BMW Z4 3.0 auto 2005 or earlier. What are your thoughts?

[Sticks.]

Fox- said:

SebringMan said:

Ah the "Manual 'box or nothing" PH brigade strikes again.

Hardly - I drive an auto myself and wouldn't want a manual. That doesn't suddenly make the old ZF well suited to a roadster, does it?

I was going to post a reply until I realised we'd discussed this in 2012

[Fox-]

Sticks. said:

I was going to post a reply until I realised we'd discussed this in 2012

[ian in lancs]

SebringMan said:

Ah the "Manual 'box or nothing" PH brigade strikes again. No wonder outsiders think this place is backwards and full of self pompous idiots.

"sigh".

My preference would probably be for a manual but in all honesty BMW can't make a decent manual to save their lives. It seems they can't even build a solid car going by recent threads.

Try both and see how you get on. After all, it will be you that is living with the car, not us .

FWIW I've seen a 530i Auto go to 230k still on the original 'box. The engine I admit wasn't so great but there are always reasons for that (owners treatment, quality of service parts etc.).

The Z4s seem to be a safe bet but I'd ensure that everything electrical works including the sunroof motor. I understand they are a £1k fix; they may be cheaper now but I've yet to see reports of this being the case.

Best of luck fella .

Edited by SebringMan on Wednesday 23 May 17:23

Edited by SebringMan on Wednesday 23 May 17:23

http://roofmotors.co.uk/BMW?page=2
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Z4-E85-Convertible-...

[Mr Tidy]

hilly10 said:

Facelift 3.0 SI Manual is the Car you need. One of BMWs great engines great fun great snappy gearbox. Loved mine

I can't argue with that, but I prefer having a roof! (Still loving mine BTW).

If you have to have a Roadster there are 5 or 6 people on Z4forum who can revive roof motors, and more importantly relocate them into the boot so the roof drains don't drown them!

[SebringMan]

Mr Tidy said:

I can't argue with that, but I prefer having a roof! (Still loving mine BTW).

If you have to have a Roadster there are 5 or 6 people on Z4forum who can revive roof motors, and more importantly relocate them into the boot so the roof drains don't drown them!

That's quite telling! I never realised there was a reason as simple as that for the roof motors dying! £260 is also much easier to swallow than £1k!

[ian in lancs]

SebringMan said:

Mr Tidy said:

I can't argue with that, but I prefer having a roof! (Still loving mine BTW).

If you have to have a Roadster there are 5 or 6 people on Z4forum who can revive roof motors, and more importantly relocate them into the boot so the roof drains don't drown them!

That's quite telling! I never realised there was a reason as simple as that for the roof motors dying! £260 is also much easier to swallow than £1k!

The roof drains can get clogged with leaves etc. Depends on whether the car is left out under trees or whatever. Once blocked the water has nowhere to go and water collects in the void where the motor is. Preventative action is to keep an eye on the drains / clean them out which is an easy job. I've never had a problem.

[Fox-]

ian in lancs said:

The roof drains can get clogged with leaves etc. Depends on whether the car is left out under trees or whatever. Once blocked the water has nowhere to go and water collects in the void where the motor is. Preventative action is to keep an eye on the drains / clean them out which is an easy job. I've never had a problem.

Ours has been garaged every single day for 10 years, has averaged 2k miles a year and was rarely ever left out in the rain.

It still had a roof motor under warranty in 2009 and then another one in 2016...

[Sardonicus]

Fox- said:

SebringMan said:

Ah the "Manual 'box or nothing" PH brigade strikes again.

Hardly - I drive an auto myself and wouldn't want a manual. That doesn't suddenly make the old ZF well suited to a roadster, does it?

I also agree with this a Z car with an auto ZF/GM no thanks its a sports car after all the slush box just kills the show IMO if you want to waft along then the auto box is fine I guess the sports mode/manual shift bit however is nothing more than a gimmick

[gizlaroc]

There is a simple reason BMW offered both options.

[nxh66]

Fox- said:

Ours has been garaged every single day for 10 years, has averaged 2k miles a year and was rarely ever left out in the rain.

It still had a roof motor under warranty in 2009 and then another one in 2016...

Unlucky...mine is a 2004 with 30k on the clock, nearly always garaged and the original roof motor is still running nicely.

I totally agree that a z4, especially the E85 "should" have an manual box but I'd love to try an auto as the 1st to 2nd change sucks.

Can't help feeling that the prices for low mile mint 3.0i may have finally started to firm up a bit? No intention to ever sell mine. 3.0 N/A six is a thing of history now

Edited by nxh66 on Monday 28th May 01:58

[Mr Tidy]

nxh66 said:

Can't help feeling that the prices for low mile mint 3.0i may have finally started to firm up a bit? No intention to ever sell mine. 3.0 N/A six is a thing of history now

More love for an N/A straight 6 petrol.

That is what I love most about my Z4.

[Denis O]

I don't think it matters what type of box the car has, the steering so piss awful it should never be considered a sports car. Hateful things. My SL is a much nicer car.

[parabolica]

Denis O said:

I don't think it matters what type of box the car has, the steering so piss awful it should never be considered a sports car. Hateful things. My SL is a much nicer car.

A more expensive car several classes above the Z4 is better? I'll call the papers.

nxh66 said:

I totally agree that a z4, especially the E85 "should" have an manual box but I'd love to try an auto as the 1st to 2nd change sucks.

I test drove and auto 3.0 a few weeks ago when I was looking; it was alright (same box as I had in my 645) but seemed out of character with the car, quite lazy and more suited to GT work than a roadster. I ended up with an '03 example with the SMG gearbox and it's pretty nice to use; just like a manual but no clutch (it was the condition of the car that swung me, not the box). 1st to 2nd change is still a pain however; I think that is indicative of all 3.0s!

[Denis O]

parabolica said:

Denis O said:

I don't think it matters what type of box the car has, the steering so piss awful it should never be considered a sports car. Hateful things. My SL is a much nicer car.

A more expensive car several classes above the Z4 is better? I'll call the papers.

nxh66 said:

I completely agree and whether you call the papers or not, the Z4 steering will still be crap and not worthy of a "sports car".

[Mr Tidy]

Denis O said:

parabolica said:

Denis O said:

I don't think it matters what type of box the car has, the steering so piss awful it should never be considered a sports car. Hateful things. My SL is a much nicer car.

A more expensive car several classes above the Z4 is better? I'll call the papers.

nxh66 said:

I completely agree and whether you call the papers or not, the Z4 steering will still be crap and not worthy of a "sports car".

So are you suggesting a lardy SL with only autoboxes is a Sports Car then?

[Denis O]

Not at all but you keep interpreting my posts to make crass little points if you must.

For the record, the SL is a Grand Tourer. The Z4 purports to be a sports car and apart from the crap steering, is not a bad effort. It seems to me that steering is a pretty important attribute for a sports car.

[nxh66]

I agree that the E85 Steering is far from ideal and stopped the Z4 being what it should have been. Why BMW decided it was a good idea when they wanted the Z3 replacement to be more of a boxster rival is a mystery.

Its not all that difficult to convert it to the hydraulic setup from the E46 if you have the skills.

[Mr Tidy]

Denis O said:

Not at all but you keep interpreting my posts to make crass little points if you must.

For the record, the SL is a Grand Tourer. The Z4 purports to be a sports car and apart from the crap steering, is not a bad effort. It seems to me that steering is a pretty important attribute for a sports car.

Fair enough, the EPAS on the E85/E86 could indeed be better!

I've noticed this more since I replaced my daily with an early E91 325i, so it has the same 2.5i engine as an E85 2.5Si but with HPAS and the steering is definitely much better (and better than the HPAS on the 325ti it replaced)!

But despite the EPAS I still enjoy driving my E86 every time I use it!

I'm with you on the SL being a Grand Tourer - the E89 Z4 is too from what I have read.

Here endeth the latest crass little point.