Glad to find this forum. This spring I will be buying the car for me after 19 years of minivans and station wagons. Originally I was looking at a Miata, but would like to get something more special. I have narrowed down to a 2004 z4 with the 2.5, 5 speed manual, and no sport suspension. I want a balance between performance and ride. Here are my questions
1. Is this model a relatively trouble free car?
2. If the car is maintained properly is it reasonable to get 150k miles out of it?
3. Can it be used as a daily driver, even in wintertime?
Looking forward to the replies.

My response is, if you have to ask, it's not the right car. Personally car purchases is like marriage. If you have to ask if the person you're marrying is the right person for you, he/she's not. For me, if you have to ask if it's the right car to buy, then it's not the right car. Every single car I've bought, I know exactly why I'm buying it.

Especially considering you're asking the three questions that clearly shows this is not the right car for you:

1. Is this a relatively trouble free car? There are no such thing as relatively trouble free cars. Even a Toyota will have its share of troubles down the road. Relatively trouble free and BMW isn't even remotely in the same league if you don't know what to take care of and what to watch out for. I would say it's the same for each and every car maker out there, but if you want strict comparison, take a look at Consumer Products report or JD Power and Assoc. findings and you'll have a pretty good idea how "relatively" trouble free BMW is. All I can tell you, is that I've seen Z4s that has had absolutely no problem whatsoever in 40K miles, and I've seen Z4s that has had to spend more time in the shop than on the road. Your experience WILL vary.

2. If ANY car is maintained properly they'll last as long as you want it to last. Question is what do you consider proper maintenance. Do you plan on swapping out the cooling system (radiator, hoses, thermostat...etc) to a more durable system? Do you plan on preventative maintenance like swapping out control arm bushings and shock mounts every 60K mile? Do you plan on swapping out transmission fluid and diff fluid every 60K miles? Do you plan on switching out the water pump every 60K miles, even before they fail? Do you plan on flushing the brake fluid every 2 years? List goes on and on. Proper BMW maintenance is probably going to cost you a little bit more than your typical Japanese car if you don't do it yourself and when you're out of warranty.

3. I live in the land of 85 degrees winters so I can't tell you how it's going to drive in the winter. My only suggestion, based on other input from the intarweb, is if you've never driven a RWD car in the snow, don't plan on driving it in the winter if you don't have a set of good winter/snow tires. All seasons won't cut it on a RWD in the freezing stuff. As for a daily driver during the other season that doesn't involve some white stuff (and I don't mean ash, like what we had here in the last few weeks), I lived with a Z3 for 3 years as my only means of transportation before getting married, and the Z4 is alot more daily friendly than the Z3. Don't expect to take a small family anywhere in the Z4 and you'll be fine.

Thanks for the response, first of all let me clarify. I have 12 years experience in the auto industry and when I mean trouble free, I mean that the model doesn't have any serious problem tendencies. For example, I have read too many reports of intermediatte shaft failure on the Porsche boxsters. This leads to a total engine failure with no repair except a new engine. This is what I want to stay away from. The most trouble free car that I will ever own was a 89 Geo Metro. It never ever broke down. It wasn't powerful enough to tear anything up and was so simple there was almost nothing to go wrong. I realize that a Z4 is much more complicated than a Metro.
I do plan on doing the maintenance, I have read that the cooling system is a weak point. I currently do that type of preventative maintenance on my 850 and Astro.
I just wanted to try and get some opinions on the z4. Both my kids are out of high school so now it is time for Dad to get his toy!

Sounds like the car for you if you want a car for just you, and possibly one passenger, I prefer my sunglass case in my passenger seat cruising top down in SoCal weather but you get the point. If you're getting it for winter driving as well the aforementioned winter tires are a good idea as well as premium package (heated mirrors all around) and maybe even heated seat option. The roadster top has poor insulation so it gets cold when its cold out.

My Z4 makes a great daily driver in the winter time, but then, I do live in Arizona. :)

Well, since almost everything on the Z4 is tried and true on other BMW models first, it's probably one of the more mechanical trouble free cars BMW do offer. But the fact that it's a convertible means there's more convertible related issues, like blocked drainage for the soft top and typically more rattle and sometimes electrical motor for the top fails, but not at a dramatically high rate.

As for engine, drivetrain and suspension, it's the typical BMW stuff you have to worry about, but unlike the 335i with fuel pump failure and other issues typical of first couple of year BMW engines, all the engines offered on the Z4 are tried and true.

It does inspire a lot of passion for driving. If that's what you're looking for, and you're mechanically inclined, there's no reason why it should give you more trouble than any other typical car.

Sounds good, I am excited about buying one next spring. I will keep the astro for the really nasty days. The main thing that I wanted to hear is that the drivetrain is a basically sound setup.
I will be completing my master's degree this spring and getting in administration, this is my reward.

The others have made good points, though I was surprised at Bimmerzealot's winter cold comment; the small cockpit of the Z4 means the heater will roast you out of the car in short order in my experience, and I'm talking Chicago winters. I also recommend getting a 3.0 if you can swing it, as the price difference is a lot less than when new and more is always better.

The car will be quite special in Bardstown - I've got family in Lexington and it creates a bit of a fuss every time I visit. :)

What I meant was if you had your car parked outside, it will chill to the bone rather quickly before you hop in and start up the heater, due to the lack of insulated roof. So heated seats would be a good idea, as well as heated mirrors for frosty environments

Heated seats are even good in san diego when you want the top open at 60-65 degrees.

although i dont have information about this, i would consider buying a hardtop for winter time b/c soft top might not have long life under winter conditions.

I didn't know that you could get a hardtop. The car will be garage kept and I am going to keep my old astro to drive on bad days. Is it hard to keep the drain tubes for the roof unplugged on these cars?

1. It looks like trouble free for me. Earlier Z4 had some problem I believe mostly with SMG, but now I do not see any serious complains.
2. I believe nobody is reached 150KM yet, however I see many Z3 with high mileage, which makes me think that Z4 is also capable.
3. I have it as daily driver, although we have no winter, heated seats and a good heater make me think that the car will be Ok for winter too. However if you have snow over 2 inches, then you will need to telecommute.

I live in Lexington (and Cincy most of the year for College), but I haven't taken my Z4 through a winter yet. The Z3 was about as bad as cars go for winter driving, but seeing as the Z4 is a completely different car from the ground up, I think it can handle wet and unfavorable conditions rather well for a car in it's class.

As for if this is the car you want, are you sure you can live with a 2 seater? If you can, go for it, but get a 3.0, the extra power makes enough of a difference to make it worth it, especially on a used car.