Not sure of the precise moment when I made the decision to get rid of the 911. It had been my daily commute for almost 3 years. In the early days it performed really well, exuded confidence and was thrilling to drive. But recently it had started to become painful with a series of failures. Windscreen wipers failing at 75mph in the lashing rain (scary), followed by the bill for a wiper motor (£400 plus VAT, scary), then the accelerator cable going (£350 plus VAT), then the key getting stuck in the ignition (£300 plus VAT) and the constant flat battery if we went on holidays and left it for more than a week. It is no exaggeration to say the AA dealt with the battery (including selling me a replacement) at least 8 times over the last year.
The last service, at an independent specialist, came to £3000 plus VAT. And that was a minor one! The mechanic made a number of comments about work needing to be done especially "a complete pads and disc job". The costs were clearly going to keep coming - it was turning into a complete f**king joke. If the car had been bullet proof you might accept the horrendous service bills. But it simply could not go on. The only type of person who could afford this level of financial leakage could actually afford a new Porsche!
So the question was what would replace it? If I am honest I flirted with a 'newer' 911 for a short while but each time I thought about the servicing costs and how my confidence in Porsche had waned, I decided to move on.
I had always liked the Z4. In fact I had rented a Z3 for a few days about 8 years ago and enjoyed the experience. Initially I was looking at the E85, especially the coupe - I thought it looked really good and they appear reasonably rare on the road. Then I came across the E89 and I just thought it looked amazing. Really jaw droppingly good. The fact that it looked somewhat like a coupe with the roof up and with the roof down simply looked stunning sealed the deal that this was the one I wanted. Once I convinced the Mrs that losing the (very useful) small seats in the 911 was not an issue I started looking around.
Its amazing how it only takes a few days to get into the typical prices for a particular car. It probably helped that there were, in reality, very few Z4 E89s around in the 35 mile radius I set for the autotrader app so I did not have to read the details on large numbers of cars. The issue was who would give me a decent trade in on the high mileage 911? Now I am no aggressive negotiator but its amazing how a bit of silence can help. The difference between the highest and lowest bid on the Porsche was 30%! Fortunately I really liked the Z4 at the dealer who made the higher bid so we agreed the numbers and a month or so ago I became the proud owner of a lovely Z4 S23i.
So having done a few hundred miles in it what are my thoughts?
1. Quality: The BMW feels very well built, chunky and reliable. The 911 feels much lighter and fragile in comparison. This may clearly be deliberate to aide performance but its a refreshing change to be in such a solid car;
2. Speed: I find myself going quicker in the Z4. This is mainly because it is a smoother drive so I do not notice the speed. At 80mph in the 911 it felt like 100mph and that the car was going nuts - fun but slightly disconcerting.
3. Interior: Still getting used to the best method of setting up my phone etc. I find the gear change really nice and notchy, the instrument panel clear and easy to understand. Still need to familiairse myself with various features but it's a nice place to be.
4. Forum's: this forum is far more positive than the equivalent Porsche one - so that is another good thing!
Pics to follow - I know I will get grief for a lack of shots but having written this I wanted to get it out before it became war and peace!
The last service, at an independent specialist, came to £3000 plus VAT. And that was a minor one! The mechanic made a number of comments about work needing to be done especially "a complete pads and disc job". The costs were clearly going to keep coming - it was turning into a complete f**king joke. If the car had been bullet proof you might accept the horrendous service bills. But it simply could not go on. The only type of person who could afford this level of financial leakage could actually afford a new Porsche!
So the question was what would replace it? If I am honest I flirted with a 'newer' 911 for a short while but each time I thought about the servicing costs and how my confidence in Porsche had waned, I decided to move on.
I had always liked the Z4. In fact I had rented a Z3 for a few days about 8 years ago and enjoyed the experience. Initially I was looking at the E85, especially the coupe - I thought it looked really good and they appear reasonably rare on the road. Then I came across the E89 and I just thought it looked amazing. Really jaw droppingly good. The fact that it looked somewhat like a coupe with the roof up and with the roof down simply looked stunning sealed the deal that this was the one I wanted. Once I convinced the Mrs that losing the (very useful) small seats in the 911 was not an issue I started looking around.
Its amazing how it only takes a few days to get into the typical prices for a particular car. It probably helped that there were, in reality, very few Z4 E89s around in the 35 mile radius I set for the autotrader app so I did not have to read the details on large numbers of cars. The issue was who would give me a decent trade in on the high mileage 911? Now I am no aggressive negotiator but its amazing how a bit of silence can help. The difference between the highest and lowest bid on the Porsche was 30%! Fortunately I really liked the Z4 at the dealer who made the higher bid so we agreed the numbers and a month or so ago I became the proud owner of a lovely Z4 S23i.
So having done a few hundred miles in it what are my thoughts?
1. Quality: The BMW feels very well built, chunky and reliable. The 911 feels much lighter and fragile in comparison. This may clearly be deliberate to aide performance but its a refreshing change to be in such a solid car;
2. Speed: I find myself going quicker in the Z4. This is mainly because it is a smoother drive so I do not notice the speed. At 80mph in the 911 it felt like 100mph and that the car was going nuts - fun but slightly disconcerting.
3. Interior: Still getting used to the best method of setting up my phone etc. I find the gear change really nice and notchy, the instrument panel clear and easy to understand. Still need to familiairse myself with various features but it's a nice place to be.
4. Forum's: this forum is far more positive than the equivalent Porsche one - so that is another good thing!
Pics to follow - I know I will get grief for a lack of shots but having written this I wanted to get it out before it became war and peace!
