To buy or not to buy - BMW Z4M Roadster
Discussion
Hi - been offered the opportunity to buy a Z4M Roadster in Lagos Blue. 2006, 100K with 3 owners, FSH, very straight and well looked after. Can buy for £9K - all recently serviced with new brakes etc, nothing needed. Do I buy and keep for long term ( I only drive 2K leisure) as an investment or do I sink in another £6 K for a low miler (c. 50K). Any words of wisdom appreciated.
Personally, if i were you, i would sink your extra £6K into a 50K mile one, but still tread carefully, and get an inspection done.
From experience (Having an E46 M3 with exact same engine) a car with 100K+ miles which has not had Head Gasket, or VANOS work done, could likely need both doing in the future - of course its a gamble, it could go forever, but my HG was done at 82K, VANOS checked at same time.
Great cars, great engine, is it an investment, not sure, if you get a low miler i'm sure you wont see it drop in value, but you need to factor the high service costs (Insp1+2 - where tappets are needed) cost of parts, tyres, and possible future HG and VANOS.
It could be cheap for a reason...
Buy carefully, spend what you can afford, get an independent inspection, and to rule out HG issues it needs a Leak Down test - because the HG goes between Cyl usually where they are hotter so Cyl's nearest the bulkhead.
All the best, and good luck.
Andy
From experience (Having an E46 M3 with exact same engine) a car with 100K+ miles which has not had Head Gasket, or VANOS work done, could likely need both doing in the future - of course its a gamble, it could go forever, but my HG was done at 82K, VANOS checked at same time.
Great cars, great engine, is it an investment, not sure, if you get a low miler i'm sure you wont see it drop in value, but you need to factor the high service costs (Insp1+2 - where tappets are needed) cost of parts, tyres, and possible future HG and VANOS.
It could be cheap for a reason...
Buy carefully, spend what you can afford, get an independent inspection, and to rule out HG issues it needs a Leak Down test - because the HG goes between Cyl usually where they are hotter so Cyl's nearest the bulkhead.
All the best, and good luck.
Andy
Edited by andyman_2006 on Friday 19th October 14:16
Buy it -you wont regret its a great car and amazing bang for buck
If its got a good history and been well looked after and you have a documented read out of the tappet clearance from insp 2 then your all set
A compression test would be nice to have as well
These cars were built to last so best of luck
If its got a good history and been well looked after and you have a documented read out of the tappet clearance from insp 2 then your all set
A compression test would be nice to have as well
These cars were built to last so best of luck
It seems cheap, but that's about the market price for what's considered a high-mileage, example of a Z4MR at this time of the year.
Mine is on 160k miles (bought a 9,000 miles) on the original head gasket, gearbox, VANOS, rod bearings, etc. Everything else has been replaced though.
Inspections/tyres/brakes/clutch/flywheel are consumables and a 50k car could be due them all (if a town/weekend car), and a 100k car could just have had them all done (or be a motorway commuter like mine). You need to buy on condition and history, not something as rudimentary as mileage.
You can check on the type of driving done by seeing the intervals that the inspections were done, as it's based on fuel used - so harder use / shorter journeys use more fuel than cruising (mine averages 27mpg over it's life and about 14,000 miles between OBC services - I do them more frequently because I track it a bit).
Mine is on 160k miles (bought a 9,000 miles) on the original head gasket, gearbox, VANOS, rod bearings, etc. Everything else has been replaced though.
Inspections/tyres/brakes/clutch/flywheel are consumables and a 50k car could be due them all (if a town/weekend car), and a 100k car could just have had them all done (or be a motorway commuter like mine). You need to buy on condition and history, not something as rudimentary as mileage.
You can check on the type of driving done by seeing the intervals that the inspections were done, as it's based on fuel used - so harder use / shorter journeys use more fuel than cruising (mine averages 27mpg over it's life and about 14,000 miles between OBC services - I do them more frequently because I track it a bit).
Thanks for all the advice guys, much appreciated. I am going to pass on this 104K Z4M - having taken another detailed look at it - as an everyday runner - it has been driven in rain, hail, snow and salty country roads 365 days a year. I found out that due to excessive corrosion all the brake pipes had to be replaced (ouch!) and it did not have a true specialist/ BMW dealer SH. As a long term acquisition it is not an attractive option. I am going to put my money into a sub 50K for a long term keeper.
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