robbie_n Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Hey all, I am thinking of purchasing a z4m roadster at around the £15-20k Mark. I used to own a coupe version from new for 2 years and had no issues other than a seized brake caliper. Just wondering if long term reliability is good and what to look for on 5-6 year old models. I remember the mesh between 1st and 2nd being awkward at low engine speeds, anyone had issues with this getting worse. Also are there any major service bills due such as cam belt or water pump change that would be due around 50k/6 years? Any relevant comments or experiences greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biscuits Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Hey Robbie, The Z4M is built on tried and trusted tech (e46 M3/CSL)... so there's really nothing untoward to go wrong really, as long as it's had the run-in service at c1200 miles and a full service history it'll be fine. Just double double make sure the brake disks are true and not warped, they can be very heavy on the disks. Like you mentioned, 1st to 2nd gear can crunch when cold, but there's no fix, you either get a box with it or you don't. £15k will get a leggy c3yr old model, £20k a fully loaded low-mile minter. This to tide you over till the RS3 turns up ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 One quick point I'd make is to make sure you test drive one on the roads you'll be using it on. Try to get one for a couple of hours. The reason I say it is that a good few owners find the ride very hard indeed once they start doing normal commutes in the car. Personally I didn't have any issues in the few I drove, but it should be noted that was for an hour here, an hour there, etc. I much prefer the Z4M Coupe as a 'looker', but again many owners can't live with the ride. Oh and get the biggest engined model possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biscuits Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Oh and get the biggest engined model possible. The M only comes in one size... If it's on the stock 18's then the ride is fine, on 19's they tram-line pretty horribly, but handle quite alarmingly well in comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Sorry, for a moment I slipped into standard model thinking and forgot we were talking about the M variant anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbie_n Posted July 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Hey Robbie,The Z4M is built on tried and trusted tech (e46 M3/CSL)... so there's really nothing untoward to go wrong really, as long as it's had the run-in service at c1200 miles and a full service history it'll be fine. Just double double make sure the brake disks are true and not warped, they can be very heavy on the disks. Like you mentioned, 1st to 2nd gear can crunch when cold, but there's no fix, you either get a box with it or you don't. £15k will get a leggy c3yr old model, £20k a fully loaded low-mile minter. This to tide you over till the RS3 turns up ? Thinking of it as a play toy so as to still have a "drivers car" (whatever that may be) to use every once in a while - the RS3 will be my daily commuter and will rack up the miles pretty quickly. I always loved my old coupe and the 3.0 Z4 I had before that so I guess its partly an investment too as I will probably keep this for the long term. My Z4m coupe was on 18's and even that tram lined badly on certain roads - hate to think what it would be like on 19's. Does the handling improve that much as I found the cornering capabilities pretty high even on the 18's. As regards the comment on ride, I never found that to be much of an issue and found the suspension/tyre setup to be more forgiving than that on my current 335i which runs on 19" tyres made of stone. My main worry was the gearbox but I guess like you say you either get a good one or a bad one - I would imagine the majority are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsheldon Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 The ride comments for Z4s generally relate to the non M models which have run flats and 35 series tyres. The M of course doesn't have runflats and 40 series tyres, but everyone just assumes the ride is bad as it is a Z4. I find mine fine, not too firm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Hang on, I've just seen something I said above and I've got totally the wrong end of this thread. Need to re-read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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