Getting cold feet on E89!

[Bishop60]

Thanks Guys for sharing your experiences and advice, really appreciated. I just wanted to avoid making an impulse purchase in which my heart is over ruling my head... Yes, it’s true, l am analytical by nature - which is pretty handy in anticipating things and avoiding issues. Admittedly, there can be a downside too which l recognise.
Good point was made about this particular car not having had the use that a higher mileage would have, and therefore not yet had the time to fail.
I guess the sensible thing to do is to immediately replace the salmon relays and the 2 microswitches in the boot / trunk. And then find an E89 roof specialist to do a more thorough check for any tell tale signs that l may not recognize How does that sound? I thought there was such a specialist on this forum, a Robbi4 l believe based in Germany. I intended to make a Euro trip anyway. Is Robbi / (staiger-neuffen.de) good?

2nd Q: any recommended websites l should use to order new OEM 18 inch wheels? I’m assuming that 17 inch all at 225 width would be too soft and impact the handling? I will only be using the car as a GT for touring, and the occasional small road blast. Any thoughts on overall best set up for this type of use?

 

[Nictrix]

The main thing I would be concerned about with the car in question is if you buy it and don't gel with it you will lose a lot of cash as you will never get anywhere near that value when it comes to sell.
If you plan on having it 5+ years it will work out slightly better.

 

[Pondy]

2nd Q: any recommended websites l should use to order new OEM 18 inch wheels?

If you were to buy new OEM wheels, they will cost a fortune. OEM wheels are not any better quality than many aftermarket wheels, just massively overpriced.

So wheels plus tyres and the (rather high) £21k purchase price of the car. That's £25k ish for a 13 year old 30i Z4 before you tax and insure it. WAY too much money IMO.

Yes low mileage does command a premium, more so than ever IMO, however there are limits!

There is a 35i which command a premium over the 30i for sale on the forum with 40k odd miles for £13,850 I believe. A much better bet IMO.

 

[mr.tourette]

2nd Q: any recommended websites l should use to order new OEM 18 inch wheels?

If you were to buy new OEM wheels, they will cost a fortune. OEM wheels are not any better quality than many aftermarket wheels, just massively overpriced.

So wheels plus tyres and the (rather high) £21k purchase price of the car. That's £25k ish for a 13 year old 30i Z4 before you tax and insure it. WAY too much money IMO.

Yes low mileage does command a premium, more so than ever IMO, however there are limits!

There is a 35i which command a premium over the 30i for sale on the forum with 40k odd miles for £13,850 I believe. A much better bet IMO.

Dude the guy is worried about the roof...don't put him a 35i with their myriad of potential problems :lol:

OP if you have 21k to put into an e89 then imho buy a well looked after 30i sub 50k miles for 12-13k and stick the rest of the money in the bank to pay for any bills that might crop up.

Its all been said so you have as good as any advice you will get, fwiw i was in e89 for 2.5 years with no issues at all, yes the roof was a back of the mind worry but it never stopped me enjoying the car

 

[matsmith749]

I wouldn't go replacing anything TBH.

Get it - give it to a good indy to check over thoroughly & give it a massive service.

Then drive it. Fix what breaks.

IMHO it's a poor move to buy such a low milage beast & then treating it like a normal car. I would be in the same camp as those above, by all means get a low milage example, but I would be happier in something that has been used for a couple of thousand miles every year than this.

& better off of course.

 

[Pondy]

Dude the guy is worried about the roof...don't put him a 35i with their myriad of potential problems

:lol:
I was only using it as an example regarding cost TBH.

Doing research on any car via the internet is a double-edged sword TBH. The internet is full of posts regarding faults, yet no-one posts to say they haven't had any. If you relied on internet content, no-one would buy anything as they all have one issue or another.

A bit like googling medical symptoms: after a five minute search you can convince yourself you are not long for this world! :wink:

 

[Chippie]

There is a 35i which command a premium over the 30i for sale on the forum with 40k odd miles for £13,850 I believe. A much better bet IMO.

I’d have to agree, 21k is an awful lot of money for a 13 year old 3.0L e89, but having said that it should give you several years of hopefully trouble free motoring, personally I wouldn’t touch anything with the roof until you start to get any problems, change the run flats for decent none run flats and just enjoy it, if all you want is a top down GT then I don’t think you can go far wrong.

 

[Baza]

Yes 21K seems a pricey I have a E89 3.0i Auto 2009 with low milage 28Kmilage ( Bought in 2003 with 14K on the clock) and I would be very surprised to get anywhere near that price, however beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Roof problems yes its a potential I had a problem in 2014 but went to Cayman Auto's in Dorking roof specialists (BMW/ Merc's) all fixed and no problems since. So if it floats your boat buy and enjoy The E89 3.0i is a great car to drive and own.

 

[jenniferlouise]

Have you bought one yet? Life’s too short to pontificate. Altho tend to agree… don’t spend more than you need to for a good example (but do buy the best you can afford, if that isn’t contradictory). Post a picture. Enjoy it. Enjoy this great weather. Oh and book a holiday with the change (assuming you’re not on a variability mortgage, after today’s rate rise to 5%!! - look at me going all political)

 

[Silverstar]

If you were to buy new OEM wheels, they will cost a fortune. OEM wheels are not any better quality than many aftermarket wheels, just massively overpriced.

This might be true but the problem I find is that most aftermarket wheels do not seem to look good on the E89 there are only two or three aftermarket wheel designs I've seen that suit the E89, IMHO of course.

 

[Sludgepump]

Lots of stored up depreciation in a car like this. If you were buying a newer car then depreciation is all part of the cost of ownership. If you aren't bothered about re-sale value too much then drive it and enjoy it. If you want to retain as much value as you can then just consider it as a treat when you do go out and drive it.
Me, I hate depreciation! I would pay a lot less and buy one with a few more miles on it.
As for the roof, I wouldn't worry about it. If the roof relays are a concern then get them replaced.
As for the comments about the E85 roof motor, as long as you keep the drain holes free it will go on for ever. Mine's 20 years old and works fine

 

[smorris_12]

I find it funny just how much more expensive E89s are over E85s that are only a little older. I buy cars knowing that all of the money tied up in them will eventually dissipate but that the trick is to a) keep that value down and b) get the most miles out of it in the process. My intergalactic E46 has run me to something like £480/annum in depreciation over 15 years and I still feel I've been done.

The thought of buying a high priced car that's ancient is utter anathama.

 

[True-Blue]

Buy an E85 3.0si and have the roof motor relocated. If it’s not a daily and you want ‘old school’ feel without ancient history reliability the N52 is a very safe bet and the E85 is much nearer to old school sports car feel…. But you’ll know that if you’ve driven both

 

[Silverstar]

Buy an E85 3.0si and have the roof motor relocated. If it’s not a daily and you want ‘old school’ feel without ancient history reliability the N52 is a very safe bet and the E85 is much nearer to old school sports car feel…. But you’ll know that if you’ve driven both

I think the OP's mentioned he wants a GT Tourer in which case the E89 would be a better match?

 

[True-Blue]

Buy an E85 3.0si and have the roof motor relocated. If it’s not a daily and you want ‘old school’ feel without ancient history reliability the N52 is a very safe bet and the E85 is much nearer to old school sports car feel…. But you’ll know that if you’ve driven both

I think the OP's mentioned he wants a GT Tourer in which case the E89 would be a better match?

Bit of a mixed request… ‘keep it simple like a TR6’, but I agree the E89 is a better tourer/GT, the E85 is much closer to a TR6 (but reliable)

 

[jenniferlouise]

Hold on… wait a minute… this conversation is within ‘E89 discussion’ so if the OP wishes to consider an E85 please start a new convo in the appropriate section. My OCD is now in overdrive.

(PS what’s an E85? Asking for a friend )

 

[True-Blue]

Hold on… wait a minute… this conversation is within ‘E89 discussion’ so if the OP wishes to consider an E85 please start a new convo in the appropriate section. My OCD is now in overdrive.

(PS what’s an E85? Asking for a friend )

Easy Tiger!…. The ‘what have you done to your car today’ thread is in the E85 section and there’s loads of E89 updates… don’t see anyone waving handbags in there

Oh, and an E85 is an E86 before they ruined it by taking the convertible roof off :wink:

 

[Deepseaskateboard]

Buy an E85 3.0si and have the roof motor relocated. If it’s not a daily and you want ‘old school’ feel without ancient history reliability the N52 is a very safe bet and the E85 is much nearer to old school sports car feel…. But you’ll know that if you’ve driven both

I think the OP's mentioned he wants a GT Tourer in which case the E89 would be a better match?

It’s a tourer if you keep the roof up!

 

[Bishop60]

Thanks for all the follow up and good comments, appreciated.

Regarding value, who knows what the market will look like in 5 or 7 years time? Yes, it’s at a premium. On the other hand, it’s like driving an almost new E89 which is nice. These days, if you want a good TR6 fully restored professionally or one totally original and untouched; what are those worth? Also 20K GBP l would say. With an E85 or E89 you’d be getting a car which is a whole lot more reliable and comfortable, which also looks great, and sounds great, also with an I6 engine.

Ref: wheels / tyres ; l could stick with the 19 inch 296 of course. However, l favour comfort and reliability. Hence, currently looking at a staggered 17 inch set up (e.g. 514 type) or a staggered 18 inch set up (e.g. 515 type). Looking at tyres, it seems that today’s RFTs are way way better than in 2010. The Bridgestone DriveGuard Plus receive a lot of positive reviews as an all year tyre. Alternatively, the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season runflat also looks good.

Any additional thoughts on wheels and tyres combo?

 

[Silverstar]

it seems that today’s RFTs are way way better than in 2010. The Bridgestone DriveGuard Plus receive a lot of positive reviews as an all year tyre. Alternatively, the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season runflat also looks good.

Even so, non runflats will be better still!