been changed, he said it had. I asked it the bushes had been changed, he said there was nothing wrong with them as the car had passed it's MOT. I knew this was bullsh*t but couldn't be bothered to argue. I took the keys and went on my way.
The car drove well and the noise was gone. I've put about 1000 miles on it since the diff change, changed the front bushes myself and done an oil service and basically it's running well. And I must admit, even though it's been a hassle to get, I love driving it, I mean I know it's not the fastest car on the road but it certainly feels like it might be to me. The handling is great, though I'm going to change the run flats as soon as I can afford it as I'm sure they're just not right and they cause it to tram line horribly.
There is one issue I'm after some advice on, there is a slight knocking noise when engaging first and sometimes second gear, I understand this maybe an issue with the springs, but I also reckon it maybe the rear bushes or something to do with the diff change being done badly. Any ideas would be welcome.
