WANTED E86 Z4 / Z4M

[Baelle6]

Hi All!

After selling my E86 Z4 in Jan this year due to a change of circumstances I’m now back in the market for another! I am also considering the Z4M this time but have got a V8 Itch that is making me also considering the E92 M3 alongside the Z4M consideration!

Has anyone got experience of both these cars?

What E86’s are on the market currently? I’ve seen the Z4M’s on Autotrader already, the majority have been for sale for months and months and aren’t going anywhere.

Thanks

[Ed Doe]

what do you want to know?

3-4 years ago I sold my E86 3.0si, and then found myself in an identical predicament. I test drove a couple of E92 M3s (one completely standard one, and one with the backbox mod and a few minor mods). Both were fabulous, but for me the issue was unless you were getting up it, it didn't feel very special. Which is certainly the appeal in some respects - it is afterall a 3 series with some decent suspension and an epic engine fitted, and bmw would have designed it to strike a balance between being comfortable and useable every day, as well as fun to drive when the occasion arose.

For me though, I was always looking for something that felt more 'special', less polished and more raw (all of which yes sounds awfully cliche I know). The Z4M is a lot less comfortable, practical, and a fair bit more challenging to drive quickly than the E92 M3, but for all those reasons it has always (to me anyway) felt like much more of an event to drive. Plus I think hands-down it looks miles more special.

Unsurprisingly given that I'm on this forum, I ended up with a Z4M - I still have it and have absolutely no regrets.

If only they had put the S65 into the Z4M - what a combo that would have been!!!

My advice (extremely basic/obvious as it might sound!) is to test drive a couple of examples of both cars, and see how you feel. I'm in the fortunate position of having a daily/winter hack, so the Z4M is purely for weekend/summer fun, hence I can afford for it to be a bit less 'daily friendly'. That being said I think in completely standard form the Z4M can be fairly comfortable...

Horses for courses really - one thing's for sure though it's going to be a fun few weeks/months for you test driving some - good luck and enjoy

[Baelle6]

Thanks for the information! I find test driving cars like this is always harder because it’s not like I can walk into my local dealer and drive a Z4M and I wouldn’t want to waste a private sellers time unless their car what exactly what I am after.

Having said that I loved my E86 and have had a lot of far faster vehicles since that, verging on 200bhp more but they didn’t feel as fun to drive!

I am also in the fortunate position where this will be a second vehicle and only used on the weekends / holidays!

I love the look of the E86 and would love to find the same car again or even the Z4M in grey with red leather! The only thing making me question the M3 is that V8! As you said if they have put that engine in the E86 I wouldn’t have a decision to make!

[Mr Tidy]

Nearly 3 years ago I bought my MC to replace my 2nd 3.0Si and as much as I loved that car the MC is even more special.

I didn't consider an E9* M3 as my daily was an E90 330i anyway, and I like the MC for being a bit edgy. If it was a daily maybe not so much!

You could always try to find a trader selling one for a test drive - that's what I did before I bought my first Coupe.

[M1k3yC]

What E86’s are on the market currently?

What are your must haves for your next coupe? What you've mentioned so far is really broad, i.e. a Z4C or Z4MC. If you can narrow it down a bit then you might find some cars that aren't currently listed for sale come out of the woodwork...

[Baelle6]

The truth is I don’t really have a great deal of ‘must haves’. I would like a higher specification example and my preferred colour of choice is Silver Grey but I really am open to looking at anything so if anybody was thinking about selling I’d be all ears to listening to what they have to offer. The only must haves are being an E86, good service history and well looked after. Again ideally CSL alloys genuine or replicas because I think they finish off the E86 very well but I can always purchase these separately.