Possible purchase 2004 Z4 3.0

bobz3 · Post by **bobz3** » Sun 21 Mar, 2010 20:01

Hi,

I havent been here for a while due to selling me Z3.

I am thinking about a 2004 Z4 3.0 SE in Black, I went for a look at the car on Saturday and it looks nice but....

1. The paint on the passenger side front pillar is cracking and it looks like someone has painted it. I am sure i have heard of this happening before. The garage said that they would have it painted for me, and they would have a small ding fixed.

2. The books were missing but the garage had a print out from the Dealer showing it was a full BMW history, they said they would get a set of books and arrange for the two dealers to stamp them. Can they do this is my first thought.

3. The car was misfiring abit from the cold start but it smoothed out after a minute or two, is this normal?

4. On the drive the car was a little jerky pulling away from roundabouts but it was happy to accelerate very quickly (once warm of course). Is this indicative of a problem? The clutch felt ok.

I currently have a 2004 BMW 525D SE with Msport bumpers + M5 replica wheels and Adaptive Xenon lights. My car is mint and i know it is ok, I really want a Z4 but the garage is looking for £10,999 for the car and they are willing to do a deal if i give them £1,800. What do you think walk away or get them down to £1,500?

Thanks,

texasjohn · Post by **texasjohn** » Sun 21 Mar, 2010 20:17

Coil pack could be cause of misfire.

They can stamp the service book retrospectively, no problems with that. The service book you get may be marked 'duplicate'.

Personally I would find another Z4. There are lots out there and you'll soon find one with less issues (although to be fair sounds like minor issues)

Good luck whatever you decide!

bobz3 · Post by **bobz3** » Sun 21 Mar, 2010 20:21

Thanks, I was thinking the same thing. I will just keep my eye out for a better one, the frustrating thing is i have seen a few private sale cars but i have a car to trade in.

Thanks again.

bobz3 · Post by **bobz3** » Mon 22 Mar, 2010 18:54

I am still tempted by this car, I am still smiling about the acceleration in it. Having read some of the posts here the jerking pulling away at the roundabout is normal unless you give it some stick, the problem did go away with the sport button pressed.

The only real issues are the cracking paint on the passenger side pillar the small ding on the boot and the service books missing but they have a print out. I might make some enquiries about it tomorrow. Just need to figure out how to persuade the wife, she is not please at the moment but i like the car.

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Mon 22 Mar, 2010 19:05

I'd forget it and find another one.

Ian_C · Post by **Ian_C** » Mon 22 Mar, 2010 20:22

Phil wrote:I'd forget it and find another one.

Agreed. The lack of an original service book and any other receipts/history would swing it for me. If the previous owner couldn't be bothered to look after this and include it then it doesn't send a great message about how well the car's been treated. The other issues you mention seem to back this up. There are plenty out there so unless you're getting a great deal then I'd walk away.

bobz3 · Post by **bobz3** » Tue 23 Mar, 2010 18:55

Thanks for the replies, this is what the wife was telling me. I have decided to sell my car in the meantime, i just put it on Autotrader for a couple of weeks but i am in no real rush to sell so if it sells it sells. Once i have some cash i'll go hunting.

Quick question, does the Z4 suffer from the rear subframe tearing issues that alot of other BMW's had?

kryton · Post by **kryton** » Sat 10 Apr, 2010 16:01

bobz3 wrote:Thanks for the replies, this is what the wife was telling me. I have decided to sell my car in the meantime, i just put it on Autotrader for a couple of weeks but i am in no real rush to sell so if it sells it sells. Once i have some cash i'll go hunting.

Quick question, does the Z4 suffer from the rear subframe tearing issues that alot of other BMW's had?

Sent you a PM

estocks · Post by **estocks** » Sat 10 Apr, 2010 16:38

myredzed wrote:
Phil wrote:I'd forget it and find another one.
Agreed. The lack of an original service book and any other receipts/history would swing it for me. If the previous owner couldn't be bothered to look after this and include it then it doesn't send a great message about how well the car's been treated. The other issues you mention seem to back this up. There are plenty out there so unless you're getting a great deal then I'd walk away.

+1 If the dealer can't be bothered to sort these issues before listing the car for sale, they'll be even less bothered once you have parted with your cash. Also no paperwork suggests a reposession.

Geoff H · Post by **Geoff H** » Sat 10 Apr, 2010 17:56

estocks wrote:If the dealer can't be bothered to sort these issues before listing the car for sale, they'll be even less bothered once you have parted with your cash.

Garages tend not to do any work on cars until sold, just a clean & spruce up, if it is not sold within a time limit it would be moved on & and the car would have then cost them money without any return