E85 ownership as a year round daily driver

S

spillynam

Member
 Hampshire
Hello,

I'm new to the forum and looking around for my first Zed which will likely be bought when the days start getting longer next year. I am doing my homework first though so was wondering: what are some important things to keep in mind with daily driving an e85? My current mileage is 13000 miles a year +- 2000, so pretty steep compared to a lot of folks on this forum.

I am looking to get a 2.5i, 2.5si or 3.0i (3.0si is a little out of the price range for me 😢).

I'm especially curious about soft top issues and how frequently they occur, as I don't want to get rained on with the roof up if I can help it.

Any info or advice is greatly appreciated!
 
Around town fuel consumption and the cost of road tax are the big ones for me. Luckily I only do around 4500 miles a year but if I was doing what you are planning I'd be looking elsewhere. Mines showing 23mpg average over the past few months but that includes one long trip out. Stay at 65 on the motorway and it'll do over 40mpg. I think my around town is probably just over 20 which is sadly where most of my driving is these days.
Roofs are not an issue and are well understood by various members on here.
 
Big motorway miles, my 3.0 coupe will do about 38-39mpg with cruise control.

Around town stop start 22mpg.

Have owned my car since 2015, use it every day.

Servicing is key, old cars suspension will probably wear out soon if it hasn't been done.

Then depending on wheel size, tyres on the rear.

Great cars, cost of fuel made me cry a little this morning at £1.68
 
There is a very well priced 3.0si here (4.5k). I know it's earlier than you were planning to buy, but maybe worth a thought?

M

FOR SALE Thread 'BMW Z4 3.0SI 2006'

IMG_0727.jpeg Selling this on behalf of a friend who is not a forum member.

It’s a 2006 3.0SI with 103k miles on the clock. It has the style 108 alloys, brakes in good condition all round. Heated/electric memory m sport seats. Has had a fair bit of work done by myself including; new front shocks, springs, drop links, air filter, wipers, pollen filter, rocker cover gasket, side reflectors from BMW. Will be getting an engine flush, oil and oil filter change shortly. I will also clean out the vanos solenoids and check that they are operating correctly.

It did have some damage to it as shown...
 
TriggerFish said:
There is a very well priced 3.0si here (4.5k). I know it's earlier than you were planning to buy, but maybe worth a thought?

M

FOR SALE Thread 'BMW Z4 3.0SI 2006'

IMG_0727.jpeg Selling this on behalf of a friend who is not a forum member.

It’s a 2006 3.0SI with 103k miles on the clock. It has the style 108 alloys, brakes in good condition all round. Heated/electric memory m sport seats. Has had a fair bit of work done by myself including; new front shocks, springs, drop links, air filter, wipers, pollen filter, rocker cover gasket, side reflectors from BMW. Will be getting an engine flush, oil and oil filter change shortly. I will also clean out the vanos solenoids and check that they are operating correctly.

It did have some damage to it as shown...
Click to expand...
Trust me you have no idea how much I've tried to figure out how to pull 4.5k out of my 2.5k car in order to buy this one. Unfortunately I'll just have to wait a few more months until I've got enough safety net to buy one outright and be able to catch any little problems that come up in the first few months.
 
Rockhopper said:
Around town fuel consumption and the cost of road tax are the big ones for me. Luckily I only do around 4500 miles a year but if I was doing what you are planning I'd be looking elsewhere. Mines showing 23mpg average over the past few months but that includes one long trip out. Stay at 65 on the motorway and it'll do over 40mpg. I think my around town is probably just over 20 which is sadly where most of my driving is these days.
Roofs are not an issue and are well understood by various members on here.
Click to expand...
My mileage is 90% motorway as I travel 50 miles round trip 5 days a week for work and about 42 of those miles are on the motorway, so I'd expect to get a comfortable 32 - 34 mpg which is very workable within my budget. To be honest I'm set on a Zed, I had my taste of an efficient diesel in my F20 118d, and that's the last diesel I'll be buying for a while!
 
Ilogik said:
Big motorway miles, my 3.0 coupe will do about 38-39mpg with cruise control.

Around town stop start 22mpg.

Have owned my car since 2015, use it every day.

Servicing is key, old cars suspension will probably wear out soon if it hasn't been done.

Then depending on wheel size, tyres on the rear.

Great cars, cost of fuel made me cry a little this morning at £1.68
Click to expand...
How important is cruise control in getting this sort of mpg? I understand it can be retrofitted but I'd prefer to get a car with it spec'ed from factory if it is vital for good mpg on motorways.
 
spillynam said:
Trust me you have no idea how much I've tried to figure out how to pull 4.5k out of my 2.5k car in order to buy this one. Unfortunately I'll just have to wait a few more months until I've got enough safety net to buy one outright and be able to catch any little problems that come up in the first few months.
Click to expand...
Fair enough, just wanted to make sure you'd seen it.

That's a very sensible approach, too. Can't say I blame you for waiting at all!
 
spillynam said:
How important is cruise control in getting this sort of mpg? I understand it can be retrofitted but I'd prefer to get a car with it spec'ed from factory if it is vital for good mpg on motorways.
Click to expand...
Absolutely no difference between original fit or fitted afterwards.
 
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