Struts & Shocks Advice

[PapaRoe]

Ok fellow members, here is my story. This is my 1st BMW that I bought. It's a 04 Z4, and the former owner kept excellent care of it, real a garage queen. It has 97k soft miles on it, and I want to replace the front struts, and rear shocks.

I am mechanical, and I have watched several YouTube videos on this topic. It really looks pretty straight forward. I am going to replace the bump stops and shock cover tubes, as well as the shock mounts.

Is there anything else that I should replace while I have it apart? One of the YouTube videos talks about reinforcement plates. Any opinions? This is just going to be a cruiser for me, no hard driving.

 

[musicearlyadopter]

Reviving this thread to see if we can get any responses. My 2004 has 55,000 miles on it, and I bought it yesterday from a close friend. The shocks or struts have never been replaced. Is time a factor or is miles driven more likely to degrade their functionality? I would presume that the seals could dry out and cause eventual failure even if the car is low mileage. What is your core reason to replace them- do you feel the ride is not as it once was, too stiff, or what?