After 4 E39's I may need an E89.

Bluebottle

Bluebottle

Member
 Plymouth
Hello there, I have a little inheritance and fancied scratching an itch to own a sports car before I am too old. Searches for RWD Petrol manual cars with 0 to 60 under 8s resulted in me considering Z4, never having had a two seater or convertible.

I have had my 2001 525i SE manual for 11 years and forgot have lovely the engine sounds and just how responsive it is in the lower gears.

The E85/86 is a nice car and surprisingly cheap in all guises, but I have fallen for the stunning looks and interior of the E89, especially in dark blue.

So with a budget of £7k, and contingency of another £1k, I am going to have to travel, haggle and compromise to get a six cylinder manual car with service history in blue or possibly black ( although both my last two cars since 2002 were black), and sand (beige) interior.

So we will see if I join you in body not just spirit.
 
There are certainly a few bargains to be found with E89 prices now around £5000. I would advise against a black car, polished they look good but after a couple of days, they look like you had never touched them! I have seen an E89 warning about underbody corrosion, which is rare in a Z4, so take your time.
 

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I have just driven the nice S23. I was impressed with the torque of the engine in all gears, the brakes were progressive, not snatching, steering felt fine, clutch and gearbox perfect, no oil leaks, no rust on wings or bonnet, no leaks in boot, everything worked, including the roof. Interior was gorgeous, especially dark wood inserts.

But M-Sport suspension, 19" wheels and runflat tyres; 7 year old Michelin front, 5 year old rears were terrible. The whole cabin was shaking and rattling on B roads (on motorway all was fine). At 20mph on large roundabout in the dry there was a bump or ripple in concrete and the rear jumped sideways : I would hate to drive it on a wet night in February.
Now, Adie, do you have the number of the chiropractor and a dentist?

So I have come away to think and consider whether to go through the hassle of buying used 17 or 18 inch BMW wheels, having them reconditioned, fitting new tyres and selling the scruffy 19" wheels with tyres.

Or travel over 150 miles each way to look at other cars.

Your views are welcome.
 
Don't let anybody try to talk you out of a black one.......
 

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The E39 along with the E30 and E46 are some of my favourite BMWs, here's mine from back in the day:

BMW 523i-8.jpg

You can't go wrong with an E89 either, black and blue are both great colours, sure black takes more work to keep clean and has to be clean to look it's best but the car looks just so classy in this colour. I am pretty sure much of the admiration mine get's from others is down to the colour:

IMG_3218.jpeg

Have to say though the E89 is the least refined BMW I've owned and cabin noises are there however much can be alleviated by ditching the 19" and runflats and swapping them out for 18" wheels with non runflats. Improves rides noise handling etc.
 
Silverstar said:
Have to say though the E89 is the least refined BMW I've owned and cabin noises are there
Click to expand...
Well it is an open topped car with a couple of aluminium panels plonked on top and held in place by a mile of rubber.
It's not really designed to be the epitome of luxury.

we have had two E89s now and the only differences, apart from the colour, are the creaks and squeaks come from different places. :lol:

But the fact we are on our second says a lot IMO, as I have never had two of the same car before (except two Ford Escorts in the '80s but that was a long time ago and they were very different flavours).
 
Thanks, paddy wright, Silverstar and Pondrew. Your cars look stunning.

All your comments make sense. Thank God I am testing a few cars and speaking to experienced folks such as you before spending hard earned cash on an unsuitable car and regretting it.

Never having been in a convertible I don't appreciate the compromises, but that is why I must love the advantages of open top, sporty motoring and looking rather cool :driving:
 
Hello again,
I have my eye on a very low mileage E8 that is closer to me. The owner says everything is still perfect as he has done 300miles a year for past 5 years (1500) and 35k in total. He confirms tyres are very old and so is the engine oil. In fact apart from a quick drive to dealer, he hasn't used it since May 24 (for MOT).
There has never been any advisories and none of the usual faults have occurred yet ( rocker cover, rear lights, suspension, roof, etc.)

Is this a case of too few miles could be worse than too many?

Driver's seat looks like it has done thousands of short journeys!
20240908_161332.jpg

There is a £2k premium for such low use over a car with 80k.

Cheers
 
That's an interesting question!

I wouldn't be put off by a low mileage, but wouldn't want to pay a huge premium because putting more miles on it would kill it's value. But if you kept it relatively low you'd probably get some of that premium back when you came to sell. Then again from what I remember you're looking at cars with the N52 engine so even 80K is nothing, and for a car over 10 years old it's still below average.

That seat ought to clean up OK as it looks more dirty than worn, I'd be more concerned about bolster wear lower down if it has been used for many short journeys.

Decisions, decisions....!
 
We bought a 23i 6-pot Z4 over three years ago and love it. And it’s black. No faults. 50k miles (it’s another garage queen doing sub 1000 miles PA). I spent ages fussing over the tyres… ours runs on 19” and M-Sport suspension and came with Bridgestone run flats. After spending good money to replace the damaged rear alloys, And a cracked spring, I dumped perfectly useable tyres for a set of Conti Sports and it’s like night and day. Buy the car you most covet and bin the RFTs for some normal rubber. And invest in a quality detail. It’s worth every penny.
 

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Thanks, and don't worry Jennifer Louise my E39 is going nowhere.
Actually, Folks, I panicked about the seat, not realising that is suede not smooth leather around headrest. That's why we should see/drive a car rather than judging phone camera images. The bolster isn't too bad. 20240908_161311.jpg.
But it is a very low recent mileage.

Indeed, decisions, decisions.. . :?
 
Low mileage wouldn’t bother me, in fact I like old cars with low miles quite often you can find a gem in time warped condition however if you are going to put much miles on as has already been said avoid paying a hefty premium for it. The owner of this car says the oil is old? How old is it? Even if it low miles it should have regular oil changes, at least in line with BMW condition based servicing which should be every two years. I bought mine with 33k miles and do around 4500 miles a year and the oil gets changed every year.
 
Yes, Silverstar, I agree wholly. I do 4000 miles but still service my cars with oil and filters annually.

He has also been told he is due a service to replace brake fluid and cracked tyres as well but doesn't want to incur any further costs. Talking to owners of these older cars they do the absolute minimum that their dealership wil let them get away with and think they have a fully serviced car!

I am looking for an enthusiast owned car not some low mileage FSH item that ticks all the right boxes on Autotrader.

We shall keep looking.
 
Can anybody see any reasons not to take a long drive to have a look at this. My heart says get 3.0 but the 2.5 will probably be quick enough for me and I would like to fit wood trim in future. 17" wheels are not quite as sexy as 18 or 19", but tyres are cheaper and more comfortable.

https://www.horsepower-motor-centre.co.uk/used-cars/18443012-bmw-z4-2.5-23i-s-drive-euro-5-2dr/

Opinions gratefully received.

😉
 
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