SOLD WITHDRAWN Z4 E86 coupe 3.0si, great spec

[Fred Smith]

Another erroneous claim to rarity based on howmanyleft data. There are nearly 2000 E86 coupes on the UK roads.

This has been bugging me since I started looking a few months back.

Oft quoted is the howmanyleft "260 coupes" (and I think there is at least one more similar site that says the same thing).

Yet on here I've seen that link to 2000 VINs / coupes.

How confident are you that it is the 2000 figure that is right, and not the 260 figure?

Based on how rarely I see them 260 seems plausible... on the other hand if there are only 260 left then at least 20-25% of them have been on the market in the last couple of months, which seems a rather high proportion!

I really want to know the truth... and for me to know the truth I want to know why people trust the 2000 and not the 260!!!

Check this out:
viewtopic.php?p=2036934&hilit=Howmanyleft#p2036934

You've convinced me your figures are the better ones.

[M1k3yC]

Also I thought DSC was just on or off?

There are two stability systems, you can turn one or both off (you have to hold the button down to turn them both off). I think it's essentially everything on, sport traction, everything off but I don't have my E86 any more to give you the exact details from the manual. Someone else will oblige I'm sure.

Steering wheel misaligned is a bit of a red flag is it not?

Not necessarily. It should be set straight when the car has an alignment but it might have been overlooked. It would put me off personally, though, because I'm the sort of owner that would get that fixed.

[Rossi1001]

This is similar to the post I just made about a roof issue. Again a first post should not be allowed to be a for sale ad. this dude is not joining the forum, just using it for free advertising. Maybe after signing up, making a basic introduction, there should be say a month before you can post any kind of for sale ad or link…..probably too difficult to police but I do find it irritating.

Alternatively in cases such as this there should be a fee for the advert / plug that can go towards the upkeep of the forum?

Feel obliged to add, while we are sticking the boot in… is this really worth £3k more than my recently sold 66,000 mile E89 30i, errr no. Although mine did only have a normal sport button and probably lost value due to the immaculate wheels

100% agree with this. For sale adverts shouldn't be allowed until you've hit a certain number of posts / time as a member of the forum. Or alternatively if you don't meet that post / time requirement, then a small fee is required to post an advert here.

This forum has been an amazing find and massive help for me. The trials and tribulations of my Z4 are all detailed on here and whenever I do need to sell it, I'll hope to do so here and any buyers have a long and very detailed history of it from reading my posts! I think I'd like an E89 at some point and I'd absolutely prefer an active forum member car than one from a complete stranger, so the site should either charge for or restrict that privilege.

[enuff_zed]

Well I needed a good laugh so I read the gumtree advert as the OP couldn't be bothered to place a proper one on here.
So, to summarise:
He has no idea what the sport button does.
Likewise, no inkling that a misaligned steering wheel will cause an incorrect reading to the Steering Angle Sensor, potentially upsetting steering input and also affecting the operation of the traction control system.
Thinks the fact you can turn off traction control is a major selling point.
Says he can't be bothered to refurbish the wheels, yet expects us to believe the rest of the car is well maintained.
Drivers seat bolster looks like its been through a particularly violent spin cycle.
LH front top mount has the dust cover missing - how much crud is now embedded in the bearing?
Says the tyres are Dunlops but the rears clearly say 'Eagle' on them.
Adjusting the window to seal takes approximately 5 minutes for a novice, but never been done.
Anyone who lists faults but says 'they never bothered me' is merely suggesting they either have no care, no understanding or no mechanical sympathy, which immediately leads me to wonder what more essential maintenance has 'never bothered' them?

On the plus side, he has noticed it's got 2 doors. That should differentiate it from all the others.

So we end up with a car that has several red flags raised, especially on a knowledgeable forum.
For the privilege of having to follow links and work things out for ourselves we are expected to pay at least £2k over the accepted price for a car we know doesn't match up to others that appear on here.

I'm out.

But thanks for the entertainment.

[Pondrew]

This is similar to the post I just made about a roof issue. Again a first post should not be allowed to be a for sale ad. this dude is not joining the forum, just using it for free advertising. Maybe after signing up, making a basic introduction, there should be say a month before you can post any kind of for sale ad or link…..probably too difficult to police but I do find it irritating.
Alternatively in cases such as this there should be a fee for the advert / plug that can go towards the upkeep of the forum?

Totally agree.

I find it annoying, especially when the seller has no interest in the forum (this one; 7 years owned and signed up yesterday to sell).

That is why I posted what I did, especially as the car is definitely not the best for very salty money. I am sure many think I am just rude and 'difficult' but there are always (to me good) reasons behind my obnoxious posts.

[bigwinn]

This is similar to the post I just made about a roof issue. Again a first post should not be allowed to be a for sale ad. this dude is not joining the forum, just using it for free advertising. Maybe after signing up, making a basic introduction, there should be say a month before you can post any kind of for sale ad or link…..probably too difficult to police but I do find it irritating.
Alternatively in cases such as this there should be a fee for the advert / plug that can go towards the upkeep of the forum?

Totally agree.

I find it annoying, especially when the seller has no interest in the forum (this one; 7 years owned and signed up yesterday to sell).

That is why I posted what I did, especially as the car is definitely not the best for very salty money. I am sure many think I am just rude and 'difficult' but there are always (to me good) reasons behind my obnoxious posts.

You are only saying what we are all thinking

I see the op has run for the hills

[Fred Smith]

Totally agree.

I find it annoying, especially when the seller has no interest in the forum (this one; 7 years owned and signed up yesterday to sell).

That is why I posted what I did, especially as the car is definitely not the best for very salty money. I am sure many think I am just rude and 'difficult' but there are always (to me good) reasons behind my obnoxious posts.

I am new here, but surely buyers deserve TLC from experienced forum members as much as sellers do? Every bit of feedback to sellers that they may not like is also educating buyers.

Also, I believe that there are a LOT of cars about for sale which sit there for ages at top money... and that risks misleading a newbie. I think I've seen three go cheaper than mine cost me and every single one has been accident damaged... yet even having bought one of the cheapest ones going I still think that in some ways I overpaid! I worked out what I was willing to pay based on what I felt needed spending and what it might be worth afterwards, plus the more visual things, and what it would be worth if I did those as well. I also took into account that I knew finding a cheaper one without a massive dent would be hard!

Having said all that the end values I had in my head were probably a bit high because of the sheer weight of numbers I saw listed at - say - £7k to £11k, many of which I now realize are worth £1k or £2k less than asking (IMHO).

I haven't followed the market long enough to know, but I would be tempted to bet that one of the following is true - (1) Coupe prices are down at least 10% or 15% over the last few months, OR (2) there are a lot of car dealers who paid too much for E86s, OR (3) there are a lot of car dealers who try to achieve very large mark-ups on what they paid.

[Pondrew]

I haven't followed the market long enough to know, but I would be tempted to bet that one of the following is true - (1) Coupe prices are down at least 10% or 15% over the last few months, OR (2) there are a lot of car dealers who paid too much for E86s, OR (3) there are a lot of car dealers who try to achieve very large mark-ups on what they paid.

I would tend to agree, but it's the whole car market, not just the niche models here.

The replies on this thread, though, are not really anything to do with the seller's car, more to do with people signing up just to post a free for sale advert. It's not the 'spirit' of this forum IMO. This forum is more like a 'car club' than a random messaging board and is better for that (again IMHO).

[Spock1189]

Firstly hello to all and thanks for all the feedback on my gumtree add. Sorry I'm late to the party in responding, simple truth is I turned on the setting which notified me of replies, but none received? Maybe I'll check the spam folder in case they're in there. I came back to check because I was surprised nobody had...oh.

Secondly it's clear, as well as expected, that the people on this forum know an awful lot about these cars. All your input and fact checking is appreciated. Perhaps a bit less appreciated are the ones that are speculating about the vehicles owner, but I'll try to ignore those.

Thirdly to the comment about my using the forum for free advertising... Yes that's right. The blurb on the forum says you can advertise your car on here for free. I don't see the issue? I have used this forum as a source of info about my car on and off for the last 7 years. Very few, if any posts of my own, that's true. If that makes me unwelcome then I'm sorry you feel that way, and perhaps the forum admins should make it clearer to "casual" visitors that it's not for them to use.

Anyway to the car. Earlier today and before reading all this, I've taken the gumtree add down. The car is not sold yet and I'm looking at other places to advertise. If anybody on the forum is genuinely interested I'd still like to hear from you. If you have genuine interest in buying the car and want to know more about anything I mentioned in the ad then I'm happy to have a chat over the phone, please PM me and we can sort out a time.

[Spock1189]

strong money for a car/mileage in the current market.

Maybe it's the unique 'sport' button, which adjusts the clutch control as well as the steering?

The "I elected not to pay to refurbish the wheels and will leave that to the next owner" really did it for me! Class.

Hi. When I press the sport button (often over 7 years and nearly 40k miles) two things seem to happen:

1. The throttle pedal response becomes more sensitive (I think we both agree there?)
2. The clutch bite seems to happen more abruptly compared to when the sport button is off

Now maybe I'm misunderstanding what it actually does, but the above is the non technical description of what I can feel.

[M1k3yC]

It probably feels to you like #2 is happening because the throttle map is more aggressive. From the owner's manual:

Dynamic Driving Control
At the touch of a button, Dynamic Driving Control
enables you to drive your BMW in an even
sportier style:
> The engine responds more spontaneously
to any motion of the accelerator pedal.
> Power steering is adapted to further
enhance contact with the road surface.
> Cruise control*:
The stored speed is achieved more quickly
when called up.
In addition with automatic transmission:
> The Sport program is activated.

To activate the system
Press the SPORT button while the key is in
position 2.
The LED in the button lights up.

To deactivate the system
Press the SPORT button again.
The LED in the button goes out.

[Spock1189]

Nobody picked on the driver seat yet?

Don't think this is the forum for that sort of thing!

Based on the sum of the replies it actually looks like it is. I've posted an ad which some haven't liked, and they've felt the need to leave negative comments about it (and me) for everybody else to read. I didn't come here for me and my car to get trolled.

[Spock1189]

It probably feels to you like #2 is happening because the throttle map is more aggressive. From the owner's manual:

Dynamic Driving Control
At the touch of a button, Dynamic Driving Control
enables you to drive your BMW in an even
sportier style:
> The engine responds more spontaneously
to any motion of the accelerator pedal.
> Power steering is adapted to further
enhance contact with the road surface.
> Cruise control*:
The stored speed is achieved more quickly
when called up.
In addition with automatic transmission:
> The Sport program is activated.

To activate the system
Press the SPORT button while the key is in
position 2.
The LED in the button lights up.

To deactivate the system
Press the SPORT button again.
The LED in the button goes out.

Thanks. Funny I never noticed the steering feeling any different.

[Pondrew]

Anyway to the car. Earlier today and before reading all this, I've taken the gumtree add down. The car is not sold yet and I'm looking at other places to advertise. If anybody on the forum is genuinely interested I'd still like to hear from you. If you have genuine interest in buying the car and want to know more about anything I mentioned in the ad then I'm happy to have a chat over the phone, please PM me and we can sort out a time.

OK, let's start again...

Firstly, you have about as much chance now, after this thread, of selling your car here as the Pope becoming a Muslim.

So, I would advise you drop the price by £2,000 and put an advert on Autotrader for £60.

I would also advise you either get the wheels refurbed or don't mention them in the advert. But be prepared for a potential buyer to want to knock £500 off if they really need doing (will cost you about £300). Also don't make mention of anything you don't know about; these cars are generally bought by enthusiasts who will have done their research, so will likely know a lot more than you about your car.

Hope that helps!

[Special Kay]

Anyway to the car. Earlier today and before reading all this, I've taken the gumtree add down. The car is not sold yet and I'm looking at other places to advertise. If anybody on the forum is genuinely interested I'd still like to hear from you. If you have genuine interest in buying the car and want to know more about anything I mentioned in the ad then I'm happy to have a chat over the phone, please PM me and we can sort out a time.

OK, let's start again...

Firstly, you have about as much chance now, after this thread, of selling your car here as the Pope becoming a Muslim.

So, I would advise you drop the price by £2,000 and put an advert on Autotrader for £60.

I would also advise you either get the wheels refurbed or don't mention them in the advert. But be prepared for a potential buyer to want to knock £500 off if they really need doing (will cost you about £300). Also don't make mention of anything you don't know about; these cars are generally bought by enthusiasts who will have done their research, so will likely know a lot more than you about your car.

Hope that helps!

That opening line has had me in stitches for the last 5 mins.
Apart from my sense of humour, that's very good advice to the OP.