what do you mean pics, have you not actually seen the car yet.
M buyers guide?
- Thread starter swamper
- Start date
B
badman gee
Guest
Wayne, i would expect the car to need some things doing to it.
It's relatively cheap.
Sounds like its been driven but not loved.
There are quite a few out there, so take your time.
Mark
It's relatively cheap.
Sounds like its been driven but not loved.
There are quite a few out there, so take your time.
Mark
Your looking at best part of 1.5-2k to sort that lot out..
I'm with badman, bide your time and wait for a good one, or knock him down to 5k if the rest of the cars ok..
I'm with badman, bide your time and wait for a good one, or knock him down to 5k if the rest of the cars ok..
Jonttt
Zorg Addict
Sod that drop him down to £4k as he would not get that trade in. If the engine is sound it's worth £4k private sale with those MOT advisories otherwise your better paying £7k for a car that is better and you can take your time doing the mods you want rather than need.
The suspension would not bother me as most will have tired suspension even if not advisories.
The suspension would not bother me as most will have tired suspension even if not advisories.
iv not seen the car and im not going to....its a dog.
if someone wants to take the challenge up then good on them...but even if i did the work my self its going to cost...and who knows what else i would find....its not for me....but thanks to all you guys for putting the time in to help
the battles lost but the wars just begun.............im having an ///m
if someone wants to take the challenge up then good on them...but even if i did the work my self its going to cost...and who knows what else i would find....its not for me....but thanks to all you guys for putting the time in to help
the battles lost but the wars just begun.............im having an ///m
shantybeater
Dedicated Member
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2011
- Points
- 29
I'll weigh in here, looks like all the points have been covered.
Two things worth mentioning, don't just rely on spot welds in the boot, this is just a side effect of the differential mount going. You need to get the car on a ramp/up in the air and take a look for cracks on the underside.
Secondly and this is important, i'm suprised how much information goes around about the VANOS which is simply untrue. I unfortunately suffered a VANOS failure so I can give first hand experience unlike 99% of people who talk about it like they know the issue inside out.VANOS growl is NOT an indication of how healthy a unit is. Its a completely seperate issue where the splines become worn and begin to growl, i honestly think this is on a unit to unit basis, some can go 100k without a noise. VANOS growl has never lead to a failure....ever...recorded. So saying if it growls walk away is complete nonsense. Owners only replace the unit to remove the irritating rattle which can grow louder and louder.
The common failures are:
1. Bolts snap dumping all the oil in your engine bay at an alarming rate. - Change the bolts & VANOS filter when you buy the car and every InspII, better to play it safe, they are about £8! and make sure they are torqued correctly. (they were recalled by BMW)
2. Seals & solenoids failing - If the car pulls without hesitation, doesn't have huge loss of power until about 3k (to the point where the car feels like it will stall) then you are ok. There is no warning for this failure, short of being psychic you have no way of knowing the actual 'health' of a VANOS unit so don't concentrate on it anymore
I believed all the forum rubbish, went to view my s50 and listened for the 'dreaded' VANOS growl. The car was silent so away I drove only to find a solenoid had failed, the car was extremely rough at low revs and had no power below 3k. It also had huge power loss and on full throttle i was overtaken by a clio 172! I'll also add to this and say once the unit was fixed it was completely silent but after a year and a half of careful and very light use (i barely take my car above 5k - a waste I know but there is hardly ever the right time) she generated a VANOS rattle, the rattle was quite prominent but the same car is still able to sit a few car lengths behind my S54 with a full boot on the quarter mile (at the BMW show). That car has an extremely healthy S50 no doubt.
So to sum up: check the usual points, make sure it pulls well with no hesitation. Check the rear differential and if it appears clean and well looked after don't let a bit of growl put you off...At some point in the future you will probably be faced with a solenoid/seal failure. Nowadays its quite cheap to fix and at the same time Dr.VANOS/Mr.VANOS will cure the growl...
Good luck on your hunt swamper
P.S The one you had inspected I'd walk away from. Panel respray at this age is expected but the amount of consumables which need replacing gives the impression its not very well looked after.
Two things worth mentioning, don't just rely on spot welds in the boot, this is just a side effect of the differential mount going. You need to get the car on a ramp/up in the air and take a look for cracks on the underside.
Secondly and this is important, i'm suprised how much information goes around about the VANOS which is simply untrue. I unfortunately suffered a VANOS failure so I can give first hand experience unlike 99% of people who talk about it like they know the issue inside out.VANOS growl is NOT an indication of how healthy a unit is. Its a completely seperate issue where the splines become worn and begin to growl, i honestly think this is on a unit to unit basis, some can go 100k without a noise. VANOS growl has never lead to a failure....ever...recorded. So saying if it growls walk away is complete nonsense. Owners only replace the unit to remove the irritating rattle which can grow louder and louder.
The common failures are:
1. Bolts snap dumping all the oil in your engine bay at an alarming rate. - Change the bolts & VANOS filter when you buy the car and every InspII, better to play it safe, they are about £8! and make sure they are torqued correctly. (they were recalled by BMW)
2. Seals & solenoids failing - If the car pulls without hesitation, doesn't have huge loss of power until about 3k (to the point where the car feels like it will stall) then you are ok. There is no warning for this failure, short of being psychic you have no way of knowing the actual 'health' of a VANOS unit so don't concentrate on it anymore
I believed all the forum rubbish, went to view my s50 and listened for the 'dreaded' VANOS growl. The car was silent so away I drove only to find a solenoid had failed, the car was extremely rough at low revs and had no power below 3k. It also had huge power loss and on full throttle i was overtaken by a clio 172! I'll also add to this and say once the unit was fixed it was completely silent but after a year and a half of careful and very light use (i barely take my car above 5k - a waste I know but there is hardly ever the right time) she generated a VANOS rattle, the rattle was quite prominent but the same car is still able to sit a few car lengths behind my S54 with a full boot on the quarter mile (at the BMW show). That car has an extremely healthy S50 no doubt.
So to sum up: check the usual points, make sure it pulls well with no hesitation. Check the rear differential and if it appears clean and well looked after don't let a bit of growl put you off...At some point in the future you will probably be faced with a solenoid/seal failure. Nowadays its quite cheap to fix and at the same time Dr.VANOS/Mr.VANOS will cure the growl...
Good luck on your hunt swamper
P.S The one you had inspected I'd walk away from. Panel respray at this age is expected but the amount of consumables which need replacing gives the impression its not very well looked after.
Shantybeater
I'm pleased you cleared the issue of the Vanos growl
A lot of exaggerated claims and fears are made about the growl
Experience is better than hearsay
I'm pleased you cleared the issue of the Vanos growl
A lot of exaggerated claims and fears are made about the growl
Experience is better than hearsay
Dont get too disheartened Wayne, i had the same when i looked at the first M i viewed.. i was excited and came home disapointed as i realised it needed alot of work that frankly i just didnt want to do.. Keep an eye on a few members cars forsale, even put up an add in the wanted section on here and .net.. i got offered quite a few by PM..swamper said:iv not seen the car and im not going to....its a dog.
if someone wants to take the challenge up then good on them...but even if i did the work my self its going to cost...and who knows what else i would find....its not for me....but thanks to all you guys for putting the time in to help
the battles lost but the wars just begun.............im having an ///m
Good luck mate and you will find the right one.. trust me
Jonttt
Zorg Addict
Totally agree with Shantybeater re the VANOS growl but the problem is that the growl WILL put people off buying the car as it sounds like something is seriously wrong even though the unit will operate perfectly well.
I've heard various levels of VANOS growl and believe me a bad one sounds aweful as if the engine is about to fall apart. so even though it will not lead to total engine failure as many rumours suggest it will mean you will end up paying for a refurb or make it harder for you to sell the car on.
It is one of those things that has been exaggerated but it is still something that people should be aware of as it will affect a cars value if not its performance.
As stated the bolts are a much less discussed issue but can result in total catastrophic failure but they are an easy check and fix.
I've heard various levels of VANOS growl and believe me a bad one sounds aweful as if the engine is about to fall apart. so even though it will not lead to total engine failure as many rumours suggest it will mean you will end up paying for a refurb or make it harder for you to sell the car on.
It is one of those things that has been exaggerated but it is still something that people should be aware of as it will affect a cars value if not its performance.
As stated the bolts are a much less discussed issue but can result in total catastrophic failure but they are an easy check and fix.
Looks a nice car Wayne
Happy days
Happy days
well as most of you know iv bought spacemonkey's M
the M started/run like a dream not one issue....stops on a penny as diving in london this is a must......inside and out its out of the box.....we gave it a little blip down a winding dual carriage way.......******* hell...never felt anything like it....i'll be honest and admit it made my toes curl ...and stuck like glue....all in all its a minter and a credit to spacemonkey for keeping it in the condition...
the other Zed is staying as Colette wants it and offered me the trade in price ......and she wants to "borrow" the mods
thanks for all the advice and pm's..... couldn't/wouldn't have done it with out ya
the M started/run like a dream not one issue....stops on a penny as diving in london this is a must......inside and out its out of the box.....we gave it a little blip down a winding dual carriage way.......******* hell...never felt anything like it....i'll be honest and admit it made my toes curl ...and stuck like glue....all in all its a minter and a credit to spacemonkey for keeping it in the condition...
the other Zed is staying as Colette wants it and offered me the trade in price ......and she wants to "borrow" the mods
thanks for all the advice and pm's..... couldn't/wouldn't have done it with out ya
Welldone, it looked great in the pics,very pleased for you a wise buy.pete
Well done Wayne ,sounds like the perfect excuse to call round for a coffeeswamper said:well as most of you know iv bought spacemonkey's M
the M started/run like a dream not one issue....stops on a penny as diving in london this is a must......inside and out its out of the box.....we gave it a little blip down a winding dual carriage way.......******* hell...never felt anything like it....i'll be honest and admit it made my toes curl ...and stuck like glue....all in all its a minter and a credit to spacemonkey for keeping it in the condition...
the other Zed is staying as Colette wants it and offered me the trade in price ......and she wants to "borrow" the mods
thanks for all the advice and pm's..... couldn't/wouldn't have done it with out ya
Nice one wayne
Hopefully meetup when you pickup car
Hopefully meetup when you pickup car
Snoops
Zorg Addict
I've ordered a courier to bring this to you........... just till you get out of Londonswamper said:will do Ray...you can lead me outa London
then you can burst out of it 
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2011
- Points
- 226
- Location
- Langley Mill
- Model of Z
- Z4 3.0si Individual Ruby Black Last one produced in this colour combo
Congrats Wayne, you will have to bring it onto a cruise very soon.
bill
bill