E 89 needed

F

firebird

Member
Newbie here divin' in at the deep end.
Looking for a car 2009 to 2011 for reasons of price.
Ideal car would be 3.0 manual, but I am open to persuasion on automatic.
Would lilke sensible miles around 80 thousand and some service history.
As an option is the 2.5 worth considering, I know they are not as fast but would like some thoughts from owners,
I have heard there is a specialist dealer in Northampton called Zackery Luke who seems to get good feedback, anyone have any experience with this company ?
I am based in mid Norfolk and willing to go 100 miles from home so no cars in Scotland or Cornwall ...
Sorry for so many questions, all advice welcome.
Thanks in advance.
 
Hi Firebird

I have a 3.0l E89 in Red for sale, see description in the for sale section. Steve

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2095054#p2095054
 
crabbes said:
Hi Firebird

I have a 3.0l E89 in Red for sale, see description in the for sale section. Steve

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2095054#p2095054
Click to expand...

What a car! Incredible spec, love the dashboard leather.
Why are you selling it! Haha

I bet this was expensive when it was new, lots of cool options!
 
Yes it was £ 32000 new with £ 9000 of extras fitted, not that I paid that much when I purchased the car in 2020, just not using it much now as I have purchased a camper van and spending time travelling. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks for the reply crabbes, looks good but I am trying to go for something with less miles.
Good luck with your sale, I am sure it will soon find a new home.
 
firebird said:
Newbie here divin' in at the deep end.
Looking for a car 2009 to 2011 for reasons of price.
Ideal car would be 3.0 manual, but I am open to persuasion on automatic.
Would lilke sensible miles around 80 thousand and some service history.
As an option is the 2.5 worth considering, I know they are not as fast but would like some thoughts from owners,
I have heard there is a specialist dealer in Northampton called Zackery Luke who seems to get good feedback, anyone have any experience with this company ?
I am based in mid Norfolk and willing to go 100 miles from home so no cars in Scotland or Cornwall ...
Sorry for so many questions, all advice welcome.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Welcome.
You say you want an early car for reasons of price. But with low miles (sub 80k is low for a 13-15 year old car) you will pay a big premium. And if you go to someone like Zachary Luke you will pay a massive premium for a low mileage example.

The 30i seems very popular lately, so prices are holding very strong. The 23i (2.5) is exactly the same engine (N52) but with a smaller displacement and slightly less ooomph. Many more 23i s around

Bear in mind you won't find a 30i or 23i after 2011 (maybe 2012 registered) cos they didn't make any after then. Unless you have your heart set on a 6 pot, the N20 4 pot turbos are good and can be made VERY good for small beans.
 
Welcome to the forum firebird. :thumbsup:

FWIW 30i E89s seem to be a bit few and far between and those N52 engines don't have a problem with mileage. Someone on here has a 3.0Si E86 that has done 185K miles!

I've had a 325i and currently a 330i and you definitely need to rev the 2.5 litre engine harder to make progress. My 325i had done 139K and my 330i has done 126K and you'd never know judged by how they performed.

Anyway good luck finding the right one. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks for your reply Pondrew. I take onboard some of what you are saying regards age and miles, but I have to be cautious and not get involved with any 'Bargain car money pits' .
I know it is possible for a low mile car to be a lemon, but high milers with multiple owners always seem to be the greater risk .
I have noticed the 3.0s seem to be thin on the ground so I may have to lower my sights and settle for the smaller 6 cyl.
I always prefer the feel of the more relaxed power of the larger engines, owned some 5 series and an E34 v8 manual . ( Wish I had not sold )
If I buy from a specialist I know I am payiing over the market rate, but I know the specialist can weed out the potential bad cars that I might not spot.
 
Thanks for your reply Mr Tidy, I understand that the BMW 6cyl engines can take high miles if properly serviced, but what I want to avoid is the kind of car with too many owners,too many miles and not enought servicing.
I like various cars and motorcycles and on the American forums you can find cars and bikes with huge mileage not seen in the UK, but then the owners have looked after them properly.
For now I will try to find a 3.0 with lower miles and if I can't find the right car broaden my search into the 2.5 range.
 
If you're after a 30i then you only have 3 model years to choose from between 2009 - 2011.

That's reduced to 2 if you want an MSport car - 2010 & 2011.

Manual cars are very rare so it's worth remembering that the auto boxes have a manual change option on both the stick and the steering wheel paddles.

On top of that a lot of E89's, unlike E85’s, have been used on a daily basisnso generally have higher mileage.

Of the 18 30i's on Autotrader only 7 are manual and only 4 of those are sub 80,000 miles - none of those are the MSport variant.

Good luck with the search and I'd advise that you need to be ready to move quick with at least £11,000 to spend. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks Gwest44 , I think I will broaden my search to include automatics as it will give me more choice.
I'm slightly old fashioned and just love a car with a larger engine and manual g/box.
I know modern autos are a vast improvement on the old type, but they can be expensive to fix ...
 
firebird said:
Thanks Gwest44 , I think I will broaden my search to include automatics as it will give me more choice.
I'm slightly old fashioned and just love a car with a larger engine and manual g/box.
I know modern autos are a vast improvement on the old type, but they can be expensive to fix ...
Click to expand...
If it helps I'm on my 5th E89 and I've also had 5 E85’s and 3 E86's - this is my first automatic and tbh I think it suits the 6 cylinder E89 well.

I expected to be using the manual change options more than I do but instead just stick the dynamic drive option in sport and for what I want it's job done :thumbsup:

Long gone or the days of the nervous traffic light grand prix moments when I used to own the ///M coupe - I guess old age affects us all in different ways :rofl:
 
Good luck with your search! I too came from yank tanks - a Corvette C5 in my case. Been enjoying a year of e89 ownership, so I wish you luck. Post a pic when you buy!
 
Gwest 44, I agree modern autos are far improved a bit like modern diesels not at all like the slow old days .
I will probably be happy with a 3.0 auto, I don't do traffic light drag races these days.
 
Hi MarshMA10, I had 2 C4 Corvettes back in the day an early Crossfire injection and a later TPI. Both automatic . Great fun.
 
firebird said:
Gwest 44, I agree modern autos are far improved a bit like modern diesels not at all like the slow old days .
I will probably be happy with a 3.0 auto, I don't do traffic light drag races these days.
Click to expand...
If you are in no rush just keep an eye on the usual places and on here. Some of the best Z4s come up for sale on here, for obvious reasons.
This forum is more like a 'car club' than a forum TBH.
If you really want a 30i manual, wait for one. They are out there, just not necessarily today.

Of course, as the cars get older the average mileage goes up. If you can find a really low mileage 30i (or even 23i) it will be relatively expensive. Mileage is EVERYTHING in relation to perceived value in 2024. And the days of bargains are long gone (except it seems when I am selling). :roll:
 
Hi, we have a 3.0l manual in dark blue that we are considering selling. It’s done just short of 60,000 miles and is a 2009 with only 2 previous owners. We have owned it for 3 and half year. It’s all working, including roof, and it has passed its mot today, with 2 advisories for rear tyres (which we will be replacing). It’s got a decent service history with plenty of receipts and has been serviced today. It’s got wide deep dish alloys, although they aren’t in perfect condition. We would be looking for around £8k. We are near Pontefract in West Yorkshire so maybe a bit more than 100 miles away.
John
 
firebird said:
Newbie here divin' in at the deep end.
Looking for a car 2009 to 2011 for reasons of price.
Ideal car would be 3.0 manual, but I am open to persuasion on automatic.
Would lilke sensible miles around 80 thousand and some service history.
As an option is the 2.5 worth considering, I know they are not as fast but would like some thoughts from owners,
I have heard there is a specialist dealer in Northampton called Zackery Luke who seems to get good feedback, anyone have any experience with this company ?
I am based in mid Norfolk and willing to go 100 miles from home so no cars in Scotland or Cornwall ...
Sorry for so many questions, all advice welcome.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Welcome. From my own experience of searching, there don’t seem to be many E89 3.0 manual. Some argue the 3.0 is the sweet spot for power and reliability.

A few members on this board have purchased from ZacharyLukeCars and were positive on their buying experience.
 
Z450 said:
firebird said:
Newbie here divin' in at the deep end.
Looking for a car 2009 to 2011 for reasons of price.
Ideal car would be 3.0 manual, but I am open to persuasion on automatic.
Would lilke sensible miles around 80 thousand and some service history.
As an option is the 2.5 worth considering, I know they are not as fast but would like some thoughts from owners,
I have heard there is a specialist dealer in Northampton called Zackery Luke who seems to get good feedback, anyone have any experience with this company ?
I am based in mid Norfolk and willing to go 100 miles from home so no cars in Scotland or Cornwall ...
Sorry for so many questions, all advice welcome.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Welcome. From my own experience of searching, there don’t seem to be many E89 3.0 manual. Some argue the 3.0 is the sweet spot for power and reliability.

A few members on this board have purchased from ZacharyLukeCars and were positive on their buying experience.
Click to expand...
Doesn't ZLC only sell E85’s & E86's or am I mistaken?
 
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/16090258?utm_source=pistonheads&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=saved%20search

Popped up this morning on my old saved searches. No affiliation etc.
 
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