Introduction as I'm new!

Reamesy

Reamesy

Senior member
 Whitchurch
Site Supporter
Hi all.

I come from a long history of car ownership over the years. I started restoring MK2 VW Sciroccos years ago but life demands required change.

I live 165 miles from my work location which requires 4 days on four off. (Chester to Middlesborough) so I've had diesels for the last 9 years. E280, 520D 420D etc.

My current car which is for sale is a VW Scirocco MK3. Can be seen here;

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202008303113289?advertising-location=at_cars.

I am looking for a nice example of a 2.0 Z4 roadster due to the miles I will be doing. I don't mind high milers as I will be using it every day. I would prefer leather but not a deal breaker so long as the cloth is immaculate. Must be mechanically good. I don't mind brakes and such but would want engine gearbox and drivetrain to be in good order. I do all my own maintenance so not afraid to get my hands dirty as that's the bit I like.

I won't make any offers until my car has sold but if anyone is selling a good example, please get in touch.

I look forward to participating in this forum. Cant wait to get the wind in my face once again. :D
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. :thumbsup:

Given that you say you want a Roadster I'm guessing you are looking at E85s.

In which case all I can say is that when I was thinking about replacing my E46 3 Series I asked my Indy what BMW I ought to get if I didn't want to visit him too often, and he recommended 6 cylinders and preferably petrol!

So I've followed that advice ever since - he did have a 2002 530i at the time. :lol:
 
Hi [ref]Reamesy[/ref], welcome to the forum.

I assume you have looked at the 2.0 from a fuel consumption perspective? What sort of age and mileage have you been looking at?
 
Hi. Thanks for your replies.

Yes I am looking at purchasing an E85. I would love the six cylinder engine but I am concerned about mpg. I have seen two that stand out. One has been owned for 11 years and has a very good track record of being serviced and money spent in the right places. It has 79000 miles on a 07 plate. The other is a 09 plate with 91000 miles but needs brake discs and pads all round and a tyre, but that gives me negotiation with objectiveness.

Are the 2.0 really that unreliable if serviced properly?
 
Reamesy said:
Yes I am looking at purchasing an E85. I would love the six cylinder engine but I am concerned about mpg.
Click to expand...

I was in a similar position, I wasn't sure if I wanted a Zed at all so I test drove a few. I quickly realised that I couldn't live with the 2.0, so for a 6mpg difference and a bit more VED I went for a 2.2. In the end it became clear that I should have actually bought the 2.5 but I had the 2.2 re-mapped to around 182BHP with a better torque curve, so that's the motor I've been using for my regular trips between Staffordshire and Suffolk.

The real problem is that Zed ownership becomes a bit of a drug so I recently added a 3.0Si to the fleet, I haven't plucked up the courage to look into the fuel economy for that one but I can tell you that I drove (with luggage and a passenger) from Margate to Ipswich and then Ipswich to Stoke-on-Trent for £54 (99RON fuel).

Good hunting with whatever you decide.
 
By my reckoning that's 317 miles so around 28mpg. Was that in the 3.0 or 2.2?
 
Reamesy said:
By my reckoning that's 317 miles so around 28mpg. Was that in the 3.0 or 2.2?
Click to expand...

M6 Toll route so 321 Miles. Yes that was the 3.0Si. The "S" in the Si is important, 261BHP rather than the 231BHP for the 3.0i as you've probably already seen. I had a look at the receipts for the 2.2, it's remapped and I'm getting 34MPG averaged across three 188 Mile runs.

I'll let you know what the Si drops to after it's been re-mapped on Thursday, just for fun.
 
I have no experience of 4 cylinder petrol BMWs as I followed my Indy's advice and have only had petrol 6s since 2014!

In any case for me a straight 6 petrol engine is one of the E85/86s unique features and I haven't found mine particularly thirsty - well apart from my M Coupe. :lol:

I never used either of my 3.0Si Coupes as daily drivers so typically most journeys were 30+ miles on Motorways and NSL A Roads outside of rush hours and in 20K miles altogether they averaged around 33mpg.

I did have an E46 325ti Compact as a daily for 3 years (same engine as a pre-facelift 2.5i E85) and it averaged 32mpg over 23K miles then after I stopped working I had an E91 325i (same engine as a 2.5Si facelift) for a year and 7K miles that averaged 33 mpg.

Unless you are doing mega miles I'd happily take a hit of 5mpg to have a straight 6 rather than a 4 - and I say that having had a 4-cylinder turbo diesel prior to 2014 that did 48mpg! :roll:
 
Hi Reamesy .
I have a 07 si daily drive an ave about 34.8
Thats motorway and a little urban 230 miles a week .
Just drove to spain ,in the 300 miles to dover all motorway albeit 50 an 60 mostly i was up to 42 ,
Then through france into spain all motorway 70 to 90 mph down to 36 mpg .
So not to shabby re miles for smiles :thumbsup:
 
Thanks guys for all your input. I do 30k miles a year hence I was considering the 2.0. I will need to give it careful thought and try not to let my head rule my heart, but that is proving difficult. :thumbsup:
 
I've had more than 30 cars in 40+ years of driving, but admittedly no N/A 4 cylinder petrols for quite a while.

But the only 2 that were more economical than my N/A straight 6 BMWs (excluding my M, which does like a drink) were a 1,300cc Golf and a 1,500cc Mazda 323f.

1990 Cavalier 1.8, 1990 Rover 214SLi, 1991 Sierra Sapphire, 1992 Cavalier SRi and 1989 Mercedes 190e all struggled to get near to 30mpg!

I suspect it was because I drove those cars harder to get decent performance out of them - well excluding the Golf and the Mazda because they weren't capable of it. :lol:

Now I'm getting older I've realised that if I can afford it and want it then I'll have it, so that in 10 years time I'm not looking back wishing I had done it.

If costs are manageable I'd let my heart rule my head - we only get one go!
 
Good advise Mr Tidy. :thumbsup: Just need my other half to see the logic. I may need to switch up my sales pitch :rofl:
 
Well...yesterday was a whirl wind! I sold my car and bought a Z4 2.5 Sport on a 06 plate with 78000 miles. Over the more with it.

I decided to take some of the advise given and avoid the 2.0. I managed 44.1 average over my return 80 mile journey at 60 mph motorway and B roads.

I will post the full spec and pictures was I have given it a full detail today. :thumbsup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom