On the search for Z4 3.0 coupe

ozymandias

New member
 Essex
Hi, came across the Z4 Coupe 3.0 and it was love at first sight :)

I'm searching for a suitable one to buy. Been doing some reading on this forum and elsewhere but if anyone has any tips etc for the buying process they would greatly appreciated! Also if there's one on sale that's worth having a look at please share
 
Welcome 🙂
Yep, anyone with a set of working eyeballs should have the same response to an E86 as it is one of the best looking cars ever made! 😍
There are a number of extremely knowledgeable E86 owners on here who can give you guidance aside of ignore mileage, buy on provenance.

Finding one, well there are some about, but there were never many in the UK so they are sought after.

BMW specialist near me has an M Coupe, but those are a lot more expensive.

 
Welcome, great choice, they certainly are beautiful cars.
Any preference on colours, spec, interior, auto or manual and budget?
 
Definitely manual, budget £9k, read to avoid 2006 coupes but other than that open to consider a well looked after example as original and unmodified as possible. Would be nice to have some of the extras like xenons, electric/heated seats etc.
 
Hello and welcome!
Coupe’s have been lately popular for some reason, more people seem to be looking for them. In the UK market there are always examples to choose from. Where I live there is 1 coupe for sale at the moment, not much to select from 😅
 
Definitely manual, budget £9k, read to avoid 2006 coupes but other than that open to consider a well looked after example as original and unmodified as possible. Would be nice to have some of the extras like xenons, electric/heated seats etc.
No reason to avoid 2006. What have you heard?
 
Welcome to the forum, an E86 is an excellent choice! :thumbsup:

Both my 3.0Si Coupes were 2006 models and neither had any of those issues, although my 2005 330i with the same engine has had oil leaks and a couple of electronics issues. :(

As BMW only made them from 2006 to 2008 if you exclude 2006 models you've probably ruled a third of them out, and the UK only got just over 3,000!

Are you looking for manual or Auto? There were two trim levels, SE and Sport. Sport got 15mm lower M-Sport suspension, M-Sport steering wheel, Black headlining and the very desirable M-Sport seats.

OE spec was a bit mean although they all had electric seats with driver's memory. Heated seats, Xenons, MFSW, rear parking sensors and cruise control were all on the options list so if any of those are "must haves" bear that in mind - although cruise is a fairly simple retro-fit. One of the upgraded stereo options is nice to have too.

Good luck finding the right one, although prices seem pretty strong at the moment.
 
I was in a similar position last year, with a similar budget. My strong preference was for a manual and, ideally, the Sport variant. As others have noted, prices for fair to good condition coupes are strong at the moment (and simply ridiculous for low-mileage examples in pristine condition) and availability generally low. It therefore pays to be flexible in terms of options.

As this is a driver-focussed car I viewed options such as heated seats, parking sensors, MFSW etc as nice to have but not essential - your needs/preferences may be different. Those with 100k mileage or so did not deter me as long as the service history was available. Given the age, it would also be a plus if some of the pricier jobs have already been done (such as water pump/thermostat).

Best thing to do, if time allows, is to just view and test drive as many candidates as possible. Once I got mine, I did have to swap out the run flats for standard tyres, so there will always be extras to budget for after purchase - but that goes for almost any used vehicle you buy.

Good luck with your search, it will be worth it, they are great-looking cars that are serious fun to drive!
 
Thanks all for sharing thoughts and wishes, as you've said not much to choose from at the moment so let's see how it goes.
 
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