Z4 advice: thinking of getting one (2nd hand)
Discussion
Hi,
I'm thinking of getting a Z4 2.5l convertible - most likely a 2003 or 2004. What do you guys think of the car?
My current drive is a 1.25l Fiesta (don't laugh
) so I expect a 2.5l should be enough power to keep me going for a couple of years. Some mates are telling me to get the 3.0l (they say I'll get bored of the 2.5l) - but it's more expensive to buy and insure, with some insurers not even quoting me.
What do you experts think?
Thanks
I'm thinking of getting a Z4 2.5l convertible - most likely a 2003 or 2004. What do you guys think of the car?
My current drive is a 1.25l Fiesta (don't laugh
) so I expect a 2.5l should be enough power to keep me going for a couple of years. Some mates are telling me to get the 3.0l (they say I'll get bored of the 2.5l) - but it's more expensive to buy and insure, with some insurers not even quoting me.What do you experts think?
Thanks
Hi,
Just helped my fiancee get one. They are a good buy used if you are careful. I'd say go for the 3.0 if can afford it, but if not the 2.5 (or any straight 6) is still great. There are plenty about so make sure you get a low mileage, low owner, nice spec car. Ellipsoid alloys are to me the only ones that work on the car. Runflats are pricey so make sure the tyres have plenty of life left or haggle hard for a discount. A 3.0 sub 40,000 mile 2003 car should be around 14k tops this time of year.
What is your budget?
Just helped my fiancee get one. They are a good buy used if you are careful. I'd say go for the 3.0 if can afford it, but if not the 2.5 (or any straight 6) is still great. There are plenty about so make sure you get a low mileage, low owner, nice spec car. Ellipsoid alloys are to me the only ones that work on the car. Runflats are pricey so make sure the tyres have plenty of life left or haggle hard for a discount. A 3.0 sub 40,000 mile 2003 car should be around 14k tops this time of year.
What is your budget?
A grand or two between the two used.
I drove a Z3 2.5 and Z3 3.0 back to back quite a while ago, there isnt that much difference. Bought the 3.0 in the end though. They didnt market a 2.5 Z3 in the UK but the engine was the same 192hp used in the Z4s.
Moving onto the Z4, for me the difference in insurance was minimal and MPG is also very similar, but I think the 2.5 has only 5 gears so perhaps less economical at motorway cruising speeds than the 3.0 will be? Again, I went for the 3.0 and also over and above the extra cc's the spec is higher than the 2.5 (leather, electric seats and probably a few other things).
That said, if insurance really is an issue and you are talking a good few hundred quid a year more then I would say the extra power of the 3.0, while nice to have, isn't worth it in your situation. JMHO.
Great cars though and yes it is much better than any Z3 in terms of driving dynamics. Z3 a prettier car though. Again, JMHO.
I drove a Z3 2.5 and Z3 3.0 back to back quite a while ago, there isnt that much difference. Bought the 3.0 in the end though. They didnt market a 2.5 Z3 in the UK but the engine was the same 192hp used in the Z4s.
Moving onto the Z4, for me the difference in insurance was minimal and MPG is also very similar, but I think the 2.5 has only 5 gears so perhaps less economical at motorway cruising speeds than the 3.0 will be? Again, I went for the 3.0 and also over and above the extra cc's the spec is higher than the 2.5 (leather, electric seats and probably a few other things).
That said, if insurance really is an issue and you are talking a good few hundred quid a year more then I would say the extra power of the 3.0, while nice to have, isn't worth it in your situation. JMHO.
Great cars though and yes it is much better than any Z3 in terms of driving dynamics. Z3 a prettier car though. Again, JMHO.
Great feedback - thanks guys.
Ideally my budget is between 12-13k, at which price I would want it in grey/black with leather interior, heated seats, BMW FSH. Is that ambitious? Any other additions I should strongly consider?
My cheapest insurance quote for the 2.5l is £1150, and £1650 for the 3.0l (although not as many would quote me) with 3yr NCB - both extremely high prices if you ask me. I think the main factors are my age (27yr) and that I apparently live in a very high risk area
A few more naive questions (I have a lot to learn about cars, all I know is I like driving them):
Were there any problems with the car when released which were fix in later revisions - i.e. should I avoid the 2003 model, or are they all the same?
What's the difference between the 2.5i, 2.5si, 2.5 SE, and 2.5 SPORT?
Ideally my budget is between 12-13k, at which price I would want it in grey/black with leather interior, heated seats, BMW FSH. Is that ambitious? Any other additions I should strongly consider?
My cheapest insurance quote for the 2.5l is £1150, and £1650 for the 3.0l (although not as many would quote me) with 3yr NCB - both extremely high prices if you ask me. I think the main factors are my age (27yr) and that I apparently live in a very high risk area
A few more naive questions (I have a lot to learn about cars, all I know is I like driving them
):Were there any problems with the car when released which were fix in later revisions - i.e. should I avoid the 2003 model, or are they all the same?
What's the difference between the 2.5i, 2.5si, 2.5 SE, and 2.5 SPORT?
Per the post above the newer engines will be way out of your price range, so don't get bothered about the 'Si' suffix variants.
The budget you have will buy you a nice example, and I forgot to mention earlier two things - for the same £ comparing the 2.5 to the 3.0 you will of course get a newer lower mileage car or a much higher spec car (think DSP hifi, sat nav, premium 'new england' leather etc). As with all BMWs, there are cars out there specced to the max.
Also, on the 2.5 you have the option of the SMG gearbox. Please please check this out (google, go on wikipedia, search 'smg' on this site etc) and drive one if you can. It will be a bit quicker than the manual, a bit more economical and same insurance. I loved it to bits and I hate automatic cars (it has no clutch pedal and paddle shifts but it is a conventional manual gbox)...the cars are rare mind you.
I just sold my 3.0i SMG on a 53 plate for £15750. Ok above your budget but it only had 17k miles and very high spec. It is the right time of year to buy. A 30k-40k 2.5i SMG should be available well within your budget. Final thing, get something with HEATED SEATS! It can make or break enjoyment of the roof down on colder days.
Had a look in the classifieds here? I've not read these ads in detail but in the budget:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/342509.htm basic spec
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/261641.htm better spec
Check out autotrader as well, enthusiasts advertising on car forums sometimes have a tendency to price a little higher than perhaps their cars are worth (not always though).
The budget you have will buy you a nice example, and I forgot to mention earlier two things - for the same £ comparing the 2.5 to the 3.0 you will of course get a newer lower mileage car or a much higher spec car (think DSP hifi, sat nav, premium 'new england' leather etc). As with all BMWs, there are cars out there specced to the max.
Also, on the 2.5 you have the option of the SMG gearbox. Please please check this out (google, go on wikipedia, search 'smg' on this site etc) and drive one if you can. It will be a bit quicker than the manual, a bit more economical and same insurance. I loved it to bits and I hate automatic cars (it has no clutch pedal and paddle shifts but it is a conventional manual gbox)...the cars are rare mind you.
I just sold my 3.0i SMG on a 53 plate for £15750. Ok above your budget but it only had 17k miles and very high spec. It is the right time of year to buy. A 30k-40k 2.5i SMG should be available well within your budget. Final thing, get something with HEATED SEATS! It can make or break enjoyment of the roof down on colder days.
Had a look in the classifieds here? I've not read these ads in detail but in the budget:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/342509.htm basic spec
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/261641.htm better spec
Check out autotrader as well, enthusiasts advertising on car forums sometimes have a tendency to price a little higher than perhaps their cars are worth (not always though).
Edited by texasjohn on Tuesday 5th February 22:42
I'd suggest the 3.0. Your budget will get you into an '03 car, and while it won't have Sat Nav or premium sound system, most have heated seats.
The g/f has a 3.0 auto (231PS) and it's pretty damn quick for what it is - she drives wearing lead shoes, but still gets 25mpg+.
Yes the insurance will be more, but surely if you're budgeting £12k+ for the car, an extra couple of hundred quid won't break the bank?
The g/f has a 3.0 auto (231PS) and it's pretty damn quick for what it is - she drives wearing lead shoes, but still gets 25mpg+.
Yes the insurance will be more, but surely if you're budgeting £12k+ for the car, an extra couple of hundred quid won't break the bank?
Thanks for all the responses.
texasjohn, thanks for the tip about SMG but I'm with caboosemoose on this one ("joys of heel-and-toe driving".)
There are plenty of engine variants but I think the comments above along with the BMW site should help me understand the differences.
Ok, so after every man and his dog has convinced me to get the 3.0l I've decided to check out some quotes:
2.5l only me insured = £1150
2.5l me & the mrs = £1250
3.0l only me insured = £1700
3.0l me & the mrs = £2650!!!
I'll have to try convincing the mrs she doesn't need to drive
- otherwise I'm going to have to go for the 2.5l. I want to test drive both, but the nearby BMW dealers only have the 3.0l in stock.
Whilst on the topic, I got a quote on the 3.0l using my mate's address and it dropped from £1700 to £1200!! That's a crazy premium just for where I live.
texasjohn, thanks for the tip about SMG but I'm with caboosemoose on this one ("joys of heel-and-toe driving".)
There are plenty of engine variants but I think the comments above along with the BMW site should help me understand the differences.
Ok, so after every man and his dog has convinced me to get the 3.0l I've decided to check out some quotes:
2.5l only me insured = £1150
2.5l me & the mrs = £1250
3.0l only me insured = £1700
3.0l me & the mrs = £2650!!!
I'll have to try convincing the mrs she doesn't need to drive
- otherwise I'm going to have to go for the 2.5l. I want to test drive both, but the nearby BMW dealers only have the 3.0l in stock.Whilst on the topic, I got a quote on the 3.0l using my mate's address and it dropped from £1700 to £1200!! That's a crazy premium just for where I live.
I got £1200 as the best price from Elephant, but they were tossers when I tried to take them up on it, claiming they'd 'found' my non-fault non-claim on their database so wanted an extra £200. W@nkers.
A-plan came up trumps at just over £800. 30, 2 years NCB, 3 points, and my 58 year old dad on it
A-plan came up trumps at just over £800. 30, 2 years NCB, 3 points, and my 58 year old dad on it
A-Plan quoted me over 2k - I'm 27, 3yr NCB, and 1 accident/claim (it was a named driver on my policy - not me). Adding my dad to the policy didn't change the price on the best quotes I had, and adding the wife increased it by what I mentioned above.
Looks like I'm stuck with having to fork out a mini-fortune to get insured.
Looks like I'm stuck with having to fork out a mini-fortune to get insured.
check out confused.com, i've just got a quote for my 3.0SE for £822 fully comp with protected no claims, 29year old with 8yrs no claims living in essex/london. I'm with a-plan currently, they gave me back 30quid for the 3months left on my policy changing from a Cerbera so I assume renewal will be around the 800mark again.
Yep, most of my quotes are from confused.com or moneysupermarket.com.
Can anyone suggest a place to test drive the 3.0 or 2.5 near Ilford (Essex)? I'll try the BMW approved dealers too.
Any surprises I should be ready for when I try the car (considering I currently dirve a Fiesta)? I expect it to be very low and road hugging, and have also heard it's overly responsive to bumps.
Can anyone suggest a place to test drive the 3.0 or 2.5 near Ilford (Essex)? I'll try the BMW approved dealers too.
Any surprises I should be ready for when I try the car (considering I currently dirve a Fiesta)? I expect it to be very low and road hugging, and have also heard it's overly responsive to bumps.
I purchased a 2003 2.5 z4 last month, and i gave myself roughly the same budget as you. Got to say it's a great car and highly recommend it.
I went for the 2.5 for a number of reasons -
1 I like 2.5 engines - they are just right IMHO. Not slow, but not ridiculously fast, but that was not what i was looking for anyway after just selling a TVr Cerbera
2 Not much difference between a 2.5 and a 3 performance wise, and you do pay a premium for the 3
3 Slighlty cheaper running costs/insurance
4 I just happened to come across a lovely example, only 26k on the clock, with the 18' ellipsoid wheels - they are a must.
For your budget you should be able to get a decent 2.5 with quite low mileage and some extras (including the ellipsoid alloys). you would be pushing it a bit for a 3 litre - there might be one or two high mileage or auto ones, but lacking in extras (those wheels again!!)
good luck, and enjoy
g
I went for the 2.5 for a number of reasons -
1 I like 2.5 engines - they are just right IMHO. Not slow, but not ridiculously fast, but that was not what i was looking for anyway after just selling a TVr Cerbera
2 Not much difference between a 2.5 and a 3 performance wise, and you do pay a premium for the 3
3 Slighlty cheaper running costs/insurance
4 I just happened to come across a lovely example, only 26k on the clock, with the 18' ellipsoid wheels - they are a must.
For your budget you should be able to get a decent 2.5 with quite low mileage and some extras (including the ellipsoid alloys). you would be pushing it a bit for a 3 litre - there might be one or two high mileage or auto ones, but lacking in extras (those wheels again!!)
good luck, and enjoy
g
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