WANTED 2.5L or 3.0L roadster or coupe auto

Wanted
gt303

gt303

Member
 Berkshire
Hello, UK based (Berkshire). I am in the market for an automatic 2.5L or 3L Z4. Or as a minimum the six cylinder rather than four.

About £7,500 budget including any required fixes for quirks (only just managed to get the other half's buy in for a Z4 for smiles per gallon).

Would like to see what the state of car and service records are first so I am open minded about mileage or colour. Hoping that will give me more options.

New to Z4 having only owned SLK and NC Miata before. Keen to find my own after a friend's Z4 grew on me. Thanks for reading!
 
Welcome to the forum from a former Berkshire resident who hopped over the border back to Surrey in 2022. :thumbsup:

Pre-facelifts came as a 2.2i (170bhp), 2.5i (192bhp) or 3.0i (231bhp) but cost much the same to run as they all had the M54 engine, just in different sizes. The downside is that very few had the optional, but very desirable, M-Sport seats.

But your budget ought to get you a facelift with the slightly more powerful and higher revving N52 engine in 2.5i (177bhp), 2.5Si (218bhp) or 3.0Si (265bhp) flavours. And Sport models all had the M-Sport seats as standard.

All the 3 litre models had electric seat adjustment with driver's memory which is handy if anyone else might use it. Anyway good luck finding the right one.
 
Mr Tidy said:
Welcome to the forum from a former Berkshire resident who hopped over the border back to Surrey in 2022. :thumbsup:

Pre-facelifts came as a 2.2i (170bhp), 2.5i (192bhp) or 3.0i (231bhp) but cost much the same to run as they all had the M54 engine, just in different sizes. The downside is that very few had the optional, but very desirable, M-Sport seats.

But your budget ought to get you a facelift with the slightly more powerful and higher revving N52 engine in 2.5i (177bhp), 2.5Si (218bhp) or 3.0Si (265bhp) flavours. And Sport models all had the M-Sport seats as standard.

All the 3 litre models had electric seat adjustment with driver's memory which is handy if anyone else might use it. Anyway good luck finding the right one.
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Cheers mate this is super useful. Already feel like I'm in good hands with this forum.

This caught my eye but the MOT history showing a recurring corrosion advisory looks more like an MX-5 MOT... https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202607114095528 (not sure if this is allowed, I will remove if it breaks any rules)

If that is your car in the profile pic it looks like a beaut.
 
Someone on here created this database which suggests only 268 Auto 3.0Sis made it to the UK.


And a 3.0Si is as good as it gets if you want an Auto as Alpinas and Ms were all manual.

Mileage isn't an issue for the N52 engine so that looks like a good buy. Carbon Black looks stunning in the sun, more like blue, and that one has the M-Sport seats with heating which most E85 owners want.

I've had rear brake pipes replaced on two of mine, but advisories for front pipes is unusual. Then again MX5 corrosion issues tend to be more serious than brake pipes!

I use a great Indy in Hook, Hampshire which may be useful, depending on where you are in Berkshire.

I'd have a look at it and if it drove OK try to get a deal due to the advisories.

And yes that is my car in my profile, with new rear brake pipes now!
 
Mr Tidy said:
Someone on here created this database which suggests only 268 Auto 3.0Sis made it to the UK.


And a 3.0Si is as good as it gets if you want an Auto as Alpinas and Ms were all manual.

Mileage isn't an issue for the N52 engine so that looks like a good buy. Carbon Black looks stunning in the sun, more like blue, and that one has the M-Sport seats with heating which most E85 owners want.

I've had rear brake pipes replaced on two of mine, but advisories for front pipes is unusual. Then again MX5 corrosion issues tend to be more serious than brake pipes!

I use a great Indy in Hook, Hampshire which may be useful, depending on where you are in Berkshire.

I'd have a look at it and if it drove OK try to get a deal due to the advisories.

And yes that is my car in my profile, with new rear brake pipes now!
Click to expand...
Thank you for the input.

Are you able to share your indy in Hampshire? Windsor based and I identified a local specialist but always good to get a word of mouth recommendation. Sometimes it is worth going a bit further for trusted places.
 
RMB in Hook is a “go to” for Z4s.

Don’t think from the above that the later post-LCI cars are necessarily better - they are different. The M54 and N52 engines have a different character, although the later autobox does have an extra gear.
 
I haven't used them, but my sister in law (based in Burnham), took her M4 to RMB, too. She'd have checked out other options nearby, so I guess RMB are still a decent go-too for this part of the world.

There's also Birds in Iver, who aren't far from you either.

Good luck with the search!
 
Thank you all for your great inputs. Iver and Hook recommendations duly noted and will definitely use them to look after my Z4 when I get one.
 
Zedebee made a typo, it's RBM Hampshire and I've been taking both my BMWs there since Ross opened for business in 2019 after 15 years at Sytner.

www.rbmhampshire.co.uk

RBM Hampshire | Independent BMW & MINI Specialists

RBM Hampshire aims to provide first-class services at great prices to BMW, MINI, models. RBM Hampshire is a leading independent BMW specialist & Mini specialists. We have a large volume of customers that are willing to travel up to 60-miles to have their vehicles maintained by our mechanics.
www.rbmhampshire.co.uk www.rbmhampshire.co.uk

Prior to that I used TWG Automotive in Camberley and I believe a few other people on here still go there.

I've never had any issues with either of them.
 
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