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Seems it's more of a budget issue than a car issue. Having owned a Westfield the OP will know what excitement they are trying to regain. I don't hear anyone worrying about the 3.0 resale values plummeting on here. Why not get a decent 3.0, give it a go? If it doesn't work out there is no massive losses. If any losses depending on mileage you put on it. If you get the M then don't maintain it properly, you will want to sell it. But it will be a hard sell.

Yes cost is an issue pockets are only so deep but always wanted an M3 since the early ones in LHD only so over 20 years ago but the price of the M3's has gone up too much, so the chance to have a Z4 come along and I took it don't regret it at all thought about going to a 3.0 an as someone said 80% of an M for 50% cost but as buying and selling car has always come with a loss or cost to change it would probably be better to change just the once.

To be clear I am looking at the lower cost end and it would be a second car and use it 6 months of the year on nicer days.

The maintenance I would be looking to do as much myself as possible having built a Westfield, two engines and part rebuilt a Landcover defender and have worked on CCGT power stations etc. and as a few people have said they would rarther an enthusiast do it than a main dealer. Took me 2 weeks, 2 hours a night to get the Duratec cam shims right as I had lapped the valves in after re profiling the valve angle and to avoid buying 16 new shim buckets I shortened the valve spindle to suit but you have to rebuild it every time and I aimed for all the same not just within tolerance just a bit of OCD

I had a 3.0si and went to an M. To me the difference was well worth it.
Ok on paper the 0-60 doesn’t look too much different, but that’s only half of it.
The noise, steering, character of the engine are all superb. To have an engine which revs to 8000rpm is a rareity, and will only become less as time goes on.
To me a ZM is an unsung great, and starting to get more appreciation as time goes on.
If you can afford it, id say go for it.

I did this last year - do it, you won't regret it! You can always sell it and go back to a 3.0.

Yes, it’s well worth the upgrade.

Even managed 34mpg out of mine at the weekend

ocrx8 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 01, 2019 3:00 pm Yes, it’s well worth the upgrade.

Even managed 34mpg out of mine at the weekend

I think the OP needs to watch this review, take Joel’s test drive advice & then we all wait for the inevitable decision pics...

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=111349&p=1607869#p1607869

take Joel’s test drive advice & then we all wait for the inevitable decision pics...

Just so you know this is a long ball game to do the homework put the money in place and a few other things. As a work friend used to say timing is everything........ and find the right car for me

mpm wrote: ↑Tue Jan 01, 2019 2:20 pm I had a 3.0si and went to an M. To me the difference was well worth it.
Ok on paper the 0-60 doesn’t look too much different, but that’s only half of it.
The noise, steering, character of the engine are all superb. To have an engine which revs to 8000rpm is a rareity, and will only become less as time goes on.
To me a ZM is an unsung great, and starting to get more appreciation as time goes on.
If you can afford it, id say go for it.

This! For me the M is always an event to drive, even at low speed. Within 100 yards you know it's something special and different to a regular Z. As also mentioned above check Joels review on youtube. How many times does he say unbelievable?

OP - if you can easily afford it, then get the M.

If you can just about afford it, go for a 3.0si until you can genuinely afford an M.

I have watched the video looks good.

Some of the gear changes look like he is sat too far forward as he looks like his arm goes too far back to get the next gear, my Westfield had a sequential dog box and I fitted the seats to suit me and me alone also moved the pedals and moved the steering column and steering wheel position to suit me.

I don't feel the Z4 I have now is the wrong shape for me so a Z4M should be fine.

Will try and find some videos from my Westfield the quality is not 1080

Depreciation/appreciation is a big factor if you are considering an ///M.

Taking into account all costs of ownership, including fuel, mods and depreciation, my three years with a 2.5si (which has a very similar real world economy to the 3.0si) cost:

2012 - £12.56/day
2013 - £12.13
2014 - £13.82 (had Insp 1, brake and radiator fan replacements)

The ///M, in comparison:

2015 - £10.83
2016 - £10.12
2017 - £14.87 (had Insp 1)

I did about 5000 miles per year in the si and 4000 in the ///M and lived in London, so parking and insurance costs were very high. The higher year 3 cost of the M is more to do with estimated depreciation (as measured using autotrader and confused.com) than the Insp 1, although it's still worth more than I paid for it

Now's a pretty good time to buy, if you are thinking of taking the leap.

Anyone know anything about this car or dealer

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified ... 0jq&page=1

Thanks


As they have taken a deposit on it this one is not for me.

Looks like that one has the carbon leather dash... very nice, makes the interior feel very plush & not dated against the ally dash

Another plug for getting an M from someone who's done a similar thing (si coupe to M).

I did 50k in my si as a daily driver - loved how special that was and it made my commute something to look forward to twice a day. I've only had my M a month but maan I'm glad I went for it - it is SUCH an event to drive. Its not easy and it's quite clunky at low speeds but it just feels so special. And that engine when you get up it is just awesome! Well worth it. Just don't try and get 34mpg out of it - I'm fairly sure there's some sort of law against economy driving an M

Now having my M for a couple of months, I've found it's a really Jekyll and Hyde kinda car. It is perfectly happy cruising along the motorway, giving pretty damn good mpg, but when you cain it, you have get it into the low 20's / high teens without much thought. That said, the fuel costs have not been any worse than my Impreza P1 was (330hp/330lbt).

One area where I would say the M has really impressed me is with it's steering feel. The hydraulic steering really communicates with you and it's weighted to perfection. Also the M just looks "right" with the quad pipes and different bonnet due to the "power" bulge. The final piece is just how awesome the S54 sounds.

I've found the ride to be pretty firm and on some more bumps B roads, I have found the back wanting to skip. I might try and get some slightly softer dampeners, as my P1 was setup that way and it was designed with B road driving in mind from Prodrive. Around town, it can be a bit challenging dealing with firmer suspension, but it's very much a personal preference.

Felix79 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 12, 2019 1:58 am Now having my M for a couple of months, I've found it's a really Jekyll and Hyde kinda car. It is perfectly happy cruising along the motorway, giving pretty damn good mpg, but when you cain it, you have get it into the low 20's / high teens without much thought. That said, the fuel costs have not been any worse than my Impreza P1 was (330hp/330lbt).

One area where I would say the M has really impressed me is with it's steering feel. The hydraulic steering really communicates with you and it's weighted to perfection. Also the M just looks "right" with the quad pipes and different bonnet due to the "power" bulge. The final piece is just how awesome the S54 sounds.

I've found the ride to be pretty firm and on some more bumps B roads, I have found the back wanting to skip. I might try and get some slightly softer dampeners, as my P1 was setup that way and it was designed with B road driving in mind from Prodrive. Around town, it can be a bit challenging dealing with firmer suspension, but it's very much a personal preference.

If it’s on standard springs, I received a lot of advice here which all said the stock rears were too hard, the fronts too soft.

I went for a Billy kit, still not 100% perfect but a huge improvement - better for the wallet than spending 2k on coilovers & as I don’t track seems just fine