One step away from Z4 ownership...

R

RicoP

New member
Hi all,

A quick hello from (hopefully) a soon to be Z owner. I deliberated for quite some time over the right car for me (Caymans, 335i's) and the futile task of trying to find one that had all of my preferred options. However, it was after a trip last year in a friend's Z4C 3.0 Si through Germany, France and Belgium that I realised the Z was all the car I wanted and more, and good examples seemed to be going for less that the aforementioned alternatives.

Fast forward a few months and I've just put a small deposit down on a Z4C. Very unlike me and I felt it was a somewhat hasty decision given the vast array of information and advice on this forum. I am planning on printing off the buyers checklist and running through as many items as possible before I part with any more cash. I appreciate there are probably hundreds of details I could list to help but a brief overview...the car is on c.80K with 4 owners from new (is this quite a few? BMW being the first apparently) sat nav, fbmwsh and cruise/xenons, so reasonably well spec'd from what I can gather. The small 'one man' dealer is asking for just under £10K with 12 months Autoguard (3rd party warranty).

A few items that I'm not sure about:

I noticed some condensation in the front light clusters, particularly the indicators in the front bumper. There also seems to be some crystal-like deposits in there, possibly from previous evaporation.

The seller only has 1 key - apparently the other was misplaced several owners ago.

The previous owner still has all the receipts etc and cannot locate them so the seller can only offer me the BMW service history book/all the BMW booklets but not paperwork for repairs/service bills etc.

I would be most grateful for any feedback on the above. Hopefully I am just being overly paranoid but it's the largest purchase I've made to date and I want to get it as right as possible!

Regarding the V5, what happens when you part-ex a car to a small garage (I've never done this before)? I can imagine the garage will not want their name/details on the certificate as a registered owner but I don't want to leave the dealer still technically 'owning' my old car.

Thank you all, apologies for the essay!
 
Can't answer most of your questions but if you get a good one then you'll enjoy every minute of ownership....Welcome to the forum and it's wealth of advice :thumbsup:
 
I wouldn't be put off particularly by 4 owners - these cars are sometimes bought on a bit of a whim and then owners find they are not really suited or are just not used as much as intended - I wouldn't be happy about the lack of service/documentation or the missing keys ( there should be a plastic emergency key as well as a second key ( expensive to replace ) . There is a lot of information about condensation in the lights on here - fairly normal but a bit worrying if evidence of residue as well . At 80k you really need to be sure of the service history - like all bmw's things that need doing are expensive . Ask the dealer for the V5 number and check it's MOT history with emphasis on any advisories and if they've been rectified - you're probably aware you can do this free online using the DVLA website. £10k is still a lot of money and I would personally pay more if necessary for a car with a good provenance that includes all documentation but then I take forever to find the right car and am way too fussy for my own good,

Good luck anyway - whether you buy this one or move on to another you won't have any regrets about getting a Z4 - even if it is a coupe instead of the proper roadster :rofl:
 
Thanks Leesfarm07!

And thanks gov for the heads-up. I'm definitely someone who is more risk adverse, particularly when it comes to purchases of this value. With regards to the documentation - the car has full BMW service history and this is evident. It has the BMW paperwork with the right stamps etc. However, with my current car of which I am only the 3rd owner (non-BMW), I have every receipt for as little as a new tyre or a brake light switch going back for the entire life of the car. On the BMW, the paperwork has been 'misplaced' by the previous owner. This could be a genuine mistake but I'm concerned it might affect the resale value of the car in the future if I end up selling it on, let alone not allowing me to see what work has been done. The key problem is a more worrying development. The dealer has said he can order me another one for a couple of hundred £'s from BMW but I don't see why I should cover this. Maybe I am like you and want everything to be perfect (not always possible!) but for some reason I don't feel entirely comfortable knowing that there is a Z key out there that belongs to this car and it wouldn't be in my possession if I bought it!

Thanks for the DVLA info - I was aware of this but I need to get the V5C number first - something I should have done on first viewing before putting my deposit down but I think I was overwhelmed by the test drive and my lust for the machine...these cars seem to have a strange power over us petrol-heads!
 
Hi and welcome to the Forum. Check the link in my signature which gives a suggested pre purchase checklist (which may be the one you refer to). Some general but some Zed specific. Hope its of use.
There is a section on the V% for the dealer to complete which ensure the legal sale and no additional V5 owner entry.
In addition make sure you get a dated AND TIMED receipt for the part ex. handover to evidence the part ex and avoid any potential fixed penalty nasties

The other issues you mention - one key, no docs other than the BMW service booklet etc are certainly not enough to stop a deal but for me would want me to make sure the car is thoroughly checked before you buy.
Certainly do not accept if ANYTHING is not working - easy to buy with the promise of a future fix by the seller which never happens (and has happened to several on here..... :( )

Good luck :thumbsup:
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.
I bought mine last June and just love it - for me the Coupe is the one to have, although we are in the minority on here I think!
Doesn't sound like a bad deal; I bought my 56 plate privately and paid about what you are looking at but of course I got no warranty.
Mine had 2 previous owners plus the dealership (it was a pre-reg) and was on 54,000 miles with FBMWSH, a stack of invoices and 2 keys (only the plastic one missing).
I have read about someone in East London who can cut and programme keys but depending on your location that may not help as he needs to have the car present - only other options seems to be from BMW themselves but I wouldn't let just one key put me off.
Shame the invoices are missing but the stamped service book is probably more important and if the MOT history checks out and the car measures up from visual inspection and test drive that is all good.
Hopefully you will be back on here soon with photos of your new P & J!
 
I would walk away from this one and find a better example for 10k will correct keys and documents.

The warranty he is offering isnt worth the paper it is written on IMO and i dont think its cheap at 10k either with 80k on the clock.

GLWTS
 
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