About to buy 2011 Z4 sDrive35is

[chiu7526]

Hi guys,

I am new to the forum. Currently looking to buy a 2011 Z4 sDrive35is. I live in Seattle so there are not many out there for sell. I found couple from a local private dealer not BMW. It seems a pretty nice private dealer in Seattle.

Its a black 2011 35is with about 19500 miles on it. It still has one year factory warranty til May 2015.



Thank you so much

[Mak135i]

I was in your shoes last month. I ended up taking the car to an independent shop (that I completely trust) and paid 99$ to have the car inspected. They work on many BMW cars and are very familiar with the trouble spots for the different models. They found no problems so I bought the car.

[Lambobimmer]

Originally Posted by chiu7526

Hi guys,

I am new to the forum. Currently looking to buy a 2011 Z4 sDrive35is. I live in Seattle so there are not many out there for sell. I found couple from a local private dealer not BMW. It seems a pretty nice private dealer in Seattle.

Its a black 2011 35is with about 19500 miles on it. It still has one year factory warranty til May 2015.

I am about to buy it this weekend, is there anything I have to check? I have a friend who works in BMW to run the VIN. It had regular service done and battery cable recall. But the thing I am worry about is it shows valve cover gasket replaced on the record. Is this something I have look into?

Here is the carfax from the dealer - http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory...LM1C58BE633394

By the way, I think the car was sold on auction from BMW lease return

Thank you so much

It would be unusual to have the Valve Gasket replaced with so few miles. It is highly possible that it had a simple leak but I have not heard of many N54's with valve cover leaks. If you have a good service writer at BMW they might be able to dig around for you to see what they can come up with.

[chiu7526]

Thank your for all the reply.

I will ask my friend to see if he can find out the reason they replace it. I did a little research I there are many oil leak on E90 N54. I am not sure if is the same issue. The car only has 19k miles I am guessing its oil leak cause by sitting for too long? I read a post that saying because the way bmw design the engine, I may leak if sitting for too long.

Thanks

[chiu7526]

Just got answers from my friend. He said the record shows just leaking. It doesn't say why or what caused it. He guess is that it was a faulty gasket. maybe a factory defect nothing to be worried about.

[Lambobimmer]

Originally Posted by chiu7526

Just got answers from my friend. He said the record shows just leaking. It doesn't say why or what caused it. He guess is that it was a faulty gasket. maybe a factory defect nothing to be worried about.

Sounds reasonable to me. This would not dissuade me from buying it.

[2011CrazE89]

I learned a valuable lesson about not going by what my carfax says. I purchased my 2011 30i with 25K miles on it. My carfax told me that I had 22 months remaining on my warranty from July of 2013 which would cover me roughly through May of 2015. I later learned that the warranty actually begins on a vehicle's “in-service date” which in my case was 6/22/2010. Here I am thinking that I had over a year left of coverage when In fact I only have 4 months left. Do yourself a favor and send an email to customerrelations@bmwusa.com and provide them with the VIN#. They will tell you exactly when your warranty is up. Good Luck!

[nicknaz]

Hi OP,

If you get the car, might be worth it to change the PCV valve too (~$40 part)

Check out this part description for the rationale.

http://www.rbturbo.com/rbpcv

Good luck with the purchase!

[chiu7526]

Thanks guys. All the important tips. I bought the car last night. Love it

[MTHuynh23]

Congrats!!! Have you decided on what your plans are going to be with the car? How about some pics?

[Lambobimmer]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

Hi OP,

If you get the car, might be worth it to change the PCV valve too (~$40 part)

Check out this part description for the rationale.

http://www.rbturbo.com/rbpcv

Good luck with the purchase!

Thanks for reminding us of this. I bought this upgraded PCV yesterday and hope this will reduce blow by.

[chiu7526]

haha..I am not sure what I am going to do yet. Will take more pics once I have time.

[nicknaz]

Congrats

[jparnes1]

that's a sweet lookin' ride. Nice job.