Problems and problems. Fix or sell?

Squid_01

Squid_01

Member
I’ve had my 06 2.5 SE for 2 years, it’s ran perfectly the whole time and sailed through the last MOT. The MOT it just had came back with a bunch of advisories, which the garage sent a quote for to fix them. I can’t work out if:

1. If it’s a reasonable quote
2. They’re bad enough to actually be replaced now
3. If I can get them done a lot cheaper at another garage or if there easy enough to do myself
4. Or if it’s time to sell it. I can’t take it out much anymore as I’m moving from nearish London to Scotland and leaving the Z4 down south as I also have a Jaguar XE S. I’m not sure what it’s even worth now. Would be a shame to have it sat and not enjoyed.

Any advice or opinions would be appreciated to any question

Apologies in advance if that’s worded terribly, my brain is dealing with a rough concussion and is a bit scrambled at the moment
 

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Almost £2k to remedy advisories is bonkers. Most of those things are pretty subjective, they may be called out by some testing stations and not others. I guarantee that if you got under your car and gave it a good clean and knock off the crusty bits with a wire brush, most of those items wouldn’t even be an issue.
 
Agreed.
All easily fixed for possibly £500, with the few new parts you do need, and a wire brush.

Is it a 2.5i or 2.5si?
 
I wouldn't be changing brake pipes for corroded ferrules, and what is the issue with the brake pipes? If they are corroded I'd get them replaced, if covered in something just clean them off!

My E90 got an advisory for rear subframe corrosion last year. I went somewhere else this year and it wasn't mentioned, so it is obviously just the opinion of the tester.

But as it also had an advisory for cracked front brake flexi hoses last year I got them replaced before this year's test.

Your car definitely sounds worth fixing, just not there!
 
The hourly rate for labour seems to me to be really high.
I think my local independant mechanic charges nearer to half that amount.
 
Advisories are exactly that, advisories.
Leave them and enjoy the car for another year and fix them if it fails next year or goes wrong in the mean time.

My Zed has several minor faults but I just drive it and think I’ll fix them one day.
 
Jollygiant said:
Advisories are exactly that, advisories.
Leave them and enjoy the car for another year and fix them if it fails next year or goes wrong in the mean time.

My Zed has several minor faults but I just drive it and think I’ll fix them one day.
Click to expand...
High five to that :thumbsup:
 
Given the fact the bump stops crumbled away it seems that the suspension parts are still the first ones, so replacing them after 18 years is inevitable as they will not get better over time and you will have same problem next MOT . As a bonus you will be surprised how much better the car will drive.
The parts prices seem to be BMW dealership, you could tell them to source Bilstein B4 shocks and Febi bump stops and or even replace them by yourself. It is a pita job mainly due to the parcel shelf and cramped working position, but there are YT videos available and only a jack and few socket wrenches needed.
Same for front wishbone.
As for the brake lines I would wire brush the corroded parts first and then assess whether they need replacing or can be treated to prevent further deterioration. This is also one of the most common MOT problem on the E46/85 chassis.
And I would urgently treat the body panel corrosion as this kills the substance of the car.
While suspension components can be replaced with new shiny parts, the main body you can’t.
 
That looks like a quote from Redish in Bristol am I right?

They are not cheap but James has high standards and he has probably advised doing these things so that the car is good for years to come.

That’s if it is a quote from Redish. I’m not 100% that it is.
 
Thank you for all the replies, confirmed my suspicions. It drives absolutely perfectly which was why I was shocked there seemed to be a huge list on the MOT after nothing last year.

After the comments I’ll get on treating the corrosion over Christmas leave, I’m sure there’s plenty of threads on here about the best way to go about it. The shocks I’ll leave until next year, like I said I’ve not noticed anything different in the ride. I’ll attack as much as they’ve said by myself and leave the rest.

As for longer term plans, I’m moving from just outside the M25 to Edinburgh, and then my job will be moving me every couple of years after that (the joys of government work), not sure I can justify having 2 cars now. Losing her will be heartbreaking. A truly amazing 2006 2.5si SE for those wondering, obligatory photos of my baby attached.
 

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