2008 vs 06 and 07 model years.

[just2talented]

I used to own an 06 m roadster which was plagued with issues. My cam gear bolts sheared, i lost the synchro on second gear and needed to have the entire transmission replaced, fog in the headlight, you name it.

I think alot of those issues were chalked up to first year production model.

Right now, im looking at a 2008 with very low miles and was hoping for some insight on what BMW improved throughout the years.

Thanks in advance.

[Mike 1]

I have 2006 Z4mr and have had 0 problems at 21000 miles (nothing). I have not heard of any problems of early year "Ms" vs late years. I would be interested in the difference between 06, 07, and 08 models. Only thing I am 100% sure of is the Aux. input on later models. Never thought about it, Interesting.

[just2talented]

I very well couldve had a lemon. Who knows. But i loved the car and regretted getting rid of it.

The cam gear bolts and the transmission issues id be interested in hearing about manufacturer updates.

[The HACK]

The vanos hub bolt is common amongst S54 and not a first year production issue, although late in 2006 for 2007 production year BMW made a running change to the part. Although I wouldn’t bank on it being more reliable, as the bolt backing out was the cause of failure, not the strength of the part. Any S54 equipped car, I’d ask to have those bolts checked and re-secured with loctite at the first valve adjustment.

The 6 speed manual is the same across all production years and shared with the 3.0si and E90 330 if I recall, and failure on those are RARE. It’s a robust and reliable manual 6.

There are very few running parts changes on the MZ4, being a parts bin car and all. 99.9% of the parts used to assemble them had been in production for 4-5 years already. There were some subtle changes like the cross brace design on the strut being changed from welded to bolted, engine mount bolt changed to 10.9 grade, and some minor features such as TPMS going from ABS based to sensor in wheel, and aux port for the radio.

Frankly the MZ4’s entire production run seems to indicate that it’s reliability is on par with the bulk of the M line-up.

[Huz-Z]

One other thing to watch for is the sometimes finicky convertible top motor design, common to the M and non-M Z4s. If you are looking at an M Roadster with a manual top (did they make any like that?), you can stop reading now.

For 2006 and onward, BMW apparently made some tweaks to the motor design to make it more resistant to failure from being flooded with water. As there was no Z4M before the 2006 model year, all Z4Ms should have this improved top motor. Having said that though, the so-called improved power top motors have been known to fail, as was the case for a friend of mine who has a 2008 Z4 3.0si. He continues to insist that after 4 years of perfect operation, his use of a pressure washer on the car the week before the top motor died, had nothing to do with it. So the short story is be careful that any M Roadster you look at has a properly operating power top and that the roof drains are not clogged. And maybe hand wash your car.