RE: BMW Z3 M Coupe: Spotted
Discussion
Sold mine with 30,000 miles on for £19,000 13 years ago...
I loved it as someone in his 20’s at the time but wouldn’t love it as much now. Stock, handling was very unsophisticated and would give you sweaty palms over a bumpy road (why I loved it back then!) and snap oversteer was very real in the wet.
I had an 8 stone dog at the time, he fitted in the boot and used to love sitting looking forward with his head between the front seats reading the road and leaning into corners!
I loved it as someone in his 20’s at the time but wouldn’t love it as much now. Stock, handling was very unsophisticated and would give you sweaty palms over a bumpy road (why I loved it back then!) and snap oversteer was very real in the wet.
I had an 8 stone dog at the time, he fitted in the boot and used to love sitting looking forward with his head between the front seats reading the road and leaning into corners!
Bencolem said:
I had an 8 stone dog at the time, he fitted in the boot and used to love sitting looking forward with his head between the front seats reading the road and leaning into corners!
The perfect sports car when one has a large dog. A bit of a shooting brake element to it. Your dog was just as much engaged in that motor as you! And, blimey, eight stone
golfer19 said:
One for the wish list.
Same here; I think that they are fantastic 
Bencolem said:
I had an 8 stone dog at the time, he fitted in the boot and used to love sitting looking forward with his head between the front seats reading the road and leaning into corners!
A bit of extra weight over the rear end can't have hurt, surely? 
Edited by FN2TypeR on Sunday 11th February 16:58
Great though they are (had opportunity to drive one quite a few times) - surely issue now is lack of parts availability?
Surely at peak prices too? "low" mileage ones will be at 60-70k miles so will take some pampering.
That engine though. sound worth the asking price alone when revving it up to 7k.
Surely at peak prices too? "low" mileage ones will be at 60-70k miles so will take some pampering.
That engine though.
sound worth the asking price alone when revving it up to 7k.
sly fox said:
Great though they are (had opportunity to drive one quite a few times) - surely issue now is lack of parts availability?
Surely at peak prices too? "low" mileage ones will be at 60-70k miles so will take some pampering.
That engine though. sound worth the asking price alone when revving it up to 7k.
Parts availability is very good. BMW continue to supply parts for them. Lots of parts are available used and are interchangeable with other models.Surely at peak prices too? "low" mileage ones will be at 60-70k miles so will take some pampering.
That engine though.
sound worth the asking price alone when revving it up to 7k.Driving wise they are great. If you like to be a sideways hero. One odd trait as standard is the front end starts to feel very light and floaty at high speed. When rear damper mounts are due, don’t fit BMW ones, I recommend Bimmertune ones. Standard ones last months.
motco said:
I went to look at one of these in Derbyshire about 3 - 4 years ago. It was a Cat D but a bit of panel alignment was all that was needed to make it good. The VANOS was a bit noisy and the rear end had not been reinforced - but not cracked either. It could have been had for about £8k but we walked away. What a mistake that was - it would have at least doubled in value in the interim.
I think I remember that one, definitely around that area and time period. It was possibly the cheapest one I'd seen. I seem to think it was white? Gribs said:
It's a shame we never got the normal 3l couple like the rest of Europe. I've always wanted one of these and gave it serious consideration when they'd got down to the low teens but they're just too expensive now.
Yes, I'd have considered one of those too - but I have a 3.0Si Z4 Coupe instead! I'm on my second Breadvan - Cosmos Black/Black leather - had a E46 M3 in between as I thought I needed the extra 2 rear seats, I didn't as they only got used a handful of times by the grandkids in nearly 4 years! Since M3 prices were dropping and Z3 MC had plateaued I bought my second MC for approximately the same price I'd sold my first one for - £10.5K - that was back in 2012. Prices have risen sharply since then.
There is one going through for auction this month 2001 S54 in silver with 37k miles - probably £50k +.
There is a S54 in Dakar on PH with high mileage 113k miles I believe for around £22k - good value. Its maybe sold already.
Parts in general are still available thought BMW prices are in some case pretty expensive. Odd items are no longer available or put on special order to be manufactured in batches when there is sufficient request.
Steering wheels are often refurbished, it was the first job I did on my 2nd car, Jack at Royal Wheels did a great job with extra padding. Transformed the feel of the car when driving.
Great looking cars, especially when viewed from rear with those huge arches and deep dished wheels. I'm always getting people saying "What is it?" or "Is it a new model as never seen one like it before"
There is one going through for auction this month 2001 S54 in silver with 37k miles - probably £50k +.
There is a S54 in Dakar on PH with high mileage 113k miles I believe for around £22k - good value. Its maybe sold already.
Parts in general are still available thought BMW prices are in some case pretty expensive. Odd items are no longer available or put on special order to be manufactured in batches when there is sufficient request.
Steering wheels are often refurbished, it was the first job I did on my 2nd car, Jack at Royal Wheels did a great job with extra padding. Transformed the feel of the car when driving.
Great looking cars, especially when viewed from rear with those huge arches and deep dished wheels. I'm always getting people saying "What is it?" or "Is it a new model as never seen one like it before"
That turned out to be a wise move "Petecossie". 
It's the rear view with the arches and dished wheels that makes them look so special IMO - as good as the Z4M is it just doesn't have that feature.
Sadly I've missed the boat on these but I still get a bit of a buzz whenever I see one - keep enjoying yours.
It's the rear view with the arches and dished wheels that makes them look so special IMO - as good as the Z4M is it just doesn't have that feature.
Sadly I've missed the boat on these but I still get a bit of a buzz whenever I see one - keep enjoying yours.
Had one of these 1999 (ish). Disappointing but probably because it followed a S1 Elise so a bit like piloting an elephant by remote control rather than giving a gazelle a vague idea of the direction of travel required. Horrific servicing, insurance and petrol costs. Lost almost £1k a month in depreciation. We've had 2 more S1 Elise but apart from a Mini JCW (fabulous), we've never returned to the BMW marque.
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