Description
I bought this just over a year ago as a running car in need of some work. In the time I've had it I've replaced both front suspension legs as the front end was very bouncy. The nearside got a good secondhand leg and hub (the pinch bolt snapped so I had to replace both) with a new wheel bearing fitted. The offside got all new stuff as I couldn't find a decent secondhand strut at a sensible price, so it's had a new shock, spring, gaiter and top mount + bearing, which wasn't cheap. I also got the tracking done as the car had a tendency to be thrown off course by bumps - it turned out the front tracking was way out, it drives a lot straighter now.
When I got the car the engine light was on most of the time, it would splutter and backfire for the first couple of minutes after a cold start and it refused to rev - anything over 3, 500 and it'd cut out. This was traced to a split in the side pipe to the idle control valve on the main intake hose between the MAF sensor and the inlet manifold. The pipe was replaced, at significant expense (it's only a bit of plastic but it's unique to the 2. 2 / 2. 5 Z4 so only available from BMW), but it cured the problem - the engine is now smooth from cold, the engine light stays out and it revs as it should.
The car was also suffering quite badly from the hot weather sticky steering issue that these have. I tried the recommended "easy" fix which involves turning the mounting collar between the PAS motor and the steering column - it's slightly unscientific as there's no set amount to turn the collar by, it varies from car to car, but I've got it to a point that I'm happy enough with, in that I no longer have to fight the steering when it's warm. It could probably be tweaked further if you're fussy, but given that adjusting it involves lying upside down in the footwell with an assortment of extension bars and UJs to get to the awkwardly placed mounting bolts, I don't intend to attempt anything further.
The car gives the impression of having been fairly well looked after by recent owners - the front tyres are Michelin Pilot Sports and there are quite a few recent suspension bits. It's a long way from perfect though - there are various minor dings, paint touch ups and small rust bubbles, and the wheels (18") have been badly painted black. It still looks presentable enough from a few feet away though! Interior isn't too bad for the mileage, but there's a bit of wear on the leather on the driver's seat bolster and the leather is also peeling away from the back of the seat on the inside, although this isn't really noticeable unless you deliberately look for it. Also the ashtray lid won't stay closed.
Electrics are mostly fine, with a few exceptions - the remote locking doesn't work (key in the door works fine), only the bottom section of the heated rear window works, the passenger door window can be wound down from the driver's side switch pack but will only wind up from the switch on the passenger door, there's a tyre pressure warning light permanently on the dash (it's not TPMS though so not an MOT issue), and I've disconnected the boot lock solenoid as it was playing up at one point so the boot only opens with the key now. Aircon doesn't work either - I suspect it needs a new condenser. But then who needs aircon when you can put the roof down? Radio works fine despite the almost complete lack of aerial. There is a bit of a battery drain (which seems to be worse if you leave the car unlocked) but it's not too bad - the car can be left for several days without issue, but if you leave it sitting for weeks you'll probably have to jump start it.
It passed its MOT in July, with a few advisories - one for slight play in the steering rack inner joints, which you do notice a bit on poor road surfaces but isn't anything to worry about, and one for corrosion on the rear subframe - most of the original coating had flaked off, I have since had the car up on ramps and given the subframe a rub down and underseal. There was also slight play in a couple of wishbone bushes apparently, although I hadn't noticed that. One thing they didn't advise on is that the handbrake ratchet is worn - this is something I'd only ever previously come across with Austin A35s but is apparently a common thing on Z4s. It's the teeth in the middle of the travel that are worn - if you yank the handbrake right up (as one would do for an MOT brake test) it holds fine, which is presumably why it wasn't an MOT issue. I polished the headlights for the MOT but they could do with doing again.
It drives pretty well now and is decent enough on fuel if driven sensibly - I managed high-30s mpg on a run to Somerset and back. Only thing I can really fault it on driving wise is a slight judder when braking from high speed - it could probably do with a pair of front discs, which aren't expensive.
