No Reserve 2006 Bmw Z4 3.0i Auto Loaded Low Miles Clean Carfax Premium Package on 2040-cars

I'm looking to sell my 2006 BMW Z4. Just moved to Manhattan and it just doesn't make sense to pay $6K/yr just to park a car I'll barely use. Since I'm looking for a quick sale, I'm listing the car with no reserve and since I'm not a dealer there are no extra fees tacked on to the final price.

Note: This ended up being a pretty long listing since I wanted to share all the little known facts, so if you don't like reading I'll give you the cliff notes

0. CLIFF NOTES(PHOTOS AT THE BOTTOM OF LISTING):

2006 BMW Z4 3.0i: 68,XXX miles, Monaco Blue Pearl with tan top, 6 speed Auto-manual with paddle shifters. Beige leather interior. Fully loaded(premium package, power seats, memory seats, heated seats, automatic climate control, xenons, hill assist, the works...only option missing is the sport package).

Comes with aftermarket 18" BBS LM style wheels with staggered Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires(~3K miles on them), as well as the stock Style 200 wheels with Bridgestone Potenza runflat tires.

1. FULL DESCRIPTION

For sale is a 2006 BMW Z4 3.0i roadster with a 6 speed auto-manual transmission(can shift using the shifter or paddles) and 68,XXX miles. The color is Monaco Blue Pearl(pretty rare color, unlike the typical silver/black/white that everyone else has) and it comes with a tan top and beige leather seats. Whomever originally built out the options on this car knew what they were doing. This is the optimal combination for convertibles since with beige seats you won't get 3rd degree burns after 20 minutes in the sun like you would with the black seats(can actually leave the car with the top down in the sun and the seats will only be warm to the touch when you come back). And the tan top reflects sunlight better, so if you park with the top up, the car will stay cool a lot longer.

If you are not familiar with the Z4. It is considered to be one of the best roadsters out there. It has the best mix of performance, luxury and safety features on the market. It's not bare bones like Miata/S2000(i.e. with S2000 if you look up, you'll see the roof rails and the actual top, while with the Z4 you have actual roof liner + with those cars, the feature list is pretty much non-existent)...and unlike the Porsche Boxster they are very reliable(Boxster engines tend to go boom around 60K miles and a new engine from Porsche is $20K...while this uses the same engine found in the rest of the BMW range). And unlike the Audi TT, it doesn't have awkward dimensions. SLKs are pretty much the only real competition, and even they are a lot less of a car compared to the Z4.

The Z4 also has one of the largest trunks in this category(which you can actually live with...I drove a friend's F-Type, and there is barely enough space for 2 grocery bags, by comparison you can actually take the Z4 shopping), has one of the best MPG #s in it's class(28 highway vs 24(S2000)/25(SLK)) and are considered to be the safest roadster on the market(especially the rollover protection...the roll bar actually pops up in case of rollover). What's more, unlike the competition, they've aged very well, to a point where they could still be sold as new.

The 2006+ models are particularly nice since they got the mid-cycle refresh. They are a lot more modern looking and are a huge improvement over the previous models mechanically. For one, the automatic transmissions are a lot more reliable, the roof top motors don't die on you since they fixed that flooding problem and you also don't get the sticking steering issue when it's hot, like you do with the older models. And they have a few more modern features like mp3 capability(120 songs on a cd instead of 20), hill assist(don't roll back on hills), paddle shifters etc. Overall, the 06+ are a MUCH better car.

The 06+ models are pretty rare. Don't get me wrong, the Z4 is rare enough in itself. You'll see 15-20 S2000s for every Z4. But the 06+ are even rarer since BMW bumped up the MSRP for those years(and with the financial crisis a lot less people could afford them). Which is why most of the Z4s you'll see are the 03-05 models...and most of them are the anemic 2.5i models with the 2.5L engines making 184hp which barely manages to get out of its own way. The 3.0i on the other hand has some kick to it...so unlike the 2.5i, it's a proper sports car.

This particular model is pretty much fully loaded(this car's MSRP was almost $43K with options). The only thing missing is the sport package, which lowers the car a bit and adds a stiffer ride. Since the car is low enough as it is without the sport package(sometimes scrapes the bumper on steep driveways), with the sport package that same steep driveway/speedhump will either get you stuck or worse you'll rip off the bumper...and outside of the race track you really don't need it.

The car comes with HID/Xenons(not a proper BMW without them), Premium Package(wood instead of alluminium on the dash, power top instead of doing it manually, and you can lower the top using the remote control, power seats(w/ memory), automatic climate control, BMW Assist, Bluetooth etc), Heated Seats(a must have for convertibles, since it extends the top down season an extra 1-2 months). And it has all the standard options: wheel mounted controls, traction control, paddle shifters, TPMS, gauge cluster computer(trip, temp, mpg etc), power everything(power memory seats, mirrors, windows, locks), roof liner(instead of exposed roof rails), fog lamps, auto headlights(they turn on/off automatically), air bags all over the place(front, side...even knee airbags) and more.

The car is also very cheap to insure since it has a more adult crowd driving it. I'm paying only $250 every 6 months for it(liability only). The S2000 on the other hand would be 3x as expensive, since it attracts a lot of kids who crash them trying to show off. So keep that in mind when making your choice.

2. WHEELS/TIRES:

Please note, the car will also come with the original set of wheels(I believe they are called Style 200) with the all season run flats.

The wheels currently mounted are a staggered set of 18" BBS LM style wheels with Michelin Pilot Super Sport summer tires(they aren't as stiff compared to the runflats, so the ride is a lot less bumpy + they handle MUCH better).  The wheels are considered by many, the best looking wheels on the market(if you search Google Images for [any high end car] BBS LM, you are pretty much guaranteed to find photos). Car turns heads everywhere it goes.

The wheels are pretty much mint, minus a tiny curb rash on one of the wheels and a few minor scratches here and there. These wheels are very light(only 1lb heavier than the $4K originals) and they aren't universal(center bore is BMW spec and they use OEM BMW lug bolts)...so they ride like OEM.

The tires are Michelin Pilot Super Sports. These are rated as the best tires on the market in the Max Performance Summer category on Tirerack. They come as OEM on Ferraris(599 GTO etc) and other high end cars, and are a huge improvement to the car's handling. Literally night and day difference compared to OEM(both in comfort and handling).

The wheels/tires are properly sized for the Z4, so the speedometer stays accurate. Altogether the 18" wheel/tire package saves 5 pounds a corner over the OEM 17s...which is huge(since the savings are to rotational mass, meaning the car is a lot more nimble and accelerates better)...and that's with wider/bigger wheels/tires. There are only about 3K miles on the tires/wheels...so they are in very good condition(tons of tread left). Also I have  black BBS stickers for the center caps in case you prefer black. Personally I like the red/gold better or if you want you can run BMW center caps instead(70mm).

The wheels also come with 433MHz TPMS sensors installed. You don't actually need them on the 06 since it uses the hub based TPMS system. But I bought the wheels before I bought the car, so I wanted to have them in case I bought an 07 or 08 model(which use the valve based system). So if you'll ever decide to use them on another newer BMW...you won't need to spend an extra $150 on new sensors(or another $100 to have them installed since they require taking off the tires). The 433MHz versions, should be good on all BMWs 2006-2011.

At $1K the wheels are a bargain, especially since everything is so new.

Wheels: $899

Tires: $914 + $120 to mount them

TPMS Sensors: $150

Total: $2,083

3. Condition:

Exterior: Body is in very good condition...it has a few minor scratches, but nothing major. Also since it's a low car, the underside of the front bumper got scraped on steep driveways. But since it's a dark color it's not really noticeable. I will include a touch up pen + a clear coat pen, just in case you want to fix them. Please note, the OEM wheels do have minor curb rash on one of the wheels(see photo). The BBS style wheels like I mentioned only have the tiny bit of curb rash on one wheel. The top is in good condition, there are no rips or cracks in the window and it works perfectly. And the car has never seen snow.

Interior: Pretty much mint condition. Seats are perfect. Dash is perfect. Gauge cluster is perfect with no dead pixels. All electronics work perfectly and there are no peeling buttons. No weird smells or anything of that sort. The only bad thing is that like most Z4s the cup holders are stuck. If you read on the Z4 forums, this is pretty much a universal problem. If it bothers you, it's a simple fix and the part itself is dirt cheap($41). But after you replace them for the 3rd time, you'll probably give up on them like everyone else does.

Mechanical: Only 68K miles on it, so it's in great condition. It runs great, the motor pulls through all rpms without any kinks, doesn't overheat, transmission shifts smoothly, brakes are good. Also note, the car isn't due for the next BMW service for another 12K miles, and since that's a pricey service(~$1,000)...keep that in mind when comparing this car to one with ~80K miles. The car also just passed the state inspection with flying colors, so that's good till July, 2015. Also just did a full synthetic oil change + filter at BMW and they did the usual multipoint check as part of the service.

4. SUMMARY:

You are bidding on a low mileage, pretty much fully loaded, fairly rare Z4. It's in very good condition, and the BBS LM style wheels make this a unique looking car. Please note, the car is sold AS IS with no reserve. My starting price IS the reserve...so whatever the final price is, that's what you'll pay.

Note: Title in hand. This is very important, since you can get the title right away. If a car has a lien, you'll need to pay the previous owner, then wait for 3-6 weeks for them to pay off the loan and to get a lien release letter in the mail from the bank and for them to go to the DMV to get a clean title. I went through this when I bought this car, and it took a month to get the title. If you check the autocheck report, you'll see that it says there are duplicate titles...and that's because I grew so impatient for the guy to get the title that I went with him to the DMV to transfer the titles as soon as he got the lien release letter from his bank.

Obviously it's a clear title and the VIN # is: 4USBU33506LW66010

There are a few records but they only go back to 55K miles(I'm sure you can get the first 36K mile service history from BMW if needed). And the car will come with 2 sets of keys and all the bmw manuals.

5. PRICE:

Please note that the car will come with 2 sets of wheels so bid accordingly.

6. PAYMENT TERMS:

- $200 non-refundable deposit is due within 24 hours of auction end via Paypal.
- I'd like the transaction to be finalized within two weeks. Payment is to be done either in cash(in person) or through a bank wire(not one of those storefront places etc). No money orders or checks(unless you want to go together to the bank, so I can see them issue you a certified check in person, so I know it's a real check).
- The car is sold as is with no warranty and all sales are final.
- The final bid is the full amount that you'll pay. There are no extra fees...and since I'm not a dealer, I don't collect taxes. This is pretty important, since with most other sellers you get hit with an extra $1,000 after all the dealer fees get added. And you get taxed on the full transaction(including the fees).
- The car is eligible for up to $50K in eBay vehicle buyer protection.
- Also since I realize buying a car over the internet can be risky, if you get here and anything isn't like I described, I won't hold you to buying the car, you can just walk away.

7. OTHER ITEMS:

Picking up the car - Optimally I'd like you to pick it up/arrange to ship it within two weeks.
Getting here - My zipcode is 07078 and getting here is very easy(even without a car). If you can get to the New York Penn Station...you can get to my town via a train.(I'm 5 mins away from the train station, and I can pick you up). Also if you are flying in, you can get to Penn Station from JFK/La Guardia and Newark airports. If you are driving here, just plug my zipcode into Google maps to see the distance.
Shipping the car - If you need the car shipped, I'm willing to do that. I can work from home if needed, so I can always be around for the shipping truck during the week. Obviously the buyer has to make the arrangements, so if you need to find out how much shipping will be, take a look at www.uship.com to get automatic quotes(my zipcode is 07078). Please note, U.S. buyers only.

8. FURTHER QUESTIONS:

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. And you are welcome to come check the car out in person to see that it's indeed as described...or bring a mechanic over to take a look at it with you.

9. PHOTOS:(click here to see the album with full size photos or click each photo)

Walkaround photos:

With the top up(notice the fancy roofliner instead of just the top/rails like you have with Miata/S2000):
 

Interior Photos:
 
 
 
 

BMW Inspection Service isn't due for a while
 
 
The trunk:(by comparison the Jaguar F-Type barely has enough space for 2 grocery bags)

Engine bay is pretty much flawless

You'll also get the stock Style 200 Wheels with Runflats with your purchase. Which gives you a few options: Sell the aftermarket wheels for ~$1000 and keep these. Or sell these for ~$600 and keep the aftermarkets. Or throw on a set of snow tires and use the car all year round(would be a shame, since I was told this car never saw snow....but the choice would be yours).

 
 
Overall, it's a great unique car, at a good price. Happy bidding. And remember, you can see bigger photos here.