Help with choice if poss!

S

SimonJ

Member
Hello all

I am soon to become the owner of a Z. It is a 3.0i 04 (M seats, MFSW, Xenons) no heated seats (grrr) and was wondering whether 8500 is too much considering it has low mileage and is in good nick?

The other option is of course to blow budget and go for a similar spec/condition 06 3.0si (@ circa 11k)).

Please help - I cannot seem to make my mind up!!!!

All I know is I don't truthfully notice the power difference but really like the M steering wheel on the si (no way I would trust myself to swap the MFSW on the o4 for an M SW though!)

Any thoughts truely appreciated.
 
Sounds like a good price if it's low miles with ///M seats as they're pretty rare.

Persoanlly though, I'd buy the 3.0si if you can genuinely get one now with low miles for £11k.
 
EDIT ***I FORGOT TO SAY the i has a very small amount of greasy water (about 1/4 inch) in the boot well - SHOULD I WALK AWAY?*****

That is v good to know about the i - thanks for re-assurance.

I thought you might say that about the si!!! ... Good to have a devil on the shoulder

I suppose am mainly thinking of depreciation as a family is not too far away and will probably only have it for 2 years before sense has to be seen. I guess if they both lose the same amount over the period then that would soften the blow but I guess the si could be higher risk as it has further to go.

S
 
You can get the Mseats heated as an aftermarket retrofit. I had mine done on my previous car,
Sooo much better
 
@ gookah. Thanks - I saw your post on that and may look further into it (see how cold I get in winter first!). It does seem barmy to spend so much on M seats and not get them heated for the extra £400 when buying.

For those interested - the water in boot was oil from a spillage from an old bottle being kept under the boot mat (at least I hope!). Just need to check full aa report and if all ok then it is Z time!

The one thing I am not too sure about was whether it had bluetooth (it has MFSW)... I recall the button with the profile + speech bubble thing on the streering wheel which would indicate that is does but I cannot work out from posts here whether you just have it as part of MFSW or the MFSW requires BT seperately as an option (former sounds too good to be true).

Anyway, for those interested - specs provided by supplying dealer when asked are below and BT seems to be absent but oddly the remote alarm and automatic hood seem to be 'options' - thought they were standard.

01CA CoP Relative
0230 Internal
0249 Multi-function Steering Wheel
0302 Remote Control Alarm - THOUGHT THIS CAME AS STANDARD on 3.0i SE?
0313 Elec Fold Exterior Mirrors
0345 Chrome-Line Interior Anthracite
0354 Grad Tint Windscreen
0380 Prep for Hardtop Fitting
0387 Wind Deflector
0399 Fully Automatic Hood - THOUGHT THIS CAME AS STANDARD on 3.0i SE?
0423 Floor Mats
0428 First Aid Kit & Triangle
0430 Auto-Dim Int + Ext Mirror
0441 Smoker Package
0459 Elec Fr Seats + Driver Memory
0502 Headlamp Washer System
0508 Park Distance Control
0521 Rain Sensor + Auto Light Activation
0522 Xenon Headlamps
0534 Automatic Air Conditioning
0540 Cruise Control
0662 BMW Business CD Radio
0672 BMW 6 Disc CD Changer
0676 HiFi Speaker System
0704 M-Sports Suspension
0711 M Sport Seats
08SP Reqd for 1CA
0812 GB Specification
0863 Dealer Network - Europe
0877 Remote Alarm Setting Only - THOUGHT THIS CAME AS STANDARD on 3.0i SE?
0880 English Handbook
0925 Transport Protection

Standard Options

0224 Driving Dynamics Control
0255 Sport Steering Wheel
0334 Double Spoke 103 7 1/2 x 17
0520 Front Foglamps
0550 On-Board Computer
0853 Instrument Panel Letter
 
Hi Simon, welcome to the best forum on the interweb
SimonJ said:
01CA CoP Relative
0230 Internal
0249 Multi-function Steering Wheel
0302 Remote Control Alarm - THOUGHT THIS CAME AS STANDARD on 3.0i SE?
0313 Elec Fold Exterior Mirrors
0345 Chrome-Line Interior Anthracite
0354 Grad Tint Windscreen
0380 Prep for Hardtop Fitting - standard on all UK Z4 Roadsters-
0387 Wind Deflector
0399 Fully Automatic Hood - THOUGHT THIS CAME AS STANDARD on 3.0i SE?
0423 Floor Mats - standard when I bought mine in 04
0428 First Aid Kit & Triangle - standard when I bought mine in 04
0430 Auto-Dim Int + Ext Mirror
0441 Smoker Package
0459 Elec Fr Seats + Driver Memory
0502 Headlamp Washer System
0508 Park Distance Control
0521 Rain Sensor + Auto Light Activation
0522 Xenon Headlamps
0534 Automatic Air Conditioning - standard when I bought mine in 04
0540 Cruise Control
0662 BMW Business CD Radio - standard when I bought mine in 04
0672 BMW 6 Disc CD Changer
0676 HiFi Speaker System
0704 M-Sports Suspension - standard on prefacelift 3.0SE
0711 M Sport Seats
08SP Reqd for 1CA
0812 GB Specification
0863 Dealer Network - Europe
0877 Remote Alarm Setting Only - THOUGHT THIS CAME AS STANDARD on 3.0i SE?
0880 English Handbook
0925 Transport Protection

Standard Options

0224 Driving Dynamics Control
0255 Sport Steering Wheel
0334 Double Spoke 103 7 1/2 x 17
0520 Front Foglamps
0550 On-Board Computer
0853 Instrument Panel Letter
Click to expand...
Pretty certain the other things you highlighted were as you point out Standard equipment.
 
Agreed this is an excelent forum - it has certainly provided great guidance on what to look for... and a laugh or two!

Thanks for your pointers - It seems BMW giveth (in certain limited circumstances) and taketh away from the standard options list with relatively little logic...

Am used to Jags where options are really model specific (for e.g cannot spec up base model with all bells and whistles from next model up - just have to go to next model up - these options tend to revolve around 'wood', 'wood +', 'extra wood' + or 'super sports wood'....
 
Just because an item is standard equipment, it will still come up in a list of options installed. It shows up on the window sticker, too -- I guess somebody thinks it makes buyers think there are more options on the car.

If you have the VIN, you can check the factory-installed options here http://dreamingwell.com/forumFiles/Z4M%20Production%20Info.csv
 
Was in exactly your position end of June just before I got my first Z.. Facelift or pre-06. Sseemed to find there were two main things that I kept coming across between pre & post facelift Zed's

1. There's a big premium difference, especiually for the 2006 onwards 2.5 litre with 218bhp rather than the 2.5 with 180 horses

2. Was far more common to find the 03 - 05 cars with lots of toys.

Decided SatNav wasn't a dealbreaker as can't fault my TomTom, so when I found a late 05 with 1 previous owner on 47k, sporting M seats, MFSW, Xenons, cruise, 108's, folding/dimming mirrors & suped up stereo multi-changer in my favorite Z4 colour for just over 8.5k... was a no brainer.

Spent what I saved on decent boots, brakes, discs, CDV mod & a full service to bring out the best for cruzing & all the smiles the Zed brings, love every minute of it. Roll on end of the month when I go cruzin down to the south of France.
 
Agreed - the head has to rule. Being rather sad may spend difference on bmw warranty, then maybe on something more exciting like m steering wheel upgrade (the thing i wanted most from 06 cars i saw)...

Also agree re standard options and forecourts - weird how many make a big point of to advertise electric windows as if they were luxury items. I guess dealers don't always know what they are selling and what is worth making a fuss over.

When went to see. First car with official bm dealer i opened the hood from the key fob - he was really impressed with this and said it must have been an expensive option....
 
Well I got the silver 3.0i!

Spent most of Monday evening and yesterday evening driving around London with the top down (sometimes in the drizzle) grinning/laughing like an idiot whilst my wife held on for dear life - it is AWESOME!

Don't regret not getting the si - quite frankly the extra power would have been waisted and although I do find the doors a bit tinny on the i and the tango look a little more retro I don't think the extra £1000s would have been worth it.

Am looking forward to stretching its legs a bit more this weekend on a proper run but for the moment just love the 'old school' rough and ready feel of the thing - it is in my mind the closest to a modern day e type in terms of drive if not in looks.

These cars are (so far, touch wood) amazing value. To anyone wondering whether they should or not - don't, GET ONE IF YOU CAN!

I bought private and also got a comprehensive BMW warranty (amazingly you can get one for any BMW with a full BMWSH up to 100,000 miles from the website) which starts next month to cover any big bills. The next step is to investigate the set up of the car in terms of programming (Auto door lock on move, conveninence opening etc.) which I understand is about £40 from BM. Then once tires are worn will get rid of Bridgestone RFs (or actually 'upgrade' to 108s). Then maybe an ///M steering wheel upgrade.

Mainly though I wanted to thank all those contributors on the Forum - it has been great knowing what 'faults' to look for, what specs cars have and having such a wealth of info to consult.

Great work! :thumbsup:
 
Congratulations! Post some pics.

The fellow I bought my Roadster from, said the most fun you will ever have in this car is when you have decided that it's time for new tires. :rofl:
 
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