Price guides - Z4

[steeevvvooo]

Mr Whippy said:

Hmmm, I think Parkers website is showing not that much increase...

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/road-tax/?deriv=3304...

£245 after April 2010, not a huge amount.

Over 225g/km you will get the full £400 odd road tax though.

Dave

You’re right! Phew!!

Apparently the top band only applies to cars built after 2006.

[tomTVR]

Just picked mine up last night. Hadnt realised how st the steering is on these things, there is a noticable delay between turning the wheel and the car changing direction.

Still love it though also glad i went for a 'cheap' one.

Edited by tomTVR on Friday 9th January 17:13

[steeevvvooo]

tomTVR said:

Just picked mine up last night. Hadnt realised how st the steering is on these thing, there is a noticable delat between turning the wheel and the car changing direction.

Still love it though also glad i went for a 'cheap' one.

Tom, if you don’t mind my asking, what did you get (and a rough price if that’s not being too nosey!). It’d help me a lot tomorrow…

[Mr Whippy]

tomTVR said:

Just picked mine up last night. Hadnt realised how st the steering is on these things, there is a noticable delay between turning the wheel and the car changing direction.

Still love it though also glad i went for a 'cheap' one.

Does it change in sport mode?

I didn't notice it on the 2.5Si I drove, and I assume the steering rack/assistance motor is the same?

Maybe the older ones just get a tad laggy, could be an easy fix...


Anyway, give me a few months after I get one. I'll be tinkering with everything in the ECU... very tempted to just put the "sport" mode steering assistance as totally linear and fairly heavy, with the fastest possible response.

Brummm!



Steeevoooo, I think TomTVR got his for £8800, with about 80,000 miles and a good specced 3.0 (no m-sport seats but most of everything else) ellipsoids and a dark metallic silver iirc.

There are GOOD cheap ones out there, but some might be cheap and rough, so it's just a matter of going to look... takes time but if you find one then you have saved a few £1,000...

Dave

Edited by Mr Whippy on Friday 9th January 17:23

[Mr Whippy]

cramman said:

Just spotted this one, thoughts please?

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...

May have a look after me hols if available? Don't think I've seen alot in this colour on the road, I'd love on in that nice, not dark, not light BMW Blue (probs has a proper name but I know what I mean) tho.

Edit - That'll be Interlagos Blue Metallic then!

Edited by cramman on Friday 9th January 12:45

Gutted, someone managed to get to this before me...

Shame they didn't ring me to say as I wasted two hours driving there and back to find out it had gone earlier today... the guy I spoke to wasn't even bloody there at the time I had said I was going to view it!

Ah well, know not to bother with them in future

Dave

[steeevvvooo]

Sorry the hear about that! It's a bit cr@p of them to not let you know!!

Finally put a deposit down on one today!! Went for a middle of the road, not the expensive 05 plate, and not one of the older 2003 models.

Got a 04 plate with 35k miles
3.0l auto steptronic
black heated elec memory seats
parking sensors
18" split rim 5 spokes
Will have a Inp1 service (although it was a few thousand overdue when I test drove it )
12 months warranty and MOT

Not a "bargain" as such, but seems decent, and the warranty and fresh service give me some piece of mind.

[Mr Whippy]

steeevvvooo said:

Sorry the hear about that! It's a bit cr@p of them to not let you know!!

Finally put a deposit down on one today!! Went for a middle of the road, not the expensive 05 plate, and not one of the older 2003 models.

Got a 04 plate with 35k miles
3.0l auto steptronic
black heated elec memory seats
parking sensors
18" split rim 5 spokes
Will have a Inp1 service (although it was a few thousand overdue when I test drove it )
12 months warranty and MOT

Not a "bargain" as such, but seems decent, and the warranty and fresh service give me some piece of mind.

Good work

Not a bargain models make sense if you can't chase cars all day long and go see them as soon as they pop up! Also, if they have thrown in 12mnth warranty/mot and an isp1 that might be worth maybe £750 vs a bargain that might have much less on offer...


I was ready to put a deposit down today at asking price but hey ho... I had an appointment this morning, otherwise I'd have been up there at 9am
That said, the service there when I turned up actually put me off them anyway. They didn't seem interested at all that I'd turned up ready to spend £11,000, didn't take my name and offer to source another or contact me when they did etc...
I guess they are doing too well to need to so I've put in an order for the spec I want and my budget at a garage who gave me a great service on a previous test drive! May as well give someone willing to work for a sale some business

[tomTVR]

steeevvvooo said:

tomTVR said:

Just picked mine up last night. Hadnt realised how st the steering is on these thing, there is a noticable delat between turning the wheel and the car changing direction.

Still love it though also glad i went for a 'cheap' one.

Tom, if you don’t mind my asking, what did you get (and a rough price if that’s not being too nosey!). It’d help me a lot tomorrow…

£8200+ road tax at a specialist sports car dealer. Its a 04 plate 3.0i SE manual with ellipsoids and HiFi. 88k on the clock but you wouldnt be able to tell and has FBMWSH.

[tomTVR]

Mr Whippy said:

tomTVR said:

Just picked mine up last night. Hadnt realised how st the steering is on these things, there is a noticable delay between turning the wheel and the car changing direction.

Still love it though also glad i went for a 'cheap' one.

Does it change in sport mode?

I didn't notice it on the 2.5Si I drove, and I assume the steering rack/assistance motor is the same?

Maybe the older ones just get a tad laggy, could be an easy fix...


Anyway, give me a few months after I get one. I'll be tinkering with everything in the ECU... very tempted to just put the "sport" mode steering assistance as totally linear and fairly heavy, with the fastest possible response.

Brummm!

It weights up in sport mode but there is still a delay. I was overtaking a car with a smallish (but safe) gap, turned in sharp to get back in lane, not quick enough so gave it more lock and almost put the damn thing in the hedge! Probably something to get used to, turn the wheel a fraction earlier than you'd think.

Worst thing is the ride though, the horrid sports suspension just bounces over the bumps in the road - got to really work hard at the wheel to keep it going straight on the B roads round here. Maybe when the sun comes out it will be easier.

I still love the car though despite those annoyances. I'm still going outside just to look at the thing - love it!

[steeevvvooo]

tomTVR said:

£8200+ road tax at a specialist sports car dealer. Its a 04 plate 3.0i SE manual with ellipsoids and HiFi. 88k on the clock but you wouldnt be able to tell and has FBMWSH.

Sounds good to me! Uprated Hi-fi would have been great, as I can imagine it get's a little noisy with the roof down, but you'd have to wait a LONG time for the "perfect" spec I think, especially when you want everything!!

I think higher mileage won't be so bad on a car that's been looked after. I was a bit worried about the service being thousands of miles overdue, but suppose that I can start from a fresh slate now.

My only concern was I though the service intervals are dependent on driving style and stresses right? If that's the case, it might have had a hard life if it's long overdue the Insp1 (9k miles overdue I think!! ) with only 35k on the clock. One of the reasons I wanted the extended warranty. If anything needs attention, I'm hoping the warranty will get it good as new again.

Whippy, I'm sure one will turn up for you soon mate, keep looking!

[Mattt]

If it was 9k overdue a service, it shouldn't be sold as an AUC I thought.

[Mr Whippy]

steeevvvooo said:

Whippy, I'm sure one will turn up for you soon mate, keep looking!

Hehe, I'm sure too

Just gutting as I was *that* close and could have jacked in the looking/travelling in one swoop and have got everything I wanted... hey ho, must be fate


I did two checks on price, so FYI on anyone wanting an idea of price... (rounded to nearest £50)



The very early (2003 03) 3.0i SMG I may get from work:
24k miles
Trade excellent £9,900
Average £9,000
Below £8,000
Dealer retail £12,700
Private sale £10,900

That is with xenon, prof satnav, 10 speaker (not carver), wheel controls, rear parking, wind deflector, normal heated seats, 108's, maldives blue, dazzle mirrors, 6cd changer.




The one I went to see today, that sold for asking (apparently) at £10,950
3.0i SE (2004 04)
30k miles
Trade excellent £9,900
Average £9,000
Below £8,000
Dealer retail £12,750
Private sale £11,000

That is with, 108's, Carver, Toledo Blue, heated M Sport seats, wheel controls, xenons, parking sensors, and I think that was it give or take.



I was surprised how much the SMG is worth vs the one I wanted to buy today. The M Sports seats didn't come out until the 03/04 model, and were only a £450 option apparently (how cheap!)

Either way, the trader sold at private sale prices, and I know the SMG at work isn't in excellent condition (108's doing the usual thing of bubbling), and the hood/general bodywork needs a good scrub up, and the front lower bumper (underneath pretty much) has had the usual scrapes...

I rekon if SMG is my bag, and I find the normal seats ok, I could bag that for £10,000 cash...

Just need to have a test drive to find out about both seats and smg. I think she was going to take it to BMW this weekend to see how much they *wouldn't* give the present owner trade in
I'd personally prefer M Sports over prof sat nav as I find the sat nav fussy in the clean dash lines...


Considering what Tom is saying about keeping it on the road, SMG might help with both hands always on the wheel

FK452's are what you need by the sounds of it (shame most cars I see have LOADS of tyre life left, doh!)

Dave

Edited by Mr Whippy on Saturday 10th January 21:58

[Ciao1]

steeevvvooo said:

Sorry the hear about that! It's a bit cr@p of them to not let you know!!

Finally put a deposit down on one today!! Went for a middle of the road, not the expensive 05 plate, and not one of the older 2003 models.

Got a 04 plate with 35k miles
3.0l auto steptronic
black heated elec memory seats
parking sensors
18" split rim 5 spokes
Will have a Inp1 service (although it was a few thousand overdue when I test drove it )
12 months warranty and MOT

Not a "bargain" as such, but seems decent, and the warranty and fresh service give me some piece of mind.

Glad to hear you've taken the plunge. Post some pics when you pick it up!

[steeevvvooo]

Mattt said:

If it was 9k overdue a service, it shouldn't be sold as an AUC I thought.

This wasn't the BMW approved used car, it was from a smaller dealer. Looks like it was either traded in or picked up at auction cheap due to the long overdue service, as the other cars in the garage were Aston, Maserati etc!

The dealer assured me it would have a full and proper Insp1, provided by their affiliated (non-BMW) garage, using genuine BMW parts, so I'm happy it should be in good condition when I pick it up.

Out of interest, what sort of miles would an "average" Z4 have the insp1? If it's 9k overdue at 35k, would it be fair to assume it's had a hard life? I've heard people say the intervals can be up to 15,000 if the car is driven with a very light right foot, but can be a lot less if you drive-it-like-you-stole-it...

[Mr Whippy]

steeevvvooo said:

Out of interest, what sort of miles would an "average" Z4 have the insp1? If it's 9k overdue at 35k, would it be fair to assume it's had a hard life? I've heard people say the intervals can be up to 15,000 if the car is driven with a very light right foot, but can be a lot less if you drive-it-like-you-stole-it...

If you say 12k average

12k oil
24k insp1

9k overdue lands you at about 33k

So if it had

13k oil
26k insp1 (overdue 9k) = 35k

So I wouldn't say it's hard a hard life, but missing a service by 9k seems quite a long time.

Still should be fine though. I've seen cars in poor states of repair having missed services get a good load of TLC and they run fine... as long as it hasn't been missed and absolutely abused from cold (which would probably damage any engine in time), then I think you will be fine

Good engines... just make sure it gets what it needs and enjoy!

Dave

[Mattt]

It's not an ultra rare car, I'd give that one a miss - and wait for a good one to come up.

[steeevvvooo]

Mattt said:

It's not an ultra rare car, I'd give that one a miss - and wait for a good one to come up.

I assume that's for me, in which case it's too late! I put a deposit down yesterday!!

I'll let you know how it all is when I pick it up next week. I tend to buy things with my heart rather than my head, which can be a problem?!

Still seems to be good value to me. I know "there are lots about", etc etc, but it's hard to find something with the right spec, age, mileage etc etc. It's not like it's a Ford Focus where there are hundreds for sale within 10 miles of pretty much anyone (which is of course part of the attraction of the Z4 ).

The "if you wait long enough..." argument is self fulfilling, due to depreciation . I just closed my eyes and took the plunge.

[nodz17]

stevooo - if this is the car i think it is (one of the Z4s at ADG) then it looked pretty well priced to me - and ADG are supposed to be good guys to deal with. Did you look at the other z4 they have? Any impressions? I'd also be interested in knowing what price you paid as the other car may be of interest to me - PM me if possible.
Cheers.
Nodz

[steeevvvooo]

nodz17 said:

stevooo - if this is the car i think it is (one of the Z4s at ADG) then it looked pretty well priced to me - and ADG are supposed to be good guys to deal with. Did you look at the other z4 they have? Any impressions? I'd also be interested in knowing what price you paid as the other car may be of interest to me - PM me if possible.
Cheers.
Nodz

It was from ADG, and the guy seemed pretty straight up, and it was a comfort to see Aston and Maserati in the same garage. You'd hope they are a decent garage with those type of cars lying around, and I'm glad you've heard good things as well!

It was in good condition, and seemed well priced. The only thing I think I'll need is a wheel re-furb, as there's some rust on the inside of the 5 spokes, as they all seem to have.

[nodz17]

maseratis are their thing really.

did you see the other z4 they have for sale while you were there?

and did you get a discount off the sticker price on yours?

any info gratefully received.

cheers.