For my first zed, the 3.0si was out of my financial reach, so after a bit of research I found a gorgeous 2.5si at a great price and bought it unseen from a BMW main dealer in the centre of London, great drive back apart from the tramlining from run flats, if only I’d joined this forum in 2006 I would have known about this issue. But it was by far and away the best fun car I’ve ever owned, the sound of that straight six and boy was it quick, felt much quicker than the figures suggested, then again I did come from a fairly gutless 150 hp Saab 9-3 convertible#Craig wrote: ↑Wed Jul 14, 2021 9:34 pmI clearly need to look into models more! Thanks for the direction.Mr Tidy wrote: ↑Wed Jul 14, 2021 9:04 pm Hi and welcome to the forum Craig.
If you have the budget to spend a bit more the way prices have been lately with limited use like you plan you'd probably get your money back anyway.
One of the most desirable features are the M-Sport seats, but they were a rarely specified option on pre-facelift models and change hands for £600/700 or so. Facelifts came with SE or Sport trim and M-Sport seats were standard on the Sport models, but E85 3.0Sis aren't common which is why the 2.5Si can be a good option as it has nearly as much power as the pre-facelift 3.0i and it easier to find - just avoid the facelift
2.5i as it's considerably less powerful than the Si.
Anyway good luck finding the right car.
Biggest mistake I’ve ever made was parting with it to go back to a 150 hp diesel four seater cabriolet