RE: BMW Z3 M Coupe: Catch It While You Can

[Steve-B]

Having personally owned a very early Black one, T41 AJM, I really now resent trading it in for a TVR Cerbera SpeedSix and want to cry when the TVR was a sh*tbag over how UNreliable the TVR was.

My wife and I had no end of fun trips in our M Coupe - it was almost Caterham-like, but in comfort with the performance and ability to steer via the accelerator

I really miss it, wish I could sell my Caterham SV and get another one! Whilst my Caterham SV has similar power, it's not nearly as fun as I get older and the M Coupe would readily fill a place in my garage and our hearts.

Loved that car!

[sleeky]

Always wanted one of these since they came out, just always been out of reach price wise.

[daveco]

I seem to recall them being noticeably quicker than the E46 M3 as well, despite the same engine/drivetrain?

0-60 times were mid 4's and the ton came up over a second quicker than the M3 iirc.

[s m]

shalmaneser said:

theJT said:

Cheburator mk2 said:

Such a shame that in standard form the Z3M is absolutely pants to drive - understeers like a pig and mushy brakes to start with, and non supportive seats to finish. Loved the design though...

I know this isn't a very PH thing to say, but honestly I think the 4pot one may be a better car. Yes, it's relatively slow, and no it doesn't make a particularly inspiring noise, but it's very... "Pointy". You just aim the nose where you want and that is _exactly_ where it goes. Without the weight of the big six up the front it handles and stops very nicely... I've had mine for going on 7 years now, and it's still really quite a fun thing to drive - as long as you accept that you have to carry speed, not gain it.

I do wish it was faster every time I get caught behind a caravan tho. Big power quick overtakes are really not it's forte.

That feeling might come from the fact that the 1.9 litre z3 has by far the fastest steering rack of the e36 lineup. They are retro fittable across the range and hence now rather pricey! Supposedly makes the car feel much more lively.

They were light compared to the Z3M Coupe as well
1165kg vs 1400kg

[JohnGoodridge]

British Beef said:

sanctum said:

No, couldn't disagree more with the article.
Prices two years ago were about £15000 for a good car with reasonable miles and full history. Anything less than that was a rolling money pit. Prices have stayed nice and solid around that figure and are showing no signs of falling any further, but there certainly aren't any signs of them going up at the moment.
They have no race pedigree, no history with unique individuals, were not the last run of that engine configuration, I can't actually think of anything that would make the Z3 M coupe anything more than a curio at best.

I agree with you.

Low mileage 1 owner cars will always appreciate on the basis that 90% of the cars are actually driven.

Only an Investment potential if you buy a low mileage one, choose not to drive it and plan on keeping it for many years in pristine condition while maintaining it.

These cars if used will likely cost more to run and maintain than the possible appreciation they will experience.

Agreed. Was looking at these again last night and came to the conclusion that pricing on garage queen examples had risen significantly, whilst anything at or over 80k miles was still pretty reasonable.

Tempted but an e46 M3 just makes much more sense for me.

[breezer42]

I sold my S50 for a DB7V and don't regret it, despite having missed this latest valuation upswing! Tbh they all need a lot of work to keep going, in particular the rear of the chassis tends to tear itself to pieces due to the torque and poor build quality. There are solutions, but they're not cheap.

[bluepony]

Understeer? Can't say that's something I've noticed! I bought mine in April. Looks like I timed that just right!

[Goofnik]

Future classic indeed. In the United States, they're a bit rarer still, and a fair bit more expensive to get your hands on one.

[magic_marker]

I owned one of these - an Imola Red with the S54 engine; until my brother drove it into a tree.

F+ing loved that car, one of the most fun I've ever owned. Definitely deserves its classic status.

[Countersteer]

I'm always fairly critical of Beemer styling, being just a little too conventional to me - underwhelming, and never more so than with the Z3. So when the shooting brake came out it just looked like an afterthought to me. Sure, that engine saves it a little, as does the structural rigidity from the roof but still don't see it as a car I'd 'desire'...

[Chris71]

s m said:

shalmaneser said:

theJT said:

Cheburator mk2 said:

Such a shame that in standard form the Z3M is absolutely pants to drive - understeers like a pig and mushy brakes to start with, and non supportive seats to finish. Loved the design though...

I know this isn't a very PH thing to say, but honestly I think the 4pot one may be a better car. Yes, it's relatively slow, and no it doesn't make a particularly inspiring noise, but it's very... "Pointy". You just aim the nose where you want and that is _exactly_ where it goes. Without the weight of the big six up the front it handles and stops very nicely... I've had mine for going on 7 years now, and it's still really quite a fun thing to drive - as long as you accept that you have to carry speed, not gain it.

I do wish it was faster every time I get caught behind a caravan tho. Big power quick overtakes are really not it's forte.

That feeling might come from the fact that the 1.9 litre z3 has by far the fastest steering rack of the e36 lineup. They are retro fittable across the range and hence now rather pricey! Supposedly makes the car feel much more lively.

They were light compared to the Z3M Coupe as well
1165kg vs 1400kg

Only ever driven the coupe, but anecdotally I'm sure they're much better regarded than the convertible?

Came very close to buying one a few years ago and really, really wish I did. Not only are they great cars (IMHO) but I made the mistake of assuming a Chimaera ("only a Range Rover engine...") would be an easier ownership prospect. It confirms my suspicion that every time I sell a car or pass on the opportunity to buy one it shoots up in value. You wait, it'll be E30 BMWs and 205 GTIs next.

[estoril]

Some comments about the numbers produced earlier are interesting, the Z4M Coupe was made in similar numbers for RHD models (1052- ref MRegistry) so perhaps that will also become a classic one day?

No idea how many came to the UK but presumably quite a few if not all of those RHD ones did, "How Many Left" seems to think there are more than that in the UK now, interestingly they have 1 with an engine of less than 499cc :-)

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/bmw_z4_m#!en...

[TimmD]

magic_marker said:

I owned one of these - an Imola Red with the S54 engine; until my brother drove it into a tree.

F+ing loved that car, one of the most fun I've ever owned. Definitely deserves its classic status.

I used to own a S54 engined Imola Red one, I wonder if it was the same one?

I often wonder what happened to the more interesting cars I used to own.

I can't remember the full plate, but was it something like RV51???

I too used to lend it to my brother, but luckily he did not have any tree interactions.

[northwest monkey]

peter450 said:

Surely the roadster is likely to be the bigger hit in the future ?

No. The roadster looks like a Z3, the Coupe looks like nothing else.

For me, this is the "one that got away". I nearly bought one in 2002 but wanted a car to do a lot of motorway miles in so went for a 330 convertible instead. Loved the car, but I still want an M Coupe.

[jonah35]

The e36!m3 coupe in manual form, and an evolution is a better bet.

Especially the e36 Imola edition often called gt2 as that is the rarest m3 ever.

They have a bit more race pedigree, are more practical and so on.

Both are good investments.

[daytona365]

Surely a car for those that can't afford an FF but nearly as fast in real world driving ?....Personally I think they're great.

[avhbi]

breezer42 said:

Tbh they all need a lot of work to keep going, in particular the rear of the chassis tends to tear itself to pieces due to the torque and poor build quality. There are solutions, but they're not cheap.

It's a simple single skin, going by everyone at z3mcoupe.com £150 to have it seam welded is about on the money. Even if it's torn its an easy fix. That and bunging in some pvc pipe in the subframe bush voids gets rid of the problem.

Nowhere near the complex twin/triple skin e46 boot floor tearing.

[smilo996]

Drove one a couple of years ago. A real joy, practical, fast, comfortable and much better than the later model. In blue with M3 CSL wheels and ring lists, job done, oh yes and the small matter of the vanos......

or maybe red:

http://s872.photobucket.com/user/drdre0728/media/I...

[Patrick Bateman]

Really never had much appeal for me.

[breezer42]

avhbi said:

It's a simple single skin, going by everyone at z3mcoupe.com £150 to have it seam welded is about on the money. Even if it's torn its an easy fix. That and bunging in some pvc pipe in the subframe bush voids gets rid of the problem.

Nowhere near the complex twin/triple skin e46 boot floor tearing.

The problem is if you strengthen one part, other areas around the boot floor take more strain and start to go too. But yea, definitely easier than M3 is.

Either way, awesome car and rare enough to become a real classic. I wonder if we should use Z8 as a benchmark? Possibly a bit OTT, but I can imagine them heading into pretty serious money once more people who were kids when it was released get the money to buy them.