gtg710w

there's a guy in near by school, who is selling his Z4.

I believe it's 03 (maybe 04) model with around 33k miles on it.
It has sports and premium package with SMG.

the guy said he is working on getting an extended warranty, which is perfect.

and here's the best part. All this for under $22k

the seller is local, so it is not a scam, and he said he will get it serviced for any fluid changes and so forth next week.

What do you guys think AZ members?

oh forgot to mention it's 3.0 L

poohlikeshunny

i'd do it..i drove my bro's z4 manual and it was fun...not sure about smg though..how does that work? like tiptronic?

Crazy Bimmer

I love the 3.0 Z4, go for it.

gtg710w

supposedly it's a clutchless manual / tiptronic. It does not have torque converter, though. If I'm correct, it was introduced in m3 first, then z4. And after few years, now BMW dropped it, I guess due to reported problems.

mrproul

no, the z4 is a heavy car and the smg is garbage if you are planning on modding you will be hard pressed to find any parts that wont blow out the transmission.

poohlikeshunny

so it operates like a full manual minus the clutch? i have seen the shifter and it looks like a shift boot with a gate for P, R, N, D and + - signs...so you have to drive it around and upshift/downshift all the time just without a clutch? Seems kinda ghey IMO...

gtg710w

on top of that you get the another set of shifter mounted to the steering wheel. So kinda like F1 style in cool terms.

iTimmy

SMG is BMW's clutchless manual, if your in a metro area I wouldn't do it, they are really jerky and hard to drive at low speeds. Drive it to a parking lot and park it, if you can do it without giving yourself whip lash or hitting another car your set.

runnerX

^stupid..

I think the same SMG was used in E46 M3 with 333hp, and I have not heard any blown SMG in M3 forums..

bulldawg

Not meaning to be rude, but were you not complaining about how your TSX was too nice for you and that you wanted something with BETTER GAS mileage?????? A z4 is opposite of both of those.

I think you don't know what you want. People like you piss me off, You'll never be satisfied with what you have.

Like I said it before: If you want to do buy it, then buy it. Getting rid of a 1 year old Acura for no particular reason sounds dumb as shit.

gtg710w

runnerx do you own a Z4? if so, any comments?

bulldawg

wow, reading that now shows it was little bit harsh, my bad.

gtg710w

well the fact that I am gaining $ as I go from TSX to Z4 in terms of resale value, it's not too bad of trade off. Thank you for your generous comment, fellow Atlantan.

gtg710w

Oh, and anyone have any idea what extended warranty covers?

Crazy Bimmer

Yep and thats why BMW dropped it. They are coming out with a dual clutch setup soon that will be much smoother.

As far as the SMG in the z4, its not the same as the M3 but the same concept.

Although i would had gotten it if they offered it in the 335.

iTimmy

I thought you were going to correct me, its not a clutchless manual in the sense that it has no clutch, but its an automated clutch - there is no clutch pedal.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

From what I have read online the DSG in the audis seems to be really good. I have never driven one but everyone seems to love those.

As far as the Z4 I drove my dads friends and damn is that car fun to drive. The only things I didnt like was I didnt find the seats comfortable for long amounts of time or at least as comfortable as my car. However, see for yourself if you like them.

gtg710w

so did BMW drop SMG due to frequent mechanical failure? or just because of its lack of smoothness?

runnerX

The one I have is Z4 M, it is different from the regular Z4 (different suspension, engine, and tranny). I only driven 2.5 once but that was about three/four years ago. I heard both 2.5 & 3.0 have rough ride quality since they come with RFTs. I would suggest you to drive it. Most ppl probably would agree with me that Bimmer gives much better driving pleasure than Acura, that was why I bought another bimmer in less than a year.

poohlikeshunny

i have to agree with ^...i'm no fan of bangled styling, but my bro's Z4 was really fun...not s2k fun, but damn near close with more torque and luxury amenities. although the headlights on the s2k are far superior...

Crazy Bimmer

I have yet to hear about any mechanical failures with SMG. But not many were sold with them anyways... i personally think it was bad marketing.


I knew what you were trying to say.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

That is true that BMW did not market it. We have a neigbhor with a 645Ci and he wanted the SMG but the dealer told him not to do it and he would be much better off with an automatic. So in the end they got the automatic.

gtg710w

I went to bimmer forum to check it out, and there were two memberes or so with same problem. The gear selector would stick to one gear and not up or down shirt, until you either put it in the N or R, and come back to D. So I was a little worried about that. Hopefully the seller can get extended warranty issue out of the way, and have the transmission covered.

INSPIRE 32V

iTrader: (1)

i know it sounds like a sweet deal but u should definitely test drive it and see for yourself , maybe after driving it u might not like it as much

S14 n Tsx

so are you going to trade your tsx for it?

poohlikeshunny

shit after all this talk I wanna go see for myslf how crappy smg is...

baboya96

Tell you what, if you don't buy it, send me his information b/c I'm interested it.

Color Combo? Clean Carfax? Sounds little low if you ask me. I've seen at least $25k for that kind of mileage/options.

gtg710w

yeah I will test drive it, but this week is one of busiest week for me, so probably this saturday.

gtg710w

if all works out to be well, yes, I will be selling it to a dealer I know.

gtg710w

haha there's at least good 3 people lined up behind me. And I am still waiting on VIN number.

iTimmy

Drive the SMG car then go to Audi or VW and drive a DSG car, then you'll see why it failed.

I hang out on a few exotic car forums Maserati and Lambo tend to have VERY short clutch life on their clutchless manual, 10k miles or less is not uncommon.

gtg710w

probably due to the fact they have high hp and tq? but 10,000 miles?

mclarenf3387

Normal clutches on those cars don't last much longer. SMG will not kill your clutch. I've seen a few SMGs with higher mileage and still on their original clutch.

SMG is not utter crap, its just not very well suited for most day to day driving. If you get the hang of it, its not bad but you will definetly notice it when driving at slow speeds around parking lots.

Magic Man

I almost bought one.

DO IT

Jackygor

Yup! even BMW is dropping SMG for a 7-speed DSG for the new M3!

Shoofin

I like the car, but the SMG on the Z4 is a cheapo version, with half the technology of the one found in the M3. If 10 people complained that the M3's SMG is bad, 100 would have complained that the Z4's is worse.

poohlikeshunny

whats the diff between driving dynamics of SMG vs. DSG? same thing different name (other than dual clutch)?

iTimmy

The smg just isn't near as smooth, in particular at low speeds or when your going from reverse to first, it tends to buck heavily... this was a problem typical of all early automated manuals. I only drove it once, but the early Quattroporte was a horrible experience in a parking lot.

gtg710w

can you elaborate on that? I need much info as possible as the transmission goes, as it seems to cause most of problems in the car.

thanks in advance

mltk53

got any pics? what color is it?