Need an opinion on a used Z4 3.5i

Hi guys,

(I don't know if this should be in the E89 forum or under a more general one, so please move if this is in the wrong place)

Long story short: I recently moved to US (never bought or sold a vehicle in US, so even most of the terminology is new to me). I'm Looking for a Z4 and found a 2009 Z4 3.5i with the perfect combination of colors and options I want with 25k miles on it on eBay. The price tag of 42k seems right considering the options and the seller has almost perfect feedback record of 500 sales on eBay.

The thing is that AutoCheck shows that there's been an accident involving this car. I asked the dealer about this and he said that he doesn't know the details because the car was bought from an auction and he doesn't have any documentation on the accident. I've understood that even the most tiniest thing can cause an accident report so it very well could be nothing. As a proof of good condition of the car the dealer produced a copy of Manheim (the auction house that sold the car I guess) inSight report that rates the car as a 4.9/5. He says that he has no other documentation prove that the accident was so minor that it has no real meaning. Should there be something on the service record if repairs were done due to the accident?

What do you guys think? Should I walk away from this deal? How much do you think this accident record will hurt me when trading the car for something else later even if it was 'nothing'?

If you can't go see the car in person, walk away. You have no way to know what the damage was.

With an e89, I'd be concerned that an accident knocked the top mechanism slightly out of alignment. The top could look fine and seem to work fine but not be watertight.


www.Manheim.com

If the accident resulted in a mechanical problem, the owner likely brought it into a bmw dealership for repair and any dealer should have a record of that. otherwise, if it was just some body work, no big deal. But it would be nice to see it in person.

I fit was I. walk away. You can probably look at Cargurus.com and look for a CPO which will give you the warranty until 100000 miles and at least 3 more years - that is what I did. Check Long Beach BMW as well.

Thanks for the advice guys. I decided to walk away from this one.

Found a few other candidates, though. The other one goes for $40k with lot of options and about 23k miles on it. It's being sold by a dealership which doesn't usually carry this type of cars (they got it as a trade in) and want to move it fast, which could explain the low price. There's on odd thing though. According to Carfax it's got "Four wheel alignment performed" at 7k miles and then a lot of visits to the BMW service every 1k or 2k miles after 10k with mostly just "tire condition and pressure checked" up to the point he traded it - so that's 6 visits to the BMW service between 12k and 22k. Did the previous owner just really love his Z4 or could it be an indication of some kind of weird problem (the service didn't know how to fix it so they just put in the tire check comment")?

The other one has 5k miles more and 2k higher price, but it's a BMW CPO. I might just drop the two extra k and buy myself some peace of mind...

Go with the CPO. A CPO usually costs about $2000 dollars so you are getting a peace of mind. I love my Z4 - zero problems 24,000 miles

Personally I would go with the CPO.

What colors are you looking for - might consider selling mine - 22,000 miles - email me if interested - pmlnnrt@hotmail.com

Just to wrap things up here. Last Saturday I picked up the CPO one from Long Beach BMW and drove it back to San Jose. Just got back from carving some squiggly mountain roads in Santa Cruz and gotta say it's a pretty amazing car and so far I'm pretty damn happy with it.

The only issue I've found so far is a weird knocking noise from the roof which is kind of annoying when you're not listening to music. I guess it's an easy fix with some lubricant and/or new rubber parts

I've been smiling so much the last week I think I need a professional cheek massage...

Great Choice. Many happy motoring miles. Keep us posted. Another LBBMW buyer.