Should I purchase a Z4... using it as a daily? Thoughts & Feedback

[Bing]

Plenty has been said already, all good advice... I am also based in Maidstone driving a silver grey M roadster (as a daily ), so give me a wave if you see me, I’ll keep an eye out for you when you’ve got your car

[thecremeegg]

I use my 2003 as my daily, doing about 20k a year at the moment - currently on 141k or so.
I've had new suspension all round, and it has poly bushes and the right is certainly firm, though not enough for me to not want to drive it every day!
MPG I think I probably average about 28-30, mix of both town and motorway.
Boot is a good size meaning it's surprisingly practical.
Only issues I've had are the starter motor and now an oil leak, it's been pretty well behaved for an old BMW that's for sure!

[Papa_Zee]

First experience was with a 2.5 Si and was hooked, several cars later, got my current 2.0 Sports daily. Looks good but as you can imagine, performance-wise not so good.
Hence, my garage queen is a '56 M roadster which is phenomenal. This is my 3rd E85!
As others have said, try and get an Si model for the M Goodies (Sport seats - A must, Suspension etc). Once bitten... Goodluck!

2.5 Si - Black

Z4 2.5 Si.jpg (70.33 KiB) Viewed 916 times

Daily Driver 2.0 Sport - Silver

Z4 2.0i Sport.png (1.14 MiB) Viewed 916 times

M Roadster - Red

UPD.jpg (226.64 KiB) Viewed 916 times

[Capa]

I daily my coupe, down some unpleasantly surfaced single track roads on the way to work on a 15 mile or so journey each way. In answer to your question about it being a comfortable daily; no it isn't.

Couple of things I'd note.

* As several have mentioned, consider a non-M sport edition, the SE. These have a higher ride height and softer springs. I suspect they may have more comfortable seats also. (I can verify that whilst they look nice, the seats in an M-Sport aren't particularly comfortable or supportive)

* At your budget, I suspect you'll be looking for a higher mileage (80k-120k) example. I think generally they wear their miles well, but if ride comfort is important, I'd consider budgeting for new dampers and as others have said (potentially) new springs. I am hopeful this is the root cause of a lot of the issues with my 106k coupe - as it stands, putting the power down on a rutted backroad is not a pleasant experience.

There are a heck of a lot of upsides to owning one - they start with just looking at it, and go on to the fact the engine is a right pearler - but if someone's after a comfy cruiser, I'd advise caution around a Z4C. At the time the Z4 convertible wasn't thought of as a well riding, compliant car, and the increased stiffness that the coupe provides hasn't made that situation any better... Whilst BM termed the car as a 'pocket GT', I find the uncomprimising ride, eager, responsive motor and short gearing put the car firmly in sports car territory when stacked up against a Boxster S or TT.

[Marlon]

I daily my coupe, down some unpleasantly surfaced single track roads on the way to work on a 15 mile or so journey each way. In answer to your question about it being a comfortable daily; no it isn't.

Couple of things I'd note.

* As several have mentioned, consider a non-M sport edition, the SE. These have a higher ride height and softer springs. I suspect they may have more comfortable seats also. (I can verify that whilst they look nice, the seats in an M-Sport aren't particularly comfortable or supportive)

* At your budget, I suspect you'll be looking for a higher mileage (80k-120k) example. I think generally they wear their miles well, but if ride comfort is important, I'd consider budgeting for new dampers and as others have said (potentially) new springs. I am hopeful this is the root cause of a lot of the issues with my 106k coupe - as it stands, putting the power down on a rutted backroad is not a pleasant experience.

There are a heck of a lot of upsides to owning one - they start with just looking at it, and go on to the fact the engine is a right pearler - but if someone's after a comfy cruiser, I'd advise caution around a Z4C. At the time the Z4 convertible wasn't thought of as a well riding, compliant car, and the increased stiffness that the coupe provides hasn't made that situation any better... Whilst BM termed the car as a 'pocket GT', I find the uncomprimising ride, eager, responsive motor and short gearing put the car firmly in sports car territory when stacked up against a Boxster S or TT.

Interesting post, good to have another perspective. One thing I would say is that my roadster is a 3.0Si SE and although the ride is less harsh than my previous Zed which had M sport springs, the SE 'sport seats' are very poor in comparison to the M Sport seats. In fact after 6 months I spent a tidy sum swapping them out for M sports seats, which I find very comfortable on log journeys and much better in the twisties because of the side bolsters.

[ph001]

One other point to note that I don't think has been mentioned is that the 3.0Si did have a revised engine halfway through it's life with a black cam cover (engine build date Sep 2006 so tends to appear in 2007 cars) known as the N52K and has modifications in the following areas:

• New cylinder head cover with improved CCV system
• Lighter hydroformed Camshafts
• Crankshaft optimisations
• Stronger con-rods
• Stem diameter of exhaust valves increased to 6 mm instead of 5 mm
• Torsional vibration damper improvements
• Revised Hot-film air mass meter (HFM)
• New Throttle valve with magnetoresistive position feedback
• New MSV80 Digital motor electronics
• New 2nd gen water pump

...full thread with images here... viewtopic.php?f=2&t=105709&start=30

[Mr Tidy]

My 1st Coupe was built in October 2006, but registered 22/12/06 so had the later version - the one with the "New 2nd gen water pump" that died after just 10 years and 60K miles!

My current one was built in August 2006, but not registered until 29/12/06 for some reason - so it has the earlier version.

The good new is both drive just the same - as in loads of fun available!

[ph001]

Apparently the 2nd gen water pump just has a slightly more efficient impeller design - the electronics are just the same so fail equally as often as 1st gen (which seems to be about 1 in 10 cars after 40k miles if you look at the E90 polls on it). Not a big deal on the Z4 though really - they are readily available for £200 and an easy DIY to swap out (a lot easier then on the other N52 cars). Just budget one in at around 60k miles or so. Nothing else really goes wrong with the N52.

[Capa]

Interesting post, good to have another perspective. One thing I would say is that my roadster is a 3.0Si SE and although the ride is less harsh than my previous Zed which had M sport springs, the SE 'sport seats' are very poor in comparison to the M Sport seats. In fact after 6 months I spent a tidy sum swapping them out for M sports seats, which I find very comfortable on log journeys and much better in the twisties because of the side bolsters.

Oh really - that's good to know. It's interesting - I'm currently toying with the idea of spending some dollar on some proper Recaro recliners. Perhaps I'll hold off until the suspension's sorted; maybe that's the culprit here and I'm throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

[Thunderous One]

Hi Ladies & Gents,

First time post, actually - I'm a complete noob to the Z4 world; have never owned a BMW before actually. Long story short, I'm looking at purchasing a Z4 3.0 'Si' (Sport Petrol Model) in the Coupe Variant - I believe these where introduced from 2006 to 08. From the outset, I'm impressed. Good performance, acceptable fuel economy and nice aesthetics (interior and exterior).

Why am I selling my current car?
A little bit of background, I currently drive a Abarth Punto Evo, it's a 1.4 turbo pushing just over 200BHP. Brembo 4 pots, floating discs, Koni FSD suspension - it's overall well specced. It's got everything I could desire, however... there's only 10 of these limited models (scorpione) in the UK and unfortunately has become my daily; it doesn't deserve to be thrashed down the back lanes to work nor does it like clocking up the mileage! Also, it doesn't handle the poor UK roads well - very bumpy and you feel every pot hole. I'm looking at selling up and purchasing a new daily which will overall have less value (I spend more time worrying about the value and rarity of the Abarth, than I do driving it..) and hopefully be more practical, cheaper to run, better comfort and more convenient as a daily overall.

Z4 Time!
I've seen the Z4's float around the £6000 - £8,000 mark, significantly more on lower mileage examples to. Realistically, I only want to spend £6-7k. I've begun researching their specification and have quickly become obsessed with them and the forum. I'd really appreciate some insight as to where to start, average values, recommended mods, pro's and con's etc.

In essence, I think that the Z4 sounds just as fun and probably... just an impractical! Convince me otherwise...
I'm not ready to buy a boring car with no character just yet..

• Are they practical? - I'm not to phased about the lack of seats, the boot seems adequate and overall I can't see anything I'll be missing out on.

• Are they comfortable? - UK roads are awful, my current commute isn't straightforward, several back lanes, various road surfaces etc

• Average Value? - How much is a good price to pick one up for.

• Pro's / Cons - I've read about the runflats being a tad bumpy, rear springs and water pump requiring attention.

• Modifications - I've read up about a 'sound generator', exhaust would certainly be desirable... CSL wheels look amazing; any other useful/recommended mods ?

That's a start for the most part. It'll just be great to get some feedback from the very owners on this forum!

Thanks in advance, look forward to discussing!

hi, where are you based?
I live in Northampton and have a coupe
If you wanted a test drive or a closer inspection, feel free to ask

[Mr Tidy]

OP, this surely has your name all over it!

viewtopic.php?f=41&t=110702