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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

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P3PPY
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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by P3PPY » Fri Apr 27, 2018 3:44 pm

Greetings, all! Early yesterday morning my generous neighbor drove me three hours away to pick up my new 2003 Z4 3.0i. Then I rushed 3 hours back and worked for 8 hours to make up for the late start. And THAT was a VERY LONG wait to get back in it and drive home, let me tell you what!
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Here's my story.
This all started about a month ago when I got a wild hair that I wanted a fun car, probably from driving my friend's 80's Alfa soft top a month prior. I'm married with two little ones, in my late 30's and I have a couple sedans that I alternate between as my DDs. I've always been a car guy but I've never had the disposable income to have anything other than reasonable cars with a focus on reliability. We have a good budget going so I figured I could sell one or both and find something fun without interfering with the budget.
I talked to my wife about this and she was totally on-board with it. One thing to note is that she was named after a car, her siblings were given car names, my kids were named after cars as are all their cousins on her side. So this isn't foreign territory at all.

If you were to look at my Craigslist search history you would have found a month of looking for sub-$5000 cars from 1964-1974 or sometimes for notchback Fox bodies, C3 Corvettes or an unmolested Miata. After the first week I came back to my wife and said, "Ya know, it's probably not that great of an idea. If I find a good car it's not going to get good gas mileage and it probably won't be very reliable." She replied, "Our minivan gets terrible gas mileage and it's not very reliable either. Why don't we sell it, you buy your fun car, and I'll drive the Accord?"
She sure is something special.
Well she talked me back into it. I found a few cars I liked, a couple Polaras, a 69 Torino, a Galaxie 500, Darts, stuff like that. I'm a dyed in the wool family man so I won't bump family time for car repair time, which most classics under $5k are in need of. So a couple nights ago before going to bed I took off the year filters, expanded the search to include nearby states, put "roadster" in the search box and clicked "Search." Out popped a 2003 BMW Z4 3.0i with 127k miles.

The next morning I texted my cousin's husband to see if he could go test drive it for me since it was near his house -- and three hours from mine. He's apparently very generous: "Sure thing! Probably not until after late afternoon however. Forgive me for asking though, who is this?"
I got the right test driver. He had it out for 45 minutes, inspecting every nook and cranny. "It's rough on side streets and I would have said don't bother until I took it out on the highway. It's like a rocket there. It got up to 100 no problem. It might need tie rod ends but it's in pretty good shape otherwise. I got it sideways a couple times and it handled pretty well."
They shook on it and that night I withdrew the cash and then went to bed, trying to sleep.

In the morning at about 6:30 my neighbor and I piled into his car with his two big dogs and we headed out. The three hour drive turned into four with a pit stop for the dogs and construction but I sent the occasional text to reassure her we were on the way.
When I got there there wasn't much to do besides buy it. I took it for an obligatory spin around the block and my neighbor suggested we at least pop the hood. Yup, there's an engine in there. Incidentally, that's the longest engine compartment I've ever seen. I'll have to look up specs on a 2nd gen Camaro, but it felt longer. We traded cash for title and keys, I took a selfie with her (the owner, not the car) and I was off!

I got it for a very good price but with that territory comes repairs. The steering column was worked on but somehow left in a state that the horn CONSTANTLY wants to sound. The fuse has been pulled but you can hear the relay incessantly clicking. I wedged a piece of Costco hot dog wrapper to pry it off the contacts for the drive, which was a RELIEF. The power top doesn't want to go down with the button and the allen wrench got it to release but it didn't willingly go much further and I didn't want to force it from there. Happily, it powered back closed without a problem. There's a dent on the driver's door that broke the handle, and that same collision put a 4" tear in the fabric top, about which I am annoyed to no end to think that I might have to put out $500 because of a little tear. I've found used doors for about $500, so I'll probably swap one of those in over lunch someday soon.
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All in all, I think I got a really good deal and a car that I'm very excited about. Before buying it I was encouraged to see this thriving Z4 community online and I'm sure I'll spend a good deal of time on here as I work out these first kinks.

One other thing I'll say is that in profile, the Z4 reminds me of a ME109 or a P51 Mustang.
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And the idea has already struck me to see about a vinyl shark's mouth for the front. But that's for another time.
(Classy, I ain't.) :)

-Stephen

P.S. We're keeping the minivan but the sedans are both finding new homes.
Last edited by P3PPY on Fri Apr 27, 2018 6:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Lynchy
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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by Lynchy » Fri Apr 27, 2018 4:17 pm

Congratulations on your first Z4, my first was the same colour and that 3.0 is a peach of an engine :thumbsup:

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RustyZ4
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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by RustyZ4 » Fri Apr 27, 2018 4:26 pm

Hi & Welcome :thumbsup:

Great story,, my first Z was a 3.0, still miss it now
Z4 Mineral Grey, 28i MSport Auto, lots of goodies
Z4 E85 3.0, gone but now with son :D
Growing Old is Mandatory But Growing Up is Optional

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Mr Tidy
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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by Mr Tidy » Fri Apr 27, 2018 10:06 pm

Great first post Stephen, even including photos! :thumbsup:

And you've started with a 3 litre - I hope you get the issues sorted out painlessly.
Coupes because stunning!
Current - Silver Grey MC, Imola Red heated Nappa & carbon trim. Aeros, H & R Coil-overs, 224s, OE Strut brace, Nav, cup-holders, DSP Hi-Fi, pdc, cruise, MFSW, no CDV! E90 330i daily
Gone - Montego Blue
Gone - Ruby Black

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oldgitdave
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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by oldgitdave » Fri Apr 27, 2018 10:36 pm

Hi & welcome Stephen, great choice the roadster. E85 3.0i was & is my first BMW too. Love it :D .
To drop the roof manually you need to activate the manual release in the boot. Look for a red ring slightly left of centre in the boot close to the hinge point. Give it a pull, then turn it 90 degrees to lock it in place. That will open the hydraulic bypass & allow manual operation of the roof. You'll still need to release lock via the button. Most likely fault with roof motor is that it has drowned, a common issue but there's plenty of info on here about it :thumbsup: .
Zedless :(

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Beatman
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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by Beatman » Fri Apr 27, 2018 10:44 pm

Hi and welcome, great first post and a good looking Z
My Car- 2004 3.0se sterling grey, mv3s , satnav, heated seats, ZHP.

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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by Marlon » Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:11 pm

Welcome to the largest Z4 forum in the world, you’ve opened with a wonderful post :thumbsup: :driving:
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Gone: 3.0si 2008 E85
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P3PPY
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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by P3PPY » Sun Apr 29, 2018 1:55 am

Thanks for the warm welcome! I will check out the manual roof release, oldgitdave.

I don't have much experience with nicer cars so maybe this is standard fare nowadays but I have to say the traction control is seamless. With TC on it won't peel out, but it's not like it dogs the motor down, it just keeps the tires right on the edge of peeling out, giving you all the acceleration the tires can handle. It was crazy, after a few low throttle tests in the parking lot I tried a 90 degree turn with the gas poured on and it didn't put the tail out, it just accelerated. Like most red blooded RWD owners, I occasionally enjoy kicking out the rear end but I do appreciate just being able to give it power, saving tires and saving me from tickets. I've been missing out!

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Citation 650
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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by Citation 650 » Sun Apr 29, 2018 4:52 am

Very nice. Still have my 2003 3.0. Just turned 37000. Forget the shark's mouth. :wink:

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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by Crazy Harry » Sun Apr 29, 2018 8:32 am

Hi and welcome. 3.0 roadster well done :thumbsup: fantastic start into Z4 ownership.

Swap the doors - and if you've got garage parking then bodge the hood to close the tear (did it go all the way through or just the non waterproof outer layer?) you not going to need the hood up judging by the photos - even here in the UK as a DD I have the hood down most of the time even through winter.

P3PPY
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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by P3PPY » Mon Apr 30, 2018 8:35 pm

Cictation 650, that's what my wife was saying too. Well her reply was more like "ugh, it's too nice a car to do that to it!" -- but my friends say "yes." As they say, "only time will tell" :)

Crazy Harry, what does "bodge the hood" mean? It only went through the outer layer. And no, I don't have garage parking at work. BTW when I mentioned the hood in my original post I meant what you'd call a bonnet. I'm not sure what the roof (the soft part on my car) is called in the UK.

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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by Magicarcher » Mon Apr 30, 2018 9:16 pm

Congratulation! you have chose a great car.
Z4 3.0L 2005. Titan Silver. Audio Upgrade Second Stereo Pioneer X8700DAB, Sony Xplode 4 x 70W Amp, 6.5" Reckhorn Subs in rear cubby, Focal AS165-3 in fronts.

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Crazy Harry
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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by Crazy Harry » Mon Apr 30, 2018 9:32 pm

P3PPY wrote: Mon Apr 30, 2018 8:35 pm Cictation 650, that's what my wife was saying too. Well her reply was more like "ugh, it's too nice a car to do that to it!" -- but my friends say "yes." As they say, "only time will tell" :)

Crazy Harry, what does "bodge the hood" mean? It only went through the outer layer. And no, I don't have garage parking at work. BTW when I mentioned the hood in my original post I meant what you'd call a bonnet. I'm not sure what the roof (the soft part on my car) is called in the UK.
Sorry I guess some expressions don't travel so well.

BODGE - British informal

'Make or repair (something) badly or clumsily. For example "the door was bodged together from old planks".

The term come from 'Chair Bodgers' who made the turned spindles for chairs from 'wet/unseasoned timber' on crude lathes in the woods. The product was likely to change size as it dried so were inconsistent in quality.

Anyway - if your going to drive with the roof/top/hood-(UK) down no one will see the repair so it doesn't matter about quality. If only the outer layer is damaged its still waterproof. Glue a patch under the rip; put the top down and no one will know!

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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by P3PPY » Wed May 23, 2018 7:16 pm

It's been a while but I finally got it legal. It turns out that whoever had performed the horn/airbag work had put one of the three springs on the wrong side of the plate. Whenever you crack into a car you just assume the way you're finding it is the way it's supposed to be, right? I wasn't able to come up with a good image of the wheel with the airbag off so that took some trial and error.

My initial impression of the car on its maiden commute to/from work yesterday was lackluster. On the way in this morning I decided that over lunch I would take it for a pleasure cruise, assuming that I was Z4-ing incorrectly. As I started the car I also disabled the traction control, speculating that the driving experience was a little too deadened by it. Sure enough, those two factors did the trick. I REALLY liked driving it. My smile literally just kept getting wider.
Has anyone heard Rush's Red Barchetta? It went well with the drive today.

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Mr Tidy
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My first roadster, 2003 3.0i

Post by Mr Tidy » Wed May 23, 2018 8:19 pm

Glad you finally got to drive your Z4 properly. :thumbsup:

But I'm not surprised you enjoyed it!
Coupes because stunning!
Current - Silver Grey MC, Imola Red heated Nappa & carbon trim. Aeros, H & R Coil-overs, 224s, OE Strut brace, Nav, cup-holders, DSP Hi-Fi, pdc, cruise, MFSW, no CDV! E90 330i daily
Gone - Montego Blue
Gone - Ruby Black

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