Potential New Owner - Z4 3.0si vs 130i

WillRace

Member
Hi All,

Just thought I was introduce myself as I start looking for my next car.

I am going from a two car garage down to a 1 car consolidation of both (boo!!) due to being involved in an accident where the driver at fault fled the scene meaning I have had to claim on my own insurance and hence lost my no claims!

I had an FN2 Civic Type R as my daily and a heavily modified Mk1 Mazda Mx5 as my fast road/track toy! I am looking at getting either a Z4 3.0Si coupe or an E81 130i manual as I loved the relatively high-powered NA fun of the FN2, and the RWD nature of the Mx5, so these seem like a good mix of the two that can still do 15k miles per year!

I am interested to hear people's opinions on these two cars as potential options. I think the Z4 will feel more fun like the MX5 but the 130i will give me the practicality of the Civic! Has anyone owned/driven both?

If anyone has one of these they are looking to sell in the near future, or anyone has any advice when shopping around then feel free to drop me a message!

Thanks,

Will
 
Buy the coupe & enjoy everything about it.
The 130i may well be a decent all rounder but can't match the E86 for desirability, rarity & kudos.
 
Welcome. :)

Obviously you need to test drive them both. Drive the Zed first though. Then buy it and save your self the bother of driving the 130i.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. :thumbsup:

Two good choices there! I was looking for a 130i as my daily last year but just couldn't find any in budget so I bought an E90 330i. A 130i would probably be a bit more fun than that, but my E86 just felt so much more exciting every time I got in or even looked at it with that stunning shape. Being lower with a smaller cabin and sitting just in front of the rear wheels makes it a totally different experience. Plus the E86 is a bit quicker if that matters!

I'd have the E86 every time, unless practicality mattered (hence my 330i). :roll:
 
Thanks for the responses guys!

This is all echoing my thoughts on it really! I nearly pulled the trigger on a 130i a few weeks ago but lockdown meant I couldn't go and see it to finalise the deal. Now an E86 in the spec I want has come up on this forum so I have been swayed back!😂

The practicality of the hatchback would be good occasionally but I rarely have people in the back seats. I had 4 years with the MX5 as my only car before I became sensible and bought the Civic last July, so another few years with an impractical car won't hurt anyone!👍

I've heard about waterpumps/thermostats being weak points, as well as rear springs (will probably get coilovers anyway). Anything else I need to be aware of?
 
Electronic water pumps and thermostats are possible issues on the E86 and 130i as they have the same N52 engine so use the same parts.

If the thermostat fails it defaults to the "open" position so the car takes ages to warm up and fuel consumption suffers as a result, but unlike a 130i at least you'll have a temperature gauge in an E86! New thermostats cost around £100 IIRC so not ridiculous.

New OE Pierburg water pumps cost over £500 from BMW, but can be bought for more like £250 elsewhere. The problem with them is that unlike a mechanical pump that usually starts to leak they just stop working, so the car overheats in about a mile. :roll:

How long they last seems to be variable. My 1st E86 needed a new one at 9 years and 60K miles, but my 2nd E86 seemed to be on the original when I sold it at 13 years and 90K miles. The E91 325i I had needed one when it was 12 years old on 135K miles, but that might have been it's second! And I have no idea about when my 55 plate 330i on 113K miles will need one. But again you might get a bit more notice of an issue with an E86 because it has a temperature gauge!

Rear springs do tend to fail on most BMWs of this era - I doubt you'd find an E86 or 130i on the original ones these days.

If you can it's worth looking at the rear brake pipes as they tend to corrode behind the plastic cover in front of the passenger side rear wheel. On my 2nd E86 I got them replaced in copper.

It's also worth opening the tailgate and checking all of the edges for any signs of corrosion as some needed replacement under warranty, but as the warranty was for 12 years most will have expired by now.

Happy hunting. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks for the detailed response Mr Tidy!

I knew the N52 in both the E86 and 130i could suffer the same fate! The 130i I am looking at has had them done during it's life however a few of the E86s I've seen haven't. I'm more than happy to fit them myself so I will just budget for both a Thermostat and Waterpump.

Yes I've heard the springs are a weak point, that's how I'll justify buying a nice set of coilovers to myself.

Ok I'll check both of those things, I hadn't heard about those issues before so thanks for heads up! :thumbsup:
 
Welcome!

Being a former 130i owner (06 6MT) I can vouch for how good they are as well as the n52 3.0L straight 6. I am also on the hunt for a z4 and if you are coming from some JDM drivers cars like me then the z4 would be a great starting point. The 130i are great fun but the z4 are definitely more unique and timeless also seem to be easier to find with lower mileage compared to a similar age 130i.
 
WillRace said:
Thanks for the responses guys!

This is all echoing my thoughts on it really! I nearly pulled the trigger on a 130i a few weeks ago but lockdown meant I couldn't go and see it to finalise the deal. Now an E86 in the spec I want has come up on this forum so I have been swayed back!😂

The practicality of the hatchback would be good occasionally but I rarely have people in the back seats. I had 4 years with the MX5 as my only car before I became sensible and bought the Civic last July, so another few years with an impractical car won't hurt anyone!👍

I know we spoke on Instagram, but the Z4 Coupe boot is surprisingly practical at times too if that's what your decision is really coming down to.

In this picture there's two laptop bags, one clothing bag for a week, a mountain bike, a few other bits plus a centre section of an R56 MINI exhaust all in at once.

IMG_20190606_081539.jpg

You'll definitely look back at the Z4C more often than a 130i after parking.
 
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