Z4 soft top motor repair, cost?

J

jonnywells

Member
 Leicester
For years i have fancied a Z4 and fairly sure i will be getting 1 in the coming months :)

1 thing i am abit conserved about is what seems to be a very common problem reading on the forum is the soft top motor failing due to water corrosion. Its kinda making me look towards the 2006+ models as i read its been fixed in these.

I have searched the forum but cant really find out how much you would expect to pay to have the motor replaced god forbid it ever went. Understand there is a how-to to DIY but i dont really think i would fancy doing it.
 
search "+motor +cost" :thumbsup:

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16625&p=244018&hilit=+motor+cost#p244018

~£350 for the motor plus labor
 
jonnywells said:
For years i have fancied a Z4 and fairly sure i will be getting 1 in the coming months :)

1 thing i am abit conserved about is what seems to be a very common problem reading on the forum is the soft top motor failing due to water corrosion. Its kinda making me look towards the 2006+ models as i read its been fixed in these.

I have searched the forum but cant really find out how much you would expect to pay to have the motor replaced god forbid it ever went. Understand there is a how-to to DIY but i dont really think i would fancy doing it.
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The best way is to find say an 04 car that has had the Hardtop roof fitted on 98% of the time, that way the motors will be fine, and the material roof will still be dark black, Oh, did I mention I have an 04 for sale that meats the requirement :thumbsup:
 
Who will have a hard top fitted on a roadster 98% of its life? Better to have a Z4 coupe instead.
 
ksher said:
Who will have a hard top fitted on a roadster 98% of its life? Better to have a Z4 coupe instead.
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Yes I only liked my Z as a coupe, would not have bought it if there was no hardtop option. :) the coupe only came out later.
 
ksher said:
Who will have a hard top fitted on a roadster 98% of its life? Better to have a Z4 coupe instead.
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all your posts seem to be remarkably similar :poke:
 
I believe there's another thread somewhere, someone looking for a hardtop, & ksher said 'why would you want a hardtop, you should have got a coupe' or similar
 
I can't remember. But it is true if you have a roadster with hardtop on most of the times (even in summer).
 
Tweed said:
I believe there's another thread somewhere, someone looking for a hardtop, & ksher said 'why would you want a hardtop, you should have got a coupe' or similar
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this :)
 
Just to add that in the 15 months or so I've been using this forum, the issue of soft top motors breaking hasn;t appeared that often. Perhaps I'm missing the posts, but I don't think it's that common a problem - certainly not as common as snapping rear springs.

And someone correct me if I'm wrong, but surely fitting a hardtop won't prevent water ingress into the soft top motor? I thought it was to do with blocked drainpipes, which surely would still be draining water away regardless of what roof is fitted? I could be wrong though as I'm not fully clued up on the causes of motor failure and also the layout, etc of the drainage pipes.

Oh, and I agree with ksher! :D
 
a11y said:
Just to add that in the 15 months or so I've been using this forum, the issue of soft top motors breaking hasn;t appeared that often. Perhaps I'm missing the posts, but I don't think it's that common a problem - certainly not as common as snapping rear springs.

And someone correct me if I'm wrong, but surely fitting a hardtop won't prevent water ingress into the soft top motor? I thought it was to do with blocked drainpipes, which surely would still be draining water away regardless of what roof is fitted? I could be wrong though as I'm not fully clued up on the causes of motor failure and also the layout, etc of the drainage pipes.

Oh, and I agree with ksher! :D
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I'm with a11y on this. Theere are hundreds of members here and only a few occurences. Of course it's a pita if it happens and gets written about a lot. More worrying would be a Porshe if the engine just failed - another 'common' issue.

Hardtop - def. stops water as instead of flowing around the canvas and down the drains, the hardtop seals to the quarter panels and rear edge draining water over the bodywork. Not enough reason to fit a hardtop. IMHO clean the drains, don't park under trees that drop debris, dry the gulley out if possible by keeping the roof down when possible, but don't worry about it.

op - Go buy a Zed and enjoy
 
Thanks cj, I didn't realise that was how the hardtop fitted. My Z4 had evidence of having been parked near trees, etc when I bought it (leaves in the panel area where the wiper mechanism is), so I was worried about blocked drains. Not an issue in the least with mine as I found out when I protected the roof fabric: excess stuff found its way dwn the drains and pooled under the car.

The way I see it, roof failure is a possible risk but buying a secondhand car is risky full-stop. I keep a "reserve fund" in a savings account just in case, but I've done that with all cars I've bought and not just for soft-top motor repair...
 
yeah, hardtop 'seals' outside of the roof/car joint so would stop water getting in there.
 
Don't think you need to concern yourself with a motor failure, I've only seen 2 posts on the net that have had this problem :)
 
It's certainly not a deal breaker as far as buying a Z4. Literally every single car on the road has a fault somewhere, you'd never buy anything if you concentrated on those isolated incidences.

Honestly I wouldn't let it worry you :)
 
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