Other Z owners.....

B

bjorno

Member
 Barrow in Furness
Having a sloooooow afternoon at work and so I thought I'd see if I could prompt a bit of discussion..........about to make a few sweeping generalisations here but bear with me!

I'm interested to see what everyone on here's thoughts are about other zed owners, and I'm talking more about the owners who have probably never even looked at this site, lifted the bonnet, and (this is where me posting this has built up from) cut people up on junctions/motorways, don't indicate or say thankyou if you've given way and look at you like you're an idiot when you try to either engage them with a smile/nod/wave or look at their car whilst you're driving past.

I'm starting suspect generally the sort of people who look at and post on this forum (ie, borderline to full blown petrolheads/car fans/engineering lovers) are in the minority of zed owners and that the majority (or at least a significant number) of owners probably bought the car to more to pose or as it looked like it would match their sunglasses and not as much for the "the way it makes you feel" etc. I definitely think of myself as much more of a petrolhead then a poser, putting the roof down appeals as it puts a huge smile on my face, and not so everyone can see short, beer bellied, balding little old me sat in my "sportscar"!!!

Any thoughts?
 
IMO the car is too mainstream to be a true petrol heads car, yes it is a good car but probably better drivers alternatices out there. Its not hardcore type of car really, so hence its not a huge petrol heads car, nor is it that exlusive/rare and it comes in sensible variations (i.e 2.0 and such).

Running costs are very reasomable, again so this doesnt put off all but the true petrol heads. Plus it has a fair bit of badge going on, and is from a big mainstream maker, alot of my close friends drive BMW's of sorts - its a very strong brand/maker at present.

How many Z's are there in the UK? I say this as I had a Fiat Coupe 20vt before this, and the forum on there is busy and very very good indeed. (ok its getting a tad chavy now due to the fact the car is so cheap) Alot of enthusiasts on that site and its 10x busier than this one despite being only around 7000 coupes in the UK max (I think that is right, it could be 70,000). But it was the sort of car that people grew attached too and driven by enthusiasts, same for Alfa Owner forum. 'normal' joe blogs wouldnt generally toucht these cars due to percieved reliability issues, badge snobery etc, none of this affects the BMW so it draws a bigger 'joe public' range of buyers.

I hope that makes some sense.
 
Are there other Z owners out there other than this forum!! I've hardly seen any on the roads I travel on. I think I can only count 2 other Coupés I've seen since I've had mine, so I can't comment really! One of my girlfreinds mates has a 2.0l Roadster.
She bought it because she liked the look of mine. She bought the Roadster instead though as she thought the Coupe looked to "masculine"! :P
 
I don't think this is a mainstream car at all. I see more Boxters than Z4's. I see a lot of older people cruising around with their automatic transmissions. (not that there's anything wrong with that :D )
 
Unfortunately, some Z drivers have to perpetuate the BMW @ssh@t stereotype. They're the ones that drive the car because of the Roundel, not because of the performance and total driving experience of the car. Sure, most car magazines/reviews mention the Z is a bit rough around the edges, but that's what I like. I want control of the car, not the car to have control of me (a la the new Z4).
 
I contact lots of Z owners here in SoCal. I have a business card that I will hand to people or tag their windscreen with, under the wiper . I then get emails from some that ask why I left it on their car. I explain that there is a group of Z's that have G2G's and share stories or problems with the cars. Some people are suprised that there is such a thing. If you can ever get them to come out they are hooked. I don't know if it ever occured to them that like minded people would do this. I have several other cars and I do not belong to a club with them, just the Z. IMHO , all sorts of people own Z's and not many of them are enthusiasts. They just have a car that they like for some reason. IMHO, you can tell an enthusiast and their car. The car is clean and well kept. Those who are not enthusiasts, the car looks like it needs some help in many areas. Some people are not just as outgoing as others. I take joy in introducing people to something bigger than just thenselfs. When this happens, these are the ones that come out of their shell and become very active in the group. They become interested in their car and start asking questions. I have had people state to me that they were afraid of getting their car hiJacked ( in this day and age , I don't know as I blame them ). When I send emails to newbees , I post links to past events just to make them feel more at ease. We will be at a meet and have Z's drive by the group and just tag alone to see what we are about. Not that they stop and chat the first time ( just checking us out ).

Just my 5 p worth.
 
Breaker said:
Are there other Z owners out there other than this forum!! I've hardly seen any on the roads I travel on. I think I can only count 2 other Coupés I've seen since I've had mine, so I can't comment really! One of my girlfreinds mates has a 2.0l Roadster.
She bought it because she liked the look of mine. She bought the Roadster instead though as she thought the Coupe looked to "masculine"! :P
Click to expand...

I network on 8 different forums. People find a forum that they like and will not venture to others. I have had people say that they we not aware that such forums were out here. :headbang:
 
shabba said:
How many Z's are there in the UK? I say this as I had a Fiat Coupe 20vt before this, and the forum on there is busy and very very good indeed. (ok its getting a tad chavy now due to the fact the car is so cheap) Alot of enthusiasts on that site and its 10x busier than this one despite being only around 7000 coupes in the UK max (I think that is right, it could be 70,000).
Click to expand...

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10661&p=139894#p139921

Not entirely definitive but I reckon there must be less than 2,500 in the UK.

Near me, roadsters are 2-a-penny but I see a coupe barely once a week. Usually driven by some hot-looking power-suited business woman. Never had any knowing nods or waves, though.

Probably don't do enough miles to comment on other Z drivers but with 3-series being more common than Vectras, you're inevitably going to get some twats no matter what brand.
 
rabman5 said:
I don't think this is a mainstream car at all. I see more Boxters than Z4's. I see a lot of older people cruising around with their automatic transmissions. (not that there's anything wrong with that :D )
Click to expand...


I'm watching you !!!!!!! Old and steptronics. I resemble that statement. :rofl: :rofl: :roll: :poke: :headbang:
 
rabman5 said:
I don't think this is a mainstream car at all. I see more Boxters than Z4's. I see a lot of older people cruising around with their automatic transmissions. (not that there's anything wrong with that :D )
Click to expand...
It may be dangerous to say but generally the Boxster is a better car than the Z4 albeit more expensive and yes I would call the Z a mainsteram car and definately not hardcore/petrol head material. Thats Caterham,Radical ,Atom ,Ascari and to a lesser extent Elise/VX220 area. The Z fills a worthy niche in the market but is by no stretch of the imagination the best car I have ever driven or ever likely too. In addition your going to see more Boxsters than Z's cos they've been around 6 years longer. It is a shame but a fact that a model seems to lose something as it gets older and attainable to the chavs. The people you see driving Porsches now. I remember when you were seriously minted and looked the part in an MX5 (Mind you I'm old enough to be able to say the same about the MGB GT !!!!!!!!!!!! )
 
Since having my z4 i have had the one nod and smile and that was a z3 driver always got a flash back when i had my elises .If you give a wave or flash at another and get nothing back you feel a right one :driving:
 
I'm starting to think that this car is more popular in the Uk than where I live, in metropolitan Detroit. :lol:
 
I see so few round where I live that by the time I get over the shock of seeing another it's normally to late to smile\wave, you just generally watch them disappear in the opposite direction in your mirrors.
 
There is one other coupe in the parking deck here. I've seen a small handful of roadsters and an occasional Z3 (even a Z3 coupe). The 3s, 5s and Xs are everywhere.
 
Gave someone a nod when at Le-Mans last year after letting them ahead of me but nothing back so do not bother anymore.

Have had a couple look over in traffic but decided not to wave.
 
I do think the Z4 Is too mainstream and petrolheads are in a minority. The only other Zs that I have had recognition from are other ///Ms where I get a flash or a wave more often than not. I guess people who buy Ms are more likely to be enthusiasts else why spend the extra money.
There was quite a good community feeling and recognition when ihad the 350z but by far the best was when ihad the Imprezas, almost everyone acknowledged you. Great cars, but only enthusiasts would buy something so ugly with gold wheels and a big fin on the back! :)
 
I have a completely different answer to everyone else, every time i have seen a Z4 they always acknowledge me, usually first! Usually being a smile. Although i don't actually see many around here in South Yorkshire and only a couple of them have been Coupes (i read there are only around 1800 Coupes in the UK?!) so it's quite a rarity.
And it's not just Z4's, i get it off a lot of BMW drivers in general, had a lot of M3's give me the smile and a guy once wound his window down in his 630 at some traffic lights to say hi :lol:
Maybe it's partly down to me being a nice young lady :lol:
 
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