2009 Z4 35i Let the DIY and slight cosmetic modding begin.

[General.Massacre]

Sh*t, thats not nice after buying the car to find things and shortcuts taken, definately a worrying thought. makes people wonder what else is shortcutted, and that other people need to be aware of for their next Purchases.

Regarding the Dealer services etc, ive also found, that i dont mind using my mechanic for some things (talking on my Astra Coupe now), but ido prefer going to the dealer for somethings, albeit them be a little more expensive, id much rathere that.

Good luck with the check up, and i agree that John be the best bet going forward.
ill be using him also.

 

[GoCart]

The dangers of a second hand car bud, and even worse, a "modded" car...

At least you are making a great car great again.

Well done, and good luck to you :coolShake:

 

[osiris]

The dangers of a second hand car bud, and even worse, a "modded" car...

At least you are making a great car great again.

Well done, and good luck to you :coolShake:

Yup, I have definitely learned my lesson here. I don't think I will buy privately again.

Dealership next time so I can drop the car and the keys off with them if I find shit like this and tell them to keep the car and get the whole deal reversed under consumer protection act.

What really bugs me is that the car had an inspection done.....I think the inspector looked at the car through a set of binoculars from a km away and said everything is sweet bud, cause that inspection cost over 5k. Going to phone the bank and speak to them about this actually.

Leaking oil from the tappet cover that's so bad that smoke literally comes pluming out my bonnet if I drive the car a little hard.
Coolant leaking that when I removed the covers and started the car came dribbling down onto my face.

Turbo waste gate rattle from hell, like how the hell didn't they pick that up?

Sump gasket leaking.

car in need of a major service as service indicator light was on.

Xenons literally facing the ground and lighting up about 3m in front of me where I couldn't see a damn thing at night without the brights. how the hell does a car get through roadworthy when the lights are facing the ground? This I would love to know.

Xenon sensor tied to the wishbone with a copper wire. :skit:

Don't even get me started with this exhaust.

This is what I can think of now. Surely the inspector should have picked these things up and the flipping roadworthy place???? Sheesh when I go for roadworthy they scrutinize the crap out of my car and I always end up having to replace something or fix something.
If I had rocked up with this car they would have sent me home laughing into the sunset.

---

I have just phoned the bank about this and an investigation is now in effect into all of this cause quite frankly this is nonsense that I have to pay monthly for a car that's got things that should have never allowed it to pass roadworthy or the 5.6k inspection that was performed.

 

[GoCart]

I feel your pain bud, one should definitely not take too much stock in any kind of "inspection" you were't personally involved with. :thumbdo:

 

[NBN]

I would've returned that car back to the owner, there is no such thing as 'Voetstoets' anymore.

Were any of these "issues" disclosed up front to you?

 

[Matty125i]

:clapper: turbos look good

 

[osiris]

I was told about the wastegate rattle the day I collected the keys. Up till that point it was masked with JB4 rattle fix.
I was told about the smell of smoke the day I collected the keys too. Was told not to worry that its to do with downpipes being fitted. That made no sense to me.

What I find disturbing is how the hell this car passed such an expensive inspection when I can't even get a car through roadworthy with a tiny oil leak of any kind. Let alone coolant leaks and multiple oil leaks and all the other issues I listed above.

They even check the level of my lights at my roadworthy testing station, they won't fail me on that because my 330i were manually adjustable, but if its facing the ground like the Z4 they would come up to me and say "Sir your headlights are facing the ground and its controlled by a sensor so go get the sensor replaced and come back, you have 3 days before this test expires and you have to pay for a new test".

 

[///Avi]

Osiris, this story is just getting worse. R5k for an inspection and it was obviously not done to the standards expected. I'm sorry but that is absolute BS.

I hope you are sorted soon bud. BTW the 'new' turbos look good.

 

[Fruks]

Osiris, this story is just getting worse. R5k for an inspection and it was obviously not done to the standards expected. I'm sorry but that is absolute BS.

I hope you are sorted soon bud. BTW the 'new' turbos look good.

and a seller fibbing about issues

 

[osiris]

Osiris, this story is just getting worse. R5k for an inspection and it was obviously not done to the standards expected. I'm sorry but that is absolute BS.

I hope you are sorted soon bud. BTW the 'new' turbos look good.

Tell me about it. I can't remember if it was 5k or 6k I think it was close to 6k and its put as part of the finance agreement, So I am paying monthly for a BS inspection! and paying huge money for repairs that this BS inspection didn't pick up.

Thanks for the compliments on the Turbos guys, lets hope they last and make the car sound like a normal car again.

 

[General.Massacre]

i think thats unacceptable bud.
I agree with the above post, i would of gone to the seller and demanded that he take back the car, or reimbursenwhat youve spent fixing her.
Private sales are a lucky packet. but still shouldnt mean you get lemons like this.

I feel bad for you and hope this doesnt happen to anyone else, including myself.

do some research on the CPA, and go from there. ombudsman, and legal if needed.

 

[that_guy_Ettiene]

Sad part about this whole deal is that the car was a "fanatics" car.
Seriously, disclose any and every flaw/problem the car your are trying to sell.
When I sold my E36 even the tiniest scratch was mentioned, I even had to point it out to the seller.

Makes me lose faith in people.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[Luigi_S]

Sounds like we both got screwed...........

As has been said, it's not right that a Fanatic would sell a car on in this state, he should be ashamed of himself, not to mention that so called report?

The only silver lining is that you will have a sorted car when you done.

 

[Fruks]

Sad part about this whole deal is that the car was a "fanatics" car.
Seriously, disclose any and every flaw/problem the car your are trying to sell.
When I sold my E36 even the tiniest scratch was mentioned, I even had to point it out to the seller.

Makes me lose faith in people.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

heres the for sale thread https://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=72003 so many people praising the car and NOT ONE word from the owner about what a mess the car actually is and what problems its got. extremely deceptive and underhanded, it makes a joke of buying a car from someone here thinking that all the positive things being said are endorsements. and then u say one thing not even negative just observation and everyone is up in arms.

 

[michael.joseph]

Not right that you gota go thru this man. I've always been under the impression that buying a car from a fellow fanatic would be far better than one from a dealership. That it would b meticulously cared for and pampered.

Not right man... Not right:RedNo:

 

[KarshS]

Did you speak to Chris about this?

Whats his take?

 

[Woodies]

Damn this sucks! Sorry for all the crap you having to deal with. Not right at all........ n54 life can be tough, but all this from day 1 isn't right at all. Hope it works out and doesn't keep costing you a fortune


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[osiris]

Did you speak to Chris about this?

Whats his take?

I have spoken to him on several occasions about these issues. I am not trying to bad mouth him. But he does just keep telling me the same thing. "Welcome to the n54 club bud"

He has been helpful in trying to organize cheaper repairs for me and removal of the turbos etc unfortunately it's in places that are very far away from me so very difficult for me to get my car there and fetch etc. he did also try sort the wastegate rattle for me with MHD rattle fix but now I hate the car even more cause of the way it drives hence why I decided to get it done properly. I don't like things that are not fixed properly. That MHD fix turns your car into a corsa Bucky. He did try to help though and the MHD returning the car to stock did improve the fuel consumption slightly.

I know that n54 engines have their fair share of issues. But there are the normal issues and then there is this. The exhaust was a stuff up from hell. The rattles on the turbos should have been told to me before the day I took ownership of the car so that I could have done some research into the problem and seen what it will cost to fix cause the software fix is a joke. The xenon light sensor tied in with wire is a joke and I asked why the lights were facing the ground and how do I adjust them thinking that it was like every other bmw that I've owned where you can adjust from inside the cabin. Only to find the sensor which costs around 7k or 8k to fix is completely shot. If I drove the car slightly hard and I mean slightly cause I am actually scared to push it as I'm worried a turbo will explode or something, by the time I get home smoke is coming from the bonnet because of the valve cover gasket leak. Look its not such a serious fix but its bad enough that it causes a serious oil leak that the roadworthy should have picked up.

The oil leak and coolant leak which by all rights should never have made it through roadworthy should have been disclosed to me and not a surprise. My 330i would never in a million years have made it through roadworthy with these issues. I gave that car to Eittien with such a mechanically sound engine you could eat off the thing and sleep on it cause it runs so smoothly. He doesn't have to worry about driving the car anywhere and getting stuck where as I shit myself every time I get in the z4 wandering what's next to fail on me. When your financing a car this is the last thing you need.

I don't expect a brand new car when I'm buying a secondhand car. I expect that I'll be fixing little things and getting replacement clips here and there etc that's cool I actually enjoy fixing a few things like that. I fixed a few things and replaced the few things on the 330i too, however when it's big things like this I start to get upset cause its digging deep into my pockets now. And it seems like very dodgy shit is going on as the car shouldn't have like I said before passed the inspection and the roadworthy in this condition.

---

The warranty I have with the car is useless too, They told me the turbo problem is my problem and I must learn to maintain my car :roflol: How the fu$# do you maintain a car you have owned for little over 2 weeks and the rest of the time its been at the mechanic??? :skit::smashScreen:


Anyways Rant over!

I will leave this up to the Bank for now to investigate and I will continue restoring her to a point where I am no longer worried to drive the car further than to work and back, Hopefully she is worth it when everything is fixed and I don't have random engine lights coming on and plumes of smoke coming out my bonnet and coolant leaking etc.

 

[Enzio]

I cannot comment on this particular car or situation, but I can comment on your frustrations about the inspection and roadworthy.

I sold my Qashqai via private finance 2 years ago, the car was in very good condition but the sale requirements was for the inspection to be done.

That inspection was a bloody joke, I still have the photos of all the moronic shit the guy did:
- They removed the brake fluid reservoir cap and did not refit it, if I hadn't been standing on the side lines watching this guy at work it could have ended poorly for me.
- After standing in front of the car looking at the engine like he had never seen one, he raced around the block with it (which also pi$$ed me off) and stopped back at the shop saying "why are you selling this car? It's new"
- They did not look underneath the car, the did not check the brakes, they did not check for any accident damage, nothing.....

As for roadworthy - those are easy to get if you know who to ask.

Regarding second hand vehicles, I have found some dodgy work on every single one I have ever bought - including bikes, from BMW dealers.....grrrrrr (don't get me started on that one).
What I have come to realise is that it is basically impossible to do an in-depth check of a car that will ever truly confirm a vehicle's condition 100%. This is the sad reality of buying/selling 2nd hand vehicles.

 

[JG_RSA]

Looks like the only inspection that was done was inspecting the bank statement to see if payment was received for the "inspection".