Z3M Roadsters, what to look out for?

[markcoopers]

Considering a Z3M roadster, but what are the common look outs?

I assume Vanos and that the vin/plates etc match, but do they suffer from rust, was the running in service a absolute must in the history....etc?

Cheers,

Mark

[taz devil]

try http://www.zroadster.net they can tell you everything you need to know

[muckymotor]

Cracks and popped rivets in the boot floor are the main thing to look for.

[scz4]

markcoopers said:

Considering a Z3M roadster, but what are the common look outs?

Corners!

[paulwirral]

left over hair dressing equipment rattling in the boot

[markcoopers]

I have left my clippers and GHD's in the MX5 boot, so no worries there.

Corners??? Jokes aside, I was under the impression that they were comparable to similar cars of the same age and OK, but have I been perhaps miss informed? Based by and large on watching tiff compare a chimera 500 to.

I had an E36 M3 EVO convertible years ago, so had assumed that this would be similar in feel, and I liked that car.

[taters]

They are very durable and well screwed together. They wear miles well so make sure its genuine

Aside from the spot weld issue then its usual S50 stuff - vanos bolts, seals and solenoid stuff.

RI inspection is v important too

The can rust at the bottom of the wheel arches and where the body meets the sill. They are not known for rust but with 321hp, no dsc and a light rear chances are its had a bump and been repaired.

Great cars but more GT cruiser than M car

[paulwirral]

take a look on z3mcoupe.com , roadsters suffer most problems that the coupes do so you will get an idea of what to look for , vanos , boot floor and diff hanger , air con , gear selection probs . Ive got a m coupe and think its a great car , a bit like a tvr that starts and does not leak , and ive had a couple of tvrs before anyone starts .

[Badman gee]

I have a mint one with 48000 on the clock.

No traction control but amazing fun.

Wouldn't be without it.

Boot welds, not much of an issue now, easy repair.

Vanos can be sorted quite easily.

Better looking than any of the z4 cars, doesn't really date.

Will be collectable soon.

Mark

[pingu393]

Problems left to me by previous owners...

Popped welds on boot floor. A proper repair is as easy as some make out. The diff needs to be removed to do the job from below as well as above.

link to post I wrote on zroadster.net

Service Indicator on dashboard u/s. This could only be repaired by a new instrument cluster that had to be recoded to get the mileage correct.

Air leak on very difficult access pipe under the plenum chamber. This is very common and rarely correctly diagnosed first time.

Water pump & thermostat replaced.

"Rocking" seats. This is a very cheap DIY repair, or a VERY expensive garage repair. Requires the seats to be removed and stripped down.

Seat belt guides on seats broken. As above.

Constant pressure valve seal. Symptoms are a rear main oil leak until a proper investigation. Requires special tools and an expensive part. Tool can be made and seal can be sourced for pennies.

Here's a full list of what I've done to the car since I bought it. Don't panic as 95% is just tidying up the car and most people wouldn't have bothered.

http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&a...

Seriously consider the running costs if you use garages to get the car serviced. An Inspection 2 is around £750 if done properly, and around £100 if DIY'd.

[markcoopers]

Thanks for that, i'll read through the z roadster pages later.

the plan is for this to be a replacement for the MX5 and sit in the garage with my old Mondial t coupe, so i am quite prepared for a few bills.... I just find the MX5 too slow.

[Badman gee]

markcoopers said:

Thanks for that, i'll read through the z roadster pages later.

the plan is for this to be a replacement for the MX5 and sit in the garage with my old Mondial t coupe, so i am quite prepared for a few bills.... I just find the MX5 too slow.

Go for it, you won't be disappointed.

[KENZ]

markcoopers said:

Thanks for that, i'll read through the z roadster pages later.

the plan is for this to be a replacement for the MX5 and sit in the garage with my old Mondial t coupe, so i am quite prepared for a few bills.... I just find the MX5 too slow.

I had thought about getting a z3m roadster to complement my z4m coupe. I always loved the z3m coupe and owned a couple of z3's in the past. 52plate 2.2 sport then a 3.0 sport which I kinda wish I hadn't sold. It was in Atlanta Blue. My fav colour for the z3. The 2.2 was in Daker Yellow, boy did that car get noticed. Both had hardtops. Always lusted after an M then bought a E46 and the rest is history.

Why not try a honda s2000. I bought one recently and find it hoot to drive :-)

Edited by KENZ on Sunday 11th August 22:23

[Trfcok]

I recently purchased a Z3M roadster and absolutely love it!! Mine is one of the last 73 built so it does have electronic traction control and it also has the newer s54 engine giving 325bhp which is a hoot! I believe they had sorted vanos and boot floor problems when this last batch was made.

I also have an old 911sc and in terms of handling the M is superb in comparison. The car is really well balanced and in my view takes corners with aplomb.There is a video of Tiff Needell doing drifting in an M Roadster and he didn't seem to have any issues with handling and corners

And I'm NOT a hairdresser!! I think the styling is great esp those rear arches and the deep dish alloys. I especially wanted a roadster to have alongside the 911 which is a coupe.

Still early days yet with mine but I'd recommend one for sure!!!

[pingu393]

Trfcok said:

I recently purchased a Z3M roadster and absolutely love it!! Mine is one of the last 73 built so it does have electronic traction control and it also has the newer s54 engine giving 325bhp which is a hoot! I believe they had sorted vanos and boot floor problems when this last batch was made.

I also have an old 911sc and in terms of handling the M is superb in comparison. The car is really well balanced and in my view takes corners with aplomb.There is a video of Tiff Needell doing drifting in an M Roadster and he didn't seem to have any issues with handling and corners

And I'm NOT a hairdresser!! I think the styling is great esp those rear arches and the deep dish alloys. I especially wanted a roadster to have alongside the 911 which is a coupe.

Still early days yet with mine but I'd recommend one for sure!!!

They never sorted the boot floor problem. They never even admitted that there is a problem. The official BMW response was that it was a very rare occurence and the official repair was to return it to standard with no additional strengthening.

It was Tiff's own car . It's still on AskMID (or at least was the last time I looked), so someone has it.

Another common problem that I've just had to fix is the airbag warning light being activated by the wires under the seat. The connectors are very fragile and a temporary break in the circuit while the ignition is on will cause the fault. This fault will be more common as moving the seat is now part of the MOT and an illuminated airbag light is an MOT fail. The light can only be switched off with a module that costs about £30. The module is worth buying if you are a DIY'r as it makes removing/refitting the seats VERY easy.

[shantybeater]

pingu393 said:

They never sorted the boot floor problem. They never even admitted that there is a problem. The official BMW response was that it was a very rare occurence and the official repair was to return it to standard with no additional strengthening.

It was Tiff's own car . It's still on AskMID (or at least was the last time I looked), so someone has it.

Another common problem that I've just had to fix is the airbag warning light being activated by the wires under the seat. The connectors are very fragile and a temporary break in the circuit while the ignition is on will cause the fault. This fault will be more common as moving the seat is now part of the MOT and an illuminated airbag light is an MOT fail. The light can only be switched off with a module that costs about £30. The module is worth buying if you are a DIY'r as it makes removing/refitting the seats VERY easy.

Pingu are you absolutely sure of this?. With my S50 I managed to get BMW to fix the failing diff mount FOC outside of the 10 year corrosion warranty, infact it was the last good will fix I witnessed on Z3mcoupe/zroadster. I was told they fitted a reinforced mount with an updated part number as found on the s54 z3mr. Funnily enough my S54 had no boot floor issues at all

Infact come to think of it I'm sure one of many forum pages I printed out and bored the service manager with detailed pictures showing a reinforced mount side by side with the original?!

Edited by shantybeater on Wednesday 14th August 22:41

[pingu393]

shantybeater said:

pingu393 said:

They never sorted the boot floor problem. They never even admitted that there is a problem. The official BMW response was that it was a very rare occurence and the official repair was to return it to standard with no additional strengthening.

It was Tiff's own car . It's still on AskMID (or at least was the last time I looked), so someone has it.

Another common problem that I've just had to fix is the airbag warning light being activated by the wires under the seat. The connectors are very fragile and a temporary break in the circuit while the ignition is on will cause the fault. This fault will be more common as moving the seat is now part of the MOT and an illuminated airbag light is an MOT fail. The light can only be switched off with a module that costs about £30. The module is worth buying if you are a DIY'r as it makes removing/refitting the seats VERY easy.

Pingu are you absolutely sure of this?. With my S50 I managed to get BMW to fix the failing diff mount FOC outside of the 10 year corrosion warranty, infact it was the last good will fix I witnessed on Z3mcoupe/zroadster. I was told they fitted a reinforced mount with an updated part number as found on the s54 z3mr. Funnily enough my S54 had no boot floor issues at all

Infact come to think of it I'm sure one of many forum pages I printed out and bored the service manager with detailed pictures showing a reinforced mount side by side with the original?!

Edited by shantybeater on Wednesday 14th August 22:41

I've just done a search on realoem for a 04/2002 S54 RHD and a 07/1997 S50 RHD and the boot floor illustrations and part numbers are the same.

There may be an upgrade for repair, but I don't know about it. As far as I know, the S54 is just as suseptible to floor damage as the S50. The place to get a better answer is a dedicated website, such as zroadster.net.

[Bi11]

The opinion on z3mcoupe is that the s54 has a slightly thicker diff bracket and more spot welds, but some cars still have issues. May be more issues on coupes since they are stiffer, putting more strain on the boot floor, but difficult to tell how much of an issue it is on the roadsters, since so few of them.

[shantybeater]

pingu393 said:

I've just done a search on realoem for a 04/2002 S54 RHD and a 07/1997 S50 RHD and the boot floor illustrations and part numbers are the same.

There may be an upgrade for repair, but I don't know about it. As far as I know, the S54 is just as suseptible to floor damage as the S50. The place to get a better answer is a dedicated website, such as zroadster.net.

Yes but surely if the part was superceeded by the later one it would apply to both cars and the old part no. would be disregarded, much like coilpacks for my 996 now start with 997.***.***

This would make sense if BMW had no intention to admit fault but rolled out the updated part?

Edited by shantybeater on Thursday 15th August 21:50

[pingu393]

shantybeater said:

Yes but surely if the part was superceeded by the later one it would apply to both cars and the old part no. would be disregarded, much like coilpacks for my 996 now start with 997.***.***

This would make sense if BMW had no intention to admit fault but rolled out the updated part?

Edited by shantybeater on Thursday 15th August 21:50

Could be, but the point is that it is something to look out for if you are thinking of a purchase.

It can then be decided if it's a walk-away moment, or something you can negotiate on.