true cost of ownership 2004 Z4

[SoonToBeZ4Owner]

HI, First time on. Am wanting to purchase a 2004 Z4, but am concerned about the true cost of ownership. If anyone has reliable personal info or can point me to a place where I can get it, I would be very thankful. What about extended warranties? IF the Z4 I find qualifies for an ext. warr., any thoughts and/or recommendations? Mileage recommendations? Thanks in advance.

[santov]

You're going to have to do the research by reading DIYs and such.

Obviously cost of the car, insurance, consumables. Reading the posts here and browsing www.bavauto.com and www.getbmwparts.com will give you an idea of what OEM parts cost.

I bought a used 2007 and after replacing all the maintenance items it runs like a top with an average of 27.6MPG. The 2761 miles has cost me $581, $401 of that being gas. YMMV.

[ANUSTART]

My cost of ownership so far has been minimal, but I only purchased mine in November. However, here is what I know so far. Insurance is running very similar to when I had my Honda CRV, very inexpensive to insure, but check your company to verify.

Oil changes and maintenance are more expensive. My oil change from an independent shop run $65 but can run up to around $130 at a dealer.

santov is doing far better than me in the area of mileage. I am getting around 20-21 but I also drive 15 miles round trip to work every day in stop and go, heavy stoplight secondary rounds to and from work. If it tells you anything, it takes 30-45 minutes to make the one way trip.

After doing a lot of research before making the leap from a Honda to a BMW I can say I am very satisfied with the fit, finish and build quality of the Z4. It's a top notch vehicle that is far more enjoyable even outside of the fact it is a sporty convertible. It's simply a very well built car. These are my initial thoughts, ask me again in a year once I've put another 10-15k on it. Enjoy your new car whatever end up getting.

[SCHMOUPE]

its a very open ended question but I think what you are looking for is for us to reassure you Z4s are reliable. And yes they are. Once in a while you get a dud and it costs you a ton of money to fix it but if we were to say how reliable they are, I think from the past year of ownership and hanging around here, I see very few "oh crap" my car is a toast threads.

[SoonToBeZ4Owner]

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to give me some info. I have two more questions before I take the leap . . . ONE is about the 2.5 or 3.0 . . . which gets better mpg? I am assuming it's the smaller 2.5, but thought I would ask you who own them. SECOND has to do with Extended Warranties or Extended Service Contracts. Since they are reliable cars, is a warranty or service contract really necessary? Consumer Report and others like them seem to say it's not a good investment. Any experience and/or opinions based on real-life? Thanks.

[bucko521]

Originally Posted by SoonToBeZ4Owner

. . . ONE is about the 2.5 or 3.0 . . . which gets better mpg? Any experience and/or opinions based on real-life? Thanks.

Funny, I mentioned the other day to a friend about the price is premium fuel...he told me if if I need to worry about that...sell the car! In reality my Z4 will not get the same mileage as my Camry, but certainly better than my Chev Blazer (oh I need to sell that soon). But he did say "You bought it to drive...not commute". That made my argument about premium has price redundant.

The 2.5 or 3.0 will both provide decent mileage, but it also depends on what you expect from both the power between those engines and the way you drive.

[HaiDef]

edmunds.com has a link for each car that estimates true cost of ownership. Z4m coupe is 64k for a used 2007

[IRunOnE]

well if you're concern with maintenance 7qt of bmw certified oil is quite a bit plus oil filter and ring even though some people don't replace the ring i do it anyway to prevent leaking. very minor stuff

[SoonToBeZ4Owner]

Thanks for your input, Santov. I'll check them out. That, plus responses from others have been encouraging. Thanks again.

[SoonToBeZ4Owner]

Thanks for your input, Hogzilla, Shakib and others. Thanks for taking the time to give me your thoughts and experiences. So far it has been better than I thought it would be. I have heard a number of people say that the Z4 is a money pit and frankly, I can't do that. Nor do I want a car that ends up needing repairs every other week. The Z4 is a great looking vehicle and from my limited experience behind the wheel, a fun one to drive. I do want more than basic transportation. I believe that's why each of you have one. So, thanks again . . . to all of you.

[SoonToBeZ4Owner]

Any thoughts and/or experience about buying extended warranties? Did you end up using it? Was it worth it?

[bhoch]

I just purchased my 2007 Si in August 2010. It was a CPO car and I got the CPO warranty through April 2012. I also purchased the maintenance contract at the time so I have the normal maintenance through the dealer paid for for a couple years as well.

Other then purchase, maintenance contract and cost of gas, I have had zero issues with the car. I have put 10K on it since purchase in August. Had one flat, but discount tire repaired for free, one burned out halo light - dealer replace for free.

One thing you will need to count on is.. even though these cars get pretty decent mileage, you may find you are driving it more because of the fun factor.

As for gas mileage - I get ~28 MPG on my commute to/from work (most of it is highway driving with a a few stop lights close to home and close to work. It's a 52 mile round trip. Coming from a Vette with cam, headers, exhaust, etc... 28 MPG is pretty good.

One thing to remember - it is a car - and with all cars, stuff will eventually break, hoses will go bad, etc.. There is a maintenance cycle - if it's followed, and you take care of your car - it should give you many years of excellent transportation.

[Z4Murder]

Originally Posted by SoonToBeZ4Owner

Any thoughts and/or experience about buying extended warranties? Did you end up using it? Was it worth it?

I wouldnt spend my money on it. if you're even slightly mecghanical, you can save alot of $$ by doing simple maintenance yourself

[ANUSTART]

To avoid "features" breaking I got the most base model they made. Also, like Z4Murder mentioned get some tools and DIY as much as you can. Two factors that will cause any car to be a money pit are, not maintaining it and driving it beyond it's mechanical limits. Keep those things in mind and you'll have a good experience.

Check out the DIY section on here as well.

[imz4n]

We made 2 cross country trips with a 2.5 2003 and a 3.0 2004 Z4. We did a lead follow from SoCal to South Carolina. The gas was very close on fill ups, 3 to 4 dollars per fill up. To put it another way the 2,5 would put in about a gallon more per tank. It was mostly get off freeway and get gas or a meal and right back on the freeway. On back twisty roads the 2.5 used more gas than I did. IMHO the 3.0 just did not need to work as hard, Lets hear it for a bit in reserve. I would find a indy shop that you like and trust and go that way, stealers are not cheep and find all kinds of ways not to cover things. Just my humble opinion. If you put lots of miles on in a year and the amount of miles on the car it could work out a bit differently. Doing it for brakes, rotors and oil and oil filters I do not think it is cost effective.

[CalRick]

My observation from reading these forums these last few years is that the mileage is very similar between the two models - the larger engine of the 3.0 is offset by better gearing and more torque (6 speed vs. 5 speed on the manual gearboxes, diff ratios are probably different with the autos as well). The 2.5 is certainly not the "economy model" in operating costs versus the 3.0 other than on initial cost - everything else maintenance-wise is the same.

[Chris Modiano]

That Edmonds true cost to own thing says that, at least for the M Roadster, you can expect around $1,400 a year on repairs... Is that actually an accurate estimate on average?

[Z4Murder]

Originally Posted by Chris Modiano

That Edmonds true cost to own thing says that, at least for the M Roadster, you can expect around $1,400 a year on repairs... Is that actually an accurate estimate on average?

judging from what i hear on these forums, i would say that is not accurate at all. and over estimate. our cars, like any other well built car, will last if taken care of

[fighting_fish]

I agree with Z4Murder that seems high for repairs. However, Inspection I and II can run you that much on an M, and you can expect to do those every 1-3 years depending on how much you drive (unless you do them yourself). Do a search on the "M tax", there's definitely a higher cost to owning an M versus a 2.5 or 3.0.

[Chris Modiano]

Ah, M tax, that sounds interesting. I couldn't really find anything in a forum search, but I can assume what it means. I wonder how much it compares to the cost of owning a 370Z, because that's really the only other car I'm considering.

[Huz-Z]

I had the front brakes on my 3.0si replaced - at a local BMW dealer - for about $425 Canadian last summer. My dad had the front brakes done on his Ford fusion a few months earlier for about $350. So clearly, brakes on a 3.0si are not outrageously expensive. In fact, I was quite pleased with the price.

Also, Consumer Reports has consistently listed the 2003 - 2008 Z4 as a "Good Bet" in terms of a used car purchase.