Choosing the Best Z4 For Me

B

barnyg

Member
Hi all,

I've been looking through this forum for a little while now and thought I should join up. Just a bit of back story about me, I'm a 21 year old student, and before you judge me for seeming like a wannabe boy racer wanting to get his hands on a Z4, I do have a very personal reason for looking at buying one.

The Z4 was my late father's dream car and he passed away just before being able to buy one. I want to buy one in his memory as well as the fact that it is simply stunning.

I am fully aware insurance at my age would be ridiculous so this is just really preparing myself to investigate the various models and decide which would be best in preparation for the day I can afford to insure it.

He had a particular like towards to coupe and I can really see why, its truly stunning.

So although I don't particularly have any questions, just thought I'd introduce myself and my 'story' so to speak. If anyone does have any advice for me though then that would be greatly appreciated.

Barny
 
Welcome- sorry to hear of your loss. I would say at your age, depending where you live a 2.0 might just be do-able re insurance. Coupes only came in 3.0 or higher form. All depends on when you choose to buy. Welcome again. :thumbsup:
 
Welcome Barny , we have had & do have some younger fellas & a couple of students who have managed affordable insurance so don't be put off .
Enjoy the search & best of luck :thumbsup:
 
Hello and welcome to the forum.

As said above, sorry to hear of your loss.
I like you am a 21 year old student, and I drive a 2004 3.0 Z4 Convertible.
Insurance really was a lot less than I thought it would be. It cost notably less to insure the zed than I was paying to insure a 2.0 Renault Clio 172, so depending on location etc one of the larger engine variants could be insurable, it's certainly worth looking into anyway :)
 
Welcome!
I bought mine when I was 21 turning 22.
Insurance wasn't too bad at £800 for my 3.0i. Worth it :)
 
Thanks for the responses guys. Great to hear of some younger z4 drivers. I unfortunately haven't been driving too long compared to most people my age which again puts up insurance hence why I currently drive a 1.25l Ford Fiesta 2009, nice looking car but lacking power.

I feel to do this purchase justice I really should be aiming for the coupe, having the roof down doesn't bother me too much and the coupe is what my dad would've bought. I think it just may mean waiting longer to get it. A 2.0l Roadster on the other hand would probably be manageable in a year or so and also means there are older cars from 2003 etc.
 
Very sorry to hear about your loss - I also lost my dad a a similar age to you so know how hard it is.
No need to worry about any judgement here just because you have a eye for a nice car at a young age - we are all enthusiasts here so you are in good company! :driving:

Have you run any quotes on insurance yet? Oddly, I use a specialist performance car broker for my insurance and despite my previous history with RWD performance cars, they wouldn't cover me on a Z4 Coupe until I was age 30 or older (32 now) as I believe a lot of underwriters became more risk averse a few years ago.

Would be interested to hear what you come up with and what sort of premiums you are being quoted just out of curiosity if you don't mind sharing the information.

As it happens I have just put my own Z4 Coupe on the market - it is for sale in the relevant section here on the forum.

Even if you are still just doing your research and not seriously in the market yet, you are very welcome to come and have a closer look and take it for a spin if you are local. My contact details are in the ad if you want to get in touch.

Good luck with your search.
 
James,

Thanks for your reply. I had done quotes when I got my current car to see if I could blag a z4 as my first car but due to no no claims and a brand new licence the cost was pretty much the value of the car (4-5 grand) which is ridiculous. This was assuming the small engined 2.0 roadster.

Just ran your cars plate through a price comparison site for a rough guide price for the coupe with my current details (I hope you don't mind), and its coming up with lowest values of 1.5k.

For some reason I'm also getting some anomoly sub £700 quotes. It is crazy how things can change with a small tweak of your details.

Thanks for the offer of seeing your car but unfortunately am down south split between Surrey and Bath! Yours is the kind of beast I'm looking for though!

Barny
 
I'm a 21 year old Z4 owner.

Insurance isn't bad, my renewal in May is £750 for the year with admiral. My first year was £1500 so quite a dramatic drop. Thats on an e85 2.2 conv. 6 cylinder smoothness without the higher insurance and running costs. Try adding your Mum as a parent

I had a 4 cylinder z3 previously and although the engines aren't too dissimilar overall, the 6 cylinder is endlessly more worthwhile, so on that logic I'd recommend the 2.2 over the 2.0 z4.

Best of luck buddy
 
barnyg said:
James,

Thanks for your reply. I had done quotes when I got my current car to see if I could blag a z4 as my first car but due to no no claims and a brand new licence the cost was pretty much the value of the car (4-5 grand) which is ridiculous. This was assuming the small engined 2.0 roadster.

Just ran your cars plate through a price comparison site for a rough guide price for the coupe with my current details (I hope you don't mind), and its coming up with lowest values of 1.5k.

For some reason I'm also getting some anomoly sub £700 quotes. It is crazy how things can change with a small tweak of your details.

Thanks for the offer of seeing your car but unfortunately am down south split between Surrey and Bath! Yours is the kind of beast I'm looking for though!

Barny
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Hi Barny,

£1,500 doesn't sound too bad considering your situation. I used to run MR2 turbos in my younger twenties and recall paying around £1,200 p.a. at the time for my insurance, so add in a bit of inflation over that period and that sounds quite reasonable.

Shame you're so far away. Might be worth looking in the events section to see if there are any meets coming up in your area - that would be a great opportunity look at a number of cars and chat to owners about their experiences. Good luck finding a good one. Mine has been the best car I have ever owned - fast, frugal and still looks very fresh, particularly with the bigger wheels and private reg. I am sure if you find a decent one it will give you many years of entertainment.

All the best

James
 
My first car was a z4 that my mom bought me but aside from actually paying for the car I paid for everything else. Petrol, oil, insurance, tires, ect.. I had a 3.0 2003 and even though im in the US the insurance was still high. But it was do able. And your 21 and im 18. So it shouldn't be too hard so long as you get everything in order and find the best deal. Good luck. Mwahahaha im still the youngest member on this forum. Its a great forum by the way. I haven't owned a z4 in over 1 1/2 years like many other members and im still here. Feel free to stick around even without the z4 in hand. :thumbsup:
 
Hi buddy - Just chipping in as a fellow 21 year old!

Currently I drive a 2007 Z4 Coupe 3.0Si, and I couldn't have picked any better. Your father was obviously a man of great taste :thumbsup: I would say that don't jump to get your hands on one, it took me months to find one and then on my 21st (as luck would have it) I found my ideal one online. Wait it out and look for what you want.

Unfortunately i'm based up in North Yorkshire! I'm sure if you're in doubt or need any friendly clarification anyone on here could give you a helping hand or show you theirs if you are local. Before I got the Coupe all I wanted was a Cayman S or a 911. Now all I want is a Z4M Coupe :D speaks volumes in itself. I paid £1100 at 21 with Elephant (I think?) for mine so insurance isn't too bad either, and my mates comment about being the "awkward 2 seater guy" but then it just makes the time you spend in the car more exclusive, and it stands out from any VXR's, Focus ST's, Megane RS' etc that you see with people our age. All good cars in their own right though!

Need anything else just drop me a message, i'll help you with whatever I can.

Ben
 
Welcome! Sorry to hear of your loss.

As with the others, I had my z4 coupe at 21 too. Similar to benjeffrey, I found my cheapest quote being from Admiral (same parent company as Elephant and Bell) at £975.

Seems counter intuitive, but have you considered all the 'black box' policies?

On another note, have patience with finding the right car as well it will be worth it, I assure you..
 
Cheers for your inputs guys. I was pleasantly surprised when the quote came back a lot less than I had thought. I'll likely be going for the coupe but will be at in mind the 4/6 cylinder differences between the smaller engine roadsters.

Ben, this isn't something I will be rushing into, so I'll gradually work out what the perfect car is for me and settle for nothing less than that exact spec. Its important I get it right in every way. Also, I've barely had the fiesta for a year so for the sake of my mum (who bought it for my 21st) I really should hang onto it for a few more years. My brothers got his test soon so maybe I could palm it off to him?!

I really appreciate all these responses, this forum is such a friendly place and I'm glad there's so many enthusiastic young z4 owners out there.

Neil, yes I have looked into black box solutions, in fact I have one in my fiesta right now. I would like to avoid this with the z4 though as it has been slightly limiting and is a bit invasive on the car itself. I just feel a bit controlled even though there are technically no restrictions and how I drive just affects my renewal cost. I don't think the black box company's really do quotes for higher spec cars and only seem to be beneficial for very new drivers. Even after a year driving I think I could match or better their quote with a standard non-box insurer.

From what I can see the coupes seem to run around the £9/10k mark. Is this about right?

Barny
 
I've also just remembered i've got a BMW dealer just down the road from me in Bath so may wander down and see if they have any old style Z4's. Probably unlikely considering the age of cars dealers normally stock but possibly worth a punt.
 
I had a 2003 2.5i at 19 through 21 and insurance was always around the £700 mark through that period.

I then at 21 bought my M Coupe which I still own now at 23, and insurance has been no higher than £600 a year, currently at £514.

Obviously the postcode lottery plays into this a hell of a lot sadly.
 
That's a pretty decent price! Yes from what I can tell my uni address and home address don't seem to be particularly unsafe ones in terms of insurance premiums.

Great to hear you've got the M coupé, that would vs the ultimate dream! I imagine you probably pay a similar amount in tax to insurance?!

As much as I'm tempted by the possibility of the M version, it wouldn't just be more expensive initially, maintainence extra fuel cost and tax cost could start to add up.

Barny
 
It's a pretty rubbish picture but came across this of my Dad with his first car, an MG BGT. Had good taste from day 1! Tried to track this down but it looks like it's most likely been scrapped of lost in someone's garage

Screenshot_2014-11-10-08-55-06-2_zpsdbz0sehd.jpg
 
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