New E85 3.0 Owner, Leicester, UK

L

Llewelyn

Member
Hi all

Just thought I'd introduce myself as I have just bought a nice 2003 3.0 tiptronic Zed :D

I went from 6 pot and V8 BM's years ago to a long list of Porsche's and basically have lived without a "classic" since Christmas (got a '12 plate F30 as a daily)... So far I am loving the M54 growl and the car is a surprisingly great drive! :) :)

Any other Leicestershire area members on here?

A couple of pics lifted from my instagram:

ScreenShot2014-06-13at205439.png

ScreenShot2014-06-13at205454.png

Mods/improvements on the to-do list:

- Aux port install
- Change my style 107's to 108's (if anyone fancies a swap etc get in touch!)
- Repair/replace bonkers drivers window switch
- Replace EPS entire assembly (in process)
- Preventative maintenance (i.e. roof drain holes, servicing and any other worthwhile repairs?)
- Anything else that takes my fancy

The basic goal is to get the car in as mint condition as possible whilst keeping it strictly OEM, spec is quite good anyway with the 10 speaker HIFI, heated electric seats etc so I'm not too fussed about messing with it too much...

That's me - Just thought I'd check in and say hello !
 
Welcome :thumbsup:

Get your name down for this, not too far from you.
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=59650
 
Welcome aboard.

Very tidy lookig Zed. :thumbsup:

Prefer an F430, but I guess the F30 has more room. :wink:
 
Hello from a fellow Leicestershire owner!

We're you in Hoby pub tonight?! I'm sure I saw a Scottish registered silver z4 in the car park when I went past an hour ago!

Nice colour combo, but then I'm bias !
 
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone :) I'll definitely make it down to that Shepshed meet, I live about 3-4 miles away from there!

@nick&sandra the EPS unit has completely failed so there is no assistance at all (and it sticks), the car was cheap due to this but I can get it fully reconned with a lifetime warranty and fitted for £500.00 which I think is very reasonable based on what I have read on the net.

@itguy definitely wasn't me!

@buzyg you'd actually be surprised at the LACK of space in the F30, it's rubbish - I'm not having another one!
 
Liking your car Llewelyn very much. Just the sort of thing I am currently looking for - have been looking for a 2003-2005 3.0 in the right colour combo (just like yours in fact) for a few weeks now. If you don't mind me asking what did you pay for the car?

I've been reading up on steering issues - both the sticky steering problem and I spoke to a local independent BMW garage and the guy does not have much positive to say about the Electro-mechanical power assist steering on these cars and he says the electronic bits (can't remember what they are called) are only good for around 50k anyway!

in fact he was almost putting me off buying one but your price of £500 for a recon unit fully fitted sounds like a good deal. Will I have to do much Internet research to find such a place?

Many thanks and enjoy the motor.
 
@RayC thanks for the kind words!

You should definitely buy one, they are by far the best roadster for the money... I had £5-6k to spend and the basic criteria was that the car had to be around 10 years old max, and auto because my girlfriend doesn't drive manuals....

Choices included:

- S2000 (no auto box!)
- Boxster (later 3.2S which is the only option was out of budget and I'm sick of Porsches)
- MX5 (yawn)
- SLK (old shape too dated, new shape too expensive)
- 500SL (too cumbersome)
- Z4

Theres only one choice really!

It seems these steering issues really are the achilles heel of the Z4 :( I paid £3500 for the car, sound ok? :D

BBA Reman do the lifetime warranty recon for £410+vat, I can only assume my mechanic is getting some sort of trade discount off this though.
 
Well Llewelyn I can tell you it is a small world! Saw your car on Autotrader a few days ago and was doing the research on steering and replacing the eps and then you beat me to it and bought it! Grrrr ....... :x
I think you got it for a really good price so good for you man. :thumbsup:
Thanks for the heads up on BBA Reman I've not come across these guys - just found the website so will have a good look through it. I'm sure there will be plenty of other fellow Zeders here who will be very interested to hear how it goes with your car and the recon eps. Be sure to post and let us know how you get on with it.
Happy motoring mate ..... :driving:
 
Good price mate, will be a steel when you've got it all sorted out.

Give me a shout if you need anything as i know my way around the Zed pretty well now.
 
@RayC Oh no! I actually bought it last Monday but the ad still seems to be live for some reason - The seller was a trader who exports roadster type cars to France, this one developed a fault and I think he decided it wasn't something he wanted to get involved with so just cut his losses with a quick sale. Apart from the steering issue there are really no other problems with the car, it runs great and there are no electric faults.

Check out BBA Reman, their website doesn't give too much away but if you phone them you will find they are helpful.

@itguy cheers mate, if you are in Melton you are very local - I'm just outside of Loughborough :) If I need any help with anything I'll give you a shout. Looking at your sig, what is "new england red extended leather"? Mine is Oregon which I am guessing is a lower grade/less of it etc?
 
Some of these dealers leave the ads on Autotrader after the car has sold just to see how many other enquiries come in and hence judge the level of demand for that sort of car if they are thinking of selling more of them in the future - alternatively maybe the guy from Chelsea Imports is just lazy and can't be bothered removing it! I was a bit slow on that car but now I know what I know about BBA Reman then I might be quicker next time and just go for it! 8)

Where did you hear about BBA Reman was it the guy who's fitting if for you who pointed you there? you seem to be getting a good deal on fitting don't think I could get it done for those sorts of figures.

Also was just wondering if you could drive the car home when you bought it?

Your experience with your eps, BBA Reman and how you get on with the car with the new recon unit would make a really interesting thread in the Discussion section for the 2003-08 that's where the talk about steering issues come up time and time again. Your experience would be of real interest to other folks on here but its a bit buried in this Newbies thread which is a real shame. Start a new thread in there mate and I bet you will get a great response. :thumbsup:
 
Hi Ray

When it is back to me and working I'll do a write up/report on my experiences and hopefully it will help others out in the future!

I found out about BBA Reman by searching online, it came up easily in a google search although they were the only company I could fine who do this.

The chap doing the work for me is a good friend so to be honest it is a real 'mates rates' type affair - He's also no making any money on the recon. I would estimate the usual cost would be around £800.000 all in. That's for removal of the assembly, recon, refit and reteach all the electronics such as the steering sensor (I know nothing about this but I know everything needs to be paired to the car again!)

If you said the usual cost for the recon is £500 (inc vat and carriage), £300 really ought to cover the labour charge I'd have thought!

I could drive the car home no problem although I did have to have my wits about me. On the motorway it way fine....

Where are you based?
 
No probs. New England extended leather was an option to get leather on all of the door cards, on the sun visors and round the whole windscreen surround etc. Just a bit more cow, iykwim!
 
@itguy what a cool option! I found this link which summed it up:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=281103


Reminds me of the 80s highline trim on 6's and 7's - everything that can be leather is leather 8)
 
I still think even £800 for a non-mates rate is pretty good - well that's from looking around on this + other Forums it looks like you've come up with a solution that doesn't break the bank. So people here will be pretty interested in your story and I look forward to reading how it goes. :thumbsup:
I'm based in God's own county so just up the road from you. :driving:
 
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