Sell me on a 3.0 n/a E89!

[cowboyjon]

Hi guys, i have been in the market for a fun, reasonably cheap(ish) to run car around the £8k - £12k mark for around a month.

As a Honda man my heart has been set on an S2000 but i am developing serious doubts to the legitimacy of heading down that route. The biggest issue with them being potential rust issues (from the inside out - not just the wheel arches) and in all honesty it probably is not going to be realistic as a daily driver so i'd need to pick up a beater to run through the coming winter aswell.

I've looked at 350z and 370z and the wife has put the kibosh on those due to running costs. For a time I looked at z4 coupes but in the end I couldn't see the point really.

So last night I stumbled across a very nice 2010 z4 3.0 msport with just 33k miles for what seems to be a very fair £13k.

I hadn't even considered these cars before as I thought they were out of my budget!

Trouble is I don't know too much about these cars at all. Looks the part, especially with the 19" rims and according to the stats it's plenty quick enough to have fun in. Hell - it even returns a decent mpg and tax band!

Unfortunately a Google search doesn't tell me a lot about the specific 3.0 naturally aspirated model. I was hoping the members on this forum could shed some light on the subject and even tell me if the above car seems like a good deal or not?

I'm really in the dark here and heading for a viewing on Sunday I'd like to have some idea of what I'm looking for!

All advice appreciated.

[Andyturbo2000]

I would imagine the running costs of a 350/370z are very similar to a BMW Z4 3.0

[cowboyjon]

I would imagine the running costs of a 350/370z are very similar to a BMW Z4 3.0

You'd be forgiven for thinking that fella but it's not the case.

Both the 350 and the 370 will be hitting low 20mpg on a normal run while the 3.0 z4 is giving you a pretty solid 30mpg.

Tax wise the 370z is also £540 a year while the z4 is only £290.

A surprisingly significant difference.

[mr wilks]

The N52 na 30i is a real peach , very few issues to concern any potential owner .
Possible waterpump failure at some point ( not wallet busting by any stretch )
Obviously a car at 6-8yr old needs to be bought on cuurent condition & history but if its all good when bought then you should be good for some low cost prestige sports car motoring

[Dr-Jon]

I'd say car choose is a personal thing, what one guy likes another will hate. So take a look at it, take it for a spin, then decide if its the car for you. Does it have all the toys you would want included? I Drive? Heated Seats? Bluetooth connectivity? Comfort Access?
Then does it have a good service history with all the paperwork to prove it. Probably not going to have a warranty but that's not a deal breaker on a 6-8 year old car.
But at the end of the day the only real questions are ..... Is it fun to drive, and will it look good on your drive with the roof off
I know my answer to those questions is a resounding Yes and I only have a 10 plate 2.3

[Dr-Jon]

oh and hope it does not have run flat tyres.........

[sunnydays]

First thoughts are, why not a 35i, these can be had for circa £13k, and will spank the 3.0 N/A version.

Secondly, I had a 35is, and had a 370Z Nismo so I can comment on the differences between the two to an extent

MPG Depends on how you drive, how ever my average figures were:
35is: 12mpg
370z: 18pmg

Running costs:
35is: Expensive!
370Z: Not as much as the BMW!

Tax:
370Z is circa £200 more

Also, if you shove an MHD map on the 35i (circa 400bhp) it will spank the 370Z and alot of other cars in terms of straight line speed.
The 370Z is more of an old school car in its simplicity and raw driving experience, depends what you are after really.

Thanks

[Beerman]

Before buying the E86 I tried out the E89 30i.

It didn't sound, drive or pull anywhere near as good. The same engine just seemed strangled.

Getting a low mileage 35i under 60,000 miles for a reasonable cost BMW would be more appealing to me.

[Mr Tidy]

I guess it depends what you want to a degree OP - if you like "old School" a 30i might suit you better than a 35i.

I only wanted a Z4 Coupe and have had one for over 4 years. It has the same N52 3 litre engine as the E89 30i and I love it. Pulls really strongly and revs happily towards the 7,000 rpm red-line. But mine is showing 33.6 mpg on the OBC over the 10K miles I've had it!

And mine is still going strong on 87K miles. I've got a 3 Series Touring with the 2.5 litre version of the same engine that is running fine on 136K miles.

But as mr wilks said the electric water pump will probably die at some point as it did on my Touring a couple of weeks ago. The BMW part is made by Pierburg, but you can get them from people like Euro Car Parts for about £250 (instead of £500 from BMW). But the pumps seem to last from 60K to 80K miles so a failure isn't a disaster.

I've never done more that sit in an E89 but from what I have read they are a bit more of a GT whereas the earlier Roadsters (E85) and Coupes (E86) are more of a sports car.

If it isn't too far away the best thing you could do would be to go and try it.

I don't know much about E89 prices but there is a 75K mile 30i in Melbourne Red near me in SE spec on a 59 plate that is up for £8,995 if that helps.

Good luck anyway - and let us know what you get!

[Smartbear]

Before buying the E86 I tried out the E89 30i.

It didn't sound, drive or pull anywhere near as good. The same engine just seemed strangled.

Getting a low mileage 35i under 60,000 miles for a reasonable cost BMW would be more appealing to me.

Hi, there must have been something wrong with the 30i you tried. look at the stats, they are virtually identical!
Rob

[Maniac]

If it helps, ive I owned my 35i for nearly 9 years and it’s been the most unreliable car I’ve ever owned. Only once has it truly broken down but it’s had issue after issue and I’ve spent thousands on it that I never expected to, just keeping it fault free. I can’t recommend the N54 cars any longer, they’re immensely powerful and sound great but they’re thirsty and have a lot of known faults.

[Busterboo]

MPG Depends on how you drive, how ever my average figures were:
35is: 12mpg

How?

[Busterboo]

If it helps, ive I owned my 35i for nearly 9 years and it’s been the most unreliable car I’ve ever owned. Only once has it truly broken down but it’s had issue after issue and I’ve spent thousands on it that I never expected to, just keeping it fault free. I can’t recommend the N54 cars any longer, they’re immensely powerful and sound great but they’re thirsty and have a lot of known faults.

Why have you kept it?

[Beerman]

Before buying the E86 I tried out the E89 30i.

It didn't sound, drive or pull anywhere near as good. The same engine just seemed strangled.

Getting a low mileage 35i under 60,000 miles for a reasonable cost BMW would be more appealing to me.

Hi, there must have been something wrong with the 30i you tried. look at the stats, they are virtually identical!
Rob

Mmmmm. There isn't much in it. Maybe being a bit bigger made it feel slower, but I did think it felt obvious.

[Beerman]

If it helps, ive I owned my 35i for nearly 9 years and it’s been the most unreliable car I’ve ever owned. Only once has it truly broken down but it’s had issue after issue and I’ve spent thousands on it that I never expected to, just keeping it fault free. I can’t recommend the N54 cars any longer, they’re immensely powerful and sound great but they’re thirsty and have a lot of known faults.

I had a N54 335i for over 5 years and 85,000 miles. Only once did I have a breakdown and that was for the waterpump failing.

The sloppy actuators were an issue earlier in my ownership, but other than that all my other issues weren't engine related.

I didn't notice fuel economy to be bad either. It's only a couple of MPG off my M235i. It is on par for what i would expect from a 300bhp+ 6 cylinder.