E86 from Brighton

Y

YanYangC

Member
 United Kingdom
IMG-20260130-WA0052.jpg

Just bought a 119k E86 from Brighton off a forum member, had a cursory look around but only noticed a few issues when I got back home and wanted some advice. I believe the car is mechanically sound but has some rust bits that need sorting.

There is bubbling visible on the driver side rear arch and minor bubbling that can been seen on the offside rear arch (only by looking under). Additionnaly there are minor bubbles where the rear quarter panel meets the door. How long do I have before these go bad - I want to replace ASAP but need to get some more money in to work on the car before I do.

20260131_115814.jpg

Additionally, the rear hatch has minor spots of bubbling, but not very noticeable. the front lid is fine but the latch area has most bolts missing off the plastic cover and some corrosion visible beneath the black paint.

I am wondering whether it would be better to address these individually or strip the car back and wirebrush down the entire subframe and work back out removing rust and painting - I would need to wait longer to do the latter as it would be a bigger hit to my wallet in one, but I wonder if it would be okay to wait longer and whether it would be worth it.

The driver side door requires some force upwards to jerk the latch open - it operates fine from the inside so I assume its a stretched bowden cable, but need to investigate further

On the very minor bits, the driver side cup holder is stuck shut, as is the sunglasses holder. The Glove box is the opposite and needs a good slam to hold shut, but this was the same across a few e86s ive viewed. Not sure why the glasses holder is stuck shut as usually they cant stay closed, but I was wondering if its possible to renew the latch on the glovebox for smoother operation?

Also noted the obd2 cover wasnt popped in properly so i wonder if some warnings were cleared...

On the good side the interior is lovely, leather seats need some love but it has full leather doorcards and sunshades!
 
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One mystery solved - the sunglasses holder that was stuck closed turned out to be held closed with a screw into the plastic! 17698763899587499570446946579025.jpgMakes me wonder what other bodges there are on this car
 
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Welcome.

All the Z4 panels are bolted on, which makes this easy. Kind of.

I replaced a rear outer quarter as I had a teeny bubble starting. Crud was stuck on the lip where the rear wing meets the sill, behind the door.
They're available from BMW, not cheap (but not ridiculous) but at least you know it's sound. As you have multiple areas on the same panel, I'd just get a new one. 👍

Whatever you do (repair or replace), you'll need prep & paint which is the awkward bit.

Post up some pics of the boot lid. I can't quite visualise what you're describing..

Cup holders are fragile, it's a known thing. You'll probably need a new one and then dont touch it.! 😂
My glove box needs a good push to latch closed, too.
 
Reality is these cars are approaching 20 years old now so won’t be pristine

For reference the sunglasses tray I think are nla and if you can find one will be £200+. So a screw to stop it popping open may be a simple choice.

Body panels can be replaced but rear wings are rare.

Did you have your doubts when handing the cash over? If you’ve bought it from the forum remember the seller can see your comments and if you haven’t addressed issues with them first may feel that’s not cricket.
 
There is a lesson to be learned here, don't buy from a very new member joining to sell their car and expect it to be in good condition. :headbang:
 
bigwinn said:
C

FOR SALE Thread 'BMW Z4 SI 3.0 Coupe'

Hi
I have a lovely Z4 Coupe manual stratos grey with118k. Champagne interia lovely condition
No marks , I am looking for £6750 it is a very late car as date registered 03/09
Just had new electric water pump & new thermostat fitted , car just not getting used , plase call 07843771736 no offers.
Click to expand...
yep this one
bigwinn said:
Reality is these cars are approaching 20 years old now so won’t be pristine

For reference the sunglasses tray I think are nla and if you can find one will be £200+. So a screw to stop it popping open may be a simple choice.

Body panels can be replaced but rear wings are rare.

Did you have your doubts when handing the cash over? If you’ve bought it from the forum remember the seller can see your comments and if you haven’t addressed issues with them first may feel that’s not cricket.
Click to expand...
I saw someone from the forum replace just the latch, quick look seems like the latch has snapped like this thread:
S

Thread 'My thing has fallen off !'

My sunglasses holder will no longer shut. On closer inspection it appears as though the 'back bit' of the plastic catch has fallen off. I'm stumped as to where it has fallen and I am going to try to make a replacement. I have no idea what the original part looks like . Could someone please point me in the right direction ?

Cheers

Also going to try bigwinns idea with the bowden cable here:
AliC

Thread 'E85/E86 Driver's Outer Door Handle Wear'

Hi All

For those that have been through the outer door handle wear issue and solved it. Does this look like the amount if wear that would cause the door to be difficult to open?

20260117_104445.jpg

I'll be honest, I was expecting to find obvious wear on this V bit.

First time working on my car so goinv to work my way up - I have crazy visions of using the existing rear wing to mold a carbon replacement but I think Im going to get reality checked quickly.

Also that 2013-14 project on bimmerpost where a guy made a two part carbon roof and was mid perspex roof seemed really intriguing - tempted to try something similar!
 
MikeyH said:
There is a lesson to be learned here, don't buy from a very new member joining to sell their car and expect it to be in good condition. :headbang:
Click to expand...

Honestly the collectingcars post was like 1.5 yrs ago and in much better conditon - I suspect the corrosion was accelerated after he bought the car late 2024 since he used it as his daily down by the coastline near brighton!
 
Meds said:
Welcome.

All the Z4 panels are bolted on, which makes this easy. Kind of.

I replaced a rear outer quarter as I had a teeny bubble starting. Crud was stuck on the lip where the rear wing meets the sill, behind the door.
They're available from BMW, not cheap (but not ridiculous) but at least you know it's sound. As you have multiple areas on the same panel, I'd just get a new one. 👍

Whatever you do (repair or replace), you'll need prep & paint which is the awkward bit.

Post up some pics of the boot lid. I can't quite visualise what you're describing..

Cup holders are fragile, it's a known thing. You'll probably need a new one and then dont touch it.! 😂
My glove box needs a good push to latch closed, too.
Click to expand...
will post a pic tomorrow when sun is up again, but basically really minor stuff scattered around the lip all around - not concentrated at the bottom of the gate like is more common
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. :thumbsup:

I'm obviously biased but an E86 is an excellent choice, although it's a shame you are discovering some issues. :(

Stretched cables on the door locks are a common problem, and some rust on wings is starting to be quite common too. When I bought my current one the glovebox dropped open every time I hit a biggish bump in the road, but loosening the catch and moving it slightly solved that.

The cup-holders are pretty fragile, but a few people have bought much cheaper replacements from aliexpress that seem to be just as good.
 
Looks like a nicely equipped example that will look great with some small repairs and sorting out the bodywork.
I have used the aliexpress cupholders in my E86 and they work without any issue. Tje only thing I did was to replace the front plastic (with beverage logo) from the original cup holders.
 
Micke said:
Looks like a nicely equipped example that will look great with some small repairs and sorting out the bodywork.
I have used the aliexpress cupholders in my E86 and they work without any issue. Tje only thing I did was to replace the front plastic (with beverage logo) from the original cup holders.
Click to expand...
honestly missing a few bits im planning to upgrade:

- side mirrors with auto dim, im actually getting blinded at night
- might do an android headunit with amp and speakers
- sound deadening; my plan is to turn it into a nice gt car
- bilstem b4s or b6? want more comfort than stiff ride tbh
- glass roof panel (????)
- carbon rear wing and hatch (???????????????)
- respray to montego blue?
- more leather trim?

But first I want to make sure the rust and suspension is sorted!
 
Micke said:
Looks like a nicely equipped example that will look great with some small repairs and sorting out the bodywork.
Click to expand...

Yeah, everything mentioned can be fixed, it'll just take a little faff and a few £.
The base car (Stratus and Champage) is a fantastic spec and once these cosmetics are done, it'll be fab. 👍
 
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[QUOTE="YanYangC, post: 2160120, member:
- side mirrors with auto dim, im actually getting blinded at night
- might do an android headunit with amp and speakers
- sound deadening; my plan is to turn it into a nice gt car
- bilstem b4s or b6? want more comfort than stiff ride tbh
- glass roof panel (????)
- carbon rear wing and hatch (???????????????)
- respray to montego blue?
- more leather trim?
[/QUOTE]

Wow, some big projects there..!

I've done full rear and door sound proofing, result is better but by no means a silent long distance cruiser.!

There's many audio options out there, some utilising the oem screen to keep it clean.

I dont think you can get auto dim side mirrors for these, but I'm sure someone better educated can correct me. I have my pass one titled downwards quite alot to help with parking, I just leave it there when driving, it helps remove some glare.

Glass roof, that would be EPIC! ££££

A member here has done the carbon hatch upgrade, saves many Kg's especially with the glass. He had the paint faded so some of the carbon is on display.. ££££

As much as I love Montego, Stratus is lovely, I wouldn't change it. If you do, ££££ unless you're good friends with a painter.
 
Mr Tidy said:
I wouldn't get carried away, especially with the colour.

I loved my Montego Blue coupe but Stratus Grey is much rarer. Only 94 manual Coupes in that colour were registered in the UK. Here's a link to the database a forum member compiled:- https://tonyz4c.z28.web.core.windows.net/index30si.html
Click to expand...
Yeah, I think I'll have a but of a reality check once I start workibg through my list - I just really love a montego blue with white interior. Stratus gray wasnt really in my top 3 colours (montego blue alpine white and the bright silver) and and I thought if I was replacing the rear quarters I could start my recolour there, along with a front bumper swap (pre lci or m), but all in my head at the moment!

Will a rarer colour really hold value? I feel like status gray was low volume because other colours are "better", not that I think its a bad colour.
 
Meds said:
[QUOTE="YanYangC, post: 2160120, member:
- side mirrors with auto dim, im actually getting blinded at night
- might do an android headunit with amp and speakers
- sound deadening; my plan is to turn it into a nice gt car
- bilstem b4s or b6? want more comfort than stiff ride tbh
- glass roof panel (????)
- carbon rear wing and hatch (???????????????)
- respray to montego blue?
- more leather trim?
Click to expand...

Wow, some big projects there..!

I've done full rear and door sound proofing, result is better but by no means a silent long distance cruiser.!

There's many audio options out there, some utilising the oem screen to keep it clean.

I dont think you can get auto dim side mirrors for these, but I'm sure someone better educated can correct me. I have my pass one titled downwards quite alot to help with parking, I just leave it there when driving, it helps remove some glare.

Glass roof, that would be EPIC! ££££

A member here has done the carbon hatch upgrade, saves many Kg's especially with the glass. He had the paint faded so some of the carbon is on display.. ££££

As much as I love Montego, Stratus is lovely, I wouldn't change it. If you do, ££££ unless you're good friends with a painter.
[/QUOTE]
I think the floor wheel arches roof skin and rear hatch floor and walls are super important to cut down road noise further, however I may be experiencing too much exhaust noise since I think the car has a backbox delete - not sure what the most cost effective way of addressing that is. There seems to be a lot of praise for the einsemann exhaust, and I would love quad pipes, but seems expensive when my exhaust is fine.

Oem screen wise I dont have any of that, so I was thinking of installing something like the mekede dudu7 or whatever version they have for the e46 with a 3d printed mount. I dont know which speaker system I have but it feels like the only speakers working are behind the seat. The tweeters dont really do much at all to my ear.

Auto dim wing mirrors as I recall are possible to retrofit, its option 430 and requires a secondary control module and wiring to the rear view mirror via the a pillars (?).

With the weight savings from the carbon hatch, did he replace the glass with perspex?

The glass roof is probably one of the things i really want to do but my background is in civil engineering - all I understand is the major loss in laterally stiffness due to removing one side on a torsion box. I dont know what Id do about a double curvature plane of glass or the double bubble - It is something I wish the coupe had though!
 
Oh I just had another stupid idea - I feel like the trim covering the rear bar behind the seats doesnt make the best use of the space behind there? I havent seen many stripped down e86s but my impression is the behind seat storage could be bigger.

Also the storage compartment where the phone pen and dvd for sat nav would be perfect for a minifridge / peltier cooler & heater. kinda stupid but I like the idea.

Or could route hdmi from android jeadunit into theere?
 
Meds said:
Welcome.

All the Z4 panels are bolted on, which makes this easy. Kind of.

I replaced a rear outer quarter as I had a teeny bubble starting. Crud was stuck on the lip where the rear wing meets the sill, behind the door.
They're available from BMW, not cheap (but not ridiculous) but at least you know it's sound. As you have multiple areas on the same panel, I'd just get a new one. 👍

Whatever you do (repair or replace), you'll need prep & paint which is the awkward bit.

Post up some pics of the boot lid. I can't quite visualise what you're describing..

Cup holders are fragile, it's a known thing. You'll probably need a new one and then dont touch it.! 😂
My glove box needs a good push to latch closed, too.
Click to expand...
Few more pics The trim around the taillights are a bit off, leftside clips back in but is a bit loose, right side is firm but slightly protrudes. Both minor I guess 20260201_124955.jpg

These are the really minor bubbles im talking about, a few more but gives an idea. Not sure if its just imperfections in the paint or something more.

20260201_124927.jpg

Finally the engine bay is good, but front bit is corroding slightly and missing quite a few bolts. One of the bolts is loose as the plastic bracket has snapped too.

20260201_124620.jpg
 
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