exdos said:
ecause I don't do many miles in my Z4MC it'll be ages before the next Inspection is required, so I do my own oil and brake fluid changes at the required 2 year intervals as well as doing other jobs on the car (change the suspension, brakes parts etc.). Would this put someone in your position off from considering purchasing my car, should I ever wish to sell it?
Personally, Exdos, I do think this would put some buyers off. Not as a criticism to you or your level of mechanical expertise, but it all boils down to a sort of pseudo risk analysis. From contributing on this forum, and speaking with you about a few issues, it is clear that you know what you're talking about.
But as a buyer, I'm unlikely to know this....I wouldn't know you from Adam, as they say. If I turned up to look at a Z4MC and the owner had carried out his own oil services, how do I know that he knows what he is on about. How do I know he has carried out the service correctly. What other aspects of the engine has he worked on himself? You may have carried it all out perfectly (and probably better than BMW), but unless I have the confidence that you are competent it would be one too many unknowns for me.
As Beedub said, buying second hand is like throwing a dice. There are going to be a lot of unknowns (i.e. how it's been cared for historically, has it been tracked extensively, engine warmed up before any meaningful load applied etc.), things like service histroy, condition of paintwork, condition of interior, modifications all give an indication into the potential history / condition of a car.
Whilst these cares aren't £70k, they are (I'd imagine) for most buyers a very expensive purchase and every step will be taken to try to establish the condition of the car as objectively as possible. If I was going to replace my car now, would I be happy to buy yours.....Yes. If I was looking at your car a year ago when I knew a lot less about the Z4MC and you as a person, would I have bought yours.....possibly not, as the self-servicing would have made me anxious (through my own ignorance of the process), but then most potential buyers probably are pretty ignorant when it comes to mechanics / engineering.
If Nina was looking for a keeper then I'd say go for it. If she keeps it for 3-5 years and puts another couple of services on it, then OK, this will probably help for future sellers, but the car has 41k miles on it and is missing services. There are plenty of cars out there with this sort of mileage with much better service histories. Unless somebody is distinctly looking for a Ruby Black Z4MC, they'll probably just move on to the next.
Personally, I'd walk away. Would it be a mistake...possibly, but I wouldnt be willing to take the risk.
As for tracking the car, from what I've read extensive tracking will put additional stress on the engine and speed up the wear and tear of certain items (rod bearings, cam followers etc.). Sure most of these cars probably have seen a track by now, but there's a difference between the odd track day and extensively being tracked. My car for example still has the original front tyres on (28k...which I will be changing next month), but this gave me the confidence to believe that the car hasn't been driven overly hard.
