Starting To Shop For a Z4MR.....Tell Me If I'm On The Right Track

[HEY32G]

I have been keeping an eye on Z4MR's for about six months and will more than likely pull the trigger in February or March. Financially that timing works the best for me. Please tell me if I'm thinking correctly or not on a few things.

I have tested a few and love the car. I've been tracking prices and see what seem like a few good buys. Also, see some that will never sell at the prices they are listing and thus have been for sale for a long time.

A little background, I had a bad experience with a Porsche 968 about 10 years ago that left me really skittish about reliability and cost of ownership. The thing killed me with constant $600 repairs. I also have a tendency to get bored with cars and trade them a lot. I really don't want to do that with the M. I really want to keep this car a very long time, so I want to be very careful. I've been burned on aftermarket warranties so to me that isn't even an issue. "Your booklet says gaskets!" "Yes, but not THAT gasket".

I am trying to keep it around $26k, with as little mileage as possible. I am thinking I might try to just buy from a BMW dealer, that way they can check the VANOS and valves and not charge me. Other dealers probably can't do that. Would it be better to buy a car from a BMW dealer with more miles than one from Joe Bob's Used Car Lot with very few miles? Am I giving too much credit to BMW dealers?

Finally, are there any issues that I must check for that may cost a fortune? I spoke to a BMW dealer that had one, but they said they had put $3000 into a new convertible top motor. Do those go out much? Do they really cost that much to replace? He said that was at cost for them so they wouldn't move on the price. Was I just getting BS'd? Also what is the cost to replace the tranny and motor mounts?

I have a great indie shop close to me so I won't go to BMW for maintenance or repairs. I have already talked with them about maintenance costs and they are about 60% to 65% of what the dealership quotes.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I feel like I'm about to date the girl that I know will be bad news, but she's just so dang hot I can't resist!

[StickMon]

Originally Posted by GH32335i

... I feel like I'm about to date the girl that I know will be bad news, but she's just so dang hot I can't resist!

That's about the size of it. High maintenance, but worth it.
I made a hobby out of doing my own work. Saves cash, and I got stung by an indie mechanic that charged me a pant load for Inspection-II, but didn't do the work.

Nearly $100 to change your own oil every 5k miles.
Valve adjustment every 20k. About $600 from an indie (and make sure they actually do it). $500-$600 initial investment and a little under $100 each time to do it yourself.
Trans and diff oil change every 45k or so. Diff oil is $80 a quart.
Then there's the Vanos. $900 to have my camshaft bolts replaced by an indie that didn't time the camshafts correctly. Another $900 to replace the exhaust hub myself.
I'm closing in on 100k miles, so I'm going to put in a rebuilt Vanos and replace the timing chain tensioner and guide this spring, That'll be about $1500.
Just put on new pads, rotors, parking brakes and all hardware last week at about $1400.
Oh, and don't forget motor mounts and trans mounts.
And next weekend I'm going to flush though about $80 worth of brake fluid.

Then there's mods. My cans were $1200 for the pair and I'm about to drop another $1200 on pipes.
Then I'll turn attention to the suspension and bodywork.

But, as long as the rod bearings and head gasket hold out, she's worth it!!

[David70]

I would worry more about finding the right car than buying it at a BMW dealership. I

Also, the maintenance items are high if you are daily driving it and driving it a normal amount of miles. If it is a weekend car like mine it isn't bad at all. Change oil once a year, adjust valves five years from now, a couple of years from now do other fluids. I did buy tires this year, should last another 3-4 years (not sure).

Do some of the maintenance yourself and it cuts it down significantly.

[StickMon]

Good point.
Mine's a DD, and I drive 20-25k a year, so I'm at the high end of high maintenance.