Daughter wants a z3 - some advice needed

[anonymous-user]

My daughter wants a z3 and it's to be used as a daily driver - commuting to and from work, driving to cornwall two or three times a year etc.

We've found a 2 owner car with 75k and full service history owned by an old chap.

It's a 1998 1.9 16v model and is bog standard.

The thing is, being the father and looking out for my daughter I'm just concerned that given they are 20 years old that pushing it into regular use may start to unearth issues. Stuff like the cooling system and other items that perish.

It's got a good MOT history etc

I guess I'm just asking what people think as to wether it would be suitable/waise to runone as a daily?

The space and practicality ec are not an issue - its just more the thought of it becoming a wallet hoover

Any thoughts?

[helix402]

They are quite simple mechanically and reliable. Very easy to do diy jobs on too, though rear subframe bushes are a faff. Brake pipes may need doing if they haven’t been done.

[akirk]

I have a 3.0 litre 2001 (facelift car) so not identical as it is straight six whereas the 1.9 is I think a 4 cylinder engine... however, have had it the longest I have ever owned a car (6 years), and my sister owned it before so c. 8 years in the family...

In that time, other than the usual things wearing out like tyres and suspension bushes etc, which is an age based issue, the only replacements in all of that time have been a couple of very cheap sensors (O2 I think) and I choose to replace the hood 6 years ago and it is still in good condition... I do have several cars, but it is being driven by me or others most of the time, and is probably the most reliable car I have ever owned...

do look on zroadster.net / .org but I would have no hesitation in running one as a daily driver

[henrycrun]

as said before, have a look at zroadster.net

common issues are -

seat motors jamming (only a problem with husband and wife sharing)
sourcing a wind deflector for top-down action
blocked hood drains
flat batteries due to inaction
(false) car alarms

nothing expensive but can be just time consuming

Edited by henrycrun on Tuesday 6th March 23:25

[anonymous-user]

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

I guess the one we are getting is a good one and things will just have to be addressed as and when they arise.

I'll be giving it a thorough service and inspection once we have it and go from there

Thanks again!

[akirk]

henrycrun said:

as said before, have a look at zroadster.net

common issues are -

seat motors jamming (only a problem with husband and wife sharing)
sourcing a wind deflector for top-down action
blocked hood drains
flat batteries due to inaction
(false) car alarms

nothing expensive but can be just time consuming

Good points...
not seen the seat motor jamming, but the others are easy to deal with:
- wind deflector - they come up on ebay / forums, if not, there are good instructions on forums around how to make one
- blocked hood drains - easy to keep clear once you know you need to
- flat batteries - less of an issue if a daily driver, otherwise, no real difference from any other car - a ctek charger or similar will work...
- car alarms - generally the anti-tilt box in the boot - which can be unplugged and the rest of the car alarm carries on working anyway...

[vsonix]

They are good solid cars in general. The fact that so many have lived pampered lives indoors means there are more low-mile rust free examples. And oddly enough Z3s are actually less prone to rust than contemporary models. With a car that's pushing 20 years old you should budget a grand or three to overhaul the cooling system and suspension/bushes. The 1.9 is a nice peppy engine, handling is nice and light in the twisties and performance 0-50mph is lively - even though the 0-60 time is relatively slow (9 seconds) it takes half that time getting from 50-60. They tend to drive (and look) better with the 17" staggered wheel setup so try and get one on the 5-spoke Style 18 or Style 68 wheels with decent summer tyres or budget a couple of hundred to upgrade from the skinny 16s - BMW spec mud & snow all-seasons on the 16s and as a result the handling isn't that great compared to proper summer tyres.

If you're planning on running the car all year round try and get one that comes with hard top and fitting kit - the fitting kits are in very short supply and as a result command a hefty price on the used market. The going rate for a used top and fitting kit starts at £1000, so it's worth bearing in mind that if a car comes with top and kit and you don't want them, you can easily claw back £1000 from the purchase price of the car to put towards maintenance and upgrades.

Finally, if you can get a 2.5 or 2.8 in budget, it's worth considering one (although test drive a 1.9 as well as they do feel quite different to drive) as they aren't really that much more expensive to run. Tax is the same (pre 2000), insurance is the same or very similar and overall fuel consumption isn't much worse for the extra power, smoother running and nicer engine sound, my 2.8 averages about 27mpg with 34 achievable on a run, my old 1.9 E36 compact (same engine, same gearing, same weight) was more frugal in town driving but if anything slightly less economical at 70-80mph.

Edited by vsonix on Wednesday 7th March 14:38

[vsonix]

henrycrun said:

as said before, have a look at zroadster.net

common issues are -

seat motors jamming

The seat jamming is quite annoying, the other thing is the seats have bushes in them that perish over time and cause the seats to slide forward and back a millimetre or two. However there are replacement poly bush kits available to fix this. Being a 1998 if they're not sliding about they'll have been fixed already as the issue started to appear within the first few years of the life of the car.

[anonymous-user]

My wife has a 1999 1.9, auto with 40K miles on the clock, OK it is in the tropics so it has never seen salt and is in outstanding condition, She has had it for 4 years and added 15K miles, (she has a daily), Never had a mechanical issue, only things that have gone wrong;
Battery drains, (something is drawing current, i solved with a cut out switch rather than look for the issue) apparently this is a common issue.
Computer needed replacing (ebay)
Jamed seat motor (ebay)
Radio Arial (ebay)
Hand brake ratchet
Broken oil breather pipe (this was horrendously expensive for a BMW shaped pipe across the back of the engine, replaced with standard pipe and brass connectors)
ABS pump (ebay there appears to be loads of different ones fitted, I had to source of a left hand drive car in German although her's is a right hand).

My wife loves it, handles well, serviced by a specialist, buy on condition its a modern BMW engine no problem being used every day, but I think fuel economy is awful, not a problem as we pay 30p a liter but an issue in the UK.

[anonymous-user]

Thanks again for the input. It's really helpful to read the real life views.

My daughter is dead set on one so I'm glad it's not all doom.

A full set of discs, pads, oil, filters comes in at £130 from ECP so looks like I'm going to be busy

[helix402]

Try carparts4less, same company, online only, lower prices. Go for Mann filters from CP4LESS.

[Nath911t]

I'm quite surprised that they hold there money so well.

[aka_kerrly]

Nath911t said:

I'm quite surprised that they hold there money so well.

Just another example of a car that has been targeted by the "modern classic" dealers am chancers.

Until recently he prices weren't far off MX5/mr2 money but now the bmw retro tax has hit them. Odd really when the z3 much like the e36 compact gets slated for having e30 chassis yet any other form of E30 is now hot property.

[anonymous-user]

aka_kerrly said:

Nath911t said:

I'm quite surprised that they hold there money so well.

Just another example of a car that has been targeted by the "modern classic" dealers am chancers.

Until recently he prices weren't far off MX5/mr2 money but now the bmw retro tax has hit them. Odd really when the z3 much like the e36 compact gets slated for having e30 chassis yet any other form of E30 is now hot property.

I think the Z3 rides extremely well.

I've driven the 1.9 in standard form and I think its the perfect combo of a revvy engine and chassis.

[Jaybmw]

It'll have the m44 engine and I've had 4 of them at this stage. I blew 1 head gasket in my time but other than that I battered it non stop pretty much and it loved it. Dam near bullet proof

[aka_kerrly]

lord trumpton said:

I think the Z3 rides extremely well.

I've driven the 1.9 in standard form and I think its the perfect combo of a revvy engine and chassis.

I've driven a 2.2 version and owned a e30 and enjoyed the way they drive .A couple of moments with a snaky tail on wet roundabouts aside which were driver error the z3 drives exactly how you'd want it. I was silly an wanted to hold out for at least a 2.8 or 3.0 and have a strange desire to own a black one with orange indicators and BBS. Perhaps i should take the plunge sooner rather than later!

[alabbasi]

Disown her! tell that if she does not buy an SLK, she's no daughter of yours.
Seriously, a late 90's car will make a good daily driver provided that it's been well maintained. I would consider a 2.3 though as the 1.9 is a bit under powered.

[helix402]

A 2.3 Z3 does not exist. The 1.9 does fine. Obviously a 6 cylinder is always better, but the 4 does the job.

These are the engines available:

(It cut of the 1.8 and M powered ones)

Edited by helix402 on Thursday 8th March 21:16

[anonymous-user]

alabbasi said:

Disown her! tell that if she does not buy an SLK, she's no daughter of yours.
Seriously, a late 90's car will make a good daily driver provided that it's been well maintained. I would consider a 2.3 though as the 1.9 is a bit under powered.

Haha no she's wouldn't want anything like that.

She's just smitten with the retro look of the Z3 and she's a chip off the old block and a BMW fan like me.

[helix402]

If your daughter does purchase a 1.9 M44 and finds the idle a tad lumpy they were made that way. BMW then realised a modification if customers complained. It was to retime the cams fractionally retarding the valve timing. In theory this lost some power but it wasn’t really noticeable. It did give a smoother idle. It was achieved by retiming the cams with modified cam locks.

Edit: it’s a long time since I did one, it may be just the exhaust cam is retarded.

Edited by helix402 on Thursday 8th March 21:43