Replacement for my 1 series
Discussion
Hello from Germany!
I´ve been driving my F20 120d the last couple of years and I am starting to look for "something new". Generally a little lighter and more fun to drive.
There are quite a few cars I´d really like to own at some point: S2000, Evo, WRX, STI, Yaris GR (the new one), E46 M3, Skyline R34 GTR, Caterham - most of them can be ruled out due to varies reasons: maintainance costs, too expensive in the first place, too old, not all season suitable.
Lets come to the "possible" cars: MX5, GT86, Z4 - MX5 is too small for me, I have to tilt my head in ordner to close the roof in the MX5. A friend of mine has an GT86 and I was able to drive it a few times already. It feels slow, I can´t help it, at mid range I want to get out and give it a little push. The Z4, it´s cool, but there isn´t really the desire like there is for the other two.
From my point of view, I have a few options:
- Buy a GT86 and modify it a little bit. Sadly the only real option is a Turbo kit, which is very expensive and weakens the reliability.
- Try to get a Z4 for a weekend, maybe I fall in love with it.
- Modify my 1 series, KW suspension, change the wheels (I have 225 front, 245 back from the M package, equal tires would help I think), maybe LSD. In general: maybe worth it, maybe not, it is 6 years old and has just shy of 100k km.
- If there are other cars I´ve not thought of, I can spend up to 20k € with reasonable maintainance.
Greetings
Y
I´ve been driving my F20 120d the last couple of years and I am starting to look for "something new". Generally a little lighter and more fun to drive.
There are quite a few cars I´d really like to own at some point: S2000, Evo, WRX, STI, Yaris GR (the new one), E46 M3, Skyline R34 GTR, Caterham - most of them can be ruled out due to varies reasons: maintainance costs, too expensive in the first place, too old, not all season suitable.
Lets come to the "possible" cars: MX5, GT86, Z4 - MX5 is too small for me, I have to tilt my head in ordner to close the roof in the MX5. A friend of mine has an GT86 and I was able to drive it a few times already. It feels slow, I can´t help it, at mid range I want to get out and give it a little push. The Z4, it´s cool, but there isn´t really the desire like there is for the other two.
From my point of view, I have a few options:
- Buy a GT86 and modify it a little bit. Sadly the only real option is a Turbo kit, which is very expensive and weakens the reliability.
- Try to get a Z4 for a weekend, maybe I fall in love with it.
- Modify my 1 series, KW suspension, change the wheels (I have 225 front, 245 back from the M package, equal tires would help I think), maybe LSD. In general: maybe worth it, maybe not, it is 6 years old and has just shy of 100k km.
- If there are other cars I´ve not thought of, I can spend up to 20k € with reasonable maintainance.
Greetings
Y
I had an E87 123d for over 6 years but fancied a change so in 2014 I bought an E86 3.0Si Z4 Coupe for weekends and a cheap runaround. Just over a year ago I swapped my E86 for the M model with the same S54 engine as the E46 M3 and I love it, but based on what you have said I'm guessing the Z4s you are thinking of are the E89 models with the folding metal roof which most owners seem to regard as more of a GT than a sports car.
Might an S2000 with a hardtop work?
Or maybe a Nissan 350/370Z - they're probably no lighter than your 120d but by all accounts should be loads more fun!
Personally I wouldn't spend loads modifying your 120d as you won't get any of that money back. You'd probably be better off getting an M135i or M140i in the first place.
Very leftfield option but what about a Mazda RX8?
Might an S2000 with a hardtop work?
Or maybe a Nissan 350/370Z - they're probably no lighter than your 120d but by all accounts should be loads more fun!
Personally I wouldn't spend loads modifying your 120d as you won't get any of that money back. You'd probably be better off getting an M135i or M140i in the first place.
Very leftfield option but what about a Mazda RX8?
Mr Tidy said:
I had an E87 123d for over 6 years but fancied a change so in 2014 I bought an E86 3.0Si Z4 Coupe for weekends and a cheap runaround. Just over a year ago I swapped my E86 for the M model with the same S54 engine as the E46 M3 and I love it, but based on what you have said I'm guessing the Z4s you are thinking of are the E89 models with the folding metal roof which most owners seem to regard as more of a GT than a sports car.
Your post got me "googling", I always thought there was just the E89, I never realised, there was a predecessor. The E86 is an option, I like the coupe shape and without a softtop I don´t need to worry about the all season suitability. Like for real, an E86 would be perfect I think. Good engine, ESP, not that old, often just used in the summer, so no rust. I like it. Mr Tidy said:
Might an S2000 with a hardtop work?
In Germany, you just can get AP1´s, without ESP. I don´t think I have enough driving experience to drive a real sports car, like the S2000, though the winter. I don´t drive recklessly, but I think having an little "helper" is a nice addition, if I overdo it. And yes, ESP probably saved me once or twice already. Mr Tidy said:
Or maybe a Nissan 350/370Z - they're probably no lighter than your 120d but by all accounts should be loads more fun!
I like the 370Z, sadly with the 3.7l engine it gulpes petrol like visitors beer on the Oktoberfest. 15l? 20l? No problem. I don´t want to have a car with a lot of power, which I can seldom use due to fuel costs. Mr Tidy said:
Personally I wouldn't spend loads modifying your 120d as you won't get any of that money back. You'd probably be better off getting an M135i or M140i in the first place.
Yep, same opinion, a significant difference would cost ~5k€ and I don´t think this is worth it. I´ve already thought about a 125i, maybe a M135i, perhaps an old E82 135i - but I´ve been driving 1 series the last 8 years, I know the interior and "just" getting more HP doesn´t seem worth it. But just my opinion, I was never able to drive a high HP 1 series. Mr Tidy said:
Very leftfield option but what about a Mazda RX8?
I love the last-gen RX7 but I never liked the RX8 :Sedit: I love the new Supra, sadly way to expensive for me.
Edited by YoDaBaP on Tuesday 19th January 10:50
YoDaBaP said:
Mr Tidy said:
I had an E87 123d for over 6 years but fancied a change so in 2014 I bought an E86 3.0Si Z4 Coupe for weekends and a cheap runaround. Just over a year ago I swapped my E86 for the M model with the same S54 engine as the E46 M3 and I love it, but based on what you have said I'm guessing the Z4s you are thinking of are the E89 models with the folding metal roof which most owners seem to regard as more of a GT than a sports car.
Your post got me "googling", I always thought there was just the E89, I never realised, there was a predecessor. The E86 is an option, I like the coupe shape and without a softtop I don´t need to worry about the all season suitability. Like for real, an E86 would be perfect I think. Good engine, ESP, not that old, often just used in the summer, so no rust. I like it. Well here is some inspiration for you!
Mr Tidy said:
Might an S2000 with a hardtop work?
In Germany, you just can get AP1´s, without ESP. I don´t think I have enough driving experience to drive a real sports car, like the S2000, though the winter. I don´t drive recklessly, but I think having an little "helper" is a nice addition, if I overdo it. And yes, ESP probably saved me once or twice already. Mr Tidy said:
Or maybe a Nissan 350/370Z - they're probably no lighter than your 120d but by all accounts should be loads more fun!
I like the 370Z, sadly with the 3.7l engine it gulpes petrol like visitors beer on the Oktoberfest. 15l? 20l? No problem. I don´t want to have a car with a lot of power, which I can seldom use due to fuel costs. I don't mind if my car likes a drink, especially now we have severe limits on where we can go, which may be just as well! Although your budget may be a problem sadly.
Mr Tidy said:
Personally I wouldn't spend loads modifying your 120d as you won't get any of that money back. You'd probably be better off getting an M135i or M140i in the first place.
Yep, same opinion, a significant difference would cost ~5k€ and I don´t think this is worth it. I´ve already thought about a 125i, maybe a M135i, perhaps an old E82 135i - but I´ve been driving 1 series the last 8 years, I know the interior and "just" getting more HP doesn´t seem worth it. But just my opinion, I was never able to drive a high HP 1 series. In the UK we got the E87 130i which is quite a desirable car. I couldn't afford a good one so in 2019 I bought an E90 330i with the same engine as a daily driver, but an E92 330i or 335i might be entertaining!
Mr Tidy said:
Very leftfield option but what about a Mazda RX8?
I love the last-gen RX7 but I never liked the RX8 :Sedit: I love the new Supra, sadly way to expensive for me.
I might if there was a manual option!
Edited by YoDaBaP on Tuesday 19th January 10:50
E86 is just available with the 3l engine or M Coupe, M Coupe is way to expensive for me, so I´ll look for a nice 3.0.
Sadly petrol price in Germany is very high. I drive 12-15k km a year (usually), 15l consumption will cost ~3.3k €, 10l (~2.2k) sounds a lot better. Insurance is another big chunk, for the Z370 its 1.2k a year, just 450€ for the Z4. The Z370 is going to break the bank due to the high costs. Repair problems not even factored in, almost every repair shop knows BMW´s and can repair them, the Z370, uff, I don´t think so.
edit: Maybe, a 2.5l is enough for me, sadly not available as Coupe
Sadly petrol price in Germany is very high. I drive 12-15k km a year (usually), 15l consumption will cost ~3.3k €, 10l (~2.2k) sounds a lot better. Insurance is another big chunk, for the Z370 its 1.2k a year, just 450€ for the Z4. The Z370 is going to break the bank due to the high costs. Repair problems not even factored in, almost every repair shop knows BMW´s and can repair them, the Z370, uff, I don´t think so.
edit: Maybe, a 2.5l is enough for me, sadly not available as Coupe
Edited by YoDaBaP on Thursday 21st January 16:52
YoDaBaP said:
E86 is just available with the 3l engine or M Coupe, M Coupe is way to expensive for me, so I´ll look for a nice 3.0.
Sadly petrol price in Germany is very high. I drive 12-15k km a year (usually), 15l consumption will cost ~3.3k €, 10l (~2.2k) sounds a lot better. Insurance is another big chunk, for the Z370 its 1.2k a year, just 450€ for the Z4. The Z370 is going to break the bank due to the high costs. Repair problems not even factored in, almost every repair shop knows BMW´s and can repair them, the Z370, uff, I don´t think so.
edit: Maybe, a 2.5l is enough for me, sadly not available as Coupe
370Z's don't really go wrong, I'm not sure if you got them in Germany but the one to look for is the 370Z Nismo imo it's a better drivers car than the Z4.Sadly petrol price in Germany is very high. I drive 12-15k km a year (usually), 15l consumption will cost ~3.3k €, 10l (~2.2k) sounds a lot better. Insurance is another big chunk, for the Z370 its 1.2k a year, just 450€ for the Z4. The Z370 is going to break the bank due to the high costs. Repair problems not even factored in, almost every repair shop knows BMW´s and can repair them, the Z370, uff, I don´t think so.
edit: Maybe, a 2.5l is enough for me, sadly not available as Coupe
Edited by YoDaBaP on Thursday 21st January 16:52
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009093...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101208...
These are much less troublesome than a BMW could be real world you'll see 21-24mpg with mixed driving 25-28mpg for the 3.0 Z4 both will do better if your mileage involves more Autobahn.
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