Z4 M Roadster common issues

[Simon 3.2M]

I absolutely love mine, this is my second roadster. I’ve owned both the M54 and N52 3.0 in both roadster and coupe formats and whilst very enjoyable, they are nowhere near the S54. If I was to add a possible downside to owning an M it is the fact that they are essentially a track car - they don’t tend to enjoy city traffic and they only really come alive (in how amazing the engine is) above 5000rpm! I took mine out a couple of days ago after driving around in my M54 3.0, I didn’t think I was going particularly fast in 3rd however, when I looked down I was rushing effortlessly past 70mph!! I've added bigger brakes and KW V3 suspension to mine which has transformed the car and has as already been mentioned, they are certainly more of an event when you drive one. The only problem I actually have is the fact that I want an MC to go with her!!!!
If you can afford it then get it.

 

[abar121]

I can only speak for mine. I've had it almost 10 years now and it's the most reliable car I have ever owned. 12k when I bought it, 74k now. Only problems have been the radiator fan failed and the flip up screen failed. I have never bothered to fix the later, as it's is a waste of space and used to annoy me every time it flipped up. :wink: Best by a car without one if you can. Mine lives in the warm and seldom gets wet, so still has the roof motor where BMW put it. Never been an issue but I get why most people move them. Due to the very thick oil it's important that the engine is properly warmed up before pressing the loud pedal. This can take several miles on a cold day. It's the oil temp that you should watch. The coloured scale around the rev counter is for air temp and more show than practical use, so check the previous owner warms it up properly. On such a low mileage engine there should be no issues at all. But listen for ticking around 1500-2200 rpm. a little is perfectly normal and you will soon ignore it completely. A lot could mean the Vanos needs an overhaul. As with many cars of the period be sure to press the clutch in when starting or stopping the engine or it sounds clunky, perfectly normal but not a pleasant sound.

Check the service history. on a low mileage car it will likely be bi annual.

Running in Service around 1200 miles.
Oil Service, brake fluid change
Ins 1, Valve clearance check and record, brake fluid change
Oil Service, brake fluid change
Ins 2, Valve clearance check and record, brake fluid change, Gear box Oil Change, Rear Diff Oil Change.
and repeat

Ins 1 is £500-£600, at a good independent garage. double at a main stealer

Ins 2 is £700-£800

Check the brakes, New disks and Pads all around is £600-700. Cheaper than it used to be happily.

These cars need good tyres, so be sure they are fitted, or the previous owner didn't care as much as they should.

The Z4MR is not a modern get in a drive it car. It needs to be warmed. Then it needs to be driven properly. They do not reward poor driving like a Boxster does. They do reward in spades, when you get it right, roof down, hoof down and enjoy. You can bumble along, but there are many cars better at cursing than an MR.

Enough of my ramblings. Enjoy the hunt.

Totally agree,buzyg.
These cars are so rewarding,on the nice flowing/twisty roads with some fast straights fling in,they are a Proper drivers car.
I have had many a good spirited run in mine,as many in here know,and gave been part of.
And No other car I have owned,or driven(which us many) can put as big a smile on my face for its rawness etc.
A true old school sports car for the spirited driver. :evil:

Only a GT3)get. 2 rs, 911 is better than it for the raw feel,as Other Porsches and most other Sports cars and Supercars are fun due to the high speed they can do,but nowhere near as involving to drive,imo

Yep also agree. Over nine years, mine has been by far the cheapest performance car I've had including all costs. Totally reliable, relatively cheap to service, excellent on fuel for the performance and the RFL cost is insignificant in view of zero depreciation.

It's still an utter bargain for a GT3 spec engine in a convertible that is compact enough to enjoy on anything from fast A roads to narrow B roads. Plenty of grunt everywhere for the road and I'm used to a C63 and litre sports bikes.

 

[john-e89]

One drawback however apart from the silly spring rates is get a smooth road and they’re just too tempting to drive quickly, very quickly.... :roll: You can’t bimble in these things, they’re too good at what they do given a decent road....Also your local fuel attendant will think you fancy them you’ll be in so often.... :lol:

Seriously go for it though....if it’s not for you you can sell it on without losing a dime if you pick wisely in the first place and you’ll have experienced one.

 

[Bing]

Not worth me adding to the wise advice and commentary in here, most of which I agree with. I’ve had my M since 2014 and it’s been the most reliable car in the household. Bought it on 24k, it is now on 93k. It’s my daily, and I’ve learned to enjoy driving it at every speed - I love going out in it every single time, and for me the need to warm it, the notchy gearbox, and the need to resist flooring it at every opportunity are part of its appeal. I don’t agree they are a pain to drive on any occasion other than a spirited hoon - would I like a nice wafty auto to do the hard miles ? Yes. Am I more than happy to live with my M and it’s foibles until I can afford a 3rd car that meets the criteria I’d set ? Also yes. After nearly 7 years does the M still put a stupid grin on my face when I engineer the opportunity to drive it like I stole it ? Every. Single. Time.

You need to test drive one. It is a completely different beast to the Zs you have driven before and you will either love it or hate it. My money is on the former

 

[Monster666]

Not worth me adding to the wise advice and commentary in here, most of which I agree with. I’ve had my M since 2014 and it’s been the most reliable car in the household. Bought it on 24k, it is now on 93k. It’s my daily, and I’ve learned to enjoy driving it at every speed - I love going out in it every single time, and for me the need to warm it, the notchy gearbox, and the need to resist flooring it at every opportunity are part of its appeal. I don’t agree they are a pain to drive on any occasion other than a spirited hoon - would I like a nice wafty auto to do the hard miles ? Yes. Am I more than happy to live with my M and it’s foibles until I can afford a 3rd car that meets the criteria I’d set ? Also yes. After nearly 7 years does the M still put a stupid grin on my face when I engineer the opportunity to drive it like I stole it ? Every. Single. Time.

You need to test drive one. It is a completely different beast to the Zs you have driven before and you will either love it or hate it. My money is on the former

You are spot on - have had mine from new in 7/06 and love driving it, looking at it and keeping an eye out for the blackcircles discount codes Lol

 

[PDJ]

Maybe not a common problem but something to be considered is the “M” service and fluids are different to the non M’s

The Diff oil is different

Engine oil is different and not that common a grade

Valve clearance checks and corrections are not a normal modern engine service service job

All the above and other small items can lead to them either non being done or done wrong.

When BMW carry out the valve clearance checks they use 3 feeler gauges one that is too thin, one that is just right and than is too wide. So it a go no go type of check if you have one that is worn, loose, too wide a gap call it what ever you want you could then measure the gap with feelers and order the right shim (BMW Manchester don’t keep them in stock in all the sizes, just what they have left from when these engine where popular) or just say it is ok till next service. Or order a new shim and strip it down to do it again when the engine is cold this just adds time and cost that not everyone is willing to pay for, just to get the valve clearances just right.

Since buying my Z4M I have done loads of work most is noted in the what have you done to your car thread, I have produced a spread sheet of the valve clearances so I know what is in there and this can help when trying to work out which shims to buy and I can trend the wear if there is any. And record the gap size not just a go no go pass fail.

With regards the oil I change the oil filter every few thousand miles as they are easy to do (don’t need to change the oil like in the days gone by) as it is at the top of the engine and they are cheap and preform well when clean.

Cars with low low mileage may have been stored badly over winter or any other time of year this can be worst than being used.

The rubber bushes will have aged with age as well as worn with wear so they can go on a low milage car.

There is an issue with the engine mounting bolts I have had all the bolts out and refitted and torqued up when I replaced the engine mounts. Bit of a pain is they shear off in the engine block.

Vannos rubber seals will age in time as well so it is a job to budget for £1000 ish see Mr Vannos

Rod bearings have been done to death in other threads but It is up to you I have King Racing bearings with ARP rod bolts in mine.

Rear brake pipe as with all Z4’s need replacing when rotten

The diff in the ‘M’ by design could be better, it is the left hand side output flange side that the bearing wears and you end up with a bit of play in it tell tail would be oil leaking and the play in it, input shaft oil seals can leak but most do.

 

[Japseroony]

So I think I now know why the car I have been looking at is still for sale - its the service history or lack of it :thumbsdown:

The car is an 07 reg with just under 26,000 on the clock and the service history is as follows;

26/06/07 Pre-delivery inspection
15/07/07 Running in service - BMW garage @ 1136 miles
23/08/11 Inspection 1 service Blue Bell Crewe @ 6216 miles
26/07/13 Oil service Blue Bell Crewe @ 18209 miles
24/11/18 Oil service Sytner Solihull @ 24206 miles

So no inspection 2 and only really sporadic oil changes so I think its been run on a very tight budget and not for me

 

[flimper]

Looks like it's been serviced as per miles rather than time

 

[Japseroony]

So spoken to the stealer who is apparently selling for a customer.

I asked what would buy the car taking into account the service history and he said they had turned down an offer of £19,000 so my interest ceased right there and then :thumbsdown:

 

[john-e89]

So spoken to the stealer who is apparently selling for a customer.

I asked what would buy the car taking into account the service history and he said they had turned down an offer of £19,000 so my interest ceased right there and then :thumbsdown:

There’s a blue one owner 9k miler for £30k for sale, I don’t know your budget but perhaps worth mentioning. :?

 

[Japseroony]

So spoken to the stealer who is apparently selling for a customer.

I asked what would buy the car taking into account the service history and he said they had turned down an offer of £19,000 so my interest ceased right there and then :thumbsdown:

There’s a blue one owner 9k miler for £30k for sale, I don’t know your budget but perhaps worth mentioning. :?

The cost is not the issue, stealer says full BMW service history which it clearly has not and then goes on to say he has turned down an offer of £19k which is probably garbage - he then puts the phone down so that’s me out regardless of the price.

Happy to take a look at the £30k one, can you point me in the right direction John?

 

[mr wilks]

So spoken to the stealer who is apparently selling for a customer.

I asked what would buy the car taking into account the service history and he said they had turned down an offer of £19,000 so my interest ceased right there and then :thumbsdown:

There’s a blue one owner 9k miler for £30k for sale, I don’t know your budget but perhaps worth mentioning. :?

The cost is not the issue, stealer says full BMW service history which it clearly has not and then goes on to say he has turned down an offer of £19k which is probably garbage - he then puts the phone down so that’s me out regardless of the price.

Happy to take a look at the £30k one, can you point me in the right direction John?

Id be sticking up a WANTED" post on here , there are countless examples forum owned that are well worth flushing out .
Eg If you want a "properly" well kept ZMR , low miles drop "Z4MO" a PM , he was after selling a while back , i know he still has it & is possibly THE best example ive come across in my 8-9 yrs forum time , "woolybear" is another who has a low miler , rarely used that you might prise off him :wink:

 

[john-e89]

So spoken to the stealer who is apparently selling for a customer.

I asked what would buy the car taking into account the service history and he said they had turned down an offer of £19,000 so my interest ceased right there and then :thumbsdown:

There’s a blue one owner 9k miler for £30k for sale, I don’t know your budget but perhaps worth mentioning. :?

The cost is not the issue, stealer says full BMW service history which it clearly has not and then goes on to say he has turned down an offer of £19k which is probably garbage - he then puts the phone down so that’s me out regardless of the price.

Happy to take a look at the £30k one, can you point me in the right direction John?

Yep have a look on cars and classics Jasp, if you don’t know the site click on 2010 on the year section and type Z4 in the description.....prob teachIng granny to suck eggs however.... Looks a beaut though, apart from Beedubs which is very modded but pristine this blue one is a stand out car in terms of miles and condition coupled with it being one owner.

 

[Beemingallover]

Re- driving the Z4MR. Since buying mine seven years ago I've taken it on 5 continental trips across France to Spain, Italy, south of France, clocking up something like 2.5k mls on each one and have enjoyed every mile day after day, autoroutes/back roads/mountain passes, all very satisfying including autoroutes where you sit back and enjoy the sheer power of the S54. On mountain passes the car's handling is a dream, point and squirt! The only time the car can be anything less is in stop/start traffic jams, constantly depressing the heavy clutch.
After 7 years and 40k mls I wouldn't swop it.
BTW I drive an E92 M3 (manual) in winter, a different beast but a more comfortable and easy drive. Nevertheless the M3 is still a very satisfying performance car but in a different manner. I did a trip to the Italian Lakes in the M3 over the Alps, a blast but not as nimble as the Z4M.
When people ask about the cars, I say that if I had to drive to Berlin in January I'd take the M3, in Summer to Southern Europe the Z4M every time without hesitation.

 

[z4mroadster]

Good evening,
I've just a bought a Z4m roadster, I believe it was previously owned by Paul Harvard on the forum who had obviously meticulously looked after the car, however the next owner, the guy I bought the car off I believe has been a bit dishonest with the state the car was in.

I know it's my fault as it was a private sale, anyway, the rear offside corner of the car has dropped slightly, I believe it's the spring.

I'm taking the car to the garage on Monday, hopefully they can fix it, however some advice please, is this common? What is the best solution?
Thank you in advance

 

[-Tom-]

Good evening,
I've just a bought a Z4m roadster, I believe it was previously owned by Paul Harvard on the forum who had obviously meticulously looked after the car, however the next owner, the guy I bought the car off I believe has been a bit dishonest with the state the car was in.

I know it's my fault as it was a private sale, anyway, the rear offside corner of the car has dropped slightly, I believe it's the spring.

I'm taking the car to the garage on Monday, hopefully they can fix it, however some advice please, is this common? What is the best solution?
Thank you in advance

Very, very common! if so, replace the other too, as that will likely go if it hasn’t already.

 

[Mr Tidy]

As Tom says it's very common, probably unusual not to have a spring snap. It's been happening forever:- https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9219

It isn't exclusive to Z4s either, 3 Series suffer from it too.

 

[tomscott]

At this age it's likely that the struts have gone too, doesn't help as the whole weight of the car ends up on the spring making them even more likely to break.