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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
BMW Z4 worth it?
- Thread starter Cadencoetsee
- Start date
I agree with jcwdrop above, I've had my 2005 2.5i for 3 years and although it wasn't my daily for very long it was an event every day going to work and back, I haven't had any big issues with it and it's sitting on 163 000km right now, and has never let me down. In the beginning I was very worried about something breaking so I did replace some of the common bits that break like the expansion tank (R1500) and also removed the drain plugs for the roof, always give it the best liquimoly oils and only use genuine BMW filters / fluids and parts, and to be honest the prices are similar to any other more modern car (beside the body panels). If you keep up with routine maintenance and scrap the 15k services and do it every 7500km the M54 motor is bulletproof. There are plenty that reach a quarter of a million k's and more.
Things to check when looking at one, in my opinion, make sure there's no white dried up coolant anywhere around the engine, check under the oil fill cap for mayonnaise and/or sludge, make sure the rear springs aren't snapped. If you go for an M54 engine (2003-2005 2.5i and 3,0i) by now almost all of them are sweating oil from either the valve cover or oil filter housing and this is no big deal but any wet spots may point to those needing doing sooner rather than later. It should idle VERY smoothly, and rev up easily, if its rough it's probably sucking air somewhere or the DISA / ICV are in need of cleaning/replacing (Easy). The VANOS seals are probably going to be shot as well but the kit is available for not a lot of money and the job is pretty easy to DIY if you follow the instructions. This made a BIG difference in mine, and it is absolutely not necessary to do, but totally worth it. I did the valve cover gasket and all the seals up there while I did the VANOS as well.
The ONLY real killer items on these cars are the cooling systems, which are all made from various plastic bits that age and crack, if they overheat badly they warp the head and the engine is done for, so if I had to do it all over again I'd spend the money to replace the expansion tank, thermostat, waterpump and coolant hoses as a way to make sure the car would be reliable for the next 100 000 kms. You can do the radiator as well but they seem to be fairly reliable thus far. A TON of parts are available aftermarket from Goldwagen, but stay with BMW for anything electronic / vital. The prices are really not that bad for OEM. I just replaced the 15 year old rear discs and got them from Midas.
I asked on this forum 3 years ago when I was deciding on getting a Z4 and just about everyone said to go for it, and I am VERY happy I listened. They are incredible cars and even 15 years later still turn heads and keep up with modern hot hatches too. I would have been much less happy with anything else.
Go for it!
Things to check when looking at one, in my opinion, make sure there's no white dried up coolant anywhere around the engine, check under the oil fill cap for mayonnaise and/or sludge, make sure the rear springs aren't snapped. If you go for an M54 engine (2003-2005 2.5i and 3,0i) by now almost all of them are sweating oil from either the valve cover or oil filter housing and this is no big deal but any wet spots may point to those needing doing sooner rather than later. It should idle VERY smoothly, and rev up easily, if its rough it's probably sucking air somewhere or the DISA / ICV are in need of cleaning/replacing (Easy). The VANOS seals are probably going to be shot as well but the kit is available for not a lot of money and the job is pretty easy to DIY if you follow the instructions. This made a BIG difference in mine, and it is absolutely not necessary to do, but totally worth it. I did the valve cover gasket and all the seals up there while I did the VANOS as well.
The ONLY real killer items on these cars are the cooling systems, which are all made from various plastic bits that age and crack, if they overheat badly they warp the head and the engine is done for, so if I had to do it all over again I'd spend the money to replace the expansion tank, thermostat, waterpump and coolant hoses as a way to make sure the car would be reliable for the next 100 000 kms. You can do the radiator as well but they seem to be fairly reliable thus far. A TON of parts are available aftermarket from Goldwagen, but stay with BMW for anything electronic / vital. The prices are really not that bad for OEM. I just replaced the 15 year old rear discs and got them from Midas.
I asked on this forum 3 years ago when I was deciding on getting a Z4 and just about everyone said to go for it, and I am VERY happy I listened. They are incredible cars and even 15 years later still turn heads and keep up with modern hot hatches too. I would have been much less happy with anything else.
Go for it!
mathias
Member
I know a few ppl who have Z4's as their daily drive and they enjoy them... that being said I personally feel that unless you going for the Z4M or 3.0 the car can be a bit of a hairdressers car... no offence to anyone owning one just my view.
Being young I recommend you stick with a manual gearbox, if you want to start your driving years of on a good foot best you enjoy the true pleasure of driving a manual. thereafter you can always change to an auto when you can afford a modern auto gearbox as the older ones were pretty slow.
The best thing I did as a youngster was to get a turbo diesel car, you will enjoy the "feeling" of having a fast car alot more than actually having a fast car, the torque these cars have will bring you alot of enjoyment plus considering you are driving longer distances this will bring down your fuel consumption as well. Plus when you get bored of the stock performance you can very easily and affordably add some extra power to the car with a decent tune and DP which isnt the case with a NA petrol car.
My recommendation would be a 120D coupe, you should be able to pick up a decent one in your price bracket, they look hot as hell for a youngster and they perform well. (I sold my 125i coupe for 140k just over a year ago so there should be many to choose from within your price range) plus you will have some back seats should you even want to drive some of your mates around.
I upgraded from a 1.9tdi Polo Sportline to a 125i Coupe and although the 125 was marginally quicker it felt slow and was boring with a NA engine and auto gearbox (plus the fuel consumption was double), wished I had gone for the 120d instead as I absolutely love the coupe body shape, and I still miss driving a manual, If my x3 came in a manual i would have gone for that option but unfortunately it doesn't or at least I couldn't find one.
Wishing you the best of luck in making this decision, you will never forget your first car and the car you choose will greatly influence your future vehicle selections.
Just one more note to add: unfortunately almost everyone who is planning to sell their car will delay fixing certain items which may not be essential at the time so budget for your first service to be a pricey one, even if the car has been well looked after, when I bought my Polo I had to replace the stearing rack setting me back 13k. I knew the seller personally and this was not a vindictive strategy simply unfortunate timing. these things happen so make sure you set aside some extra money each month for when they do...
Being young I recommend you stick with a manual gearbox, if you want to start your driving years of on a good foot best you enjoy the true pleasure of driving a manual. thereafter you can always change to an auto when you can afford a modern auto gearbox as the older ones were pretty slow.
The best thing I did as a youngster was to get a turbo diesel car, you will enjoy the "feeling" of having a fast car alot more than actually having a fast car, the torque these cars have will bring you alot of enjoyment plus considering you are driving longer distances this will bring down your fuel consumption as well. Plus when you get bored of the stock performance you can very easily and affordably add some extra power to the car with a decent tune and DP which isnt the case with a NA petrol car.
My recommendation would be a 120D coupe, you should be able to pick up a decent one in your price bracket, they look hot as hell for a youngster and they perform well. (I sold my 125i coupe for 140k just over a year ago so there should be many to choose from within your price range) plus you will have some back seats should you even want to drive some of your mates around.
I upgraded from a 1.9tdi Polo Sportline to a 125i Coupe and although the 125 was marginally quicker it felt slow and was boring with a NA engine and auto gearbox (plus the fuel consumption was double), wished I had gone for the 120d instead as I absolutely love the coupe body shape, and I still miss driving a manual, If my x3 came in a manual i would have gone for that option but unfortunately it doesn't or at least I couldn't find one.
Wishing you the best of luck in making this decision, you will never forget your first car and the car you choose will greatly influence your future vehicle selections.
Just one more note to add: unfortunately almost everyone who is planning to sell their car will delay fixing certain items which may not be essential at the time so budget for your first service to be a pricey one, even if the car has been well looked after, when I bought my Polo I had to replace the stearing rack setting me back 13k. I knew the seller personally and this was not a vindictive strategy simply unfortunate timing. these things happen so make sure you set aside some extra money each month for when they do...
momo1
Well-known member
Having owned 2 Z4s, I would urge you to look at the E86 Z4 Coupe, has a much bigger boot than the roadster so more practical, also they only come in 2 engine types, go for the 3.0si, the N52 engine is pretty bullet proof and my consumption was around 10l/100km, which isn't bad considering, just make sure water pump and thermostat was done.
yes as stated above cosmetic and panels are expensive but that is what insurance is for.
Mechanically , the engine is from an E90 and other E series models so you should be ok there, suspension parts are also shared from the likes of the E46 which are reasonable.
I owned my 3.0si for 3 years and mechanically it was 100%, I did preventative cooling maintenance and the rest was general oil changes and filters, I did spark plugs this year. also I kinda got my money back when I traded it in for the Z4M
yes as stated above cosmetic and panels are expensive but that is what insurance is for.
Mechanically , the engine is from an E90 and other E series models so you should be ok there, suspension parts are also shared from the likes of the E46 which are reasonable.
I owned my 3.0si for 3 years and mechanically it was 100%, I did preventative cooling maintenance and the rest was general oil changes and filters, I did spark plugs this year. also I kinda got my money back when I traded it in for the Z4M
are you specifically looking for a 2 door / sports car type ?
if not , why not look at 330i , either E46 / E90.....inline 6 sounds AMAZING , 3 yrs after owning my 330i i still cant get enough of it...i was thinking of moving to F30 but the 330i just gives me too much enjoyment.
bang for buck it will be hard to beat a 330i IMO...unless you specifically want a 2 door/sports car.
if not , why not look at 330i , either E46 / E90.....inline 6 sounds AMAZING , 3 yrs after owning my 330i i still cant get enough of it...i was thinking of moving to F30 but the 330i just gives me too much enjoyment.
bang for buck it will be hard to beat a 330i IMO...unless you specifically want a 2 door/sports car.
Cadencoetsee
New member
eben007 said:
thanks so much for your words of wisdom. I really appreciate your help and I will definitely keep the search going and consider all your advice when I get a car. so grateful!!
individj said:
yes, a few min away from the beach. thanks so much I am also thinking along those lines.
Tjoppies said:
not necessarily a 2 door, but I really want a car that has a sporty appeal, as I will be working and most likely calling on fairly big clients, so a nice car will hopefully set a good impression if you know what I mean. I will definitely look into that and check out what's available. thanks very much for your advice!!!
momo1 said:
I really appreciate your advice, thanks so much!! I will check into the coupe models and see if there are any in my price range. thank you
mathias said:
thanks so much!! really amazing advice. i will take all of this into account and will 100% look into the 120D coupe. it sounds like a machineee. I really appreciate your wishes and incredible advice. thank you!
CA_130 said:
Really thanks so much for your amazing words of wisdom. I appreciate your help so much as cars are a very new concept to me being a surfer
that is very helpful and I will consider it all!!!
jcwdrop said:
thanks so much. I think I am gonna go for it!! just need to find the right one now!!
AshG108 said:
hello, thanks so much for the response. I did look pretty extensively into the 320d but only found high mileage options in my price range. I have however kept looking so hopefully one pops up that ticks all/most of the boxes. I haven't really considered those options but I will go and look into them now, thanks very much!! I appreciate that so much thanks
AdiS
Well-known member
Practicality - that is subjective and up to you to decide depending on the needs of your lifestyle. If you don't make a habit having more than one passenger, transporting large items, or lots of luggage you should be fine.
Image / Cool Factor - Also subjective, but my experience with my Z4 M Roadster is that it is universally perceived as a cool / fun / sporty car that still looks contemporary today, even by non-car people. I find the experience of a convertible a lot of fun, and people typically respond positively to them.
Reliability - most of the mechanics are similar to the E46 platform. My preference goes to the earlier M54 3.0 versions, as their parts are cheaper and there's no electric steering that can be expensive if it fails. Research the common weak points of an E46 330i and that will give you an idea of maintenance.
EDIT: I should also point out that depending on the mileage and previous maintenance, it's not uncommon to inherit R20k worth of deferred maintenance or necessary preventative maintenance, so you should build that into your evaluation.
Gearbox - Go for manual. The automatics can be expensive to fix if they fail. Definitely not SMG.
Price - R120-140k is usually sufficient to get really nice examples as these cars are relatively under-appreciated by the market.
Risk - Peter makes a valid point in the body parts and trim bits are very expensive. This is relevant in that if you have a very minor fender-bender, your insurance might write the car off.
Overall, it's a feasible option if you take your time and buy a nice low miles (or very well maintained) one.
Image / Cool Factor - Also subjective, but my experience with my Z4 M Roadster is that it is universally perceived as a cool / fun / sporty car that still looks contemporary today, even by non-car people. I find the experience of a convertible a lot of fun, and people typically respond positively to them.
Reliability - most of the mechanics are similar to the E46 platform. My preference goes to the earlier M54 3.0 versions, as their parts are cheaper and there's no electric steering that can be expensive if it fails. Research the common weak points of an E46 330i and that will give you an idea of maintenance.
EDIT: I should also point out that depending on the mileage and previous maintenance, it's not uncommon to inherit R20k worth of deferred maintenance or necessary preventative maintenance, so you should build that into your evaluation.
Gearbox - Go for manual. The automatics can be expensive to fix if they fail. Definitely not SMG.
Price - R120-140k is usually sufficient to get really nice examples as these cars are relatively under-appreciated by the market.
Risk - Peter makes a valid point in the body parts and trim bits are very expensive. This is relevant in that if you have a very minor fender-bender, your insurance might write the car off.
Overall, it's a feasible option if you take your time and buy a nice low miles (or very well maintained) one.
AdiS
Well-known member
https://www.gumtree.co.za/a-cars-ba...3-0i-+-only-58k-kms/1008101608330910042488809
I'm familiar with this owner. If you could reach an agreement with this guy, I'd say this is an ideal option.
I'm familiar with this owner. If you could reach an agreement with this guy, I'd say this is an ideal option.
