Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
I sold my Z3 2.8 in April 2008 and am now thinking of buying a Z4 3.0 as the prices for 2003/2004 models seem to be dropping below £10k.
Are there any issues with the Z4 that I should be aware of (on the Z3 it's the rear diff mount failing)
Are there any issues with the Z4 that I should be aware of (on the Z3 it's the rear diff mount failing)
....apparently not. Z4 owners appear to have gone quiet!
The only things I've picked up from frequenting this forum and zed-cars.eu (more z4 based IMO) are:
- Dodgy Sat Nav screens
- Rattly roofs
- Intermittent roof operation
- Corrosion of the 108 style wheels
however I don't own a z4 so can't substaniate any of that lot
The only things I've picked up from frequenting this forum and zed-cars.eu (more z4 based IMO) are:
- Dodgy Sat Nav screens
- Rattly roofs
- Intermittent roof operation
- Corrosion of the 108 style wheels
however I don't own a z4 so can't substaniate any of that lot
- PhoenixCoupe
- Joined: Wed 02 May, 2007 00:46
- Posts: 739
- Location: Mars
Z4
I have owned one for 7 months.
Check automatic wipers been known to fail, new windscreen to fix this.
Check the gears especially 1st and 2nd go in easily, I had a small problem with this and replaced the clutch plate which fixed this.
See if the car has a wind deflector, makes a difference when driving with the hood down.
Other than the above just the basic checks, service history, oil cap etc.
These cars are a great driving cars, although I have heard the run flats compromise the ride a little. I have 19" wheels with standard tyres.
Best of luck on the purchase.
Al
Check automatic wipers been known to fail, new windscreen to fix this.
Check the gears especially 1st and 2nd go in easily, I had a small problem with this and replaced the clutch plate which fixed this.
See if the car has a wind deflector, makes a difference when driving with the hood down.
Other than the above just the basic checks, service history, oil cap etc.
These cars are a great driving cars, although I have heard the run flats compromise the ride a little. I have 19" wheels with standard tyres.
Best of luck on the purchase.
Al
Z4 buying
I wanted to get a Z4 3.0 but they are still too dear...you need £10,000 upwards for one and I just don't have the funds.
I've bought a Porsche 928. 5 litre V8 with 320bhp for £5,000! Not a Z4 of course, but a great car until I can afford one.
I've bought a Porsche 928. 5 litre V8 with 320bhp for £5,000! Not a Z4 of course, but a great car until I can afford one.
hmmmm
Last edited by gookah on Mon 10 May, 2010 19:57, edited 1 time in total.
Z3 2.8 Progress Journal (Mine)
Z3 1.9 Sport Progress Journal (Wifey's)
I have an element of 'M-styling' on my car, If that's a good enough reason for the manufacturers to adorn a 320 with the M badge, then its certainly a good enough reason for me..
Re: Z4
Not true. This is an easy fix which I have done. The clear adhesive pad that holds the plastic optical part to windscreen comes unstuck and just needs to be replaced with a new one.Alpina Al wrote:
Check automatic wipers been known to fail, new windscreen to fix this.
Z4 purchase
I sold the Porsche 928...it was a nightmare. Cost me £500 a month in repairs!
Mind you I bought it last year for £5,000 and sold it on ebay last week for £8,000 so at least I got my money back.
Thinking I should purchase something that will give me less grief, I went to a dealer in Kent to look at a Z4 3.0 they had in, and came away with a Ferrari Mondial 3.4t
Still can't quite work out what happened, but the Ferrari is fabulous.
Mind you I bought it last year for £5,000 and sold it on ebay last week for £8,000 so at least I got my money back.
Thinking I should purchase something that will give me less grief, I went to a dealer in Kent to look at a Z4 3.0 they had in, and came away with a Ferrari Mondial 3.4t
Still can't quite work out what happened, but the Ferrari is fabulous.
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- Joined: Thu 09 Feb, 2006 14:50
- Posts: 73
- Location: London N13
good luck with that one.if 928 repairs were costly wait until the ferrari needs something.is that the one they had on wheeler dealers?And to think i worry about my z3 going wrong.....Perhaps like me you are just going to have it for a short time and then sell it with the hope of it not going wrong while youve got it.my pockets are not deep so the z is not a keeper.just hope it does not go wrong or get vandalised during the year ive got it.then its back to my toyota hiace van.slow but i love it.220,000 miles and totally reliable - and i can park it anywhere without a care in the world.happy days
Different cars
The Porsche 928 was great, but they are known for bills. Mine was a good one, but for example a week after I got it the sump gasket started to leak and it's 14 hours labour to replace it. By the time they'd done that, and changed the oil etc I got a bill for £1,000. Then the aircon packed up...£500. New radiator £700 just for the part, and two new front side lights £300. Driveshaft boot split, £150 and then the automatic gearbox started to play up, the resulting overhaul came to £1500.
When I sold it the engine had started to misfire on idle and the torque convertor had developed a rattle. I could see another £1,000 bill looming.
Trouble is I didn't love the car enough to keep throwing money at it, I got fed up. A Ferrari is a different matter, I can live with spending money on that.
When I sold it the engine had started to misfire on idle and the torque convertor had developed a rattle. I could see another £1,000 bill looming.
Trouble is I didn't love the car enough to keep throwing money at it, I got fed up. A Ferrari is a different matter, I can live with spending money on that.
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- Joined: Thu 06 Aug, 2009 15:23
- Posts: 6
check www.z4-forum.com
Z4 2.2 sterling grey,Msport seats,retrofit cupholders,18"ellipsoids,xenons+light washers,ZHP gearknob,folding mirrors,3"stubby,update wheel caps,wind deflector to keep the mrs happy!
Ferrari
I've had the Ferrari for 10 months and spent hardly anything on it as yet, and I've used it whenever the weather has been OK.
It's due an annual service in May and this costs £500 at a specialist. Expensive, but not bad for a Ferrari I guess.
It's due an annual service in May and this costs £500 at a specialist. Expensive, but not bad for a Ferrari I guess.
Ferrari
I keep trying to post pictures but all I get is a message saying "Sorry, but the maximum filesize for all attachments is reached" even if I try to download a low res 16k image....
I contacted the "board administrator" as suggested after the message but received no reply.
Why can I not post pictures?
I did manage to upload a profile picture though!
I contacted the "board administrator" as suggested after the message but received no reply.
Why can I not post pictures?
I did manage to upload a profile picture though!
HT
Titan's apprentice.
Titan's apprentice.
http://www.lde.nu/index.htmTitan wrote:Occupations ?
Official Devil's Advocate
Leg Puller
Micky Taker
Ferrari
The Ferrari is sold.
No complaints about the car, it was great, but the ownership costs are truly frightening.
I thought the Porsche 928 was bad but Ferrari parts prices are not for the faint hearted. For instance try £1500 for the plastic air intake grille on the rear wing or £150 for a gear knob...£160 for 2 short pieces of water hose and £750 for a water pump.
Anyway I had it for a year and did about 2,000 miles so at least I did the Ferrari ownership thing. Plus when I sold it I got my money back which is always a good thing with cars.
No BMW Z4 just yet though, I've gone and bought a Lotus Elise.
No complaints about the car, it was great, but the ownership costs are truly frightening.
I thought the Porsche 928 was bad but Ferrari parts prices are not for the faint hearted. For instance try £1500 for the plastic air intake grille on the rear wing or £150 for a gear knob...£160 for 2 short pieces of water hose and £750 for a water pump.
Anyway I had it for a year and did about 2,000 miles so at least I did the Ferrari ownership thing. Plus when I sold it I got my money back which is always a good thing with cars.
No BMW Z4 just yet though, I've gone and bought a Lotus Elise.
Last edited by lightning on Sun 15 May, 2011 21:54, edited 1 time in total.
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- Joined: Mon 15 Feb, 2010 19:57
- Posts: 490
- Location: Manchester
Re: Ferrari
Frying pan, fire methinks.lightning wrote:
No BMW Z4 just yet though, I've gone and bought a Lotus Elise.
Ferrari
The trouble was the bills kept coming....I don't mind spending the money but eventually I just ran out.
The Lotus Elise has a 156bhp Rover K series engine and even if that or the gearbox failed completely I could buy a whole replacement ENGINE and get it fitted for less than the price of a bit of plastic on the Ferrari. The rest of the Lotus I could dismantle and repair myself.
It's actually faster than the Ferrari as it can, apparently, reach 60mph from rest in 5.1 seconds, if you are looking purely at figures. It even has air conditioning which I'm not sure is necessary on a car of this sort.
I'm not calling Ferrari as such, it's just that to own one I think you need to be happy, and able, to write a cheque for £5,000 without it making you sweat.
It might not happen but it easily could. if anything happens to the engine or gearbox it's 5k just to open them up.
If you can do that then you are made. Otherwise you will eventually end up in the same position as me....the car is great for a time, giving you a false sense of security, and then suddenly the bills appear, leaving you broke.
The Lotus Elise has a 156bhp Rover K series engine and even if that or the gearbox failed completely I could buy a whole replacement ENGINE and get it fitted for less than the price of a bit of plastic on the Ferrari. The rest of the Lotus I could dismantle and repair myself.
It's actually faster than the Ferrari as it can, apparently, reach 60mph from rest in 5.1 seconds, if you are looking purely at figures. It even has air conditioning which I'm not sure is necessary on a car of this sort.
I'm not calling Ferrari as such, it's just that to own one I think you need to be happy, and able, to write a cheque for £5,000 without it making you sweat.
It might not happen but it easily could. if anything happens to the engine or gearbox it's 5k just to open them up.
If you can do that then you are made. Otherwise you will eventually end up in the same position as me....the car is great for a time, giving you a false sense of security, and then suddenly the bills appear, leaving you broke.
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- Joined: Tue 21 Jul, 2009 19:14
- Posts: 928
- Location: Eastbourne
Lotus
The Ferrari was OK at first, as it had just had a major service plus other jobs costing £3,000 when I got it.
I was hoping to get away with spending about £1,000 per year but there was no chance of that.
I should be able to maintain the Lotus myself, after the Ferrari it's pretty straightforward....but we'll see.
I was hoping to get away with spending about £1,000 per year but there was no chance of that.
I should be able to maintain the Lotus myself, after the Ferrari it's pretty straightforward....but we'll see.
The Lotus is still going great!
I've had it nine months and no thoughts of selling....
It cost me a few hundred when I first bought it (cam belt change, trim items etc) and it took me a few months to eliminate all the rattles, but all is good now.
I sold the hardtop as I'll never use it.
I'll probably buy another Ferrari one day, as once you've owned one, nothing else is quite the same.
However I'll have to be better off than I am at the moment!
I've had it nine months and no thoughts of selling....
It cost me a few hundred when I first bought it (cam belt change, trim items etc) and it took me a few months to eliminate all the rattles, but all is good now.
I sold the hardtop as I'll never use it.
I'll probably buy another Ferrari one day, as once you've owned one, nothing else is quite the same.
However I'll have to be better off than I am at the moment!
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
Just sold the Lotus.
Bought in 2011 for £16,500
Sold this week for £15,800 plus £600 for the hardtop which came with the car, but l sold separately.
Lovely car when you are in the mood, but compromised when you are not. Very hard ride, rattly, noisy.
Just deciding what to buy next.
I loved my Z3 2.8 and l might look at the Z3 3.0 as they seem great value, l could buy three of those for the price the Lotus sold for.
Bought in 2011 for £16,500
Sold this week for £15,800 plus £600 for the hardtop which came with the car, but l sold separately.
Lovely car when you are in the mood, but compromised when you are not. Very hard ride, rattly, noisy.
Just deciding what to buy next.
I loved my Z3 2.8 and l might look at the Z3 3.0 as they seem great value, l could buy three of those for the price the Lotus sold for.
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
So l wasted no time.
Just bought a Z3 3.0 in blue. Looks lovely, collecting it next Saturday.
Just bought a Z3 3.0 in blue. Looks lovely, collecting it next Saturday.
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
Definitely get a "lot of car" for your money with some of these late, big engine Z3s
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
Best combination to ownlightning wrote:So l wasted no time.
Just bought a Z3 3.0 in blue. Looks lovely, collecting it next Saturday.
Alasdair
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
Yeah, under £6,000 and it's done 50,000 with full BMW service history.
Just need to check the car for Z3 major issues (diff mounting being the main one) and if all is well l'll once again be a Z3 owner!
Just need to check the car for Z3 major issues (diff mounting being the main one) and if all is well l'll once again be a Z3 owner!
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
Well, l got my Z3 3.0 this morning.
Very happy with it, seems a good one. Already given it a service and changed the brake fluid etc.
So begins another chapter in my car ownership.
Maybe next time it will be a Z4.
My neighbour has already offered to buy the Z3 from me, and l have owned it less than two hours!
That's a first.
Very happy with it, seems a good one. Already given it a service and changed the brake fluid etc.
So begins another chapter in my car ownership.
Maybe next time it will be a Z4.
My neighbour has already offered to buy the Z3 from me, and l have owned it less than two hours!
That's a first.
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
Could this possibly be the shortest Zed ownership in history!
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
No, it's not for sale.
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
Still loving my Z3
It's strange, back in 2008 I never really bonded with the Z3 2.8 I bought from my brother, but this time I really love my Z3 3.0, which is a similar car.
I've already been working on the Z3, getting it in to mint condition.
I've replaced various trim parts, all the wheel nuts and centre caps, done a full service including brake fluid and gearbox oil, had the bonnet and front bumper resprayed, waxoyled the underside, etc.
£1200 spent and I've had it less than two months!
It's strange, back in 2008 I never really bonded with the Z3 2.8 I bought from my brother, but this time I really love my Z3 3.0, which is a similar car.
I've already been working on the Z3, getting it in to mint condition.
I've replaced various trim parts, all the wheel nuts and centre caps, done a full service including brake fluid and gearbox oil, had the bonnet and front bumper resprayed, waxoyled the underside, etc.
£1200 spent and I've had it less than two months!
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
The Z3 is still here!
Having had various expensive cars, such as the Ferrari, it's great to have a nice car in the garage that does not owe me six month's wages.
The Z3 3.0 lacks nothing in performance either.
Since buying the Z3 eight months ago l have
a/ sold the missus's Defender 90 "too expensive on maintenance/fuel"
b/ bought a 2012 VW Polo
c/bought another Defender 90 (wife...."l preferred my Landy to the Polo")
d/sold my van, and....
e/bought a Defender 110 to use for work
So now we have two Land Rovers, the Z3, and the Polo. The Polo is for sale!
Having had various expensive cars, such as the Ferrari, it's great to have a nice car in the garage that does not owe me six month's wages.
The Z3 3.0 lacks nothing in performance either.
Since buying the Z3 eight months ago l have
a/ sold the missus's Defender 90 "too expensive on maintenance/fuel"
b/ bought a 2012 VW Polo
c/bought another Defender 90 (wife...."l preferred my Landy to the Polo")
d/sold my van, and....
e/bought a Defender 110 to use for work
So now we have two Land Rovers, the Z3, and the Polo. The Polo is for sale!
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
Glad you finally got your Z4 after a bit of car swapping. I went from a Z3 to a Jaguar XK8, fantastic car but hardly used it. So i sold it and went for a Z4 which is great fun, and much easier to park than the fat Jag. Went to France in it on hols last year and was a peach. Had it 18months now and has cost me nothing other than normal service items. Happy zedding
Present : Grey Z4 2.5 conv
ex-Cosmos Black 2.8
ex-Cosmos Black 2.8
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
I haven't got a Z4!
I bought a Z3 3.0
I like the Z4 but l love the Z3 and it's more of a "modern classic" so l can take it to shows.
And it's surprisingly easy to work on. I did a minor service (oil/filter, air filter, brake fluid etc) in less than one hour on my drive.
I won a cup at a local car show for "best modern classic" lt attracted a lot of interest, l think people like it as they can see themselves actually owning one.
I bought a Z3 3.0
I like the Z4 but l love the Z3 and it's more of a "modern classic" so l can take it to shows.
And it's surprisingly easy to work on. I did a minor service (oil/filter, air filter, brake fluid etc) in less than one hour on my drive.
I won a cup at a local car show for "best modern classic" lt attracted a lot of interest, l think people like it as they can see themselves actually owning one.
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
Hi lightening, we have a z3 & a z4 between us (and a micra) and while the z4 may be better on paper in some respects i can assure you the z3 is every bit as fun to drive
As you say, they also have the added attraction of being "almost a classic" which gives them a different kind of charm-i quite often leave my z4 on the drive & smoke away in swimbos z3 when i think shes not looking!
regards
As you say, they also have the added attraction of being "almost a classic" which gives them a different kind of charm-i quite often leave my z4 on the drive & smoke away in swimbos z3 when i think shes not looking!
regards
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
What a great phrase, - "modern classic"! Yes, I certainly believe it is. Future classic, someone else said, - I've always referred to mine as a 'potential classic'. Like "modern classic" better! Prices are on the up, no doubt. I also love old MG's Triumph TR's, etc., but rust and reliability can surely play havoc with the pocket, whereas the beamer is easy to maintain, well built, faster and more comfortable with better ride and handling, plus the joys of 2 seat open-top motoring. I personally think it's the nearest thing to an E-type, I know a lot of people are going to howl, - but even the GRRC members forum conceded that with it's long, long bonnet they could see where I was coming from. At some point in the non-too-distant future, all the old heaps are going to disappear off the road and the only ones left will be those lovingly cared for and cherished such as ours, - then they really will be classics, - no argument.
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
I agree, but there are still 13,000 registered in UKKiboko wrote:At some point in the non-too-distant future, all the old heaps are going to disappear off the road and the only ones left will be those lovingly cared for and cherished such as ours, - then they really will be classics, - no argument.
Lightning - Nice car history .
Pingu
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
I still rather like the classic retro looks of the Z3 but the Z4 is simply a better car all round IMHO
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- Joined: Tue 26 Jan, 2010 19:44
- Posts: 1026
- Location: mars
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
+1doclip wrote:I still rather like the classic retro looks of the Z3 but the Z4 is simply a better car all round IMHO
M
Re: Z4
For that you should get a 3.0si around 34 brake horse morelightning wrote:Thanks for the replies. I'm going to look at a silver 2005 3.0 today on offer at £10,000 at a local dealer.
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Z3 3.0 Sports Sold
Z4 3.0si Ruby Black with Champagne Leather and Piano Black Dash
Z3 3.0 Sports Sold
Z4 3.0si Ruby Black with Champagne Leather and Piano Black Dash
- OldskoolRS
- Joined: Mon 06 Feb, 2012 14:23
- Posts: 412
- Location: Wokingham
Re: Had a Z3 and now thinking about a Z4
We are thinking about combining both our cars (a Z3 3.0 and the OH's Mini) as I have a company car for daily use anyway and the other two cars do a very low mileage and I'm hardly using my Z3 anyway. However, one important criteria is that this car will be left at the train station some week days so we need a car with a metal folding roof. At what age did the Z4 start having this feature to give me some idea of what to search for on Autotrader.