T8 GNW - Progress & Ownership Thread

[Pondrew]

Fancy doing that to a lovely Z3 - I can only hope it was a facelift addition

And it's a 'free litre'...and it's low mileage....and it was immaculate! I'm not overly popular with the Z3 or Z4 fanatics TBH.

Hopefully one day it will be a beautiful swan in another guise! :wink:

Sooo predictable! :roll:

 

[Nictrix]

And it's a 'free litre'...and it's low mileage....and it was immaculate! I'm not overly popular with the Z3 or Z4 fanatics TBH.

Hopefully one day it will be a beautiful swan in another guise! :wink:

Sooo predictable! :roll:

I meant to put a smiley face after it.

 

[Gwest44]

Managed to get the first wash on the car so thought I’d share my initial thoughts and observations.

First off I think it presents really well – I like the Sapphire Black and Ivory White combination and the Stye 293’s are growing on me. They aren’t a style I’d considered before but with the benefit of hindsight they are certainly the ones I would have chosen from the 2009 catalogue. Granted without the benefit of hindsight I would have gone with the 296’s but I’ve been there and done that and have no desire to fit 19 inch rims. In 2009 the 296’s were a £1,400 option on the base 23i and the 293’s were £890 – the only other OEM 18 inch wheels I’ve had and liked were the 325’s but they didn’t come in until 2010 with the MSport cars.

The exterior rubber on the car was showing signs of neglect with green mold build up and although I haven’t yet gone the full hog and applied the Swissvax seal feed I have given it a good seeing to with the Gummi Pflege – tbh I’ve been impressed with the initial results and already the car looks much better.



What I am really taken with is the Pure White Design Package which was only offered from 2009 – 2011 and in 2009 was a £2,500 option on the 23i. I knew the package introduced Nappa leather sports seats and the anthracite wood interior trim but I hadn’t realised it also added extended leather to the full dashboard along with Alcantara and leather door cards. A really nice touch but then I guess for £2,500 you’d want something a bit special.



The car also came with a number of other options that again weren’t an insignificant cost back in 2009 – the Bluetooth telephone interface (£585), parking sensors front and rear (£590), USB audio interface (£230), heated seats (£280) and wind deflector (£205) are all welcome additions. Another nice option that contrasts well with the Ivory White interior is the anthracite roof lining and although this became standard on the MSport cars from 2010 it was a £145 option on all the 2009 cars. Easily the most pointless option at £160 seems to be the through-loading feature but as a golfer I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt for now and not remove the integrated storage bag.




Weirdly the car doesn’t have the storage option so no cup holders or footwell net’s and despite the clips being there no net on the rear panel – slightly annoying but if I’m honest I had the rear panel net in my previous E89‘s and it just used to annoy me. Similarly I doubt I’ll miss the folding compartment under the dash or the rubber straps in the boot and although I’m not bothered about the cup holders under the armrest I can't abide the pointless phone cradle that replaces them which will have to come out at some point. The main thing though is that the soft opening functionality of the armrest works as does the closing clasp – neither had survived on any of my other E89’s. But despite any of that and easily my most joyous surprise was the fact that not only was the whippy still attached it wasn’t welded to the aerial base and could still be unscrewed – I can’t remember the last Zed I bought where I didn’t have to replace the aerial base.

 

[Mr Tidy]

It's looking good Gary.

I love that interior, and like those wheels - although I wouldn't want to have to clean them!

 

[Gwest44]

Manged to go through all the documentation that came with the car in a bit more detail and can see that despite having 6 previous owners the majority of the 108,000 miles were done by the 5th owner who lived in Wilmslow and owned the car from 2016 to 2022 – although the service book is complete the associated invoices only go back to 2021.

That said looking through the invoices I can see the car had a full service 4,000 miles ago in 2022 after the previous owner had purchased it – this included the brake fluid, gear box oil, diff fluid and a new set of spark plugs in addition to a new crankshaft pulley and fan belt. Shortly after that it also had a new battery fitted, two rear springs, a new pulse generator and new ABS drive shaft rings. The cost of all that came to just over £2,000 with the BMW & Mini Specialist he used . Undoubtedly as a result of all that work the service in May last year, 2,000 miles ago, just comprised of an oil and filter change.

It also looks like the OEM mats that are in the car were purchased by the previous owner from Douglas Park in Glasgow back in 2022 and at the same time (based on their date stamps) all the wheels were fitted with Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric tyres – 225/40 on the front and 255/35 on the rear. Obviously that’s a bonus and the rears should be good for a good while with me only doing around 5,000 miles a year but the alloys are in desperate need of refurb.



The on-board computer confirms the annual service is now due which in addition to the alloys and a scuff on the front bumper were the issues I was aware of when I agreed to purchase the car – the MOT is also due so I’m just waiting on confirmation from my mechanic on a suitable date for the service and MOT. Not a bad thing I suppose having just bought the car at least it will give me piece of mind and get me straight in to the annual service and MOT rhythm which I always intend to maintain with any car – assuming I keep them long enough.



Finally I decided to plug in the Creator 310+ to see if any fault codes were being reported – it took me a while to get through the 5 menu pages but the only codes reported were related to the electronic handbrake and rear indicator. I had previously checked the indicator LED’s and all looked fine so maybe I need to take a closer look in the boot.

 

[Gwest44]

Took most of the boot lining out today and had a good rummage around checking for leaks - also removed the rear light clusters to take a better look at both of those.



Pleased to report everything is dry under the clusters and below the roof motor and not a sign of dampness in the insulating foam that surrounds the roof motor.

However based on the date code on both salmon relays (0916) I think I need to get on to Sytner in Sheffield and order a replacement pair - unless I'm mistaken the first 2 digits represent the year of manufacture so these must be the originals

 

[Gwest44]

Crap weather again so decided to tackle a few small jobs on the car.

When I sold the MSport 20i to a mate back in March 2022 I left my private plate on the car - so I asked him to send me the V5C reference number so I could transfer it online. He already had the previous plates for the number his reverted to and agreed to give me my old plates back. Obviously having waited nearly 2 year's to transfer the plate I couldn't wait to see him at the weekend to pick up the old plates so had a new set made up by the local supplier for £15.

Fitted the plates today and also coded the daytime running lights - on a black car I do prefer the amber angel eyes as opposed to the bright white but appreciate I'm probably in the minority with that opinion.



Also decided today was the day to lose the redundant charging cradle - been there before with 2 of my previous E89‘s so I'm well versed in the removal process.





All back together and another redundant phone cradle destined for the bin - this time I decided not to fit the wireless charging cradle preferring instead to just go with the USB charging option.





Now I just need to order the storage tray mat from Sytner's and yes I know I also need to get a replacement roof button from AliExpress :roll:

 

[Gwest44]

Appreciate it's always the case when you get a new motor but with the service and MOT booked for Monday I thought it was about time I got out in T8 GNW rather than fiddling about with it - so that's what I did.

Usual route out through Owler Bar towards Baslow that I've started to put a bit of a twist in as I go past Pilsley to take in Great Longstone on the way to Monsal Head. This is taken just after you turn off the A6020 towards Ashford-in-the-Water on the way in to Great Longstone.



Then it's the B6465 through Wardlow to join the A623 to Sparrowpit. However, it's always difficult to take that left around lunchtime when a right brings you immediately to The Yonderman Cafe - so I didn't and I did.




Sufficiently refueled it was onward as planned. Now I make no excuses for the next photo's and accept the fact that said lay-by has been massively over utilised by myself in the past - but what can I say I'm a creature of habit and this version of T8 GNW hasn't been there before.




I'd fully expected to have to drive through Edale because Winnats Pass has been closed for maintenance work recently but as I went passed I noticed it was open - so 360 degree turn executed I headed back to Castleton that way. At this point I was joined by an assistant who agreed to take some photo's as I drove down the pass after I explained it was far to dangerous for me to do it because I would be driving.





As I reached Castleton the inevitable rain decided to turn up so I pulled over and put the roof up completing the rest of the journey coupe style - through Castleton and Hope and on to Hathersage then eventually Owler Bar and back home :driving:

 

[Gwest44]

Service & MOT booked for today but with the weather being nice we decided to go the long way round to drop it off - via Bolsterstone and Ladybower.



As we were driving past anyway it would have been rude not to stop at the Yorkshire Bridge Inn so we did - fortunately the pie of the day was venison and they had Bakewell Best on as a guest beer. Obviously the beer dictated the desert course and we shared a Bakewell pudding with custard





Turn right out of the Yorkshire Bridge and immediately left up New Road and you are afforded one of the best views (from the road) in the Peak District - out over Hope Valley towards the cement works.



Let's hope the test results are as enjoyable as the journey to drop it off.

 

[Gwest44]

Unfortunately the results are in and it's a fail - pair of rear springs on order but likely Friday before they arrive and it can go for the re-test :headbang:

 

[Gwest44]

Despite failing for a fractured rear spring it appears rather than being fractured the springs were just the wrong type. As a result the coils were simply rubbing against each other - so two new springs later it was an unadvisory pass and a new 12 month fun voucher

 

[Gwest44]

Now for sale - forum price is £5,450 before I list it to the wider public

 

[RAYK47]

wow, what a bargain.