M Visions of Grandeur

[Wyldie85]

From reading everyone's comments it seems to mainly come down to the sense of occasion and simply how special the Z4 M is, that's why they havent chopped it in for something newer.

Having not known about Z4's really up until a couple of years ago, I wasn't even a fan. Didn't like the shape or the interior.
However, after revisiting and having a proper look they really grew on me.

The M version is a special car. Something you don't see many of and something that people take a second look at or turn round when they hear it because it's something a bit different to the usual sea of Boxsters.

 

[JimmiVW]

I've been up and down with swapping the Z recently and looked at almost everything / driven a lot of stuff!
I can't find anything that has the same 'feel' and having spent the last 2 weeks in a Golf Gti hire car I simply could not wait to get out in the Z, mostly for that S54 engine.

I know there are a lot of us on here who feel the same, we fancy a change but nothing feels as special, I was even underwhelmed by the drive of my mates 997 C2.
In the end I've just bought a cheap E36 touring to throw the bikes in and not care about... Testament to the 'special' nature of the M...

... the guy agreed to my hard bartering price for the E36, on the condition that I took him out for a blast in the M - result all around!!!

 

[ncrossy1980]

Yah this is all pretty much what I was hoping to hear! The cost of maintaining this machine is hefty but it's worth it to have something very different, even if it just looks like another Z to the untrained eye. I've just had the M in for its latest minor interior mod, carbon fiber vinyl wrapping on some interior pieces, will create a new thread in a different area for that!

 

[srhutch]

@MickAdams How do you find your XFR? Is it a good car reliability wise? I was considering one before the Z4 and the Kia sportage!

My boss has had one since Dec 2009 from new. Done about 70k now without any major issues. Gets through brakes and tyres quite quickly though. :lol:

 

[Fast3000]

@MickAdams How do you find your XFR? Is it a good car reliability wise? I was considering one before the Z4 and the Kia sportage!

My boss has had one since Dec 2009 from new. Done about 70k now without any major issues. Gets through brakes and tyres quite quickly though. :lol:

Last time I checked (And this was a few years ago when considering the running costs etc) the front discs and pads are no way near as expensive as our M cars....

 

[stevo///m3]

1 the looks
2 the looks it get from little kids
3 rarity
4 the noise
5 the looks

Touching all the wood I can see, maintenance just isn't that rude, is it? If you want to chop lots of it in and replace with newer, shinier parts - the Eventuri, £120ish for the F10 gear knob, possibly new alloys, an exhaust etc, fine, no-one will stop you and you'll enjoy it.

Stevo

 

[MickAdams]

@MickAdams How do you find your XFR? Is it a good car reliability wise? I was considering one before the Z4 and the Kia sportage!

I've only had it since December, but it's been OK so far and most people report that they're bullet proof engines, not many stories of anything going wrong with them. I was going to order new last summer but the impeding replacement XF and it's effect on residuals made me question whether it'd be a good idea having a fairly big chunk of finance on one, so I decided to see what I could get without finance. In the end I bought an almost 3 year old, one owner car with a couple of months warranty left and then extended the warranty when the time came (£799/year with no excess, inc breakdown & MOT insurance). I had a few little niggles like rattles in the cabin, and a cracked piece of the carbon trim, and a failed headlight levelling motor sorted under warranty, but that's it

 

[MickAdams]

@MickAdams How do you find your XFR? Is it a good car reliability wise? I was considering one before the Z4 and the Kia sportage!

My boss has had one since Dec 2009 from new. Done about 70k now without any major issues. Gets through brakes and tyres quite quickly though. :lol:

Last time I checked (And this was a few years ago when considering the running costs etc) the front discs and pads are no way near as expensive as our M cars....

Yep, running costs really aren't too bad for the type of car it is. The 380mm discs front and rear aren't bad at all compared to the equivalent for the M5 or E63, genuine fronts are about £270 per set from a dealer, but you can get them cheaper, there are genuine (apparently) sets on ebay for £110 at the minute. It alternates A and B services, which are every 12 months or 15k miles, and are around £360 and £440. A set of MPSS tyres will be around £800 which will be going on if anywhere has stock when the current Dunlops are finished, and I got a set of winters put on the summer alloys from my old car for around £800 too. After that, there's just the £500 road tax which always stings, but insurance isn't too bad, then averaging 19-20 mpg which could be worse

 

[MickAdams]

Yah this is all pretty much what I was hoping to hear! The cost of maintaining this machine is hefty but it's worth it to have something very different, even if it just looks like another Z to the untrained eye. I've just had the M in for its latest minor interior mod, carbon fiber vinyl wrapping on some interior pieces, will create a new thread in a different area for that!

I don't think the running costs are too bad for what the car is, especially with the values holding as they seem to be

I've had mine for 2 years, spent around £1k on servicing, tyres and MOTs, £1.5k on road tax (which will take me to next year) and then just the normal insurance costs. Looking at the prices they seem to be advertised for, I think now even with an extra 8k miles on it, I could probably sell it for around what I paid. I've had much more mundane cars in the past which have cost much more than I've spent on the M just in depreciation alone, before any other running costs are factored in.

I think the thing about cars like the M is, the costs come in big chunks and feel much worse than it does just selling a car after 3 years for £20k less than you paid, even though in reality the M is amazing value in comparison

 

[buzyg]

The Z4M is such a bang for your buck car at the moment. 8)

I'm lucky, like many here to have it as a toy. It was bought as my 50th present to myself. It's never had a bean spent on it, in Mods and it cost less to run, by some margin, than my FIAT Coupe did before it. I expect I'll replace it one day but that means saving up the 50k+ that would be required to better it and right now there are other things to spend the money on.

When I do replace the Zed, it will be with something at least as special and BMW do not currently produce such a car, IMHO. Which I think answers your question. :wink:

(I8 excepted)

 

[ninja_dan]

I have had my z4mc for about 4 years now and managed to put a few quid in the bank ready to replace it. Having looked about for a while I just don't seem to be able to find something as special that doesn't cost the earth....After selling the M and forking out an extra £20k I would be doing well to be driving something that looks as good and makes me smile as much as the M does...so why bother??

 

[Anonymous]

I limited myself to sub £20k and a few mods on top. At 28 and in London, I'm concentrating on getting my second house first, then, once the first is rented out, I'll consider something newer (after rings, weddings... etc!).

 

[AndyBeech]

I limited myself to sub £20k and a few mods on top. At 28 and in London, I'm concentrating on getting my second house first, then, once the first is rented out, I'll consider something newer (after rings, weddings... etc!).

More to the point, 28 and thinking about buying a 2nd house in London?! I thought one is hard enough these days, lucky bugger!

 

[jimmybell]

Great thread!

The opposite way of looking at it to the usual (i've started one of these..) 'how to replace your M'.

Basically - i guess like most - there aren't any new cars that particularly excite compared to the Z4MC, especially from BMW. I'd not say money is no object, but i'm definitely looking at spending 4-5x to find a car that provides a satisfactory upgrade on my M.

The V8 M3 is a peach of an engine no doubt, but it's heavy, and it's a tuned exec coupe rather than a sportscar from the ground up, and in image terms lacks that little something special. The M4 is even more so a bit.. meh. Turbos provide a great oppo for 500+bhp, but it's still not as sporty looking or 'weekend car' as the Z4 is, and the E89 (no offence) isn't an M car, it's slightly more GT/comfort than out-and-out racer.

I think, probably, things like F-Types, 911's, Astons and similar tend to be the natural progression, but they're so expensive, in value for money terms people tend to just stick with the M, i know i have. The alternative is to move away from the 2 seater weekend car, and get an RS4, M5 or similar, but it's not really a direct replacement, and for me - i know id love it, but i'd miss my Z4.

Oh and as JAD says, house comes first for us Londoners. Also - you can't park an F-Type on the street and get away with it quite like the Z4. People love the Z4's, but get jealous of the more flashy stuff.