Low miles & Lots of owners - Good Buy ?
Discussion
I'd be grateful for thoughts on buying a BMW Z4 2.0 which has very few miles and quite a number of owners, 2016 car current mileage about 11,000 miles and it's had 4 owners, we would be the 5th. It's a good price given the market at present, but we are worried that the very little use it's had may become an issue later on if we buy. Looking at it MOT history, it has done about 1100 miles each year since 2019 when it's first MOT was done. I get that these types of cars can be summer toy but less that 2K miles a year seems extreme.
The other slight nagging doubt is that in 2019 it was sold through BCA auctions, which for so low miles I would have thought BMW would have been keen to retail that car. Could have been leased I suppose.
Thoughts and comments much appreciated
The other slight nagging doubt is that in 2019 it was sold through BCA auctions, which for so low miles I would have thought BMW would have been keen to retail that car. Could have been leased I suppose.
Thoughts and comments much appreciated
Main concern would be has it been serviced according to schedule? The required maximum duration between services is sometimes ignored on low mileage cars.
End of the day if it's condition and history check out then I wouldn't let it put me off a car like this, especially if priced well. It's the sort of thing people might own for a few seasons of good weather then pass on, or only weekend use etc.
End of the day if it's condition and history check out then I wouldn't let it put me off a car like this, especially if priced well. It's the sort of thing people might own for a few seasons of good weather then pass on, or only weekend use etc.
Has it got full service history, all done on time?
Nothing on the MOT history which raises a red flag? Even as an advisory.
Like you said, 2 seater cars are often weekend toys so it’s far more likely to have more owners and less miles than a 3 series oil burner.
We had a 2007 Z4 a few years back and despite being 11 years old had only done 43k miles but had 5+ owners. Currently have a 330D which is 2015 and only done 24k miles, no idea about it’s previous history but not skipped a beat thus far.
Nothing on the MOT history which raises a red flag? Even as an advisory.
Like you said, 2 seater cars are often weekend toys so it’s far more likely to have more owners and less miles than a 3 series oil burner.
We had a 2007 Z4 a few years back and despite being 11 years old had only done 43k miles but had 5+ owners. Currently have a 330D which is 2015 and only done 24k miles, no idea about it’s previous history but not skipped a beat thus far.
I got my V8 Vantage when it was 11 years old and 36,0000 miles.
It had 6 previous owners.
Each owner had at least one year warranty on it, so a minimum of 6 years of “honeymoon” periods, when if any little niggle occurred it was attended to.
It was serviced every year and stamped up to the hilt in the service book.
Do I care when I drive it that I’m the 7th owner of what has been for its entire life a pampered toy.
No.
It had 6 previous owners.
Each owner had at least one year warranty on it, so a minimum of 6 years of “honeymoon” periods, when if any little niggle occurred it was attended to.
It was serviced every year and stamped up to the hilt in the service book.
Do I care when I drive it that I’m the 7th owner of what has been for its entire life a pampered toy.
No.
Edited by Emily's dad on Saturday 25th September 19:46
I bought a 2015 warm hatchback that I’m the 6th owner on. Mileage was 50k however I was hesitant to look at it because of the amount of owners and figured there must be something wrong with it.
When I viewed it, the car was absolutely immaculate - honestly looked brand new. The service history showed that it had always been serviced on time including the first 4 stamps being at a main dealer so I ended up getting it.
Car has been absolutely perfect since and I still can’t work out why it’s had so many owners. Has definitely taught me not just to assume something about a car due to the number of owners without looking at it.
When I viewed it, the car was absolutely immaculate - honestly looked brand new. The service history showed that it had always been serviced on time including the first 4 stamps being at a main dealer so I ended up getting it.
Car has been absolutely perfect since and I still can’t work out why it’s had so many owners. Has definitely taught me not just to assume something about a car due to the number of owners without looking at it.
2 seaters seem to change ownership quite often, usually due to changing circumstances.
When I bought my 2006 Z4M Coupe in December 2019 it had 7 previous keepers, but 76K miles didn't seem high for a 13 year old car and it had decent service history which is probably the critical factor.
When I bought my 2006 Z4M Coupe in December 2019 it had 7 previous keepers, but 76K miles didn't seem high for a 13 year old car and it had decent service history which is probably the critical factor.
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff