PDA

View Full Version : My BMW Z4 is killing my knee


luke
3rd July 2013, 23:13
What am I doing wrong?

I cant seem to get the seat setup on my BMW Z4 (right hand drive) so that I am comfortable.

I eather bash my left knee on the console because it juts out just where my knee rests, or I get achy arms from having to sit so far back.

Am I the wrong body shape, or am I to stupid to work it out??? Does anyone else suffer from this? Is there a cure or am I going to have to sell my car?
henners88
4th July 2013, 07:46
A friend of mine had a similar problem with his Lotus Elise, but he is 6' 1" with quite long legs. Some of these sports cars are just not designed for tall people unfortunately.
zako85
4th July 2013, 08:52
Move the seat to the back enough to make the legs comfortable, then adjust the steering wheel. If you have trouble reaching the steering wheel, then adjust the seat back angle until you can hold the steering wheel with comfort. No z4 experience, but I am 6.01ft tall and this is what I have to do in some cars. This often results in steering wheel almost rubbing my legs and the seat back straighter than what most people like, but I usually find this comfortable.
TheFamousEccles
4th July 2013, 12:57
1. Wrap your knee in bubble wrap, or

2. Take a hacksaw and a blow torch and fasion a cut-away in the console, or

3. If the car is automatic, have an above knee amputation. Easy!

Oh, you wanted sensible suggestions? In that case I recommend what Zako says ;-)
keysersoze
4th July 2013, 13:53
Can't get comfy in your Z4? Aww, poor baby. Life is so unfair.

You may have to make the painful sacrifice and trade it in for an X5. :p :
BleAivano
4th July 2013, 16:00
Luke if you have a problem with your car, I have a very simple solution. Give the car to me and the car will no longer cause you any problem. :p
Jag_Warrior
4th July 2013, 19:15
Take it to a custom body shop and have the seat runners relocated rearward. I had to do this on a Mazda RX-7 race car I bought years ago, right after I fitted the race seat in. If you don't want to do that, you either have to live with the discomfort or sell the Bimmer and buy something that will better fit your legs.
donKey jote
4th July 2013, 22:35
get a mac :andrea:
luke
4th July 2013, 23:22
Can't get comfy in your Z4? Aww, poor baby. Life is so unfair.

You may have to make the painful sacrifice and trade it in for an X5. :p :

I can't, the lease is for 3 years. And I forgot to specify the heated steering wheel :d'oh:
luke
4th July 2013, 23:27
Move the seat to the back enough to make the legs comfortable, then adjust the steering wheel. If you have trouble reaching the steering wheel, then adjust the seat back angle until you can hold the steering wheel with comfort. No z4 experience, but I am 6.01ft tall and this is what I have to do in some cars. This often results in steering wheel almost rubbing my legs and the seat back straighter than what most people like, but I usually find this comfortable.

This does work, but unfortunatly, the head rest is fixed at a funny forward angle, so it bashed me in the head when I accelerate. I've looked into this on line, and the problem was that BMW didn't really do a good job in converting it into a right hand drive (you even lose the cup holder!).

Basically, unless one gets the automatic or DCT version, you just have to live with it. :-(
Koz
5th July 2013, 03:23
Is there a cure or am I going to have to sell my car?


I can't, the lease is for 3 years. And I forgot to specify the heated steering wheel :d'oh:

I smell a liar and an attention whore...
luke
5th July 2013, 08:49
An attention whore I may be, but I liar I am not!
luke
5th July 2013, 08:51
In fact the lease is structured as a personal finance buy back at a guarenteed price deal. I could sell it, but I need to cover the cost of the loan
raybak
5th July 2013, 13:04
Didn't you test drive the car before you bought it? I believe that I would have noticed something like this when I tested it.

Ray
Koz
6th July 2013, 00:45
In fact the lease is structured as a personal finance buy back at a guarenteed price deal. I could sell it, but I need to cover the cost of the loan

This does not make sense to me. Buy back happens at the end of the lease period? Which I assume would be at a heavy loss, as a car like the Z4 wouldn't generally be eligible for tax refund/credit, compared to a normal finance.
You also can't sell something you don't own, unless the buy back has already happened, in which case it wouldn't be a lease.

And as raybak said why would you buy or lease something you are uncomfortable with?

I am sure there is a reasonably easy way to end a lease where one party is unhappy, the financial penalty wouldn't be as bad as living with something you are unhappy with for year after year while still paying for it.
luke
9th July 2013, 12:14
Kos, i did the scheme here: Personal Contract Purchase from Nationwide Vehicle Contracts (http://www.nationwidevehiclecontracts.co.uk/personal-contract-purchase.htm)

Also, no, i didn't test drive it, which was a mistake
Koz
10th July 2013, 01:26
Kos, i did the scheme here: Personal Contract Purchase from Nationwide Vehicle Contracts (http://www.nationwidevehiclecontracts.co.uk/personal-contract-purchase.htm)

Also, no, i didn't test drive it, which was a mistake

Yes, you lease it.
So you don't own it. To be able to sell it you must own it.
And to own it, you have to first complete buy it back at a pre-arranged price, on which you have an option.

You have admittedly lied about owning it, given the inconsistencies thus far, I fail to believe that you even lease it.
If I am wrong - then I am sorry; but anyone can say then own/are/do anything on the internet. If something doesn't seem right, it most likely isn't.
luke
12th July 2013, 11:48
Ok, short of sending you the loan forms I can't really do anything to convice you.

Ask yourself why I'd lie about a z4, if I was going to lie, I'd have picked something a bit more exotic.
Dave B
16th July 2013, 12:57
It does scare me slightly that we hand out driving licences to people lacking the intelligence to understand a finance agreement or to even test drive an expensive car. :s
ioan
24th July 2013, 22:02
Best thing to do is to get a bigger car next time.
Tell you what, a Renault Espace has loads of space for your legs and it can go as fast as the laws allow for it to go, and as far as I can say it usually drives better and faster then all those BMWs I have to constantly overtake on the twisty mountain roads! :p
luke
6th January 2016, 23:11
It turns out I really didn't understand what I was doing with the finance, in fairness it was sort of miss-sold and I didn't really check the paperwork.

What I had was a loan with a bubble repayment at the end. This was used to finance the car. Essentially, I was gambling that I had paid enough off on the loan to cover the depreciation, and I could sell it to cover the bubble payment at the end. As it turns out I was £1200 short. Its gone now.

You live and learn.