How Long Can I Keep My Zed (N52) As A Daily Drive?

[Paulr]

I chose the Zed over say the Boxter due to it's simplicity. It's that simplicity that gives it a longer life as they are easier to work on. Like the MGB, many indies will stat to appear and make repairing them feasible. Plus, a big lazy under-stressed straight six will plod ad infinitum given a good service routine.

That doesn't mean it will be cheaper, parts will get harder to find, fuel costs will mount, so it comes to a point when the cost outweighs the joy and dampens the enthusiasm. Just glad I am around at the time where we can enjoy them!

 

[Theog]

I chose the Zed over say the Boxter due to it's simplicity. It's that simplicity that gives it a longer life as they are easier to work on. Like the MGB, many indies will stat to appear and make repairing them feasible. Plus, a big lazy under-stressed straight six will plod ad infinitum given a good service routine.

That doesn't mean it will be cheaper, parts will get harder to find, fuel costs will mount, so it comes to a point when the cost outweighs the joy and dampens the enthusiasm. Just glad I am around at the time where we can enjoy them!

Very interesting indeed. From reading I get the impression the N52 / other BMW 6 in-line engines are quite solid pieces from this era. Nothing super powerful, but quite honest and hard going if given the right attention. Almost quite 'primitive' but at the same time built with 'German Engineering'.

That being said. I really hope in 15 years time 3d printing will move on, and all of a sudden you get specialist companies printing off xyz for your car. It might even bring the cost of classic car ownership right down!? You could even see whole new cars getting printed in exotic materials from scratch!?

Not sure how the legal side of this will work, but I would like to think they will sort it out!

 

[Theog]

I love reading threads like this. They really don't make em like the Z4 any more. May they all see 250k before they go. :driving:

It would be nice to see a leaderboard or something of the likes which has the highest mileage Zed's in each class e.g. Z4M, SI, 2L <2006 etc?

Almost making a point of getting as much out of your car as possible.

Would love it if a pro Zed driver would make a 'white paper' as to general list of things going wrong. Good maintenance ideas / how to keep it going / particular products / aftermarket parts etc.

I'm sure all that info is hidden in here somewhere, but it's all spread out isn't it.

 

[Mike6]

Death will come in a thousand cuts ie MOT failure where it is not economic to repair or where spare parts become scarse or obsolete. If you DIY you can probably live with salvaged parts but I doubt a garage would put time into fitting secondhand items.

 

[Theog]

Death will come in a thousand cuts ie MOT failure where it is not economic to repair or where spare parts become scarse or obsolete. If you DIY you can probably live with salvaged parts but I doubt a garage would put time into fitting secondhand items.

Do you know of any good sites / places to look for second hand gear for Zeds?

Or is ebay your friend here?

 

[tomscott]

Unfortunately a lot of the old timers who have put a lot of mileage on their cars got to this point and have swapped because BMW doesn't offer anything for them to swap too and the E89 didn't offer a similar swap, although great cars they are different. You have to be a Z4 die hard not to swap and many of those old members bought those cars new at £40+k.

There are plenty of buyers guides and service schedule/age related threads but many of them have become old and less relevant as most were <100k not <200k.

IMO its all well and good saying I can get my Z to 200k etc etc but lifes too short as it is. Get in as many cars and tick off as many on your list as possible because in the next 10-15 years you probably wont be able to as it wont be economically viable due to environmental concerns, changes in tax law, governmental influence and other factors.

Although electric cars are on paper quicker and arguably more environmentally friendly the experience is far far from the same. Unfortunately it is inevitable.

 

[Theog]

Unfortunately a lot of the old timers who have put a lot of mileage on their cars got to this point and have swapped because BMW doesn't offer anything for them to swap too and the E89 didn't offer a similar swap, although great cars they are different. You have to be a Z4 die hard not to swap and many of those old members bought those cars new at £40+k.

There are plenty of buyers guides and service schedule/age related threads but many of them have become old and less relevant as most were <100k not <200k.

IMO its all well and good saying I can get my Z to 200k etc etc but lifes too short as it is. Get in as many cars and tick off as many on your list as possible because in the next 10-15 years you probably wont be able to as it wont be economically viable due to environmental concerns, changes in tax law, governmental influence and other factors.

Although electric cars are on paper quicker and arguably more environmentally friendly the experience is far far from the same. Unfortunately it is inevitable.

I have tried the MX5, S2000, TT and not that impressed and I would choose the Zed any day. I don't really have much more on my list.

Caterham would be ACE! But a little too expensive for me now.

FType would be nice for a DD, but given the price difference, I will stick with the Zed for the time being.

Only other car I would love is the Z4M!

 

[tomscott]

The Z is in a class of its own with the price and cars twice the value arent always worth that premium.

Even so theres plenty to own

 

[Taz]

I think with any car there becomes a point where you're for ever paying out to keep it going. At that point you have to just make the decision and get a new and more refined car

 

[Theog]

The Z is in a class of its own with the price and cars twice the value arent always worth that premium.

Even so theres plenty to own

One other thing to add (I'm no expert, so I could be speaking crap) is that a car is essentially the original chassi number / registration.

In the future, engines / parts and the likes of could be fabricated much easier than today (for restoration purposes). By that time, the Zed's will be classed as classic cars, therefore they could have more benefits. Especially if there are only X of them left.

You could then argue, that modern car's will never come close due to safety regulations etc.

It maybe that later down the line old cars start to become hybrid too (not that I would want it) and become shells to modern kit. So then having an old 'shell' could seem quite promising due to the great old styling and things that modern cars simply can't get away with. It could be that new laws are put in place that limit all cars speed, or track where they go, or have some inbuilt auto driving feature (by law). All of which can be removed through using an old car.

Maybe it's a pipe dream, but I can't help but think it's a bit of history. You can't make any more as new (due to health and safety + environment etc), so it may actually be worthwhile from a financial point of view to hold onto them. Yes mileage may eat away at them, but this whole 'mileage' thing may not be so much of an issue in the future with 3d printing etc.

Many very pricey classic cars now are partly pricey because there are only so many left. Replicas are still cool, but if you keep that original 'barcode' then it's potentially a much more interesting project.

I'm rambling nonsense now, but I hope you can see where I'm going with it.

 

[earthdweller]

My brother in law has an 03 reg Audi A4 which he bought nearly new

It now has nearly 300k miles on it and is still going strong

He had to spend quite a bit on it last year but reckoned it was far cheaper than a new car

He lives out in the west of Ireland where the roads and climate aren’t kind to cars

My father in law (85) just sold his 05 200k mile Passat which he bought from motirpoint as s 6 month old ex hertz rental car and exported to Ireland

He only part sold it as he needed an auto so bought a brand new golf

They are not as hung up about the latest reg or mileage over there

Regular and frequent maintenance and they’ll go forever ( almost )

 

[Crazy Harry]

I think a bit of 'man maths' always helps.

So say I need to get a repair done (more likely buy parts and repair myself) and it going to cost £500 man maths says that's only what you might be paying over two months on a payment plan or car loan. So if that's all you pay in the year your already £2500 (10 months at £250) in hand for the next repair. Easy when you know how :lol:

 

[Marlon]

I love reading threads like this. They really don't make em like the Z4 any more. May they all see 250k before they go. :driving:

It would be nice to see a leaderboard or something of the likes which has the highest mileage Zed's in each class e.g. Z4M, SI, 2L <2006 etc?

Almost making a point of getting as much out of your car as possible.

Would love it if a pro Zed driver would make a 'white paper' as to general list of things going wrong. Good maintenance ideas / how to keep it going / particular products / aftermarket parts etc.

I'm sure all that info is hidden in here somewhere, but it's all spread out isn't it.

I created this Poll a while back, doesn't break it down by class though - also 2 years out of date
:https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=82161&p=1213742

 

[Mr Tidy]

Just a thought Marlon, but do you think it would be worth running your poll again?

 

[Marlon]

Just a thought Marlon, but do you think it would be worth running your poll again?

Yeah - and I should set it up indefinitely allowing members to update their mileage bands over time.

 

[Paulr]

High mileage charts. Sound like a Volvo forum now! :rofl:

 

[Mr Tidy]

Yeah - and I should set it up indefinitely allowing members to update their mileage bands over time.

I might have suggested that, but I thought that may be tricky!

But then again you are our poll expert, so probably not for you!

 

[Theog]

Just a thought Marlon, but do you think it would be worth running your poll again?

Yeah - and I should set it up indefinitely allowing members to update their mileage bands over time.

Sounds like a great idea! Go for it

Would be nice if there were a section of the website which highlights these 'evergreen' posts. Any ideas?

I know a bit about website, but not that hot on forums.

 

[Marlon]

Just a thought Marlon, but do you think it would be worth running your poll again?

Yeah - and I should set it up indefinitely allowing members to update their mileage bands over time.

Sounds like a great idea! Go for it

Would be nice if there were a section of the website which highlights these 'evergreen' posts. Any ideas?

I know a bit about website, but not that hot on forums.

Not sure what you mean by 'highlighting evergreen posts', however the search function works quite well.

I have created new Mileage Polls - one in the E85 / E86 Z4 discussion and one in the E89 Z4 discussion.

 

[Theog]

Yeah - and I should set it up indefinitely allowing members to update their mileage bands over time.

Sounds like a great idea! Go for it

Would be nice if there were a section of the website which highlights these 'evergreen' posts. Any ideas?

I know a bit about website, but not that hot on forums.

Not sure what you mean by 'highlighting evergreen posts', however the search function works quite well.

I have created new Mileage Polls - one in the E85 / E86 Z4 discussion and one in the E89 Z4 discussion.

So currently you have the main section of 'E85 / E86 Z4 Discussion (2003 - 2009)'. Under this you have 'E85 / E86 Z4 discussion', '"M" Specific', how to and the likes of.

There could then be a new section. Within this section you could have 'evergreen' posts e.g. 'How many miles', 'current yearly bill', or the likes of... could be that only moderators can create these so it doesn't get flooded.

By evergreen, I mean they are timeless. So constantly applicable, or constantly updated. For example, you could have average prices for X model with X miles etc. This could then be voted on by forum members etc.

Just an idea. Might be over kill. I'm just thinking of ways to have something more 'solid' as posts can get lost and somewhat out of date.