Discussion
Mr Whippy said:
The thing is suspension, diff etc won't add any more running costs if they don't break, and I'm sure new diff/springs etc are costly for any Z4.
Discs/pads might cost a bit more, but not excessively so. Tyres are about the same too from what I've read if you generally do road work.
The engine seems to be the thing that gives you the pain, and the M badge.
Not sure then if the M badge and the engine are justifiable for the added expense... they probably are... but I do think it probably is excessive!
Avoiding BMW for lots of stuff probably makes the excessive feeling go away somewhat.
Not really sure I'd use BMW for an M because they do seem to charge a heck of a lot more for almost the same work as a non-M. Apart from the clearance checking/adjustment there is nothing else is there... and that isn't even that hard.
Dave
inspection services do include stuff like changing the diff oil, etc so it's not justvalve clearences and expensive engine oil' but i see your point - there is definitely an "m tax" Discs/pads might cost a bit more, but not excessively so. Tyres are about the same too from what I've read if you generally do road work.
The engine seems to be the thing that gives you the pain, and the M badge.
Not sure then if the M badge and the engine are justifiable for the added expense... they probably are... but I do think it probably is excessive!
Avoiding BMW for lots of stuff probably makes the excessive feeling go away somewhat.
Not really sure I'd use BMW for an M because they do seem to charge a heck of a lot more for almost the same work as a non-M. Apart from the clearance checking/adjustment there is nothing else is there... and that isn't even that hard.
Dave
Having said that, despite mine is by far the most reliable car i've ever owned (touch wood) and i'm not sure theres much depreciation left in it - there were only about 650 roadsters and 600 coupes sold in the uk, and will the z3m set a floor price for them? i lost 12k over 2 years on a diesel 1 series, my M is a bargain by comparison :-)
biggest problem is what to get next. nothing comes close for the money
Just need to post to counter this 'if something goes wrong there could be a £1K bill in it for me'
I very much doubt the Z4 is any different to any other BMW or M car out there. It takes only a small amount of knowledge and committment to avoid the 1K bills.
For instance I have had the airbag light on my M5 for the last three months. Bought a < £100 device off hte internet after a little google research. It told me that the airbag ECU was faulty, both front seat sensors, and the passenger airbag unit.
I rang a well know SE BMW dealer to find the cost, and they refused to believe the tool I had bought and insisted that I take it to them for a proper estimate, fair enough.
It took two weeks to book it in, at which point they confirmed the findings of tool I had bought on the internet (to be fair it is the same software they use), and the estimated bill was £1300 including the four plus rubbish.
Considering that the airbag light was now part of the new MOT, I felt I didn't really have much of a choice. Sort a few indies who all put their price at just over half the BMW price.
However, little more research on the internet and knowing that whatever I did the airbag unit was going to be replaced anyway. I punted on a £25 airbag unit, of which there are many on ebay (pretty much all the 5 series use the same unit), replaced the airbag ecu in the car which took about fifteen minutes, plugged the software in, selected recode new unit, and about five monute later the car was reporting that not only the ecu was working, but that all the ancillaries connected were functioning normally (seat sensors etc).
So for £25 including delivery I saved £1300. I actually rang BMW to cancel the repair date expecting them to be a little shocked but they weren't even surprised.
Unfortunately they obviously have so many people who would pay because they have bought into the idea that dealer mechanics have mystical powers to do things 'properly' and that M cars in particular are something special.
I very much doubt the Z4 is any different to any other BMW or M car out there. It takes only a small amount of knowledge and committment to avoid the 1K bills.
For instance I have had the airbag light on my M5 for the last three months. Bought a < £100 device off hte internet after a little google research. It told me that the airbag ECU was faulty, both front seat sensors, and the passenger airbag unit.
I rang a well know SE BMW dealer to find the cost, and they refused to believe the tool I had bought and insisted that I take it to them for a proper estimate, fair enough.
It took two weeks to book it in, at which point they confirmed the findings of tool I had bought on the internet (to be fair it is the same software they use), and the estimated bill was £1300 including the four plus rubbish.
Considering that the airbag light was now part of the new MOT, I felt I didn't really have much of a choice. Sort a few indies who all put their price at just over half the BMW price.
However, little more research on the internet and knowing that whatever I did the airbag unit was going to be replaced anyway. I punted on a £25 airbag unit, of which there are many on ebay (pretty much all the 5 series use the same unit), replaced the airbag ecu in the car which took about fifteen minutes, plugged the software in, selected recode new unit, and about five monute later the car was reporting that not only the ecu was working, but that all the ancillaries connected were functioning normally (seat sensors etc).
So for £25 including delivery I saved £1300. I actually rang BMW to cancel the repair date expecting them to be a little shocked but they weren't even surprised.
Unfortunately they obviously have so many people who would pay because they have bought into the idea that dealer mechanics have mystical powers to do things 'properly' and that M cars in particular are something special.
spud989 said:
Feel free to mail me.
Cheers, I will do if that's ok!Gruber said:
The 1st to 2nd issue is a bit of a pain, but it's not a major difficulty, as far as I recall (it's over two years since I sold mine). And there's a modification that solves the problem - passage of time means I can't remember the details.
Worth knowing - and I think like others have said before this, to be honest, once you've managed to get in second, a little right foot makes you rapidly forget. I think the 'box is probably a very minor concern compared to overall.carl_w said:
The costs for mine are in my profile, should be reasonably accurate.
Thanks Carl, this was really useful. Out of interest, what are people's views on the warranty? I'm persoanlly sceptical of warranty products - I'll gladly take the 1 year AUC one, but renewal prices sound hefty (£800-£1k/year from what I've read?) and my scepticism is based on the fact that BMW will make the product to generate a profit, therefore in theory their maths would suggest a typical case won't use the full value.
I suppose the flip side is that to them the value of the work carried out under warranty is far lower than the value to the customer, so both parties benefit...this is not exaclty a make or break thing, but obviously monthly warranty payments do add to the cost.
julian64 said:
Just need to post to counter this 'if something goes wrong there could be a £1K bill in it for me'
I very much doubt the Z4 is any different to any other BMW or M car out there. It takes only a small amount of knowledge and committment to avoid the 1K bills.
For instance I have had the airbag light on my M5 for the last three months. Bought a < £100 device off hte internet after a little google research. It told me that the airbag ECU was faulty, both front seat sensors, and the passenger airbag unit.
I rang a well know SE BMW dealer to find the cost, and they refused to believe the tool I had bought and insisted that I take it to them for a proper estimate, fair enough.
It took two weeks to book it in, at which point they confirmed the findings of tool I had bought on the internet (to be fair it is the same software they use), and the estimated bill was £1300 including the four plus rubbish.
Considering that the airbag light was now part of the new MOT, I felt I didn't really have much of a choice. Sort a few indies who all put their price at just over half the BMW price.
However, little more research on the internet and knowing that whatever I did the airbag unit was going to be replaced anyway. I punted on a £25 airbag unit, of which there are many on ebay (pretty much all the 5 series use the same unit), replaced the airbag ecu in the car which took about fifteen minutes, plugged the software in, selected recode new unit, and about five monute later the car was reporting that not only the ecu was working, but that all the ancillaries connected were functioning normally (seat sensors etc).
So for £25 including delivery I saved £1300. I actually rang BMW to cancel the repair date expecting them to be a little shocked but they weren't even surprised.
Unfortunately they obviously have so many people who would pay because they have bought into the idea that dealer mechanics have mystical powers to do things 'properly' and that M cars in particular are something special.
Thing is though, £1000 is really not that hard to hit. Service and a couple of tyres, maybe some brakes and we're already over that.I very much doubt the Z4 is any different to any other BMW or M car out there. It takes only a small amount of knowledge and committment to avoid the 1K bills.
For instance I have had the airbag light on my M5 for the last three months. Bought a < £100 device off hte internet after a little google research. It told me that the airbag ECU was faulty, both front seat sensors, and the passenger airbag unit.
I rang a well know SE BMW dealer to find the cost, and they refused to believe the tool I had bought and insisted that I take it to them for a proper estimate, fair enough.
It took two weeks to book it in, at which point they confirmed the findings of tool I had bought on the internet (to be fair it is the same software they use), and the estimated bill was £1300 including the four plus rubbish.
Considering that the airbag light was now part of the new MOT, I felt I didn't really have much of a choice. Sort a few indies who all put their price at just over half the BMW price.
However, little more research on the internet and knowing that whatever I did the airbag unit was going to be replaced anyway. I punted on a £25 airbag unit, of which there are many on ebay (pretty much all the 5 series use the same unit), replaced the airbag ecu in the car which took about fifteen minutes, plugged the software in, selected recode new unit, and about five monute later the car was reporting that not only the ecu was working, but that all the ancillaries connected were functioning normally (seat sensors etc).
So for £25 including delivery I saved £1300. I actually rang BMW to cancel the repair date expecting them to be a little shocked but they weren't even surprised.
Unfortunately they obviously have so many people who would pay because they have bought into the idea that dealer mechanics have mystical powers to do things 'properly' and that M cars in particular are something special.
That said, you're quite right, it's stunning how bills can mount up. My 7 series' laast service at Park Lane was £2300 for the previous owner. £500 of this was to replace the FM modoule for the stereo system (£20 on ebay) while £67.50 was charged to test drive the thing to check for wind noise (windscreen - the owner appears to have had a new one fitted under the insurance after this one "cracked" shortly after the service, didn't fancy the £1000 for a new screen from BMW)
As you say, many big bills can be avoided if you use your brain a little
you can get warranty costs down a bit by not having the full breakdown cover (you still get a free tow to the garage, it's in the small print) and/or having an excess. Mine is 69 quid a month with 100 excess. You can reduce further by picking just the engine/driveline components.
it feels like bad value as I've not used it
it feels like bad value as I've not used it
I'm the guy that started this thread last Xmas, lovely cars & as the title says they're such a bargain right now.
I ended up buying a fantastic example though I looked at quite a lot & there's quite a lot of rough examples out there.
Might be getting rid soon though so feel free to pm me, it'll be much cheaper than 18 grand for a straight sale!
Crags
I ended up buying a fantastic example though I looked at quite a lot & there's quite a lot of rough examples out there.
Might be getting rid soon though so feel free to pm me, it'll be much cheaper than 18 grand for a straight sale!
Crags
pilchardthecat said:
you can get warranty costs down a bit by not having the full breakdown cover (you still get a free tow to the garage, it's in the small print) and/or having an excess. Mine is 69 quid a month with 100 excess. You can reduce further by picking just the engine/driveline components.
it feels like bad value as I've not used it
I've used it 4 times now and i stupidly got it with the £100 excess...... grrrr.it feels like bad value as I've not used it
For the first year nothing, then things have started to wear i suppose.
Anyway for peace of mind and the wish to go main dealer warrenty isnt really an opition (£100 per hourly rates in force at Edinburgh BMW dealership
)Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff