Newbie - 06 2.5si (London)

J

jamiez

Senior member
 SW London
Hi All

I just bought my 1st Z4 yesterday. Its a 2006 2.5si Auto/Triptronic with all options apart from sat nav, electric seats and electric folding mirrors. I'll post some pics once i pick her up on weds and given her a good clean!

My past cars have been e28 (518i), e36 saloon (318tds), e46 coupe (318ci) and now this baby!!!
So to begin - what the e number for this car and next is there anything i should be aware about on this car??

Im sure i'll have LOADS of questions going forward, but just thought id say HI to start with!!

Oh and im based in SW london

Thanks for now!

Jamie
 
Welcome to the forum!

Roadster = e85
Coupe = e86

Sure you will have fun - this will be the longest couple of days waiting for your z...
 
Welcome and look forward to seeing pics.

Is there anything I should be aware about this car? - yes - don't buy the 2006 2.5si auto without sat nav or electric seats...lol Just kidding. There is nothing in particular you need to worry about, just ask question as they arise.
 
gannet said:
Welcome to the forum!

Roadster = e85
Coupe = e86

Sure you will have fun - this will be the longest couple of days waiting for your z...
Click to expand...

I didnt get much sleep last night and still have 48 hours to go!!!!
 
cj10jeeper said:
Welcome and look forward to seeing pics.

Is there anything I should be aware about this car? - yes - don't buy the 2006 2.5si auto without sat nav or electric seats...lol Just kidding. There is nothing in particular you need to worry about, just ask question as they arise.
Click to expand...

Sheezers - i read that scentance and began to worry - ALOT! :)

Ive done a bit of research and am thinking about the sat nav retrofit - but cant find any kits anywhere

Do you know if i can retrofit folding mirrors?
I guess seats will require new seats?

Cheers!!!

Jamie
 
Made you jump eh...

Sat Nav can be retrofitted. Source parts of ebay pvr will tell you what and how when he signs on. Its a big project so most go for aftermarket although the result is really cool.

Mirrors require complete mirrors, door switch and a module fitting. Never seen any on sale and way too much at the dealers. Yours will manually twist up if required for tight spots or draining them.

Seats - well there are 2 bases manual and electric and 2 tops sport and 'normal'. All the parts are interchangeable if you're a handy DIY, but generally wait for what you like on eBay and bid. Expect sports seats to be really expensive and I've never seen electirc bases on sale. ps don't take the seat out with the ignition on else you'll activate the airbag sensor and have a £40+ dealer bill to reset it.
 
I am here :)

Retrofit cost is about £500 for all the parts. I fitted all the parts in about 2 hours, but took 6 hours to cut the hole in the dashboard :o (got fed up, so did 2 hours a time sessions in the garage ...)

srhutch did that part in a couple of hours I think, so the time required to fit bits depends on the person doing it 8) Best mod for the car if you have not got it though as it provides a lot of extra functionality and I have not found a faster and clearer stand alone satnav to be honest.

Parts are obtainable from dealer for the cable harness (£58), but the rest is all from ebay (various locations / countries)
 
jamiez said:
Do you know if i can retrofit folding mirrors?
Click to expand...

I have only ever once folded mine up (manually) when I had no choice but to choose a tight parking space. So I don't think retrofit electric mirrors would be worth it...
 
gannet said:
jamiez said:
Do you know if i can retrofit folding mirrors?
Click to expand...

I have only ever once folded mine up (manually) when I had no choice but to choose a tight parking space. So I don't think retrofit electric mirrors would be worth it...
Click to expand...

That was very much my conclusion based around times used and costs to do the project. Incedentally I have folded them a few times to drain them after washing following a tip by someone on here. Stops them drippig down the car for ages if yuor trying to detail it
 
I use mine all the time :) Driving into the Euro tunnel train makes it also easier if you don't knock the mirrors on the toilets over there...

My current 120d loaner (X5 at dealer to repair dealer damage at their own expense ...) does not have the folding mirrors, nor the dimming ones and that is a real pain at night which I was not used to as all of my cars have had this feature.
 
pvr said:
I am here :)

Retrofit cost is about £500 for all the parts. I fitted all the parts in about 2 hours, but took 6 hours to cut the hole in the dashboard :o (got fed up, so did 2 hours a time sessions in the garage ...)

srhutch did that part in a couple of hours I think, so the time required to fit bits depends on the person doing it 8) Best mod for the car if you have not got it though as it provides a lot of extra functionality and I have not found a faster and clearer stand alone satnav to be honest.

Parts are obtainable from dealer for the cable harness (£58), but the rest is all from ebay (various locations / countries)
Click to expand...

Cool - well i tried to have a quick scan for the parts but couldnt find anything (i.e. general google search, ebay etc) - where else can i look?
Install looks ok as there are a couple of guides on the net i.e. (apart from yours) http://www.zed-cars.eu/discussion/Topic12188-4-2.aspx?Highlight=retrofit

Cheers
Jamie
 
cj10jeeper said:
Made you jump eh...

Mirrors require complete mirrors, door switch and a module fitting. Never seen any on sale and way too much at the dealers. Yours will manually twist up if required for tight spots or draining them.
Click to expand...

Think i'll leave the mirrors and put those funds towards sat nav retrofit! :)
 
Yes, that was the first retrofit I did together with K2 as it was his car. We cut that dashboard, starting at 10 pm and finishing at about 2 am ...

The GPS aerial is available new on eBay : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-GPS-Antenna-BLAUPUNKT-BMW-FORD-VW-AUDI-MDF-VDO_W0QQitemZ320296706335QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item320296706335&_trkparms=72%3A985%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

the radio you can buy from srhutch for £75

The computer: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-MKIV-MK4-GPS-DVD-Navigation-E38-E39-E46-E53-X5_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em63Q2el1177QQhashZitem220278442880QQitemZ220278442880

Monitor here : http://cgi.ebay.de/BMW-X3-Z4-16-9-MONITOR-BORDMONITOR-CID_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4506Q2em20Q2el1116QQitemZ230273391392

Wireloom from the dealer.

See? All done :D
 
jamiez Welcome aboard as PVR says you can have my headunit for £75 plus postage, it is a MD unit with a couple of small dinks, but will see you till you can source another headunit. I would say this is the hardest component to find very rare on ebay, as most of the ones I have seen start at 499 euros.

Make you you get the right monitor as most are advertised as Z4/X3 but they are different. And use a dremel with flexible drive as they will save hours on cutting hole.

PS. :worthless:
 
srhutch said:
jamiez Welcome aboard as PVR says you can have my headunit for £75 plus postage, it is a MD unit with a couple of small dinks, but will see you till you can source another headunit. I would say this is the hardest component to find very rare on ebay, as most of the ones I have seen start at 499 euros.

Make you you get the right monitor as most are advertised as Z4/X3 but they are different. And use a dremel with flexible drive as they will save hours on cutting hole.

PS. :worthless:
Click to expand...

Im very interested (despite just shelling out around 1k for insurance to commence on weds!!) - what are these "dinks" like?

How would i know the monitor is "right" when it might be advertised as being suitable for a z4?
 
pvr said:
Yes, that was the first retrofit I did together with K2 as it was his car. We cut that dashboard, starting at 10 pm and finishing at about 2 am ...

The GPS aerial is available new on eBay : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-GPS-Antenna-BLAUPUNKT-BMW-FORD-VW-AUDI-MDF-VDO_W0QQitemZ320296706335QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item320296706335&_trkparms=72%3A985%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

the radio you can buy from srhutch for £75

The computer: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-MKIV-MK4-GPS-DVD-Navigation-E38-E39-E46-E53-X5_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em63Q2el1177QQhashZitem220278442880QQitemZ220278442880

Monitor here : http://cgi.ebay.de/BMW-X3-Z4-16-9-MONITOR-BORDMONITOR-CID_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4506Q2em20Q2el1116QQitemZ230273391392

Wireloom from the dealer.

See? All done :D
Click to expand...

You made it all so simple! :) Nice one - i failed to look "outside" the box with this one didnt I :)

Have you had stuff posted from the US before without issue?

Jamie
 
My radio came from the US, no problems.

The monitor which I posted is a true Z4 monitor and NOT an X3 monitor. The X3 monitor is much wider at the front, so if you see a wider monitor compared to the one you see on that picture, it is wrong.

As far as I remember, the "dinks" that srhutch mentioned are covered by the vent so not visible once fitted.
 
Jamiez I will post a pic later of the head unit as you can then see for yourself.

I did a group buy of the stubby aerials (a must) from the USA and have bought other items from USA. You can ask the seller to marks as a gift therefore hopefully reducing chances of taxes when it hits the UK.
 
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