(Long post incoming..)
Hi All,
My path to getting a Z4 probably isn't as simple as most so if you have a spare 5 minutes, here's my story of how I got mine. Back in 2013 I bought a 2.0 Z3 from my Dad, who'd been letting it sit on our drive for a good few years since he'd bought it in 2003. It was still in good shape, ran great and after having only FWD cars previously, it was nice to find yourself spinning 360 degrees going around a snowy roundabout in the middle of rush hour in December.
In 2014, I got a job in Stuttgart as an Automotive CGI Artist where I work on all the brochure/website images and animations for Mercedes-AMG, which means I get to see all of the MB-AMG cars 2-3 years before they're even built, which is pretty interesting. If I ever owned an AMG, I'd have absolutely no problem taking one apart because I've got access to the CAD data, if only I had one of these for a Z4!
Anyway, after spending a good part of 3 years taking the bus/train to work and being too stubborn to buy a german car, I went about getting my Z3 to Germany..Which at this point had yet again been standing on my Dad's drive. I took it for an MOT last January and it was in a sorry state, corroded brake lines, warped discs, corroded steering column, broken springs and needed new tyres all around. The plan to drive my Z3 was on the backburner.
Fast forward a few months and my Dad left his job (also in Germany) and said he was going to get the Z3 and his Z4 in shape (which he bought after I bought his Z3 and also had been sitting on the drive). I was always more fond of the Z4 and after a bit of haggling, I managed to convince him to sell me the Z4. Off it went through an MOT - pretty much the same as the Z3 in regards to what needed repairing but the job was done and the car was road legal again.
I flew back to England last weekend with a one way ticket. My Dad had flown out of Manchester on the Tuesday and left the Z4 in an airport car park. He'd told me the battery *might* be flat because there was a compartment light that wasn't turning off so it was running the battery down. The guys at the airport had already jumped the car when I'd got there to pick it up and drove it back to Chester without issue. Popped in to see my Mum for a brew for a few hours and then when I went to leave, the battery was dead yet again. Charged it up with a portable charger and off I went to my mates. Hungover the next day, again the battery was completely flat. This continued throughout Friday and after taking it out for a while Friday evening, I had hope for the drive on Saturday that it would be ok. It wasn't and at this point I was in full panic mode. Took it down to Halfords at 9 and they diagnosed it as a faulty battery. They replaced it with a new one and off I went to drive down to the Euro Tunnel.
After spending the night in Calais, I was quite anxious when I woke up whether my car would start or not. So much so I could only stomach a bowl of cereal from the buffet after paying 9 euros for it. Thankfully, the car started and I let out a rather loud "GET IN" as it fired up. 8 hours later I arrived in Stuttgart with nothing but a small hole in my pocket. In total, the journey took 770 miles.
But yeah, there's a few things I need to do - Getting it to German spec so I can register it with German plates. Find out what's causing the airbag light to be constantly illumated, replace the broken rear 3rd brake light and give the headlights a bit of TLC as they're fogged up and the bulbs are horribly dim right now.
Sorry for such a long post but if you stuck with mere, here's the only picture I've got so far:
Hi All,
My path to getting a Z4 probably isn't as simple as most so if you have a spare 5 minutes, here's my story of how I got mine. Back in 2013 I bought a 2.0 Z3 from my Dad, who'd been letting it sit on our drive for a good few years since he'd bought it in 2003. It was still in good shape, ran great and after having only FWD cars previously, it was nice to find yourself spinning 360 degrees going around a snowy roundabout in the middle of rush hour in December.
In 2014, I got a job in Stuttgart as an Automotive CGI Artist where I work on all the brochure/website images and animations for Mercedes-AMG, which means I get to see all of the MB-AMG cars 2-3 years before they're even built, which is pretty interesting. If I ever owned an AMG, I'd have absolutely no problem taking one apart because I've got access to the CAD data, if only I had one of these for a Z4!
Anyway, after spending a good part of 3 years taking the bus/train to work and being too stubborn to buy a german car, I went about getting my Z3 to Germany..Which at this point had yet again been standing on my Dad's drive. I took it for an MOT last January and it was in a sorry state, corroded brake lines, warped discs, corroded steering column, broken springs and needed new tyres all around. The plan to drive my Z3 was on the backburner.
Fast forward a few months and my Dad left his job (also in Germany) and said he was going to get the Z3 and his Z4 in shape (which he bought after I bought his Z3 and also had been sitting on the drive). I was always more fond of the Z4 and after a bit of haggling, I managed to convince him to sell me the Z4. Off it went through an MOT - pretty much the same as the Z3 in regards to what needed repairing but the job was done and the car was road legal again.
I flew back to England last weekend with a one way ticket. My Dad had flown out of Manchester on the Tuesday and left the Z4 in an airport car park. He'd told me the battery *might* be flat because there was a compartment light that wasn't turning off so it was running the battery down. The guys at the airport had already jumped the car when I'd got there to pick it up and drove it back to Chester without issue. Popped in to see my Mum for a brew for a few hours and then when I went to leave, the battery was dead yet again. Charged it up with a portable charger and off I went to my mates. Hungover the next day, again the battery was completely flat. This continued throughout Friday and after taking it out for a while Friday evening, I had hope for the drive on Saturday that it would be ok. It wasn't and at this point I was in full panic mode. Took it down to Halfords at 9 and they diagnosed it as a faulty battery. They replaced it with a new one and off I went to drive down to the Euro Tunnel.
After spending the night in Calais, I was quite anxious when I woke up whether my car would start or not. So much so I could only stomach a bowl of cereal from the buffet after paying 9 euros for it. Thankfully, the car started and I let out a rather loud "GET IN" as it fired up. 8 hours later I arrived in Stuttgart with nothing but a small hole in my pocket. In total, the journey took 770 miles.
But yeah, there's a few things I need to do - Getting it to German spec so I can register it with German plates. Find out what's causing the airbag light to be constantly illumated, replace the broken rear 3rd brake light and give the headlights a bit of TLC as they're fogged up and the bulbs are horribly dim right now.
Sorry for such a long post but if you stuck with mere, here's the only picture I've got so far:
North West Surrey
south yorkshire
