Alpina Roadster S
Discussion
Hey guys I follow this forum a fair bit and noticed how many different cars are owned by members.
I'm looking at buying an Alpina Roadster S (z4) and was wondering if anyone on here owns or has owned one and could tell me what it was like the run and live with. It wouldn't be an everyday car but will get regular use if I decide to buy one. Any information would be great!
Thanks, Twiggypom
I'm looking at buying an Alpina Roadster S (z4) and was wondering if anyone on here owns or has owned one and could tell me what it was like the run and live with. It wouldn't be an everyday car but will get regular use if I decide to buy one. Any information would be great!
Thanks, Twiggypom
Head over to http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/index.php for all the info you can think of.
Hello
Mine is on about 110k, owned it since 2009, and was my everyday car until about 2 years ago.
As an everyday car for me it was fine, but can be a right PITA pulling out of junctions at times because of long bonnet.
The Boot is a decent size even with the roof folded down.
The sat nav is showing its age now, because its quite clunky to use and not unknown to suddenly loose GPS signal.
For the age of the cars you will be buying, you should look out for leaking shocks, I have replaced mine with Eibach springs and Koni shocks. I know this upsets the Alpina purists, but at the time, it was the best I could do. I have subsequently found out the rear has the same set up as a regular 3.0i z4, front had Eibach springs but at a bespoke Alpina spring rate and specifically Alpina tuned damper.
I have also installed a quaife LSD to help putting the power down in the corners.
I use Grosvenor BMW, an indy in Reading, to look after mine. Service is very reasonable, usually less than a couple of hundred quids a service.
Watch out for any signs of the battery light when you test drive, the alternator is specific to the Alpina and are expensive and hard to fine.
If you are interested, mine is for sale.
Mine is on about 110k, owned it since 2009, and was my everyday car until about 2 years ago.
As an everyday car for me it was fine, but can be a right PITA pulling out of junctions at times because of long bonnet.
The Boot is a decent size even with the roof folded down.
The sat nav is showing its age now, because its quite clunky to use and not unknown to suddenly loose GPS signal.
For the age of the cars you will be buying, you should look out for leaking shocks, I have replaced mine with Eibach springs and Koni shocks. I know this upsets the Alpina purists, but at the time, it was the best I could do. I have subsequently found out the rear has the same set up as a regular 3.0i z4, front had Eibach springs but at a bespoke Alpina spring rate and specifically Alpina tuned damper.
I have also installed a quaife LSD to help putting the power down in the corners.
I use Grosvenor BMW, an indy in Reading, to look after mine. Service is very reasonable, usually less than a couple of hundred quids a service.
Watch out for any signs of the battery light when you test drive, the alternator is specific to the Alpina and are expensive and hard to fine.
If you are interested, mine is for sale.
I understand a few niggles would be there of a car that's a few years old but they seem pretty small from what you have described! I will have to check the shocks then and the battery light. I would be interested but the mileage is too high for my liking I'm looking for one with 60,000 or less! How is it driving wise? Doesn't seem to be lacking in the performance department! Don't know a great deal about the cars as I can't find any reviews on them that aren't on an Alpina related website and I want a slightly less biased view haha
Personally my Alpina never lacked power. Before I got my C63, I test drove a manual E91 M3, I thought my Alpina felt more special and had more character.
It handles pretty well. It does have electric power steering and can sometimes feel a bit heavy and then becoming light again mid turn (like the power steering has woken up). This is a typical Z4 trait. Some owners says they cured it by lubricating the u-joint in the steering column, others have installed a E86 steering column.
For cars at 60k, you should check their head gaskets, not an uncommon failure on the 3.4 Alpina engines shared on the B3S and Roadster S. Remedy is a better designed head gasket.
It handles pretty well. It does have electric power steering and can sometimes feel a bit heavy and then becoming light again mid turn (like the power steering has woken up). This is a typical Z4 trait. Some owners says they cured it by lubricating the u-joint in the steering column, others have installed a E86 steering column.
For cars at 60k, you should check their head gaskets, not an uncommon failure on the 3.4 Alpina engines shared on the B3S and Roadster S. Remedy is a better designed head gasket.
Edited by flux on Sunday 23 August 18:37
flux said:
Personally my Alpina never lacked power. Before I got my C63, I test drove a manual E91 M3, I thought my Alpina felt more special and had more character.
It handles pretty well. It does have electric power steering and can sometimes feel a bit heavy and then becoming light again mid turn (like the power steering has woken up). This is a typical Z4 trait. Some owners says they cured it by lubricating the u-joint in the steering column, others have installed a E86 steering column.
For cars at 60k, you should check their head gaskets, not an uncommon failure on the 3.4 Alpina engines shared on the B3S and Roadster S. Remedy is a better designed head gasket.
300hp and 0-60 in 5.1s is plenty of pep and supposedly being more comfortable than a z4m.It handles pretty well. It does have electric power steering and can sometimes feel a bit heavy and then becoming light again mid turn (like the power steering has woken up). This is a typical Z4 trait. Some owners says they cured it by lubricating the u-joint in the steering column, others have installed a E86 steering column.
For cars at 60k, you should check their head gaskets, not an uncommon failure on the 3.4 Alpina engines shared on the B3S and Roadster S. Remedy is a better designed head gasket.
Edited by flux on Sunday 23 August 18:37
Well that's always an option, I will have too see for myself when it comes too the test drive but I'm sure I can live with it for a while 😀
So an aftermarket head gasket would be better than an Alpina one?
charltjr said:
Alpina revised the gasket, but it's still rather weak IIRC. The gaps between the cylinders are very small. Expect to change it every 60-100k miles depending on how lucky you are.
Any idea what sort of price that would be? I'll be checking the history too see if it's been done recently then!Legacywr said:
Which one are you looking at?
Too be honest there's a few in the classifieds that are interesting as long as they are silver (don't like silver cars) but I'm not in the position to buy one just yet.... Looking at paying half in cash and financing the other half so I still have a bit of saving to do. I wanted a rare ar that I could drive in comfort for road trips but have fun when I want to push it. The first performance car my dad had was a B10 3.3 and it got me into cars hence the soft soot for Alpinas but if you have a suggestion to something else then I'd like to hear it! I have a £20,000 limit
I really like them myself, nearly bought one a couple of years ago! A really helpful PH'er inspected it for me, I decided to walk away.
When negotiating, remember that they seem to have a small market place, you can buy a good Z4 for as little as half the money!
You could try a Z4 M Roadster, Honda S2000 could be another consideration?
I still think I will buy one someday though!
When negotiating, remember that they seem to have a small market place, you can buy a good Z4 for as little as half the money!
You could try a Z4 M Roadster, Honda S2000 could be another consideration?
I still think I will buy one someday though!
Legacywr said:
I really like them myself, nearly bought one a couple of years ago! A really helpful PH'er inspected it for me, I decided to walk away.
When negotiating, remember that they seem to have a small market place, you can buy a good Z4 for as little as half the money!
You could try a Z4 M Roadster, Honda S2000 could be another consideration?
I still think I will buy one someday though!
It's a tough one because I'm far from being any sort of mechanic so I can look and so on but missing something could cost me and I probably will miss something! Ideally I'd go through a Sytner dealership just for some sort of peace of mind even if it means forking out a bit more....When negotiating, remember that they seem to have a small market place, you can buy a good Z4 for as little as half the money!
You could try a Z4 M Roadster, Honda S2000 could be another consideration?
I still think I will buy one someday though!
They do have a small market place only those who know what an Alpina is basically haha and with less than 200 in the UK not a huge selection
Z4 M roadster is a good call but then I prefer the shape of the coupe (but I'd rather the Alpina) I did look into S2000's but I'm not sure I would buy one and be happy I hear they don't have the best driving position
flux said:
Birds did the head gasket on mine a few years ago, from memory the parts came to about 300 quid with labour on top.
Good luck with your search and enjoy the car when you get it.
Sounds pretty reasonable considering.... Good luck with your search and enjoy the car when you get it.
Thank you! Once purchased I'll start a thread and share my thoughts and upcoming road trips!
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