Newbie looking for a Coupe

[Haynesman]

Hi all,

I'm looking at buying a Coupe soon and have been reading through the forum quite a bit so thought I'd introduce myself.

I'm ideally looking for a black/blue car, sport spec with red leather interior and xenons. Anything else on top is just a bonus really.

My budget of £7-9k seemingly puts me into a a decent spec car with c. 90k miles on it from a dealer. While I know it's close to the 100k mile magic limit that puts a lot of buyers off, I'm not too worried about that (apart from possible trouble when selling which I don't want to think about yet!). I won't be putting too many miles on it, maybe c. 5k a year as it'll be a summer car/used for a European trip hopefully.

Question is: are there any problems that arise from higher mileages? For instance, when do water pumps tend to pack in? I know these are pricey to replace.


Thanks

 

[buzyg]

Welcome to the forum. Not that many high mileage Z4s about. but enough that you will hopefully get some first hand feed back shortly.

In the mean time there are shed loads of 3,5 & 7 series out there running these engines and many other bits. They really do seen to hold the miles well, from what I have observed. Good hunting.

 

[kis]

As it's a Coupe I've heard it's more expensive as I think it's an electric motor? Not too clued up as I'm a Roadster but know from reading on here it's around 60/80k miles so should have been done already on a 90k mile car? That being said you'll want receipt proof and also may be a haggling point to get some sort of discount.

Good luck and welcome to the forum!

 

[Marlon]

I believe that all face-lift Z4s have the electric water pump - so roadsters and coupes from 2006 - 2009 with the 3.0si N52 engine. From what I can tell some water pumps fail others carry on fine into high miles, so its pot luck really.

Oh, and welcome to the forum

 

[Grumpyowl]

Welcome to the forum, good luck with your search

 

[Haynesman]

Thanks all for the welcome.

Hopefully not too long till I own one!

Test drove a very nice Sapphire Black one the other day. 45,000 miles but way over budget but it was close by so thought I'd go and have a look. Maybe that was a mistake as I may now be about to blow my budget!

 

[Mr Tidy]

Welcome to another prospective Coupe owner - there have been a few this week! Bonus points for good taste. 8)

The N52 engine (complete with electric water pump) came with the facelift, and as all Coupes are post facelift the 3 litre ones all have the electric pump.

The pump on my first one expired just short of 60K miles at 9 years old - from what I have read it seems to be as much age related as mileage related, so with all Coupes being 10 or so years old they are all potentially at risk - unless a new one has already been fitted, so that is worth checking.

I had an OEM one (£500) and a thermostat (another £100) fitted by my local BMW Indy, but if you are handy with spanners and have somewhere to do the job ECP quoted £340 for a new pump.

To be fair that is why I replied to a post like yours and ended up agreeing to sell mine, but the day after I took a deposit I realised what I had done and went to look at its replacement! :roll:

I'm sure a forum member was selling his Coupe a month or two ago with just over 200K miles on it, so mileage itself doesn't seem to be a problem with proper maintenance and as long as you recognise that some components will need replacing from time to time in addition to regular consumables.

Good luck with the search, and don't forget to post some photos when you get yours!

ETA Hope it is helpful to mention I found my current one advertised privately on Pistonheads last May just short of the top of your budget with 78K miles. Of course it may not help at all if you decide to blow the budget!

This being Z4Forum I suppose a gratuitous photo is required! :lol:

 

[Haynesman]

Thanks for the info Mr Tidy. And also reassuring on the price/mileage of your old car. Although most for sale now seem to be from traders. Seems to be a continuing trend with cars now, not many private sellers...

Oh and great pic! If only it had red leather :wink:

 

[Mr Tidy]

[post]1382358[/post] Oh and great pic! If only it had red leather

Well much as I like red leather, I also like Montego Blue - but I don't think both would be a very good look!

So having decided on Montego Blue rather than a shade of silver or black (!) I definitely didn't want a black interior, so was really pleased to find this one with Pearl Grey leather.

Given the number of 3 litre E86s sold in the UK (IIRC about 300 SE models and less than 2,000 Sport ones) you may have a bit of a wait for a good one to come up for sale privately, and you need to be prepared to travel.

Good luck anyway!