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      10-29-2020, 12:24 PM   #1
hicucr
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Recently sold my e46 so now my low miles Z4 coupe has become my daily driver. 35K miles 2008 model year

I don't want to rack up miles on this car, want it to be my weekend car.

Has anyone had this as a daily driver? How does it hold up? Lots of maintenance to expect? I drive about 40 miles per day for work...
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      10-29-2020, 01:12 PM   #2
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I daily my 150k 3.0si roadster and all I have to do is oil changes and check brake pads. I also have done intensive amounts of preventive maintenance when I took ownership from the previous owner at 100k. Just to name a few, all engine rubber gaskets, all suspension/bushings, front control arms, brakes, drivetrain guibo/csb, all fluids, all cooling systems components ( hoses, pump, tstat, coolant, radiator, and expansion tank) wheel bearings and hubs. I have upgraded many components with aftermarket goodies, but Im sure Ive done more maintenance, but cant remember off the top of my head. Given your mileage, you should only have to oil change and check brakes. Btw beautiful AW Z4Coupe

Last edited by TRiCC; 10-29-2020 at 01:19 PM..
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      10-29-2020, 03:00 PM   #3
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I daily my 06 MC and its has yet to leave me stranded. Is it high maintenance? yes! However the N52 motor is not as maintenance intense as the S54. I think your biggest concern would be the electric water pump and the rest of the cooling system.

Certain things are a bit difficult, like the drive-through ATM at the bank is hard to reach. The sunvisor is absolutely useless. Its tiny and does nothing to shade the sun, from both the side or directly ahead.

Besides that, this car is totally daily driveable. At 35k miles you should not need to worry about large maintenance items for a long long time. Enjoy!
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      10-29-2020, 03:24 PM   #4
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I've been dailying my '06 coupe for the last 5 years (60+ mile round trip commute) in Austin traffic. Car just rolled over 150k miles a couple of weeks ago. I'm shooting for at least 200k.

Still on the original clutch and water pump. Don't know what to say about my water pump but it's still hanging in there. I guess I just got lucky. Only thing I had go out was the belt tensioner but that was a simple repair. Going to have to replace the valve cover gasket (noticed it was leaking while I was changing out suspension bushings), probably do it over the holidays. Otherwise, just normal routine boring ass general maintenance that all cars need.

Agree regarding ATM access - I always have to slightly open my door and lean out to reach the screen. And the sunvisors are on the small side. And here in central Texas, all I see out the back are the huge grills of the billion F150s littering the roads - but that's a rant for a different day.

If you enjoy driving it - then DRIVE IT. That's what it's made for.
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      10-29-2020, 04:09 PM   #5
hicucr
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Thanks guys. Ya the visors are microscopic. Been thinking of getting the top of my windshield tinted slightly to help with that. But I don't want it to look tacky or like a rice rocket lol
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      10-29-2020, 07:37 PM   #6
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All comes down to what you need. If you're not needing to haul passengers and cargo, it can be a fine daily.
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      10-30-2020, 10:26 AM   #7
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I daily mine and love it. 160K miles so far, and hope for at least 200K.
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      11-01-2020, 06:48 AM   #8
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So the point of all this writing is to convince you that dailying the Z4 is not going to be painful maintenance wise.

I'd like to add my 2 cents since I have some relative experience here. I drive a lot; 35,000 per year just for my work commute. I have a 2008 3.0si Coupe (bought Dec. 2014), a 2005 E46 330Cic (recently bought Sept 2019), and a 2006 E90 325i (bought new in May 2006). My daily commute is 170 miles a day(round trip) which is a mix of awesome back country roads, dual lane rural highway and stop and go dense highway traffic. I DIY all maintenance and repairs on all my vehicles. All my cars are manual transmission versions.

Beginning in October 2007 I ran the E90 exclusively for the daily commute, and it now has 397,360 miles on it. If you don't know, the E90 shares the same basic N52 (engine) that is in your '06 Coupe. The '06 E90 325i does not have the Z4 3.0si DISA-valve 3-stage intake manifold, other than a slightly more open exhaust manifold the engines are mechanically identical. The N52 in my E90 saw BMW's extended oil change intervals; between zero and 221,000 miles the average OCI was 16,300 miles, now at 397K, and a decision to shorten the OCI to 10,000 then (recently) 7,500 miles, it is still above 12,000 miles average. The E90 has seen only BMW brand 5W-30 oil and original equipment oil filters (MANN HU816X).

In December 2014 when the E90 was reaching 270,000 miles I picked up the 2008 Z4 3.0si. I bought it as a backup to the E90 because I was anticipating the E90 was going to need some surgery and needing more repairs that would keep it off the road for long durations (I was wrong - LOL). The Z4 had just 23,000 on the clock when I bought it. Sharing the daily commute with the E90, almost 6 years later the Z4 has reached 107,200 miles. In that time the Z4 has required normal maintenance. I've changed the engine oil every 10,000 miles, biennial brake fluid flushes. I've changed the diff and trans fluids at 38,000 and again at 100,000 miles. New spark plugs at 100,000 miles per BMW schedule. I replaced the serpentine belt and tensioner at 105,000. I flushed the coolant at 77,000 miles. The brakes, front and back, came up due at 95,000 miles. And I've replaced the engine airfilter twice. The N52 is known to leak oil at the valve cover, oil filter housing, and the oil pan. At 107K the N52 in my Z4 is dry at the oil pan and valve cover, and a very slight leak at the oil filter housing.

Finally, just to tie in with your experience in owning a E46 with the M54 engine, since September 2019 when I acquired the E46 at 100,000 on the odometer, I've driven the E46 20,000 miles. The M54 is a little weak in the cooling system and intake/vacuum boot/lines. My car had some of those common issues taken car of by the pervious owner, who I know quite well, so at 100,000 miles I baselined all the fluids: trans, diff, and brake fluid. Since then, just oil changes for the E46.

My experience with the N52 is the engine is pretty much built for tank duty. Yesterday I just did oil change No. 32 on the E90 and took it out for a 10-mile leak check. The engine at 397K pulls as good as it did the day I picked up the car in May 2006 and has not dropped off in fuel consumption. Truly an amazing in-line six from BMW. The chassis of the E86 Z4 is probably one of the best offered by BMW. The Coupe chassis is extremely stiff, so it doesn't flex, which means it will not weaken over time and high miles. My Z4 chassis has remained virtually unchanged in the 6 years and 85,000 miles I've owned it. I have the Msport seats with extended leather and the interior has barely shown any wear from daily use.

So other than your car having very low miles, which if you keep them low the value of it will only increase over time. I went through that same issue when I bought my Z4. Once I bought it I realized what a fantastic car it is. I didn't want to rack up miles on it, but in the end, I bought it to drive it and preserve my E90 as long as possible. So here it is 6 years later at 107,300 miles and seemingly barely more used other than numbers increase on the odometer. Maintenance and wear wise, I doubt there is a better BMW to daily than an E86 Z4 N52 Coupe.

Apologies for the long post.
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A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."

Last edited by Efthreeoh; 11-01-2020 at 07:04 AM..
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      11-01-2020, 06:59 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robz4 View Post
I daily mine and love it. 160K miles so far, and hope for at least 200K.
Shoot for 300,000
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A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."
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      11-01-2020, 08:19 AM   #10
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Have always daily driven the M coupe and has about 180,500 miles on it. Still a joy!!
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      11-03-2020, 08:49 PM   #11
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As my wife would say..."if you worry about maintenance, go buy Prius"

The cars are meant to be driven, if this is your best car, you love it, then drive it all the time you can.

I bought my car at 9k miles from first owner of 9 years...unfortunately he was not able to drive it much due to health conditions. Lesson here is to enjoy your things you spent money on. Who knows what happens tomorrow.


Congrats on the beautiful white coupe. Enjoy it
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      11-08-2020, 12:37 PM   #12
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I daily drive my z4 and it has almost 140k. Life is short enjoy it. As far as engine maintenance it's just regular until you hit about 120k. Around that time you might need a new Disa Valve and the cooling system starts taking a dive meaning, the plastic starts to crack and discolor due to heat. You will have minor oil leaks here and there front seal possibly. I'm sure I'm missing some things but it's really no big deal I love wrenching on my cars.

Suspension, you will need front bushings and new shocks by that time or sooner depending on your driving.

Interior plastics might break but it's all minor.

If you enjoy working on cars then you'll be fine.I used to work for a German shop before school and the experience I gained helped me till this day. However, anyone with basic tools can do it.
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