To buy or not to buy a Z4

[Jeffwink1]

I have the opportunity to buy a 2003 Z4 from a friend who's wife drove it for half an hour after it started over heating. The car will start, but probably has some internal damage. What is a car like this worth? Btw it is Urban Green. Yuck! But if I can get it cheap enough I won't care about color.

[nekky]

Urban green is *very* rare. It's worth less than $10k with engine problems.

[Jeffwink1]

It's a 2.5 with 86,000 miles. I'm going to look at it tomorrow.

[gas-can]

Take a look at the coolant and engine oil. If you see look at the oil and see it frothy/milky-->blown head gasket-->stay away.

if you see any oil in the coolant-->same thing

I would still be wary unless you can get it for a very good deal. Good luck!

[Vanne]

why would you stay away if there is oil in the coolant? pretty simple head job.. yeah exy if your getting someone else to do it, but these engines are very easy to work on. obviously depending if you have the time or not....

[Jeffwink1]

I plan to do all the work myself. It's been sitting for a year and my friend just wants to get the thing out of the driveway and he doesn't have the time or money to fix.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by Vanne

why would you stay away if there is oil in the coolant? pretty simple head job..

With the aluminium block there is a chance when overheated the structure of the aluminium is toast.
When that happens, the head bolts will strip the threads when retorqueing the block.
So a good test when doing cilinder head work: loosen the head bolts, and retorque. If you strip one of the threads ->scrap engine.

I'm not saying that this will happen, but it is a risk (keywords: 'wife' 'drive' 'overheating' ).
Besides all the other stuff like warped heads etc.

But in a z4 everything is very accessible (except for the exhaust manifold studs), so it's definately worth a try. (but it's a risk to buy)

[Psychodo]

Originally Posted by nekky

Urban green is *very* rare. It's worth less than $10k with engine problems.

+1.

I've only seen pics of urban green and wow...yuck.

But hey if you can get a great deal on a rare car and don't mind doing the work, go for it.

Did he throw a price out?

[David70]

Since you don't know the extent of the damage wouldn't a reasonable way to come up with a value is to figure roughly what a good used 2.5 motor will cost, add in the labor (your labor has a value) then you know worst case what it will cost to repair. If worst case is $8k and car is good working order is $13k then I would offer some amount less than $5k. If repaired car is worth $13k I wouldn't want to go through the hassle and risk if I was going to be in it total for more than $10k.

I don't know what this car is worth in good condition, numbers above are for an example.

[pokeybritches]

A used engine is $3k plus install. I would research the possibility of upgrading to the 3 liter engine.

Someone was selling a 2.5i engine on here for pretty cheap not too long ago. Not sure if it sold.

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by pokeybritches

A used engine is $3k plus install. I would research the possibility of upgrading to the 3 liter engine.

Someone was selling a 2.5i engine on here for pretty cheap not too long ago. Not sure if it sold.

Unless you are a gear-head and want to supercharge the car down the road, you may as well ask about a 3.0si N52 motor. It makes 255 hp (30 more than the 225 hp in the 2005 3.0i), better torque and the engine is much lighter so the steering is more responsive - plus the N52 engine gets better gas mileage.

[Psychodo]

Saw this today on autotrader

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...CALERTSEMLSRCH

10.5 with similar miles.

[Jeffwink1]

I'm going to buy it! He will let me have it for $2500. Everything is there. Needs a good interior cleaning. Tan leather is not cracked but is dirty. Needs tires and of course engine will need attention.

[Psychodo]

Originally Posted by Jeffwink1

I'm going to buy it! He will let me have it for $2500. Everything is there. Needs a good interior cleaning. Tan leather is not cracked but is dirty. Needs tires and of course engine will need attention.

That is awesome! Post pics after you pick her up

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by Psychodo

That is awesome! Post pics after you pick her up

Double awesome!!! Congrats!!

[silverfishZ4M]

I'd buy it for 2500 sure

[MZHammer]

Nice little pick-up right there! Congrats!

[3point0]

that's a great deal, even if you can't resolve the potential engine issues yourself.

[KLH]

Plenty of cushion in that deal.....assuming the car has a clean title.

Good job!

Post some pics.

[Jeffwink1]

Here are pics of the car after I got it home

[Psychodo]

Wow, looks to be in good shape. Keep us updated on the engine

[jdoublehcubed]

that is a crazy color for sure.

for $2.5k, if the engine is toast you can part just the body panels and interior and make money, the rest of the car would just be gravy on top of that