Discussion
Thing is with these cars you dont buy them for the mpg. The VED price I resent, but its a known now. Whats the servicing and consumable prices like? Only ask as it's one on the list when I do replace the S2000.
I've seen 5 year old ones start at £10k and immaculate ones @ £15k - werent they £40~k new?
I've seen 5 year old ones start at £10k and immaculate ones @ £15k - werent they £40~k new?
cragswinter said:
Was it particularly bad weather 
Very good weather in fact (for my last visit in October), but only using 3rd/4th/5th/6th (6th used for warm up laps) means the MPG stayed quite 'reasonable'. Anglesey is more like 10mpg 
Did have a few fun laps when I went in June though, as we got there at 7:55am and was on the track in 2nd position when it opened at 8:00am. Overtook the Astra GTE in front of me and then went sideways
at 20mph entering T13, so slowed down A LOT, and finally finished that first lap of the day in just under 14 minutes, 2nd lap was about 12 minutes, then 10. Then I stopped for half an hour to go and get breakfast and it was shut for 2 hours once I got back.cragswinter said:
Seriously, what was it like on track? Usual brake woes?
I'm not in the 'last of the late brakers' brigade, so don't have the problems some people have with what they perceive as 'useless' brakes. The single-pot caliper is not the best, but unless you're chasing lap times then they'll suffice - and I've never suffered from brake fade in my Z4MC (although I was using EBC Yellowstuff, and now EBC Bluestuff). Would still fancy a set of Alcons if I had a spare £6k though.I bought mine with 9,000 miles on it in December 2008 to replace my ageing e34 M5 (170k miles) to do my (at the time) 600 mile weekly mileage. Mine's now on 53k, of which I've done 44k of that as my daily driver (commutes of 50-200 miles a couple of times a week), 'Ring toy and cross-continent GT when i visit friends in Spain & Germany.
Costs
- Oil services are around £250, Inspection 1 is around £600 and Inspection 2 is around £800 - all assuming you shop around the dealer network and don't mind travelling a bit to save £100-£200 (the difference between the cheapest & most expensive price for an Inspection 1 from a dealer of the same franchise network in the north west). Make sure you ask (as you book it in) for copies of the valve clearance measurements, tyre wear measurements and brake pad/disc measurements, as some dealers will 'allegedly' claim to have done these but not bothered as they can save 2-3 hours of labour that way yet still charge you the full price.
- Front BMW pads lasted 12,000 miles (from when I bought it), and the replacement EBC Yellowstuffs lasted over 30,000 miles - including a couple of trips to the 'Ring. Discs were replaced when I did the pads a long time ago, and don't need changing again yet. But the cost was about £600 for all 4 wheels (front discs are about £180 each).
- Tyres at £200-£300 a corner. Fronts last 20,000 miles, rears last about 10,000 miles and will wear on the inside at 2x the rate of the outside edge, so always measure the inside wear or you'll end up on tyres that are illegal whilst having 4mm on the outside tread. OEM Conti SC M3 can be had for £160 for the fronts, but the new Michelin PSS are much better, though they cost about 30% more.
- Average mpg over the whole 44k miles I've owned it is 25.6mpg
- Highest was 32.4mpg coming back from Germany (averaged between the 'Ring and Braintree) when I couldn't go above 80mph due to a fellow driver in our group having a misfire problem in his GTR.
- Lowest was 8mpg at Cadwell Park when it was a new track to me. Now up to 12mpg as I'm using higher gears and carrying more speed through the corners.
- 2 rear PDC sensors replaced under warranty
- Wiper relay replaced under warranty
- OSF wheel bearing replaced under warranty
- Headlight washer cover replaced (at my cost - £50 including painting)
- Engine replaced under warranty (at 23000 miles, due to VANOS failure - £14k+ bill to BMW) - new engine has 30,000 miles on it and hasn't missed a beat, but it's had extra/interim oil services done DIY for my peace of mind.
- To say I don't trust the dealer network would be an understatement, and my car only goes there for warranty and servicing as required by my extended warranty. The dealer who did my engine change even tried to get me to pay for suspension bushes (about to fail) and clutch replacement (badly worn) whilst it was in for the engine change, but I refused and the same components are still on the car 30,000 miles later. They also claimed that I'd have to make a contribution to the engine replacement because it was replace under goodwill, when in fact BMW Warranty confirmed they'd paid the whole bill.
- Everything else that needs doing to this car is done by Darjac in Halstead near Colchester (I drive the 240 miles each way from Liverpool to use his services). He was originally just my ///M specialist, but now he's a good friend.
My PH Garage Page
Edited by mmm-five on Tuesday 27th December 12:24
Like others, I drove both the Z4MC and the Z4C but couldn't justify the extra purchase cost (got my Z4C for £11.5k 3 weeks ago) and more than double running costs, especially considering just how accomplished the Z4C is.
If I needed a weekend toy and had £15k to spend, I'd get a Z4MC without much hesitation
If I needed a weekend toy and had £15k to spend, I'd get a Z4MC without much hesitation
I've just bought one, the prices are similar to other things in the bracket such as the Boxster S, I don't really think it is just the Z4M that is good value, there are a lot of nice toys out there in the price range.
Running costs, insurance and tax as mentioned are the main reasons for a lot of this kind of thing being good value.
I've only had mine about a month but really do like it, the performance is just awesome and the noise with the roof down is epic! I made sure I bought BMW AUC so that I got the warranty for piece of mind.
Running costs, insurance and tax as mentioned are the main reasons for a lot of this kind of thing being good value.
I've only had mine about a month but really do like it, the performance is just awesome and the noise with the roof down is epic! I made sure I bought BMW AUC so that I got the warranty for piece of mind.
Urban Sports said:
I've just bought one, the prices are similar to other things in the bracket such as the Boxster S, I don't really think it is just the Z4M that is good value, there are a lot of nice toys out there in the price range.
Running costs, insurance and tax as mentioned are the main reasons for a lot of this kind of thing being good value.
I've only had mine about a month but really do like it, the performance is just awesome and the noise with the roof down is epic! I made sure I bought BMW AUC so that I got the warranty for piece of mind.
It would be good if you could do a running cost update when you've had it a bit longer.Running costs, insurance and tax as mentioned are the main reasons for a lot of this kind of thing being good value.
I've only had mine about a month but really do like it, the performance is just awesome and the noise with the roof down is epic! I made sure I bought BMW AUC so that I got the warranty for piece of mind.
I'm considering one, but do about 12,000 miles a year....insane??
p4cks said:
I looked at the Z4MC but settled on the Z4C. I couldn't justify the additional costs vs the performance figures.
Although my friend went for the Z4MC and I can say it is a fantastic, fantastic motor! I think I still made the right choice. But only just.
That kind of timid nature will end up in you buying a Porsche 996 (when you really wanted a real Porsche)Although my friend went for the Z4MC and I can say it is a fantastic, fantastic motor! I think I still made the right choice. But only just.
Fantastic car awesome performance, I've had mine almost 4 months coming from a Boxster S, Fairly high running costs but not enough to put me off. The sound is epic and every drive is an event. I think a great weekend toy but i find it can get a little annoying day to day. I would like to have a go in a roadster or go back to a Boxster S!
I'm really tempted with a Z4 next year and I've been researching them on the net. For what I want the car for I think the 3.0 will offer almost all of the thrills but with lower running costs.
Having a car that I will only do a couple of thousand miles in a year that is in the super high tax bracket (unless it's really special) I couldn't justify.
Having a car that I will only do a couple of thousand miles in a year that is in the super high tax bracket (unless it's really special) I couldn't justify.
Urban Sports said:
the_engineer said:
It would be good if you could do a running cost update when you've had it a bit longer.
I'm considering one, but do about 12,000 miles a year....insane??
I'll probably only do about half that a year in it, but I will look into the costs when I've used it a bit more.I'm considering one, but do about 12,000 miles a year....insane??
BAKS42 said:
Fantastic car awesome performance, I've had mine almost 4 months coming from a Boxster S, Fairly high running costs but not enough to put me off. The sound is epic and every drive is an event. I think a great weekend toy but i find it can get a little annoying day to day. I would like to have a go in a roadster or go back to a Boxster S!
Any chance of elaborating on this? Yours is pretty much exactly like what I'd be looking to buy Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff