A ridiculous Z4 project?

[ThreeCornered]

Evening all,

New poster here – been lurking on this forum for the past few weeks, and would appreciate your thoughts.

I’ve kept tabs on a Cat D Z4 that has been advertised since October, that I feel could make a viable purchase/project: here

Chatted to the place and I’d want them to find the second key and verify the docs. The car is also due for a service.

The positives are that the car has not suffered impact damage (safety cell/ airbags intact), has had one owner from new and has four BMW service stamps.

I’ve got a few quotes for the parts:

£600 for the hood
£300 for the bonnet
£400 for the wings (pair)
£500 (min.) for bodyshop work
Cost of service and (inevitably – 1 has been slashed) will need new tyres
£150 delivery to get it back from Notts

That’s ~£2k on top of the purchase.

A little dig on Autotrader makes me believe that a ’56 plate 2.0 litre Z4 with 100K miles on the clock would go for £6.5k. I’d certainly lose money if I decided to sell it immediately after purchasing (taking 0.75 of the value for a cat D – with work done the car would be worth £5k). If I successfully negotiated the price down to what I feel is a more realistic value AND if the car checked out ok, would I still be better off feeding my money to the ducks? Or does it seem like a viable project to you?

Thoughts / ridicule welcome.

 

[Hunter]

Its not just the reduced residual value..its the difficulty in trying to sell it atall let alone recoupe your money....they can be a fine buy if you plan to keep the car for a while..but hard to make profit....if you dont look at a cat car as an investment and look at it as a cheap way to get a premium car to use then they can be a bargin.

 

[mmm-five]

Are those parts prices with painting & prep?

If not, then you could add another £1k-£2k for prep & painting.

You'd have to be buying it for £2.5k-£3k to make it worthwhile.

 

[ThreeCornered]

They can be a fine buy if you plan to keep the car for a while..but hard to make profit....

Yeah I totally agree, although it would be unrealistic of me to think about keeping the car for years to come!

Are those parts prices with painting & prep?
If not, then you could add another £1k-£2k for prep & painting.

The prices were exclusive of painting - although I'd have the time to wait for the right parts in the right colour to appear at scrappers.

You'd have to be buying it for £2.5k-£3k to make it worthwhile.

That was the figure I'd be looking to negotiate to!

 

[inkey$]

Kudos for industry and taking on such a project but if it were me, I'd be looking at the fact that it's a lot of work for not a lot of return. If you're looking for a quick profit then I'd head for those ducks. If you're looking for a car to keep for a few years and drive then I'd spend £5-6k on a non CAT example and enjoy those weekends in the car rather than under it.

...but that's me of course.

Good luck with your decision, welcome to the forum and I look forward to reading more on your decision

 

[Pants]

I think you'd need it for even less, you can pick up a decent 3ltr with less than 70k with full history for 5.5k if you wait around and haggle so for me even at 2k the project would be a non starter.

 

[ThreeCornered]

If you're looking for a car to keep for a few years and drive then I'd spend £5-6k on a non CAT example and enjoy those weekends in the car rather than under it.

Highly sensible advice - thanks very much!

I think you'd need it for even less, you can pick up a decent 3ltr with less than 70k with full history for 5.5k if you wait around and haggle so for me even at 2k the project would be a non starter.

That's a good point, much appreciated. I'll keep my eyes peeled!

 

[shawna]

Lol

A poverty spec 2.0L car with 103k miles?

Not worth the effort.

Pants suggested a proper 3.0L for 5.5-6K.

Now that makes sense.

 

[lunny]

In the last month Ive taken ownership of a 54 3.0SE 90K for 5200. Theres lots for sale at 6-7k but the ones that are selling are much less so cant see the attraction in spending the same on a bent 2.0l !

But more than the £££ for youll always be sitting at the lights while getting admiring glances knowing your in a rebuilt CAT D... :thumbsdown:

 

[ChawenHalo]

I think its a great project if you're a mechanic and can do a lot of the work yourself.

Otherwise it will just do your head in.

Who would damage such a nice carlike that? Vandals