Dire condition of some Z4s

M

Mike6

Senior member
Its my Birthday today and still feeling chuffed about getting a card with a picture of a Z4 on it. That must give our cars some real cache.
Anyway had my Zed MOT'd recently and the examiner said they get a few Zeds through but normally they are in a fairly poor state and dont pass without some expensive repairs. My own experience is that over the last few weeks I have seem a number of dented Zeds looking very neglected with tatty roofs , badly corroded wheels etc. These must be cars where the owners find repairs expensive and probably more costly than car is worth. It cannot be long before these vehicles find their way to the scrap yard, increasing the rarity of the mark. They cannot of course belong to Forum members where our cossetted cars will just appreciate and justly earn their place on the Birthday card which has pride of place!!
 
Happy Birthday!!! And I guess I am lucky I have only seen three other z4’s in my area All kept nice. I need to do some wheel repair as the previous owner got curb happy with a few of them.
 
I consider mine to be in a fairly poor state, but then I remember that it was a daily driver with over 150k miles on it.

I could spend thousands getting the bodywork back to A1 condition, but it will be back to how it is within a year.

I prefer to spend my money on the mechanical side over the cosmetic side, as I don't need it looking showroom-fresh to drive it., just mechanically-sound :thumbsup:
 
mmm-five said:
I consider mine to be in a fairly poor state, but then I remember that it was a daily driver with over 150k miles on it.

I could spend thousands getting the bodywork back to A1 condition, but it will be back to how it is within a year.

I prefer to spend my money on the mechanical side over the cosmetic side, as I don't need it looking showroom-fresh to drive it., just mechanically-sound :thumbsup:
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Having had my hands on it, so to speak, your car would put many at a third of the mileage to shame Tony..

Mike
 
Your MOT tester is probably correct in his view. I think that to most of the population they are just a car, no different than anything else on the road, used and abused as a means of getting from A to B. They are getting cheap enough to become "chavved" and run into the ground.

We, on this enthusiasts forum, have more of an appreciation but to 90% of the population they are nothing special.

Happy birthday!
 
I've had my car 7 and a half years and look after it mechanically, doing most stuff myself. However in all the time I've owned it I've only ever polished and waxed one front wing, before I got bored and gave up. I do wash it regularly, but to me all this cleaning/detailing lark is just obsessive.

My brother has a Boxster and often spends the whole weekend cleaning/polishing his car, which looks immaculate and IMO, stunning. He often threatens to getting the polisher on the Z4.
 
To be frank - you can pick them up very cheaply these days. Because of that they're bought by people who either don't have the funds or desire to keep them up together and just view them as a white good - something to be replaced when it eventually fails.
 
Well they're, price wise in the "cheap" roadster category so by default people will buy the 2.0s etc and abuse them and fail to maintain them. I see a few around that are tired looking but most are well looked after. I pamper mine a bit too much probably haha.
 
I picked one up "cheap" this year, and it is a little rough around the edges, but it is now getting pampered and treated like it deserves. It's an 03 car but it has only covered 44k miles so there is tonnes of life left in the old girl yet!
I'm spending too much time and money trying to get the outside back to looking showroom quality, and I'm improving the interior to make it a pleasure use.
Each to their own I guess. IMO it's still one of the best looking cars on the road, and it really hasn't dated.
 
Its difficult to tell when you see them on the road - getting up close and personal would tell a different story I guess, which is what your MOT tester sees. As TR4man says - we have a particular appreciation for the marque here :)
Never seen a Zed on a birthday card before - can we have a pic? Happy (belated) Birthday :thumbsup:
 
There is far worse out there. My roadster hunt went like this.

Initially I wanted a TT 225. Try and find a good one of them. I challenge you to find one. Pictures only show so much. Ranging from 1.5 to 3.5k they were all shitters and the mot history on all of them was shocking.

Then I thought I've always wanted an s2000. Now these are big money for what they are. Going up to 7k they are all mangled, rattle, smoke, leak, fell like they are twisting in half, dash doesn't work on parts of it. No service histories on them despite adverts saying so. Rotten wheels, knackered roof seals.

Then I moved onto a Z3 specifically the 2.8 facelifts which only came in the year 2000/1. Barely any about (wanted it for dual vanos over the single vanos earlier ones) roofs knackered, filthy filthy engine bays. Rotten wheels again, brakes in need of a full change. Brake lines rusty as they can be. Knocks and dents all over. Found one that I would have bought online there and then. Called the guy up and said I'll be there tomorrow for it. Checked about 2hrs later..hmmm advert is gone..called him back and asked if it's OK and he said he sold it.. odd. The next day it was back up for sale but for £1k more! Nope run away. So underhand would you trust a trader that behaves like that.

Then finally I looked at z4s...and bought one. Such a better car. Way better than the s2k. Mine isn't the best by far. It cost 2.5k and I wouldn't have expected it to be mint. But it runs perfectly, cannot even tell it's running at idle it's so smooth. Needed a few bits but I like a project and it's been cheaper than my Lego hobby. Z4s are pretty awesome.
 
Must admit, when I was first looking I did get a bit down about the condition of some of the Z4s I saw at dealers. Then I found and drove a good one and my faith was restored.

I think I'd look at them differently now. Cheap examples that are a bit scruffy round the edges can be mechanically sound, and it doesn't take much effort or cost to tidy them up. It's fun too.
 
Monkeydonkeyratmagic said:
There is far worse out there. My roadster hunt went like this.

Initially I wanted a TT 225. Try and find a good one of them. I challenge you to find one. Pictures only show so much. Ranging from 1.5 to 3.5k they were all shitters and the mot history on all of them was shocking.

Then I thought I've always wanted an s2000. Now these are big money for what they are. Going up to 7k they are all mangled, rattle, smoke, leak, fell like they are twisting in half, dash doesn't work on parts of it. No service histories on them despite adverts saying so. Rotten wheels, knackered roof seals.

Then I moved onto a Z3 specifically the 2.8 facelifts which only came in the year 2000/1. Barely any about (wanted it for dual vanos over the single vanos earlier ones) roofs knackered, filthy filthy engine bays. Rotten wheels again, brakes in need of a full change. Brake lines rusty as they can be. Knocks and dents all over. Found one that I would have bought online there and then. Called the guy up and said I'll be there tomorrow for it. Checked about 2hrs later..hmmm advert is gone..called him back and asked if it's OK and he said he sold it.. odd. The next day it was back up for sale but for £1k more! Nope run away. So underhand would you trust a trader that behaves like that.

Then finally I looked at z4s...and bought one. Such a better car. Way better than the s2k. Mine isn't the best by far. It cost 2.5k and I wouldn't have expected it to be mint. But it runs perfectly, cannot even tell it's running at idle it's so smooth. Needed a few bits but I like a project and it's been cheaper than my Lego hobby. Z4s are pretty awesome.
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Its interesting - there are good TT225s out there, but you do have to pay for them; there's a lot of sheds around the 2k mark and under. I sold mine, which was actually in good nick for £2,400 very recently; although in honesty I think I should have advertised it for something closer to three - it sold in about three days of me listing it for £2,500 - was in a good colour, too. That said I listed it for £2,800 in the spring and didn't have a viewing in a month. :/

Same with S2ks, you're looking at ten if you want to own something worth owning - people are buying them up due to their investment potential.
 
Monkeydonkeyratmagic said:
There is far worse out there. My roadster hunt went like this.

Initially I wanted a TT 225. Try and find a good one of them. I challenge you to find one. Pictures only show so much. Ranging from 1.5 to 3.5k they were all shitters and the mot history on all of them was shocking.

Then I thought I've always wanted an s2000. Now these are big money for what they are. Going up to 7k they are all mangled, rattle, smoke, leak, fell like they are twisting in half, dash doesn't work on parts of it. No service histories on them despite adverts saying so. Rotten wheels, knackered roof seals.

Then I moved onto a Z3 specifically the 2.8 facelifts which only came in the year 2000/1. Barely any about (wanted it for dual vanos over the single vanos earlier ones) roofs knackered, filthy filthy engine bays. Rotten wheels again, brakes in need of a full change. Brake lines rusty as they can be. Knocks and dents all over. Found one that I would have bought online there and then. Called the guy up and said I'll be there tomorrow for it. Checked about 2hrs later..hmmm advert is gone..called him back and asked if it's OK and he said he sold it.. odd. The next day it was back up for sale but for £1k more! Nope run away. So underhand would you trust a trader that behaves like that.

Then finally I looked at z4s...and bought one. Such a better car. Way better than the s2k. Mine isn't the best by far. It cost 2.5k and I wouldn't have expected it to be mint. But it runs perfectly, cannot even tell it's running at idle it's so smooth. Needed a few bits but I like a project and it's been cheaper than my Lego hobby. Z4s are pretty awesome.
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Your car search before a Z4 was almost identical to mine and discounted the cars for most of the same reasons as you :rofl: most of the 225 TT I looked at either had the screen in the middle gone or the clutch had issues, I sat in a Z4 and was sold from the very beginning, mine too is also looked after paint work and mechanically well when my finances can take it :roll: mines not the best but to me it’s my pride and joy.
Matt.
 
^ LCD failing on the TT's is very common, cheap fix it's just the LCD screen needs replacing, £80 for a new one. Clutches on them are a pig to change as well. I just didn't really like them, BAM engines seem pretty stretched for power and needs to be thrashed to get it to move properly. Z3's just felt a little... Dangerous and they probably are in the wet. S2k.. well they need to sit at 6k+RPM mark to use the power on them and at that point you find yourself averaging at around 20MPG all the time. Plus I didn't fancy the 9k miles service intervals on them. If you think BMW parts are expensive try Honda, Frightening money.

Got in the Z4 and actually fell for it, I did look at some 3.0s a good 5 years ago but bottled buying one as I did 20k miles a year at the time and wasn't sure if I could live with one like that. But I'm glad I did the 300 mile drive to get the one I did, It's by no means the best, every panel has light scratches on it (G3 kit at home waiting to be used) and oddly a dent in the bonnet and boot but from the inside out? But it just purrs away and pulls really well, If it goes bang after a few years I either won't be bothered and consider I'd have got my moneys worth (thinking logically here, My wifes 1.0T Fiesta ZS, cost £1200 down and £119PM a 2 years, plus servicing costs, fair enough had warranty) cost more than what this car did, and if does end with a bang there will be some salvage on it to sell, the roof is perfect on it and a few panels and electric bits, seats, wheels, It in reality won't cost me anything worth worrying about. Or I may be corrected here I'm fairly certain a 3.0i lump will just drop in and match up perfectly fine if I need a new engine for it. They seem to be in abundance.
 
Yup. There is a Silver Z4 daily driver at work. The guy treats it like an old Corsa. :cry:

Then there is a Black 3.0i around the corner that looks like new. 8) :thumbsup:
 
Mine was a bit rough. A 2003 2.5 with 98k on the clock. Bought it in February, had been abused inside and out but ran like a little sweetie. Bought it in London from a Skoda dealership for £2000. Now with a bit of investment and TLC, my wee zed is in great nick. There is nothing that can’t be fixed.
 
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