Buy another Zed or modify?

[Robin82]

So....
I've now owned a Zed for coming up to 5 years. (1.9 1997 100k) In the 5 years I think I've spent about £500 in repairs/maintenance which is unbelievable. Its been a fantastic car.

Over the last few months I've had thoughts of selling and moving over to a z4 - but side by side I feel the z3 is just a better looking car - the z4 is a beautifully styled car but just doesn't seem to have that edge plus the drive feels slightly more detached so I've decided to stick with the z3

So my question is - and opinions appreciated- should I buy another Zed(3) maybe slightly younger with fewer miles on the clock, larger wheels, clear lights etc

or

Upgrade/modify my current z3 - 18" alloy wheels, Clear front rear lights/halo etc

On one hand seems odd to just buy another Zed as I have one already - but then spending possibly half the value of the car on modifications seems a bit counter productive?

Cheers!

[Davejue1]

Does the Zed 3 still deliver that grin every time you drive it? Really for me it would be has the 1.9 got enough power for you? If it has and you still love your car then spend a few quid and make it look as you would like.
Clear rear lights £60
Side repeaters and southernboy front de-tango £60
Nice set of 18's with tyres £400-500.
Your car would look completely different.
Or do you decide to go for a 2.2 or 3.0 sport maybe? Get the extra power?
Only you can make that decision.

[Vince70]

Really only you can decide and of course it's sometimes better the devil you know as you really don't want to end up with something which has a cracked rear floor or a duff head-gasket especially as yours is a good tried and tested straight motor.

I've done the same myself before and it's nice to go from an early base model to a late low mileage fully loaded example of the same car with all the toys but I've got to admit I also kept the old car in the garage (it was only worth £500) as well just for a backup as it wasn't worth much anyway and had done me proud so I was reluctant to part with the old girl.

The only problem was my old Audi A4 was in the garage for a further 4 years as the A4 that replaced it was just as reliable so the old one would only come out once a year for an MOT and people were starting to think I was a bit mad for keeping an identical back up car lol.

Why don't you try and half heartily advertise your Zed and if you only get silly offers from chancers or the " I give you £400 and a broken PS3" texts then keep it.

But even tatty Starship mileage Z3s make over a grand so yours shouldn't have any trouble selling for good money especially now the weather is breaking.

You could always hold onto though till you find the perfect example you want in the right spec/mileage and colour in your price range then sell it as that way you wouldn't be in a hurry and buy the first car that comes along.

But I also find that just spending a day giving an old motor a good spring clean and a decent wax normally makes me want to keep it once it's shines, so you could try that first.

[Robin82]

Does the Zed 3 still deliver that grin every time you drive it? Really for me it would be has the 1.9 got enough power for you? If it has and you still love your car then spend a few quid and make it look as you would like.
Clear rear lights £60
Side repeaters and southernboy front de-tango £60
Nice set of 18's with tyres £400-500.
Your car would look completely different.
Or do you decide to go for a 2.2 or 3.0 sport maybe? Get the extra power?
Only you can make that decision.

Hi Dave - yeah to be honest it still delivers a joker grin when I drop the roof - I don't think I could ever be without a soft roof again. The power is not too much of an issue - it would be nice to have a little extra but having that connection to the outside/road in an awesome looking car is enough for me

Rear smoked lights I saw on ebay for £72
Whats a southernboy front de-tango???!! I think a pair of clear front lights are about £250 (angel eyes/halo)
If I could get alloys w/tyres for less than £400 - used would be tempting.

Thanks for your thoughts

[Robin82]

Really only you can decide and of course it's sometimes better the devil you know as you really don't want to end up with something which has a cracked rear floor or a duff head-gasket especially as yours is a good tried and tested straight motor.

I've done the same myself before and it's nice to go from an early base model to a late low mileage fully loaded example of the same car with all the toys but I've got to admit I also kept the old car in the garage (it was only worth £500) as well just for a backup as it wasn't worth much anyway and had done me proud so I was reluctant to part with the old girl.

The only problem was my old Audi A4 was in the garage for a further 4 years as the A4 that replaced it was just as reliable so the old one would only come out once a year for an MOT and people were starting to think I was a bit mad for keeping an identical back up car lol.

Why don't you try and half heartily advertise your Zed and if you only get silly offers from chancers or the " I give you £400 and a broken PS3" texts then keep it.

But even tatty Starship mileage Z3s make over a grand so yours shouldn't have any trouble selling for good money especially now the weather is breaking.

You could always hold onto though till you find the perfect example you want in the right spec/mileage and colour in your price range then sell it as that way you wouldn't be in a hurry and buy the first car that comes along.

But I also find that just spending a day giving an old motor a good spring clean and a decent wax normally makes me want to keep it once it's shines, so you could try that first.

Hi Vince - You've pretty much laid out my current thoughts. You're dead right about the better the devil you know! I do feel I know my car very well - plus I think its used to the way I drive somehow.. and its treating me well as I'm treating it well
I've kindve been looking over the last year - not seriously at all - just to see whats about and what the market is doing around the zeds (3 and 4) I think I need to embrace either selling and upgrading to a more powerful engine with all the bells and whistles or shell out a few quid on my current Zed. I have noticed that this year - the price of a z3 has risen slightly - there doesn't seem to be as many on the market and anything with low miles (less than 70k) seems to have gone up to around the 3.5k - 6k mark.

Sounds like you grew a little too attached to your old A4 - I can definitely see why though! Hence my current conversation! I have had similar thoughts myself - just buy another Zed and then think about selling the other at some other point in time.

Thanks for your thoughts

[Southernboy]

......... this is the option to spending £259 on clear front lights..... Same fit etc as the OEM amber lenses, comes with a detailed guide to fitting them, and they're just £52 per set....
And while you're doing the lenses, you can fir halo's which are available off eBay for the Z3 for around £30.... so for £80 odd you get the headlights done....

[Vince70]

I think if it was me I would have to go full out for a big six (2.8/3.0) for a big jump in power if I were selling a decent motor as being that yours is an earlier Zed 1.9 I would have thought you have the 140 bhp M44 rather than the lower power 1.8/1.9 so a smaller 6 won't see a great deal more in power as a 2.0 will only give you 10 more bhp (I don't know what the 2.2 is).

But I'd course you will get a better soundtrack and a nice smooth engine from a lovely small 6 pot but it will cost you more in weight so you won't see that much benefit in performance.

But it's also not just the power I guess as you do get a nicer rear on the later or the bigger engined versions.

[Robin82]

......... this is the option to spending £259 on clear front lights..... Same fit etc as the OEM amber lenses, comes with a detailed guide to fitting them, and they're just £52 per set....
And while you're doing the lenses, you can fir halo's which are available off eBay for the Z3 for around £30.... so for £80 odd you get the headlights done....

£80 to completely refresh the front of the zed is not bad at all! Like most my lights have clouded over somewhat - need to find some decent plastic polish - maybe a swirl remover will do it? I'll be in touch shortly for a de-tango pack

[Robin82]

I think if it was me I would have to go full out for a big six (2.8/3.0) for a big jump in power if I were selling a decent motor as being that yours is an earlier Zed 1.9 I would have thought you have the 140 bhp M44 rather than the lower power 1.8/1.9 so a smaller 6 won't see a great deal more in power as a 2.0 will only give you 10 more bhp (I don't know what the 2.2 is).

But I'd course you will get a better soundtrack and a nice smooth engine from a lovely small 6 pot but it will cost you more in weight so you won't see that much benefit in performance.

But it's also not just the power I guess as you do get a nicer rear on the later or the bigger engined versions.

Yes I have the 140 brake M44 So I think there really isnt too much point in selling unless I opt for more power 2.8/3.0.. maybe I'd get one with slightly less miles but hey apparently I could get to the moon (maybe not back) with this engine so in theory only just ran it in at 100k. The 2.8's are certainly getting rarer these days.. I think there is a nice example on autotrader right now for 3.5k but it's silver and I prefer my montreal blue

[BladeRunner919]

£80 to completely refresh the front of the zed is not bad at all! Like most my lights have clouded over somewhat - need to find some decent plastic polish - maybe a swirl remover will do it? I'll be in touch shortly for a de-tango pack

The 3M kit for headlight polishing is about £20 and works really well.

[Southernboy]

"Angel eyes off eBay"......
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-x-CCFL-Ange ... 4adf4e9138

[Robin82]

£80 to completely refresh the front of the zed is not bad at all! Like most my lights have clouded over somewhat - need to find some decent plastic polish - maybe a swirl remover will do it? I'll be in touch shortly for a de-tango pack

The 3M kit for headlight polishing is about £20 and works really well.

Thanks maybe that will also help me see out of my rear window again

"Angel eyes off eBay"......
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-x-CCFL-Ange ... 4adf4e9138

Great! thanks for the link - half the price of the one I found

[Robin82]

Well its seems my choice has been made (for now) as I've just bought some 18"alloy wheels complete with low profile tyres. I got such a good deal I couldnt resist.

Hopefully they will revive my zed and give it a refreshed look. Time to upgrade the other bits now I cant do half a job

[peter2b]

looking at the info on this site my 2.2z3 straight 6 put out 170bhp when new not bad for a 2 ltr engine
peter2b

[gookah]

"Angel eyes off eBay"......
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-x-CCFL-Ange ... 4adf4e9138

Great! thanks for the link - half the price of the one I found

an absolute bargain until you get them, and find that they won't fit the Z3... they are not cut away for the inner lights. These are for the 3 series

[Southernboy]

....... OOPS ! My search was under BMW Z3, I guess it throws up any BMW related equipment, or possibly because it's Z "3" it just throws up any BMW "3" related stuff...

[Robin82]

Yeah the search facility can throw up some weird stuff - I guess these would be ok:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Z3-1-9-2- ... 27c7280f61

£35 I don't think I can find any cheaper

[Southernboy]

Those look good on the link you posted....