Z3 Specifc questions
Discussion
Don't worry about hogging the thread, all input is good!
This afternoon I drove over to meet a chap from the ZRoadster forum who lives close by. He has a very nicely looked after face-lifted last of the line 2.8 car, Bright Silver with very very nice extended Blue leather which I was quite taken by.
Had a good nose round his car, he pointed out some useful stuff and was kind enough to take me out for a short drive, which was really useful, I learnt a lot.
Overall -
The car feels very 'old-school'. The owner commented how different it was to his Wife's Z4 (And thus, the more modern cars/BMW's I was hoping it wouldn't remind me of).
Very Mechanical feeling, made from nuts and bolts, if that makes sense. I was surprised by how much - this feel, combined with an interior that is quite old fashioned in design makes it feel really characterful, I liked it a lot. There was a fair bit of crashing about and jarring over the rubbish pot-holed roads, much like an MX-5, however it was still very comfortable overall. Felt like an older car than it was in some respects. It also feels like a car very much dominated by its engine, which is great.
I also take issue with the comments RE sitting ON not IN it, and it not feeling like a proper sportcar? For me, it had EXACTLY that Sportscar feel, pillar box windscreen, sat low on the back wheels, legs stretched out in front. Its a car with a character, I really liked it.
I reckon, that the Z3 is to, say, TR6, Healey etc, as the MX-5 is to an Elan, or MGB... if that makes an ounce of sense to anyone.
As in - it ways it feels like a much older car, gives you that thrill and Drama, yet has the benefit of modern technology under the skin, it will start in the winter, keep the rain out, not rot-away in an instant etc etc.
Got some searches setup on ebay and all the classifieds, trader etc firmly saved in my favourites folder for the time being...!
This afternoon I drove over to meet a chap from the ZRoadster forum who lives close by. He has a very nicely looked after face-lifted last of the line 2.8 car, Bright Silver with very very nice extended Blue leather which I was quite taken by.
Had a good nose round his car, he pointed out some useful stuff and was kind enough to take me out for a short drive, which was really useful, I learnt a lot.
Overall -
The car feels very 'old-school'. The owner commented how different it was to his Wife's Z4 (And thus, the more modern cars/BMW's I was hoping it wouldn't remind me of).
Very Mechanical feeling, made from nuts and bolts, if that makes sense. I was surprised by how much - this feel, combined with an interior that is quite old fashioned in design makes it feel really characterful, I liked it a lot. There was a fair bit of crashing about and jarring over the rubbish pot-holed roads, much like an MX-5, however it was still very comfortable overall. Felt like an older car than it was in some respects. It also feels like a car very much dominated by its engine, which is great.
I also take issue with the comments RE sitting ON not IN it, and it not feeling like a proper sportcar? For me, it had EXACTLY that Sportscar feel, pillar box windscreen, sat low on the back wheels, legs stretched out in front. Its a car with a character, I really liked it.
I reckon, that the Z3 is to, say, TR6, Healey etc, as the MX-5 is to an Elan, or MGB... if that makes an ounce of sense to anyone.
As in - it ways it feels like a much older car, gives you that thrill and Drama, yet has the benefit of modern technology under the skin, it will start in the winter, keep the rain out, not rot-away in an instant etc etc.
Got some searches setup on ebay and all the classifieds, trader etc firmly saved in my favourites folder for the time being...!
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Car with black wheels looks erm not my cup of tea and lots of spec errors in desc, for example adjustable steering column. Second car looks like a newer interior and wheels off a later car too.
Both sellers have zero feedback!
I'd ask for a whole bunch more details/pics before travelling. Ask on zr if anyone is close enough to take a peek for you or knows these dealers.
Plenty to choose from these days.
M50 manifold fine onto early m52 motors btw.
Hth.
StuB said:
Car with black wheels looks erm not my cup of tea and lots of spec errors in desc, for example adjustable steering column.
Second car looks like a newer interior and wheels off a later car too.
Both sellers have zero feedback!
I'd ask for a whole bunch more details/pics before travelling. Ask on zr if anyone is close enough to take a peek for you or knows these dealers.
Plenty to choose from these days.
M50 manifold fine onto early m52 motors btw.
Hth.
With regard to the feedback here is one of them on A/T, I assume they have no feedback due to not many transactions happening through the baySecond car looks like a newer interior and wheels off a later car too.
Both sellers have zero feedback!
I'd ask for a whole bunch more details/pics before travelling. Ask on zr if anyone is close enough to take a peek for you or knows these dealers.
Plenty to choose from these days.
M50 manifold fine onto early m52 motors btw.
Hth.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...
This one looks slightly better value although the 5 owners and no mention of S/H worry me
snotrag said:
Don't worry about hogging the thread, all input is good!
This afternoon I drove over to meet a chap from the ZRoadster forum who lives close by. He has a very nicely looked after face-lifted last of the line 2.8 car, Bright Silver with very very nice extended Blue leather which I was quite taken by.
Had a good nose round his car, he pointed out some useful stuff and was kind enough to take me out for a short drive, which was really useful, I learnt a lot.
Overall -
The car feels very 'old-school'. The owner commented how different it was to his Wife's Z4 (And thus, the more modern cars/BMW's I was hoping it wouldn't remind me of).
Very Mechanical feeling, made from nuts and bolts, if that makes sense. I was surprised by how much - this feel, combined with an interior that is quite old fashioned in design makes it feel really characterful, I liked it a lot. There was a fair bit of crashing about and jarring over the rubbish pot-holed roads, much like an MX-5, however it was still very comfortable overall. Felt like an older car than it was in some respects. It also feels like a car very much dominated by its engine, which is great.
I also take issue with the comments RE sitting ON not IN it, and it not feeling like a proper sportcar? For me, it had EXACTLY that Sportscar feel, pillar box windscreen, sat low on the back wheels, legs stretched out in front. Its a car with a character, I really liked it.
I reckon, that the Z3 is to, say, TR6, Healey etc, as the MX-5 is to an Elan, or MGB... if that makes an ounce of sense to anyone.
As in - it ways it feels like a much older car, gives you that thrill and Drama, yet has the benefit of modern technology under the skin, it will start in the winter, keep the rain out, not rot-away in an instant etc etc.
I agree with that; I always thought of them as like a modern German TR6. I've never understood why some are so negative about them. I find them characterful, interesting,charming cars and genuinely enjoyable. They're quite different to other modern BMWs - maybe too different for the detractors?This afternoon I drove over to meet a chap from the ZRoadster forum who lives close by. He has a very nicely looked after face-lifted last of the line 2.8 car, Bright Silver with very very nice extended Blue leather which I was quite taken by.
Had a good nose round his car, he pointed out some useful stuff and was kind enough to take me out for a short drive, which was really useful, I learnt a lot.
Overall -
The car feels very 'old-school'. The owner commented how different it was to his Wife's Z4 (And thus, the more modern cars/BMW's I was hoping it wouldn't remind me of).
Very Mechanical feeling, made from nuts and bolts, if that makes sense. I was surprised by how much - this feel, combined with an interior that is quite old fashioned in design makes it feel really characterful, I liked it a lot. There was a fair bit of crashing about and jarring over the rubbish pot-holed roads, much like an MX-5, however it was still very comfortable overall. Felt like an older car than it was in some respects. It also feels like a car very much dominated by its engine, which is great.
I also take issue with the comments RE sitting ON not IN it, and it not feeling like a proper sportcar? For me, it had EXACTLY that Sportscar feel, pillar box windscreen, sat low on the back wheels, legs stretched out in front. Its a car with a character, I really liked it.
I reckon, that the Z3 is to, say, TR6, Healey etc, as the MX-5 is to an Elan, or MGB... if that makes an ounce of sense to anyone.
As in - it ways it feels like a much older car, gives you that thrill and Drama, yet has the benefit of modern technology under the skin, it will start in the winter, keep the rain out, not rot-away in an instant etc etc.
Getting way ot but I think the z3's biggest problem was the other 2 sweaters launched at the same time, boxster, slk230, s2k etc., which were all different and in individuals areas better than the z3. Misses the point for me. We bought our z new and still have it. Why? We love the looks, roadsters have a million miles of headroom, gorgeous lazy straight 6 (my 328 had 214k miles when I sold it & still served up 145 on the way to trade in), though with the supercharger delivers 50% more, tours great, can do bumpy back roads without shaking your teeth out and with the upgrades we have hands a lot of 'superior cars (Exige, m3) their arses on track days. Strangely enough, it also delivers handling not dissimilar to my 996 911 TT.
I always ask if people have ever tried one when they trot out the standard Clarkson bs. The answer is invariably no!
Hope you find a nice one. OP.
I always ask if people have ever tried one when they trot out the standard Clarkson bs. The answer is invariably no!
Hope you find a nice one. OP.
I can't believe how cheap these have become...I'm getting tempted to buy one as a stop gap until I get my RS2000 back on the road/sell it/ buy a TVR. I saw one in the classifieds with a hard top, so it would be fine to sit outside on my drive during the winter too. If I found one for around £4-4.5k I wonder if I'd be able to sell it on in a year or so without really losing too much on it? I'd be after a six cylinder model, so less sought after these days (to be fair, probably why they are cheap to buy), I'm guessing the 2.8 model as I'd want a bit of power compared to my 320d Touring daily hack.
I presume I'd be able to insure it on a classic policy and being older than 2002 (2001?) the road tax wouldn't be so dear?
Interested to read that you had one before your Griff Smartypants, as it's either a Chimaera or Griff that I plan to get eventually once the RS is sold.
Might be good practice with RWD before getting a TVR.
I presume I'd be able to insure it on a classic policy and being older than 2002 (2001?) the road tax wouldn't be so dear?
Interested to read that you had one before your Griff Smartypants, as it's either a Chimaera or Griff that I plan to get eventually once the RS is sold.
Might be good practice with RWD before getting a TVR. Thanks Smartypants. Haven't seen many with LSD, though I'd also want to find one with a hardtop as it'll be kept outside so I might be narrowing my options a bit. I like the look of this one in the classifieds, but timing is off as I'm about to go on holiday for the half term, it'll probably be sold by the time I get back, but if not a cheeky offer could be worth trying I suppose:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3581641.htm
If I get a decent Z3 I'd be able to trade it in for a TVR later as I think I'd get a poor deal trading the RS for a TVR of similar value. Any excuse really so I can have some roof down motoring in the warmer weather.
Haven't seen many with LSD, though I'd also want to find one with a hardtop as it'll be kept outside so I might be narrowing my options a bit. I like the look of this one in the classifieds, but timing is off as I'm about to go on holiday for the half term, it'll probably be sold by the time I get back, but if not a cheeky offer could be worth trying I suppose:http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3581641.htm
If I get a decent Z3 I'd be able to trade it in for a TVR later as I think I'd get a poor deal trading the RS for a TVR of similar value. Any excuse really so I can have some roof down motoring in the warmer weather.
Yes we did...I'm the one that lives near Jon and you kindly let me sit in your Griff at Bearwood. I'd like to have the RS2000 ready for this year's meet, but I think that's unrealistic given how little I got done on it last year, hence the stop gap car plan. I wasn't sure if the 2.8 I linked to was a little overpriced, but as it's not high mileage and has FSH only the short MOT would bother me. I need to do more research as I only started looking into this last night: I'm planing on downgrading the current bedroom project to free up the cash for the Z3, but have contingency funds incase I get too much hassle off the OH.
Sorry to the OP for taking over this thread, but as the PH search isn't working it's hard to find much other Z3 info.
Sorry to the OP for taking over this thread, but as the PH search isn't working it's hard to find much other Z3 info.
StuB said:
2.8 and up came with LSD.
That's good to know as I'm looking at 2.8 or upwards anyway. I've virtually talked myself into the one I linked earlier as a search on here and AT hasn't found many other similar mileage and FSH with a hardtop. If I had to factor in buying a hardtop afterwards, then I may as well spend a bit more on a better car to start with like this one seems to be. It seems like I'd need another £600-700 for a separate hardtop unless I'm mistaken.Shame I didn't think about this a week ago and before the snow this weekend...it could be sat on my drive already.
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