Potential purchase z4 coupe. Advice sought

B

Bluecat

Member
Saw a low mileage z4 coupe today, a few small problems which are sortable.

There are run flats on tatty Mv2s new ones on back wheels but the fronts are about 7 years old, both Bridgestones. If I replace the fronts with non rfts will this be a problem or should I replace them all round? And what are the best tyres to replace it with, my choice so far would be Uniroyals or Continentals?

The car is missing the headlamp washer cap on one side, are these a real pain to fit ? and are the ones advertised for £20 the genuine article?

The potentially more tricky problem is the service history. Car (March 2008 Si) was purchased as a used approved BMW from Berry Chiswick about 3 years ago. Mileage then was around 25,000 its now 32,000, but the service book only shows 3 stamps first at 3000 miles in April 2009, second 9270 miles in April 10 and third stamp at 15767 in July 2011. I will call Berrys to see if a stamp missing but surely they should service the car before selling it in 2013. service light is on now showing minus 450 miles. None of the stamps show an inspection. Will it be a 1 or 2. Finally any recommendations for an Indy in West London.

many thanks and hopefully an owner soon :D
 
Wow that is low mileage.

Regarding tyres general advice would be to keep the same type on each axle so mixing RFT with NRFT front to back should not cause issues.

That said, many owners notice a marked improvement in handling when swapping to NRFT tyres.

Regrading maintenance, there is no guarantee Berry's would have serviced the vehicle prior to sale in 2013. I suspect that with such low mileage the dashboard service indicator would have shown a service was not due, even if this is good practice to service regularly a very lightly used car.

Services interval order is: Oil service, Inspection 1, Oil service, Inspection 2, Oil service, Inspection 1, etc

So there should really have been at least an inspection 1 and an inspection 2 by now, but due to the low mileage these have probably been neglected.

At 8 years old you may want to go straight to an inspection 2 for peace of mins. If you want a BMW main dealer Service Inspection 2 you will need to budget around £430 plus £59 for a brake fluid change.

Also when was the coolant last changed?
 
Is this a private sale?

Did you test everything works? Is the ac blowing icy cold?

What is the spec?

Is it Manual or Auto?
 
I bought a 45,000 mile car serviced on mileage and missing one or two time based services and I'm now on 67,000 miles 15 months later. I've had to replace the water pump and front control arm rear bushes but they wouldn't have not worn out had it been serviced. I also had to do new discs and pads all round plus tyres all round. I don't subscribe to paying silly money for inspection 2 as most of it is just visual checks. Instead I changed the spark plugs, oil, brake fluid and filters plus later gearbox oil. I paid for an hour's labour at a specialist BMW indy to tell me what else needed doing which only found the bushes and small play in a tie rod (also changed so full alignment afterwards) . I've since deleted the clutch delay valve, added a strut brace, H&R ARBs, trailing arm bushes with limiters, uprated engine mounts and it's booked in for an LSD. Now looking at replacing springs and dampers for further improvement and may go all out with a supercharger next year.

In a nutshell I don't think a missed time based service is a big problem. Budget for refreshing a fair few things, take advantage of the low mileage and get on with using it. :thumbsup:

PS: If the washer jet cap is missing get them to fit one as part of the sale. It's not too hard to fit as you should be able to access it from within the wheelarch with the liner out.
 
Welcome OP - that really is low mileage!

I would also be a bit concerned if no service has been done in over 3 years - AFAIK they need one every 15/16K miles, or 2 years tops.

Plus a brake fluid change is recommended every 2 years.

It all depends on what you are comfortable with at the price offered!

Whatever you decide on this one, I hope you find one that you like soon. :thumbsup:
 
as for rubber... full set of Vorti's will set you back £350-£380 ish and will be the best thing you can do :thumbsup: very pleased with mine and wish I'd done it sooner.

service wise, in the last 2 years I've had mine serviced at a trusted friends garage, really handy having a mate with his own busy reputable garage. I've also done mid service oil changes myself. You can always pay a garage a relatively small fee to check over the car before purchase which is sometimes money well spent.
 
I have rfts on the front, but replaced the rears with non rft Bridgestones. I going to change to uniroyal as they are a lot cheaper than the Bridgestones and get a good review. Can you ask about having the service done as part of a deal for the car, at least then you know it's done and stamped up.
 
Thanks for all the replies, very useful.This forum is great!

Yes I have checked everything works, ac is fine, spec wise its an Si with sat nav and red leather electric seats, but no heated seats. It has a few scuffs on the body but nothing that will not touch in. I have knocked the cost of an Insp 2 off the asking price together with 2 new tyres. Gilberts in Ealing seem my local Indy and ther is another one in Hayes so will look at reviews or any recommendations. As the wheels MV2s are quite tatty whats best a refurb or csl reps??? :poke:
 
Bluecat said:
As the wheels MV2s are quite tatty whats best a refurb or csl reps??? :poke:
Click to expand...

Mine probably wont be a popular opinion, but I think the MV2s are a nice looking wheel on the Z, and when the time comes, I'll likely be refurbing mine - like you I was also thinking of CSL reps as an alternative. However, you really NEED to get the car lowered if you fit 19s (which most CSL reps are). I am making assumptions here but I'd guess the MV2s may be a touch lighter (less unsprung weight), tyres will be cheaper, and the ride quality + handling on 18s will be better.
 
I was going to fit 18 inch csl reps from CM wheels, To get the Mv2s refurbed properly by Lepsons or First Aid Wheels is about £340 inc vat, and to buy are £440 and I think there is a market for MV2s for refurb.

Have found Vredestein Vortis with CAmskill for about £320 delivered for 4 plus fitting balancing etc which is about £70, anyone know of any better prices??
 
If you went for a refurb they would fit and balance new tyres as part of the price. A full strip and powder coat can probably be found cheaper than £340, in Essex, around £260 seems to be the norm.

You'll be hard pressed to beat Camskill.
 
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