Hello! Looking to buy a Z4

[worton]

Hi, I've been looking on here for a while and finally made a choice to sell my car and get a Z4.

I currently have a 58 plate Mini Cooper S which i enjoy so much as its a fun performer and great on petrol.I'm looking to buy a 2006+ 3.0si Sport but im just looking around at the moment and trying to get one for a good price.

I have a few questions:
- Has anyone ever moved from a Mini to a z4 before? and whats your experience?
- How is the 3.0 on fuel? I've read a few posts on here but im really wondering that if i want to be a bit frugal (the week before payday!) was the best mpg can i get out of it?
- I'm looking for the above car for about £17000 with about 20-30k miles, does that sound acceptable?
- Any benefits of getting it from a BMW dealer?
- I'm a little confused about the audio, Would i easily be able to plug my iphone into the stereo so i can use the MFSW to control the music or is it a bit of a pain?
- What does black/dark silver look like in the flesh? Im torn between those colours. Also, do any other colours stand out as being nicer in real life? i do understand that this is a bit of a personal taste question though.

Thanks for your help!

Chris

 

[Ali_Z4C]

Hello & Welcome from a fellow noob!

The only bit of advise I can give is for that sort of money get a coupe like I did

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=14768

In terms of fuel economy.... I can easily get late 30's out of mine on a motorway run but round town you are looking at 25mpg tops.

Cheers

Ali

 

[AlanJ]

Hello & Welcome from a fellow noob!

The only bit of advise I can give is for that sort of money get a coupe like I did

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=14768

In terms of fuel economy.... I can easily get late 30's out of mine on a motorway run but round town you are looking at 25mpg tops.

Cheers

Ali

Ali - people buy roadsters to enjoy open air motoring - others like to drive along sealed in a tin can!
Worton - buy whats right for you


http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=15256

 

[worton]

I did want to get a coupe but thought theyd be too expensive.. however after looking for roadsters i've definitly warmed to the idea of a soft top. Now im on the fence on which one to get!

 

[Ali_Z4C]

drive of only 3900 cars in the world or buy a roadsters along with the circa 200k others in the UK?!! up to you I guess ha ha!

 

[worton]

I love your coupe ali, lots of extras too! do you think a similar spec to yours would be within my price range?

 

[Ali_Z4C]

I love your coupe ali, lots of extras too! do you think a similar spec to yours would be within my price range?

Payed 17k private mate

 

[jamiez]

drive of only 3900 cars in the world or buy a roadsters along with the circa 200k others in the UK?!! up to you I guess ha ha!

200k roadsters in the UK along? Are you sure!!!

 

[Ali_Z4C]

drive of only 3900 cars in the world or buy a roadsters along with the circa 200k others in the UK?!! up to you I guess ha ha!

200k roadsters in the UK along? Are you sure!!!

not 100% mate but sure I read that figure in the thread that mention the 3900 coupes (unless I have made it up!!)

 

[Ali_Z4C]

Sorry mate that was the world.... the quote was:

"The last car was made on 28 August, with 197,950 vehicles produced over the Z4's five-year lifecycle. Bobby Hit, a spokesman for BMW's US manufacturing operations, states that 180,856 vehicles were roadsters and 17,094 were coupes. Despite the name, the latter was in fact a hatchback."

Guess nobody know the accurae figures!

 

[jamiez]

Answers:

- How is the 3.0 on fuel? I've read a few posts on here but im really wondering that if i want to be a bit frugal (the week before payday!) was the best mpg can i get out of it?

My OBC is telling me 27mpg - thats mainly consists of 25 miles mway and 10 miles city (london) stop/start
On a decent run, you can easily get 37

- I'm looking for the above car for about £17000 with about 20-30k miles, does that sound acceptable?
Big time for a roadster with decent spec, perhaps a bit adventerous for a coupe with spec
My advice - get one as LOADED as possible as you will enjoy it more and it will resel easiest

- Any benefits of getting it from a BMW dealer?
warranty from them, no quibble "throw it back" if its broken, they would have sorted out any dents/scratches/kerbing

- I'm a little confused about the audio, Would i easily be able to plug my iphone into the stereo so i can use the MFSW to control the music or is it a bit of a pain?

Its not that difficult to fit an aftermarket device to allow this.
The built in AUX conector will not allow this - its just an input for sound, control everything from your iphone
If it comes with BMW iphone adaptor then you can do what you want
If it doesnt then you have 2 options of devices depending on if you get one with NAV or not
NAV - then fit a Intravee, this will do what you want and show MP3 tags very nicley on the screen
No VAN - then fit a dice (cheaper than the above) and it does the same as the above just not as well in terms of the tag info

- What does black/dark silver look like in the flesh? Im torn between those colours. Also, do any other colours stand out as being nicer in real life? i do understand that this is a bit of a personal taste question though.

Ruby Red is very different in real life
carbon black looks amazing when clean
white is white - very "marmite"
Or you can go for phoenix yellow like mine which looks lime under street light

Good luck - good time to buy!!

Jamie

 

[PawnSacrifice]

worton, welcome to the forum

You've certainly picked a good time to buy!

I think the coupe is a stunning looking car - although IMO (!!!!) the roadster is equal with the roof down. You would be surprised how much you get to put the roof down in the UK - is very addictive! One plus for the roadster - last year I was stuck on the M25 coming back from a meeting... while everyone else was coupe(d) up I was essentially sat outside in the sunshine listening to Jeff Buckley. Sweet!

Big advantage with an AUC car is it will come with a full warranty (1 year). I'm definitely considering an AUC car next. Have a look on here to see how good the dealers are - good thing is the warranty is good with any dealer on from any franchise! If you're looking on the BMW AUC search take a wider radius than you would normally as they will move cars with a group. Also, just by habit they seem to start at a premium and then knock the price down quite a lot after a month. I did buy privately though - just made sure it was sure it enough warranty left to get any issues fixed.

This should answer a lot of your questions...
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15177
There are a few options with the iPhone depending on the system installed - one thing you can retrofit around. I just use a spare iPod which stays in the car.

Just through seasonality I think you will get a much better deal on a roadster over a coupe just now! But as other will say, buy what you like!

 

[worton]

Cheers Jamie, thats helped alot.


£17k ali! that's a good price..

right, off to glue my eyes to autotrader and pistonheads!

 

[lostaussie26]

Worton,
I am thinking about off loading my Z4 Coupe. Its a 3.0SI Sports with all the options...even cup holders!!!
I have some pics of it in the thread. NEW Z4 OWNER. Its a 56 plate with 20k on the clock and is a very rare and beautiful deep green, which looks almost black in soe light conditions. Check it out of you are interested.
Cheers
Lostaussie26

 

[gannet]

WElcome to the forum

happy hunting

 

[easty027]

i can answer part of your question, i have a 3.0i Roadster and the wife has a Mini Cooper S (supercharged version not turbo'd). My car is far more fuel efficient.

over a typical 100 mile drive on the motorway, i can get 34-37mpg. The mini manages about 30mpg.

 

[paddy wright]

welcome to the forum