Possible z4?

S

Steven4018

Member
 Andover, Hampshire
Hi guys,

Here is a link to a 3.0litre z4 I'm looking at later today. Let me know what you think on price etc.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201405234428977/sort/atcustom/usedcars/postcode/sp104lq/model/z4/price-to/9000/price-from/8500/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/make/bmw/radius/1500/quicksearch/true/page/2?logcode=p

Cheers,

Steven.
 
Decent spec - satnav, heated electric seats, wind deflector, anything missing you might want is easily retrofitted, as long as you're not bothered about having the top end hifi or a CD changer. Looks to be in good condition, and the wheels look pretty mint, which is important (and unusual) with 108s. As for price, not been looking too much recently but mine sold in April with 20k more miles and a few more toys (though mods aren't supposed to be worth much) for a grand less, so on the face of it the £ looks pretty good.
 
Yeah, I looked at yours when you were selling it, and if I have money then, I'd have been all over it. :) spec is good on the one I'm looking at, but likewise, I thought it maybe a bit pricey.
 
From the pics it looks a good car.

Check the usual service items. It should have: oil service, insp 1, oil service, insp 2, oil service. It should have service stamps every 15k miles or so.


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I'm having the AA out to it this morning to do a comprehensive vehicle check on it, so that should cover all the usual things. And I'll check over the service book tonight. :thumbsup:

Bing, did you sell yours at a lower price because it was through the forum?
 
Price looks OK on the face of it but you would need to 'dig deep' and check the weak points to discover whether it's got bills lurking. Also examine the service history in detail to see if its been serviced at least every two years with brake fluid changes as well. If you have not seen it take a look at AlanJ's buyers guide which covers generic points for any car plus the Z4 things to look for. On this model I'd pay real attention to,
Unusual 'tappety' noises at start up and idle (the Si can suffer from problems with the hydraulic valve adjusters)
Any warning / engine lights
Roof operation
Window lifters
Condition of those BBS 108 alloys which are nice but prone to corrosion bubbles and tricky to refurbish properly
ASK what repairs or replacements are known including bodywork, a seller does not have to disclose but can't lie if asked and make a note on the sales invoice.

Good luck.
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21281&p=300458&hilit=buying+guide#p300458
 
Steven4018 said:
Ewazix, Good advise, cheers. Not heard about the 'tappety' noises before, will keep an ear out.
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No prob's :thumbsup:

I'm sure the AA inspection will be thorough, they actually tend to go OTT and treat the car as if it should be brand new which is obviously unrealistic sometimes, still better that way I suppose.
 
Yeah, similar to a house survey. Cover everything to cover themselves I guess! Hoping it comes back clean'ish so I know it's a decent car. :)

Can you explain what you mean by 'window lifters'? And what to check?

Steve.
 
Steven4018 said:
Yeah, similar to a house survey. Cover everything to cover themselves I guess! Hoping it comes back clean'ish so I know it's a decent car. :)

Can you explain what you mean by 'window lifters'? And what to check?

Steve.
Click to expand...

Sorry that was a bit unclear, it's a common fault for the window lifting mechanism (or regulator) to break meaning that a window won't work. It's not the motor so not a huge bill (usually £200 -£400 unless you do a DIY fix). Nasty grinding noises often appear before they give out but is easy to miss if you forget to test BOTH windows as I did then get home and find the passenger side doesn't work :headbang:
 
Brilliant, cheers! I'll be sure to double check that. Good news is the AA inspection came back totally clear. The biggest thing he could find wrong was that the windscreen washer had no fluid in it. Think I can manage that! Haha! :)
 
In my experience AA inspections aren't worth a damn..... only done one once, but it was a waste of money. The car was a heap with many obvious problems (leaking power steering hydraulics, blown head gasket etc) which they overlooked. The only thing they reported on was worn wiper blades.... but I didn't know any better at the time.

...an expensive learning experience.

FWIW - I would go with a good independent specialist;
http://www.sportscarinspections.co.uk/
http://www.findasportscar.co.uk/

I used Rob at findasportscar to inspect my Z4 and actually purchased it blind on his say so. A friend of mine recently purchased a car and used sportscarinspections and spoke very highly of him, too.

WRT the car - looks good. I purchased a very similar 3.0si roadster '06' over a year ago with less miles from a dealer for about that... so I would see what they can do on price.

Good luck

Dan
 
Interesting you say that, Dan. I only went with the AA because a friend used them when he bought an 8yr old S3. He spoke very highly of them and said I should have it done as a minimum. Didn't think to look into independent ones! :-/

Yeah, the miles on this one are slightly higher than I expected for the price, tax is due end of July and May need 2 new front tyres in about 3-4,000 miles as well. Service history is good and full though.

Will try and hammer him down a bit I think. :)
 
Steven4018 said:
Interesting you say that, Dan. I only went with the AA because a friend used them when he bought an 8yr old S3. He spoke very highly of them and said I should have it done as a minimum. Didn't think to look into independent ones! :-/

Yeah, the miles on this one are slightly higher than I expected for the price, tax is due end of July and May need 2 new front tyres in about 3-4,000 miles as well. Service history is good and full though.

Will try and hammer him down a bit I think. :)
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I guess it depends on the particular AA guy you get as to how good the inspection will be. In my case, they upheld my complaint and refunded the cost of the inspection. Meanwhile I was left with a bill in the £thousands to keep my 'new' car on the road. Hence I am not a fan.

I don't think the price of the car is bad or over-priced, just a little top end of reasonable. It certainly wouldn't put me off a decent car.

Mine didn't have nav etc, so that maybe worth a small premium on top.
 
Steven4018, the price of mine was part realism (96k miles car), part the fact it was on the forum, and part the fact that I needed to sell it quite quickly to buy my new one. Also, whilst it had a bunch of lovely mods they don't add that much value to the car - hence why I chucked in the standard grilles, badges etc. Everyone has different tastes and I think the grilles and badges, for example, are being put back to standard by the new owner. As it happens it sold for the full asking price on here - it was up for about £8,500 on PH and AT and I got very few bites. I reckon that I'd have ended up down near what I got after haggling anyway.
 
danmiddle2 said:
Steven4018 said:
Interesting you say that, Dan. I only went with the AA because a friend used them when he bought an 8yr old S3. He spoke very highly of them and said I should have it done as a minimum. Didn't think to look into independent ones! :-/

Yeah, the miles on this one are slightly higher than I expected for the price, tax is due end of July and May need 2 new front tyres in about 3-4,000 miles as well. Service history is good and full though.

Will try and hammer him down a bit I think. :)
Click to expand...

I guess it depends on the particular AA guy you get as to how good the inspection will be. In my case, they upheld my complaint and refunded the cost of the inspection. Meanwhile I was left with a bill in the £thousands to keep my 'new' car on the road. Hence I am not a fan.

I don't think the price of the car is bad or over-priced, just a little top end of reasonable. It certainly wouldn't put me off a decent car.

Mine didn't have nav etc, so that maybe worth a small premium on top.
Click to expand...
True. Think I got lucky with my guy. Spoke to him on the phone after the inspection and he seemed very knowledgeable and experienced. Hopefully he did a sound job! :) sorry to hear of your problems though, hope you got them all fixed in the end?

I've been looking for a little while, and there didn't seem to be too many facelift models available currently. Time of year I guess! Everyone out enjoying the sun and reluctant to sell!

I'm confident this example will be ok though. :) with all the reading up on here I've done, I m hoping I'll be ok!
 
Bing, yeah, I must admit I'm one for originality. Any mods done, I like to be subtle.
I am surprised you didn't get many takes from other sites though, was a stunning example. I know I'd have been on the phone to you straight away if I had the funds at the time! Hope your enjoying the M now! :)
 
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