BMW Z4 3.0i

[russy01]

Good Evening,

Been a bit bored of motoring recently, houses, kids and business have kind of taken over for a few years...

So to kick start my love again I wanted something to tinker with, I also wanted a rag top for the summer as I loved my S2000. I set a really low budget of £4000 so the car wouldn't become a financial burden and remains cheap no matter what I do...it's also cheap enough that it will sell very quickly if I get bored or want a change.

My choices were:

S2000 - prices gone up too much now
350z - ropey old model, plus drive like a boat
2.5/3.0 Z4 - very good value, good engine
2.8/3.0 Z3 - prices going up, above Z4
SLK - don't get it. Although technically v.good
MX5 - not my thing and not enough grunt
MR2 - as above

As the title suggests I went for the Z4, whilst it's a bit poser and not renowned for driving dynamics you cannot question the value and the cracking 3.0 straight 6. I went to see a couple and they were rough, the £4k still being at the bottom end of the 3.0 budget scale...

I put up a wanted post on the Z4 forum for any members wanting to sell but not wanting the hassle of tyre kickers and £50 ads. Just 2 days later a lovely old chap gave me a bell and offered me his car which has done 300miles In the last year and only a couple thousand in 3yrs (due to him having 2 new BMWs!)
It was filthy, sat in his garage collecting dust as he couldn't bear to part with it. My pile of cash soon changed his mind and I took her home on the same day.

2003 3.0i with ca 240hp
77k miles
Full service history
New tyres, pads and discs all round
Lots of other great forum mods to prevent common issues.







[url|https://thumbsnap.com/vBYM7RBu[/url]



Spent 3hrs cleaning on Sunday morning!!




The car is in fabulous condition, the body work is excellent for its age and the only exterior downsides were a few chips to the door edges and wheels in desperate need of a refurb (this style wheel is notorious for deteriorating quickly as it's split rim etc.)

So far I have:

- restored the headlights
- sprayed the kidney grills (far too chrome'y)
- replaced aerial for stubby
- touched up door edges
- treated leather and dyed seats
- sound generator mod

So only little things, but fun little projects whilst I decide what to do with the car.

Overall it's a great little motor, drives well, pulls hard and sounds fantastic. It's not as involving to drive as the S2000 but it makes up in comfort and cruisability!! The engine is a peach, not massively exciting (need the S54 for that) but strong, sounds good and is frugal for a big lump...

I look forward to spending a bit more time in it over the summer and making plans on what to do? Do I slowly restore her to original condition and hang on to it forever? Or do I strip it out, mod the suspension and get down brands...

Cheers for getting this far,

Russ

[russy01]

MDifficult said:

I usually ignore any Z4 below the Z4M but that's a great looking car, especially for that money. Looks like you picked a good spec but superb condition in the photos.

I'd be tempted to swap the wheels for some CSLs (but I say that for almost any BMW) but otherwise, a beaut', well done.

Yes I'd love some CSL wheels, but just going to enjoy the car for a bit and see if I fall in love with it before I splash cash...

I love the Z4M and looked at them when I got the S2000 years back, but similar to the S2000 prices have slowly creeped back up now. You are looking at another £10k to get into an M now, and whilst they are next level I can't see that it's worth 10k!

[russy01]

Podie said:

Did you really get that for a mere 4 grand?

Admittedly I had a very good deal, I'd say the car is worth at least 5. But it was a case of right time etc...

Either way, 4 or 5 it's a huge amount of car for the money.

[russy01]

freenote said:

Headlights look like they came out well.
Any tips?

I just used the autoglym headlight kit. £20 and a drill and you are well away... must have taken an hour all in and makes a massive difference.

[russy01]

helix402 said:

Looks good, now go and unblock your roof drains!

All done and the previous owner replaced the motor and had it relocated to the boot!

[russy01]

V6todayEVmanana said:

Are you planning on doing some track days? I heard a review last week that raved about how the car pivots around the driver which gives a great indication of oversteer and easier to correct.

Great looking car

I like the idea of it, but only had it a week, so not entirely sure yet. I would say the balance of the car is fairly good and oversteer detection is good (as you are literally sat on the rear wheels!), although there is no hiding the massive engine slap bang on top of the front axle and the TERRIBLE brakes. The brakes are fine for cruising around, but throw together a couple heavy braking points and the fade creeps in very quickly. Much quicker than any other car sporty Ive owned - so on track I would expect them to be toast within a few laps...

So, to actually be enjoyable on track Id need to replace all 4 tyres, upgrade discs and pads and investigate tightening up the front end a bit...

Half tempted to just cruise around in it for the summer and enjoy the odd blast and see how I gel with it.