Z4 service intervals

[Simon813]

Help!!

I've placed a deposit down on a 2004 Z4 3.0l with a view to buying it as long as it is as described in the advert.

I've just been sent a photo of the service book by the present owner and it hasn't been serviced since Dec 2005!

It has done 29k miles now and the only service in the book is Dec 2005 at 14k miles.

Are these cars purely serviced on mileage? I can't imagine a car going 4.5 years without a service!

Si

[Mattt]

That's too long, unless the book wasn't stamped.

It's done based on mileage (or fuel consumption actually), but apparently if it's not used often then it will 'accelerate' the interval.

[duckson]

I know on my Z4M its the mileage limit (when the car tells you) or a max of 2yrs between services.

[Fox-]

The service counter only counts useage (Not mileage). If the car is barely used, it is entirely possible that it will go 3-5 years without a service, the intervals end up being roughly every 12-17k.

However, in the handbook it does clearly stated that if you are doing less than 6250 miles a year you should have the oil changed every 2 years. Most people simply look at the dash display and ignore this, though.

This is why low mileage cars are often a complete waste of time. Bet you'll pay a nice premium for that 'low mileage' as well...

[Mattt]

Fox- said:

The service counter only counts useage (Not mileage). If the car is barely used, it is entirely possible that it will go 3-5 years without a service, the intervals end up being roughly every 12-17k.

However, in the handbook it does clearly stated that if you are doing less than 6250 miles a year you should have the oil changed every 2 years. Most people simply look at the dash display and ignore this, though.

This is why low mileage cars are often a complete waste of time. Bet you'll pay a nice premium for that 'low mileage' as well...

The Service Manager told me that if it's hardly used then the interval timer will reduce much faster and it will still hit '0 miles'?

[Fox-]

Mattt said:

The Service Manager told me that if it's hardly used then the interval timer will reduce much faster and it will still hit '0 miles'?

It works out the remaining distance based on fuel consumption. So if it does a infrequent short trips from cold it'll suffer from poor fuel consumption which will reduce the service interval counter quicker than 35mpg Motorway jaunts. But if you are doing very low mileage this will still mean it can be 3+ years before it indicates a service is required.