Mineral v Alpine ? Auto v Sports Auto

[BERNEV]

I have to agree that pearlescent white is better than the solid. But equally I know that Alpine is easy to match as I bought a can of touch up (made at Halfords) and it is exactly the same..... You just can't do that with pearls - form experience. And even though Alpine white is actually nearly a cream (if you put it next to a bright white) it does look good with Coral leather

[warmasice]

Here's a pic of where mineral white almost looks silver. So many different shades depending on the light and what device you take the pic with.. and sometimes it's just pot luck!

IMG_3256~01.jpg (127.45 KiB) Viewed 1175 times

[warmasice]

Could mistake this mineral white for 2 different cars. They are infact, the same:

IMG_3263~01.jpg (161.67 KiB) Viewed 1175 times

IMG_3265~01.jpg (148.93 KiB) Viewed 1175 times

[The Badger]

Sorry for the delay guys on coming back to you !
the car I had in my sights was sold ! gutted -
however I have found one again here is the spec -

1.8i - M sport - Sports Auto Gearbox - 49k miles (Sept 2014) has 19" alloys Alpine white with red leather - with a bit of jiggery pokery and a good trade in from my 3 series touring I should be able to get into this for about £7500 ? (List is £14350)

What do you guys think ?

It doesn't have heated seats or cruise control ?

Did I read somewhere the 19" alloys were prone to cracking ?

Help ?

Its on the BMW approved used site (reg is LN64FSC)

[Nictrix]

It all depends on what you want from a car.
The 18i is the lowest powered of all the E89s and without heated seats or cruise it doesn't sound that great.
Its not particularly low miles either, I would keep looking for a better one.

[The Badger]

Thanks Nictrix - its given me lots to think about ! although the price seems quite good for a 4 year old car in great condition with 12.5k on average a year - is that excessive ? it would appear that when it was first ordered the client chose the gearbox and bigger wheels options over the seats and cruise control - similar cars are out there but lots seemed to be manual ? and soon as you add the M sport package and auto box the price jumps up !

also the 19" wheels look amazing again not all the others i have seen have these wheels ?

Arghhhhhhh decisions decisions - anybody else any advice !

[Zed Baron]

Mineral looks stunning, I went for an alpine white car with black leather (I know boring) but its easier to maintain. Ive got a pearlescent white Toyota runaround, I painted the bonnet last year and it cost more compared to a solid colour

[KryStallone]

I had the same dilemma over mineral or alpine. Ended up getting mineral but really would have been ok with either. The mineral looks different in every picture i take.. catches the light in different ways. Pictures don't really do it justice. The colour gets quite a few compliments though. I've got another vehicle (alpine white) and for whatever reason the mineral makes me look back over my shoulder when walking away in a way the alpine doesn't. Might just be the fact the other car isn't a zed though. Lol

You can see in the pics below of the same car that the mineral colour can look completely different depending on the time of day, brightness of the sun etc. I've even got pics where the car looks silver! But yeh, both colours are great, I'd suggest you go for the one that's got the better spec and snap it up tbh.

An old pic (pre-lowering and spacers):
IMG_20180717_223429_292.jpg

Recent pic:
IMG_20180821_153815_457.jpg

Recent pic:
IMG_20180821_153523_744.jpg
An old pic (pre-lowering and spacers):
IMG_20180524_221018.jpg

Great pics to show the difference. Thanks for sharing!

[warmasice]

I had the same dilemma over mineral or alpine. Ended up getting mineral but really would have been ok with either. The mineral looks different in every picture i take.. catches the light in different ways. Pictures don't really do it justice. The colour gets quite a few compliments though. I've got another vehicle (alpine white) and for whatever reason the mineral makes me look back over my shoulder when walking away in a way the alpine doesn't. Might just be the fact the other car isn't a zed though. Lol

You can see in the pics below of the same car that the mineral colour can look completely different depending on the time of day, brightness of the sun etc. I've even got pics where the car looks silver! But yeh, both colours are great, I'd suggest you go for the one that's got the better spec and snap it up tbh.

An old pic (pre-lowering and spacers):
IMG_20180717_223429_292.jpg

Recent pic:
IMG_20180821_153815_457.jpg

Recent pic:
IMG_20180821_153523_744.jpg
An old pic (pre-lowering and spacers):
IMG_20180524_221018.jpg

Great pics to show the difference. Thanks for sharing!

Anytime!

[KryStallone]

I had the same dilemma over mineral or alpine. Ended up getting mineral but really would have been ok with either. The mineral looks different in every picture i take.. catches the light in different ways. Pictures don't really do it justice. The colour gets quite a few compliments though. I've got another vehicle (alpine white) and for whatever reason the mineral makes me look back over my shoulder when walking away in a way the alpine doesn't. Might just be the fact the other car isn't a zed though. Lol

You can see in the pics below of the same car that the mineral colour can look completely different depending on the time of day, brightness of the sun etc. I've even got pics where the car looks silver! But yeh, both colours are great, I'd suggest you go for the one that's got the better spec and snap it up tbh.

An old pic (pre-lowering and spacers):
IMG_20180717_223429_292.jpg

Recent pic:
IMG_20180821_153815_457.jpg

Recent pic:
IMG_20180821_153523_744.jpg
An old pic (pre-lowering and spacers):
IMG_20180524_221018.jpg

Great pics to show the difference. Thanks for sharing!

Anytime!

Great looking car!

So yours is lowered with spacers, do you mind advising what parts you used and where you sourced from?

Did it change the character of your Z in anyway (good or bad)?

[warmasice]

Great pics to show the difference. Thanks for sharing!

Anytime!

Great looking car!

So yours is lowered with spacers, do you mind advising what parts you used and where you sourced from?

Did it change the character of your Z in anyway (good or bad)?

Spacers are Eibach (12mm front and I think 14mm rear). Lowering springs are also Eibach.

Both of which helped stance and ride. Corners flatter and less body roll. I then went on to change the runflats to Goodyears which completely transformed the car. Had 4 wheel alignment done too.

An absolute joy to drive now. Hope this helps.

[KryStallone]

Anytime!

Great looking car!

So yours is lowered with spacers, do you mind advising what parts you used and where you sourced from?

Did it change the character of your Z in anyway (good or bad)?

Spacers are Eibach (12mm front and I think 14mm rear). Lowering springs are also Eibach.

Both of which helped stance and ride. Corners flatter and less body roll. I then went on to change the runflats to Goodyears which completely transformed the car. Had 4 wheel alignment done too.

An absolute joy to drive now. Hope this helps.

Well this is helpful!! You keep popping up in my research for things. I do have some more questions for you but I dont know what the forum etiquette is for the change in topic. All I know is if someone comes looking for the same info in the future they find it in the right topic. So with that said, I'll post my questions in the "Eibach lowering springs" topic which you have commented in and hope you pick it up there

[BeardyJon]

I've got an Alpine White Zed, and I gave it a clean up today after leaving it too long with the winter road muck and salt all over it and I was reminded how nice it looks. I've always had in the back of my mind that it's not exactly the colour I want (I would have gone for a mineral white if I could have found one), and its definitely not "Alpine" white as someone said above it doesn't blend in with the snow (actually appears a slightly off-white). BUT it is crisp and I do regularly get a lot of nice comments from people, including today when an elderly neighbour approached me to tell me how much she likes to admire my car every time she walks past it, so it reminded me that it is something special.