BMW Z4's

[Arm]

Anyone got experience of BMW Z4's with the 3 litre engine ?

 

 

[BudSlater]

Yep, loved it, not as good as the boxster which is what I bought when comparing them. Good cars though!

[alexander72]

I have one - great car, look out for leaking a pillars and steering coloumns.

You will of course be called a hair dresser with regular monotony.... I get it all the time :-)

[Arm]

Have picked up on the steering column issue otherwise they seem to get a good report on reliability ?

[Man On The Clapham Omnibus]

///M is the way forward...       

[Kalli]

Which one? E85 (older version) or E89 (retractable hard top)?

 

I've got myself a 3.0si E89 and love it. There arent many cars where you can say 'nothing is wrong/goes wrong', but this beast is indestructable. At the moment the acceleration is pretty good (timed in the region of 5.9; a few minor adjustments from the bog standard one), and has all the luxuries of a prestige brand; sat nav, dvd player, and so on.

 

The one downside in my view is that you're just one step away from the top of the range, being the 3.5i with DCT and so on. That said...part of me prefers the thought of an NA engine compared to Turbo charged.

 

Regardless; brilliant cars. Ignore any hairdresser snobbery and just burn them at the lights

[alexander72]

I do like mine but when i drive it I am known as the "crimper" :-) 

[Nick Algar - Competition Secretary]

I had one and it was a great car. Only sold it as just not using enough. Make sure roof motor works ok.

[dombanks]

yes really nice but a bit hard on the ride. comes in e85 pre and post facelift, e86 coupe (only after the facelift), e89 - newer with hard top, //m and if you can get one the alpina. (often considered to be the best by a few)

 

there are a few different variant to chose from. but easy to understand. //m is very good but kills you on tax and is a very different car to the non M

the si version has the newer 3.0 in it over the older pre face lifts, you can tell by the shape of the front bumper and the lack of ginger bits in the indicators mostly if its not been changed, the 3.0i have the older engine in it. wiki covers it well. all the 3l came with m sport suspension.

 

look out for snapped rear springs as its common. but easy to fix. the steering issue is intermittent. and there is a strong likelyhood that the roof motor will go as its a poor design if it hasnt already and the car is older.

 

also look for water in the boot compartment, lift the floor and look in the battery recess. it will most likely come from cracked high level brake light. if it is wet then get it dry quick. often there is an amp in here which if it goes due to being wet costs a bomb to fix 1k+

 

sat nag isnt worth it IMHO if there is a decent lesser spec one. the sport seats are better at holding you than the se seats but people do comment on them being much firmer.

 

 

appart from a few bits and bobs the z is pretty reliable. hold out for a top spec one, get leather, mfsw, aircon, cruise. although alot can be added after with relative ease.

 

oh and check out the owners club for reliable cars. z4forum.com. 

 

ask any questions you like

[Wile E. Coyote]

You know about the issues BMW seem to have with some of their cars capable of being stolen without keys?

 

Long thread over on PH (in the BMW section).  It seems to have gone quiet of late but would still concern me (and BMW's seemingly lacklustre response to the problem is the main reason why I don't, and won't for the foreseeable future, have one of their products on my driveway).

 

That said, a client of mine has a 3.0 Z4 and really likes it.

[Arm]

Thanks for the replies. They do look good.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

My brother in law's on his second Z4 now, though he's had the 2 litre versions, the first was the earlier soft top version, which he liked, but hated the extra hard M Sport suspension upgrade it came with. His current car is the metal folding roof model; he loves the car!

 

The Z4 is the first time in over thirty years of driving that he's ever had the same car model twice, when govern a free choice.

[dombanks]

My brother in law's on his second Z4 now, though he's had the 2 litre versions, the first was the earlier soft top version, which he liked, but hated the extra hard M Sport suspension upgrade it came with. His current car is the metal folding roof model; he loves the car!

 

The Z4 is the first time in over thirty years of driving that he's ever had the same car model twice, when govern a free choice.

 

yes the m suspension is a killer if your not that way inclined. i think the later e89 2.0 is a 2.2 and also a 6 pot but i cant be sure.

 

one thing arm is if your faced with a choice and going for the earlier versions esp the e85 pre face lift is dont bother with the 2.0 as its gutless. the 2,5 is good but the 3.0 is better on fuel and has that little bit more umph. some people do say there is a difference. given the choice wait for the right car.

 

one thing to note is the early m54 3.0 will run fine on 95 ron whereas the later N52 is better on 98. im currently running mine on costco super which is reportedly optimax and whilst the car does feel a bit spritlier i haven't seen the increase in fuel consumption others report.

 

id have another z4 but i'd really like to get the e89 335i

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

You might be right Dom, I think the new one is a 2.2, the first might even have been a 2.5. It definitely wasn't a 3 litre.

 

(My brother in law won't actually talk car's in any detail with me now after a pax ride in my aeroscreened XE car. I went fairly steadily and I didn't break any speed limit in any meaningful way! but he was very silent when we got back and definitely had rubber legs. - He'd spent years telling me about when he'd gone to the WF factory for a test drive, the 2 litre car hadn't felt quick, only the SEiGHT felt properly quick).

[Gerry H]

Had a test drive, a couple of years ago, of an M version and didn't like it. After some 10 years of turbo and V8 cars, going back to something that needed the nuts revved off it before it had any torque seemed a backward step. Instead, bought a Merc SL55 AMG, A supercharged petrol pump. Absolutely sublime and ticks every box.

 

Go have a drive of one.