Advice Needed!

A

AeroLou

Member
Hi all

I am finally in a position to buy Z4 of my own after lurking on this forum for some time! :D

I am looking for a pre-facelift E85 (2003-2006) 3.0i manual convertible (mainly for price reasons). I am looking for any of the blue colours (monaco blue, midnight blue metallic, toledo blue, maldives blue, montego blue, interlagos blue), up to around 100k miles (service history helpful also).

I am going to view a nice sapphire black car (up for £4k, 100k miles, service history) on Tuesday but can't help feel slightly disgruntled as it just doesn't quite do it for me like the blue zeds do! (sorry black zed owners :D).

I would really appreciate some advice - am I going to have to pay over the odds to get it in blue instead of black? I currently have a rough budget of £5000.

Unlikely that you will see this but, to the new owner of the toledo blue Z4 3.0i based in Poole, that car is stunning! Please reach out - it would be great to chat. You just about beat me to that one as I have had university exams! :x :D

Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks.
Lou
 
The only advice you seem to be looking for is whether the model you want is more expensive in blue than black. Colour is a personal preference and you should be prepared to pay more for your ideal car that for a less ideal one. Prices are all over the place at the moment and there doesn’t seem to be any particular correlation with colour.
 
If you are buying a car mainly on its colour, then patience is needed! My previous Z4 was Maldives Blue, but my current car is black. With a bit of effort with the wax it can look very good but a devil to keep it that way. Just wait for the right colour to pop up that will keep you happy.
 
We are all different. In my many years I have always purchased cars on condition, mileage, number of owners, service history but never on colour. Colour is just how the car is presented to me and I haven't ever had a real preference .
 
Z4s are remarkably cheap at the moment. You can have a decent 3.0i for £4k if you're prepared to be patient. £5k will get you a nice car, so just hang on in there until it appears.
 
raymond.harper said:
If you are buying a car mainly on its colour, then patience is needed! My previous Z4 was Maldives Blue, but my current car is black. With a bit of effort with the wax it can look very good but a devil to keep it that way. Just wait for the right colour to pop up that will keep you happy.
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Unfortunately, I am quite fussy! Joking aside, I don't want to purchase a car and then have buyer's remorse. I am happy to wait as I will only need this car for work in August as I start on placement. I will create another post in the buying/selling thread, just in case anyone on here happens to be selling what I am looking for! Thanks for the post!
 
Fred Smith said:
Not saying you're wrong, but I suspect that a bog-standard silver or a black one will tend to go a bit cheaper, and the rare colours (phoenix yellow, red, maybe one or two of the blues) will go for a bit more, and that in the middle sits the other blues and the special silvers.

Buying a Z4 is easy, buying one reasonably local with the right mileage and colour and at a fair (or better) price.... much harder!
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My thought exactly... I am willing to travel almost anywhere in England and Wales if needed though. I have a few weeks of nothing coming up

Thanks for the reply!
 
DaveP said:
Z4s are remarkably cheap at the moment. You can have a decent 3.0i for £4k if you're prepared to be patient. £5k will get you a nice car, so just hang on in there until it appears.
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Very good to know - cheers! Would you say the market is more or less saturated in the summer vs. any other time? I have been in contact with a dealer looking to source one for me, but this feels like I might be just costing myself more money! I am looking on Autotrader, Gumtree, eBay, the hell-hole that is FB marketplace and on the forums also. Any other suggestions?

Many thanks for the reply!
 
AeroLou said:
Would you say the market is more or less saturated in the summer vs. any other time?
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Definitely MORE. People will expect to sell a convertible much easier (and for more money) in the Summer. Problem (for them) this year is that the market is very slow and there are a lot of cars about, which will push prices down. Unfortunately it looks like we are not going to have a Summer in 2024 anyway, judging by the weather so far.
 
AeroLou said:
I am willing to travel almost anywhere in England and Wales if needed though.
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Not keen on Scotland, then? Don't blame you TBH! :lol: :lol:
 
Pondrew said:
Definitely MORE. People will expect to sell a convertible much easier (and for more money) in the Summer. Problem (for them) this year is that the market is very slow and there are a lot of cars about, which will push prices down. Unfortunately it looks like we are not going to have a Summer in 2024 anyway, judging by the weather so far.
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This is what I like to hear! And yes, seems like summer ended a few weeks ago! :D

Cheers for the post!
 
Pondrew said:
AeroLou said:
I am willing to travel almost anywhere in England and Wales if needed though.
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Not keen on Scotland, then? Don't blame you TBH! :lol: :lol:
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Hahah - the potential for rust and the distance to travel back scare me almost as much as the people! :rofl:

I am based in Midlands (home is Staffordshire; Uni is in Leicestershire), but am desperately avoiding buying a car from Birmingham so have set my sights slighty further afield...
 
AeroLou said:
DaveP said:
Z4s are remarkably cheap at the moment. You can have a decent 3.0i for £4k if you're prepared to be patient. £5k will get you a nice car, so just hang on in there until it appears.
Click to expand...

Very good to know - cheers! Would you say the market is more or less saturated in the summer vs. any other time? I have been in contact with a dealer looking to source one for me, but this feels like I might be just costing myself more money! I am looking on Autotrader, Gumtree, eBay, the hell-hole that is FB marketplace and on the forums also. Any other suggestions?

Many thanks for the reply!
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I'm not sure there's a good or bad time to find the right car, but prices will typically be 10-20% cheaper in winter.

BMW made absolutely loads of Z4s, so there are always plenty out there for sale. Just a case of patience.
 
Mike6 said:
We are all different. In my many years I have always purchased cars on condition, mileage, number of owners, service history but never on colour. Colour is just how the car is presented to me and I haven't ever had a real preference .
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We are all different. Last time I was buying I was only looking for a Maldives Blue Z4, because that’s what I wanted. Once I had limited my buying choice that way, I was looking for the best example I could get based on value, spec, proximity etc.
 
DaveP said:
I'm not sure there's a good or bad time to find the right car, but prices will typically be 10-20% cheaper in winter.

BMW made absolutely loads of Z4s, so there are always plenty out there for sale. Just a case of patience.
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Patience is exactly what I am lacking :lol:! I will keep looking, and resist giving in just yet...
 
Zedebee said:
Mike6 said:
We are all different. In my many years I have always purchased cars on condition, mileage, number of owners, service history but never on colour. Colour is just how the car is presented to me and I haven't ever had a real preference .
Click to expand...
We are all different. Last time I was buying I was only looking for a Maldives Blue Z4, because that’s what I wanted. Once I had limited my buying choice that way, I was looking for the best example I could get based on value, spec, proximity etc.
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This is exactly my approach - narrow down search by colour, and then if it is within budget and good enough value then I will move on it.
 
AeroLou said:
Patience is exactly what I am lacking ! I will keep looking, and resist giving in just yet...
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Welcome to the forum Lou. :thumbsup:

When I was looking for my first Z4 I didn't want black because I'd had black cars before and keeping them clean was a never-ending battle. But I got impatient and convinced myself Ruby Black would work as it wasn't completely black. And when it was clean in the right light it wasn't black, more purple. But we don't get that sort of sunlight too often in the UK so most of the time it was just black. :roll:

FWIW dark blues can have the same need for cleaning as black if that would bother you.

Anyway good luck with your search. :thumbsup:
 
Mr Tidy said:
AeroLou said:
Patience is exactly what I am lacking ! I will keep looking, and resist giving in just yet...
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Welcome to the forum Lou. :thumbsup:

When I was looking for my first Z4 I didn't want black because I'd had black cars before and keeping them clean was a never-ending battle. But I got impatient and convinced myself Ruby Black would work as it wasn't completely black. And when it was clean in the right light it wasn't black, more purple. But we don't get that sort of sunlight too often in the UK so most of the time it was just black. :roll:

FWIW dark blues can have the same need for cleaning as black if that would bother you.

Anyway good luck with your search. :thumbsup:
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Thanks! That is good to know - I don't mind the cleaning too much, just want a more interesting colour than plain black haha! Cheers
 
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