[tIndy]

Hello Forum,

I currently have a 2011 Z4 35is, however, I am looking to upgrade to a 2020 M40i. I have been looking on Cargurus and have noticed a wide range of cars.

Which options should I put on my list?

What is the difference between 544 Dynamic Cruise Control and 5DF Active Cruise Control?

Which seat leather would you recommend? I love the look of Cognac Vernasca Leather w/contrast stitching/piping.

Suggestions?

[jcolman]

The difference between the two options for cruise control is one is a standard cruise control and the active one will pace your car with other vehicles in front of you. I'm pretty sure both cruise controls can be set to follow speed limits and automatically go slower or faster as the speed limits change.

[SpeedyATL]

I'm in the midst of closing on a '22 M40 and for me I had to have HUD, HK and the Driving Assistance Pkg.

The moonlight top is quite nice, but from what I've been able to tell it tends to show the typical 'top down' creases more when the top is up. These drive me crazy, but I have yet to see any used Z4 without them...just a fact of convertible life I guess.

Be sure to study the ordering guides from the years you are considering as the packages do change a bit from year to year. I searched nationwide and called on nearly all 20-22 M40 with HK in a light color (my car sits outside all day at the office so silver or white were my only real options) over the past couple of months. Ultimately I bought about 800 miles from home. Doing the fly and drive thing this Friday/Saturday.

One thing I noticed is that on average, each year newer results in about $5k +/- higher price so I decided to go newer to get more warranty time as $5k/year is not bad. Also, if you stick with a '20, check when the warranty expires. I also found that Z4 are pretty cheap to get a warranty on as I don't want to own a BMW out of warranty if at all possible. The best deals I found were @ caredge.com. (EDIT: Adding an example here for a 2020 with 20k miles, adding 6 years from date of warranty purchase and 55k miles (so 20+55=75k total) of exclusionary warranty is about $2,400 with a $100 deductible. Never used them, but this math is pretty good I think)

This is my first convertible in 22 years, can't wait to go topless, well in a sense anyway.

[mjposner]

I just bought a 2020 Z4 cpo. Saved about $15k over a new model and I still have 27 months of warranty. No HUD (have had before and I still look down, I guess muscle memory after 46 years of driving). I also did not get the HK. Never was impressed with it in my M3/M4s, the stock system is okay, but basically have to turn up to 80% to hear with top down at speed. I do like blind spot monitoring, mine doesn't have...

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by tIndy

Hello Forum,

I currently have a 2011 Z4 35is, however, I am looking to upgrade to a 2020 M40i. I have been looking on Cargurus and have noticed a wide range of cars.

Which options should I put on my list?

What is the difference between 544 Dynamic Cruise Control and 5DF Active Cruise Control?

Which seat leather would you recommend? I love the look of Cognac Vernasca Leather w/contrast stitching/piping.

Suggestions?

As jcolman mentioned, the ACC will sense the distance between you and the car ahead of you when it is engaged. It slows your Z4 down if that car also goes slower and speeds up when that car goes faster. It is an option I wish I had but my car was already sitting on a dealer's lot without it and I didn't want to wait for new production from Austria.

I have to disagree with mjposner about the HK sound system. I test drove a 30i without it and had the top both up and down. During that test drive I tweaked the settings of the sound system and wasn't blown away especially with the top down (pardon my pun). My M40i has the HK system and I love how it sounds now that I have played with the settings. Also the music source does make a difference and I play a great deal of music that is in lossless audio and it is crystal clear.

You haven't said what colors you were considering for the Z4. My test drive 30i was Alpine white/ cognac and the combination looked great, the cognac interior really popped and in my opinion it is classic look. That being said I personally don't think that cognac works with every car color. I have the ivory interior on my Misano Blue baby and it looks stunning. Some people will tell you they have a preference for the Magna Red and a few love the Black Alcantara interior. My least favorite interior is black, as a convertible owner since 1994 I would never get this color for two reasons. You will feel the heat from the seats when the top is down on a sunny day and I personally think that plain black is really boring.

I would also recommend the Shadowline option with jet black wheels and red calipers along with the black high gloss trim which gives the interior a beautiful accent and really pops. I recommend protecting the black high gloss trim with PPF to avoid any micro scratches.

Finally regarding the top, I have the standard black which looks great but would have opted for the Moonlight top if it had been on the car I purchased. I think the Moonlight top enhances the appearance of many colors and as mentioned by others the material used in the Moonlight top is a little better quality than the standard black top.

Finally I love the HUD, especially when driving at night and to me it is a "must have".

[tIndy]

Thank you all for the responses.

I created a "must have" listing:
Must haves:
- M40i
- Exterior - My "go to" is white as it is a cleaner look, however, red, blue, and silver are also in play. I like the Frozen Grey Metallic, however, my girlfriend is not a fan of the color.
- Interior - Cognac Vernasca Leather
- Driving Assistance Package - Lane departure
- Premium Package - Heads up display
- Executive Package - Harman Kardon Sound
- 5DF Active Cruise Control

Other than emailing/calling each dealer, is there a way to tell if each of the above is present on the car? The dealers are not very good at proper listing of the features.

Also, the M40i only comes with 19" wheels, correct?

[RigaTony1982]

Originally Posted by tIndy

Thank you all for the responses.

I created a "must have" listing:
Must haves:
- M40i
- Exterior - My "go to" is white as it is a cleaner look, however, red, blue, and silver are also in play. I like the Frozen Grey Metallic, however, my girlfriend is not a fan of the color.
- Interior - Cognac Vernasca Leather
- Driving Assistance Package - Lane departure
- Premium Package - Heads up display
- Executive Package - Harman Kardon Sound
- 5DF Active Cruise Control

Other than emailing/calling each dealer, is there a way to tell if each of the above is present on the car? The dealers are not very good at proper listing of the features.

Also, the M40i only comes with 19" wheels, correct?

18 inch wheels are standard, but most I see have the option 19’s.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by tIndy

Thank you all for the responses.

I created a "must have" listing:
Must haves:
- M40i
- Exterior - My "go to" is white as it is a cleaner look, however, red, blue, and silver are also in play. I like the Frozen Grey Metallic, however, my girlfriend is not a fan of the color.
- Interior - Cognac Vernasca Leather
- Driving Assistance Package - Lane departure
- Premium Package - Heads up display
- Executive Package - Harman Kardon Sound
- 5DF Active Cruise Control

Other than emailing/calling each dealer, is there a way to tell if each of the above is present on the car? The dealers are not very good at proper listing of the features.

Also, the M40i only comes with 19" wheels, correct?

Edited because you are looking for a preowned 2020 model and not a 2023.
You can go to the BMW USA website and do a search using the shopping tab and search for used cars. The preowned car search tool allows you to do a nationwide search. There are other sites that can give you nationwide availability.

https://www.bmwusa.com

The 19" wheels are a $600 option.

Are you passing on the Shadowline option? This includes:
Extended Shadowline Trim
Adaptive Full LED Lights
Mirror Caps in Black

What color wheels are you selecting?

What color brake calipers are you selecting?

Which top are you selecting, the standard black or the Moonlight black?

Which interior trim are you selecting?

[COKen]

You can use mdecoder.com to decode the VIN of any Z4 you are looking at to see all of the packages and options.

[SpeedyATL]

I did it the hard way, looking at all the pics....not many will have ACC. That is very rare and only found it on a few cars. The HK is also fairly rare, but less so than ACC.

You can see the HK logo on the door/window speakers and you can see the +/- and bars for the ACC on the left spoke of the steering wheel. On a 2020 (according to the Pricing Guide) if it has the HK then it has the Executive Pkg and you can't get the Exec Pkg without getting the Prem Pkg, which has the HUD. So, If/Then...

ALSO, As a guy who has spent a fair amount of time looking for the perfect Z4, please know that unless you have LOTS of free time and lots of time before you need the car, you will have to give on your requirements a fair amount. My own personal view is that if you need a car in the next 2-4 weeks, your best bet will be to be flexible on interior color (black is most likely with a white car, red is second most likely - this is what I did white/red) and be willing to go without ACC. I think this is even more so the case now that the weather is getting toward convertible weather as they are not sitting as long. My recommendation is that if you find something close, jump on it as they only sell 1,500 or so of these for the US each year so there aren't many that pop up for sale....but that's just my opinion.

Edit: For future reference here is how the controls of ACC looks on the left spoke of the sterring wheel:

[tIndy]

Originally Posted by SpeedyATL

You can see the HK logo on the door/window speakers and you can see the +/- and bars for the ACC on the left spoke of the steering wheel. On a 2020 (according to the Pricing Guide) if it has the HK then it has the Executive Pkg and you can't get the Exec Pkg without getting the Prem Pkg, which has the HUD. So, If/Then...

Thank you for these hints. I can now quickly identify and eliminate.

Thank you for this. What I am finding is that the listings are not very accurate and I must inspect the photos. Yes, it is exhausting.

I own a 2011 35is. So, I have a car and allows time to find the upgrade (M40i).

[RigaTony1982]

Originally Posted by tIndy

Thank you for these hints. I can now quickly identify and eliminate.

Thank you for this. What I am finding is that the listings are not very accurate and I must inspect the photos. Yes, it is exhausting.

I own a 2011 35is. So, I have a car and allows time to find the upgrade (M40i).

BMW's website is good for this, with the obvious drawback being it only searches BMW dealers. You can use the filters to look for specific options such as HK or Active Cruise.

[GerryC]

Originally Posted by tIndy

Thank you for these hints. I can now quickly identify and eliminate.

Thank you for this. What I am finding is that the listings are not very accurate and I must inspect the photos. Yes, it is exhausting.

I own a 2011 35is. So, I have a car and allows time to find the upgrade (M40i).

I had the same issues when I started my search. The BMW USA site is good, but there just aren't that many cars to find. Expanding to non-BMW dealers about doubled the inventory to search. CarGurus has good filters, but it relies on the dealer putting in the information. Sadly, most don't care about listing all the features. Some don't even state whether it's a 30i or M40i. Very frustrating.

I too want ACC and the HK. Between the low take on those options and color choices, I just gave up and ordered a new one. Not the cheapest solution, but as my wife reminds me, you can't take it with you.

Gerry

[CJ421]

Originally Posted by tIndy

Thank you all for the responses.

I created a "must have" listing:
Must haves:
- M40i
- Exterior - My "go to" is white as it is a cleaner look, however, red, blue, and silver are also in play. I like the Frozen Grey Metallic, however, my girlfriend is not a fan of the color.
- Interior - Cognac Vernasca Leather
- Driving Assistance Package - Lane departure
- Premium Package - Heads up display
- Executive Package - Harman Kardon Sound
- 5DF Active Cruise Control

Other than emailing/calling each dealer, is there a way to tell if each of the above is present on the car? The dealers are not very good at proper listing of the features.

Also, the M40i only comes with 19" wheels, correct?

I'll echo that you may need to be flexible on the interior and exterior colors. But don't give up on options you want; you have a good list and are basically looking for a fully loaded Z4.

As noted, option packages change from year to year. The Shadowline package was only offered 2021+.

Try to get a copy of the window sticker. I'd also request maintenance records if the car has 15K+ miles or is more than one year old, that's the maximum oil change interval.

Charles