Hi there, folks! I've been lurking (and contributing the odd comment on discussions about G29 production delays!) since the summer, when I discovered the forum after searching for some details I neglected to notice during my test drive, and now that my new car is finally here as of a couple of weeks ago I figure it's about time to make my 'newbies' post. But first, the important bit:
To be honest, if you'd told me a year ago that I'd be driving a Z4 now I'd probably have laughed - it took me a little by surprise too. At the time I was very happy with my 218i Coupe, but the finance on that was coming to an end in the summer so I'd been looking around. When I got the call from my dealership to see what they could sell me without too much arm-twisting, the only idea I'd come up with was the 2 Gran Coupe since a four-door version of what I already had sounded like it could be nice. Unfortunately last January's lockdown meant I couldn't arrange a test drive, and I wasn't going to order one without trying it out first - then a few weeks later I saw one on the road for the first time and decided it really wasn't to my taste. That left me with little idea, especially since the new 2-series was still in the rumours-and-spy-shots phase, until I saw a smart-looking BMW drop-top in town one day; gave chase so I could read the badge on the back and discovered to my surprise that it was a 218i Convertible. So in April I borrowed one from the dealership for a couple of days to see how I liked it, decided it was pretty fun, and figured I might as well get the sudden urge to experience top-down motoring out of my system while I was still (just about) in my 30s.
One other reason to buy one sooner rather than later was that the new 2-series was already known not to include a convertible model. As a consequence, when I placed my order the dealer told me they'd managed to secure the last available build slot for me; at the time I thought this might just be flannel until I got a call in early July to tell me that my order, and five others, had been cancelled by BMW (order status 'unable to complete build', apparently) and that was the end of that for the poor old F23. "But," said the head of sales, "BMW have assured us that if there's something else you'd like they'll prioritise your order as much as they can." So I had a poke at the website and that's when I noticed that the base price for the G29 was only something like £200 more than the all-the-boxes-ticked 2-series I'd ordered...
One test drive and a conversation about specs that ended with "in light of the inconvenience, we'd be able to do that for the same price as the 2" later and I'd put a deposit down for an sDrive20i Sport in Mediterranean Blue with the Comfort, Tech and Driving Assistant packs. That was mid-July, and then the waiting began... My build date came through fairly quickly for the last week of November with expected delivery of the week before Christmas, which would have made for a pretty nice present; in the event it did make it to the UK by that week, but then was held up by Christmas and Covid - BMW delivered it to the dealer (centrally to the group, I presume) on the 30th, and then it took nearly three weeks before they could find a transporter driver to get it to the branch. Just as it was getting to the point where I was considering whether to ask them to hold it back for the 22 plate, they rang to arrange collection; that happened on the 28th, complete with the full-blown car-hidden-under-a-drape treatment. I was a bit nervous as I hadn't seen anything other than the black or red ones in the flesh before, but looking at the video it seems my first words after the cloth came off were 'oh wow' so I consider that a success!
The only minor fly in the ointment is that my build was affected by the component shortages; BMW dropped the entire Tech pack from the order (presumably as a result of removing the HUD option from the 20i/30i), which is unfortunate as I was pretty keen on the Harman-Kardon and especially the reversing camera even if I couldn't have the HUD. It's also one of the cars built without the touchscreen, but I don't mind that so much; I far prefer to the use the iDrive controller anyway, and BMW offer a £500 rebate on vehicles that were ordered with it but delivered without. So that's nice.
Anyway, to spare everybody even more of my drivel, I'm pleased to finally join you all in Z ownership and will be looking forward to some nicer weather to get out there and enjoy it properly! So far it's seen one cold-but-sunny weekend and a lot of muddy roads, but I suppose it is February.
To be honest, if you'd told me a year ago that I'd be driving a Z4 now I'd probably have laughed - it took me a little by surprise too. At the time I was very happy with my 218i Coupe, but the finance on that was coming to an end in the summer so I'd been looking around. When I got the call from my dealership to see what they could sell me without too much arm-twisting, the only idea I'd come up with was the 2 Gran Coupe since a four-door version of what I already had sounded like it could be nice. Unfortunately last January's lockdown meant I couldn't arrange a test drive, and I wasn't going to order one without trying it out first - then a few weeks later I saw one on the road for the first time and decided it really wasn't to my taste. That left me with little idea, especially since the new 2-series was still in the rumours-and-spy-shots phase, until I saw a smart-looking BMW drop-top in town one day; gave chase so I could read the badge on the back and discovered to my surprise that it was a 218i Convertible. So in April I borrowed one from the dealership for a couple of days to see how I liked it, decided it was pretty fun, and figured I might as well get the sudden urge to experience top-down motoring out of my system while I was still (just about) in my 30s.
One other reason to buy one sooner rather than later was that the new 2-series was already known not to include a convertible model. As a consequence, when I placed my order the dealer told me they'd managed to secure the last available build slot for me; at the time I thought this might just be flannel until I got a call in early July to tell me that my order, and five others, had been cancelled by BMW (order status 'unable to complete build', apparently) and that was the end of that for the poor old F23. "But," said the head of sales, "BMW have assured us that if there's something else you'd like they'll prioritise your order as much as they can." So I had a poke at the website and that's when I noticed that the base price for the G29 was only something like £200 more than the all-the-boxes-ticked 2-series I'd ordered...
One test drive and a conversation about specs that ended with "in light of the inconvenience, we'd be able to do that for the same price as the 2" later and I'd put a deposit down for an sDrive20i Sport in Mediterranean Blue with the Comfort, Tech and Driving Assistant packs. That was mid-July, and then the waiting began... My build date came through fairly quickly for the last week of November with expected delivery of the week before Christmas, which would have made for a pretty nice present; in the event it did make it to the UK by that week, but then was held up by Christmas and Covid - BMW delivered it to the dealer (centrally to the group, I presume) on the 30th, and then it took nearly three weeks before they could find a transporter driver to get it to the branch. Just as it was getting to the point where I was considering whether to ask them to hold it back for the 22 plate, they rang to arrange collection; that happened on the 28th, complete with the full-blown car-hidden-under-a-drape treatment. I was a bit nervous as I hadn't seen anything other than the black or red ones in the flesh before, but looking at the video it seems my first words after the cloth came off were 'oh wow' so I consider that a success!
The only minor fly in the ointment is that my build was affected by the component shortages; BMW dropped the entire Tech pack from the order (presumably as a result of removing the HUD option from the 20i/30i), which is unfortunate as I was pretty keen on the Harman-Kardon and especially the reversing camera even if I couldn't have the HUD. It's also one of the cars built without the touchscreen, but I don't mind that so much; I far prefer to the use the iDrive controller anyway, and BMW offer a £500 rebate on vehicles that were ordered with it but delivered without. So that's nice.
Anyway, to spare everybody even more of my drivel, I'm pleased to finally join you all in Z ownership and will be looking forward to some nicer weather to get out there and enjoy it properly! So far it's seen one cold-but-sunny weekend and a lot of muddy roads, but I suppose it is February.
