Upgrade 3L Coupe to M Coupe...

S

slackjack

Member
 Coulsdon, Surrey
Hi All,

I currently have a lovely 57 reg 3.0L Coupe Sport and it is lovely in spahire black. Lots of extras, 11k on the clock and beautiful example.

However having had a year of great motoring, I'm pondering the in's and out's of upgrading for the obvious reasons. Has anyone done this? Were you glad you made the switch...?

Pros of the switching to the M: Looks, performance, herritage.

Cons: Less fuel ecconomy, higher tax/insurance.

Cheers.
 
I can only confirm the insurance part - I went from a 3.0 to an M, costed me £40 a year more to insure.

Tax - yes, I do pay the £400 ...

Breaker may be able to add some details, he has been wrestling with the same question for months now :P :poke:
 
Costs for comparison, as I was considering an M before getting my Si. I hope this helps.

Insurance - £400 more per year (but depends on the person, obviously)
Tax - £200 more per year
Servicing...
Oil Service: Si - £150, M - £250
Insp 1: Si - £250, M - £600+
Insp 2: Si - £350, M - £800+
Fuel - 10mpg down, so depends how many miles you do per year as to how much this costs
Warranty - Going to cost more for an M, or if you don't get one, if problems arise, they're going to cost you more
 
Running costs will be nothing compared to the capital cost of changing - I'd find out first what the cost to change might be and it may well put you off altogether. That's usually how it works when others have asked the same question.
 
Wondermike said:
Running costs will be nothing compared to the capital cost of changing - I'd find out first what the cost to change might be and it may well put you off altogether. That's usually how it works when others have asked the same question.
Click to expand...

A good point Wondermike thanks, I am concious of this and if it were to be more than £3/4K upgrade I wouldn't do it.

Thanks IK for the breakdown there. I wasn't aware of the variation in servicing costs, I thought that was here-say and the pricing was similar.
 
Ah right, TBH the dealers will be looking for between £8 and £12k to change like for like, less if you can shift yours on privately of course, and you might pick up a bargain private sale too.
 
Chrikey - as much as that!? Suppose it depends. I think if I were to I would tackle the private route.
 
3.0 is very good slackjack. I`ve been toying with the same decision but am now putting it off till winter when the prices between the two might be closer again. I drive many miles and for me the 3.0 is the better choice really.
I started working with a new client recently, driving a return trip of 60miles along some great roads and I`ve actually started appreciating the 3.0 even more. it is fast enough and has great running costs compared to the M. When/if i do get an M I would now like to keep the 3.0 to get my £`s worth.

Just yesterday I had some fun chasing/being chased by a 56plate tuned Scoobydoo and although the scoob pulled away or caught me a little in the mid-range, he just couldnt get away and feel the Z4 was better at top end. Oh, I`m not into racing and dont take the bait but on quiet roads and up to sensible speeds it was a little fun
My car has 31k miles now and is nicely run it. When I first got it i thought it sounded dull at higher revs (too quiet compared to the low down 'boom') but now the engine sounds great . Personally I think BMW made a little cracker in putting the light weight 3.0 in the Z4 from the 3 series - good economy, fast and fast enough. I think with non runflats it would make a great track car also, even more so with a coilover suspension and a little weight loss

Recently bmw offered me £13500 for mine (to buy it from me, not a trade in). Yet 2006 25-30k mile M`s are 10grand more. BMW have old stock non-M`s so at this moment i think the market is a little flooded . I`ve seen a couple of 2009 registered 3.0 coupes with <500 miles for around the 24k mark
 
IK. said:
Costs for comparison, as I was considering an M before getting my Si. I hope this helps.

Insurance - £400 more per year (but depends on the person, obviously)
Tax - £200 more per year
Servicing...
Oil Service: Si - £150, M - £250
Insp 1: Si - £250, M - £600+
Insp 2: Si - £350, M - £800+
Fuel - 10mpg down, so depends how many miles you do per year as to how much this costs
Warranty - Going to cost more for an M, or if you don't get one, if problems arise, they're going to cost you more
Click to expand...

Not quite ... I paid £62 labour for the oil service on my M + supply of own oil of £60, total £122. Dealer service £160-odd as per http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11738

Fuel - depends on how you drive, on my recent trip down from Wales 29 mpg, Germany trip a month or so ago identical values to the 3.0 we had with us (except I was using Shell 100, he was using 98).

Warranty - agreed, big difference there.
 
Dream on IK - I`d rather cut the roof off it it and grow plants in it. Only a few months ago I was offered £15000 trade-in.
PVR, what is your average over a 3-4 week period? I can get 40mpg out of the 3.0 when driven very carefully on a long journey (such as up A34 and then towards Milton Keynes along A/B roads. My average over a few weeks is now about 30mpg and that is not exacly driving conservatievly and is with some town driving mixed in,.
 
pvr said:
IK. said:
Costs for comparison, as I was considering an M before getting my Si. I hope this helps.

Insurance - £400 more per year (but depends on the person, obviously)
Tax - £200 more per year
Servicing...
Oil Service: Si - £150, M - £250
Insp 1: Si - £250, M - £600+
Insp 2: Si - £350, M - £800+
Fuel - 10mpg down, so depends how many miles you do per year as to how much this costs
Warranty - Going to cost more for an M, or if you don't get one, if problems arise, they're going to cost you more
Click to expand...

Not quite ... I paid £62 labour for the oil service on my M + supply of own oil of £60, total £122. Dealer service £160-odd as per http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11738

Fuel - depends on how you drive, on my recent trip down from Wales 29 mpg, Germany trip a month or so ago identical values to the 3.0 we had with us (except I was using Shell 100, he was using 98).

Warranty - agreed, big difference there.
Click to expand...

Can you price match that service? If not, then the general costs for oil service are more.

Fuel - Yes, it depends on how you drive, but the M will ALWAYS return less MPG driving exactly the same in an Si.
 
Darren, I was kidding! Hence the :P ! I already have an 07 Si in exactly the same colour, so wouldn't want another! :rofl:
 
Drive the M, then decide if the car lives up to the upgrade costs.

The si/3L is the smart decision for fuel economy and ease of driving in traffic, but I just love the M. I figure that life is short - have fun before its too late. (and you need to trade in the 2 seater for a family car)
 
slackjack said:
However having had a year of great motoring, I'm pondering the in's and out's of upgrading for the obvious reasons. Has anyone done this? Were you glad you made the switch...?
Click to expand...

As someone that paid considerably more to move from a 2.5i to an M, I'd say the key question is "What are your intentions?" I went with the upgrade beause I knew I wanted to own a Z4 for a good long while, and decided to get the most out of the experience by owning the top model for the rest of the term. In my opinion, the upgrade wouldn't have been worth it if the plan was to swap cars again in a couple of years.
 
I am debating with the same question at the moment.

I own a 2003 3.0i and wanted to upgrade it to MC. However, the diffrences requested here in Turkey for 2006's is about 30-35k euros. :headbang: THis is a price that I cannot justify.
 
Darren M said:
Dream on IK - I`d rather cut the roof off it it and grow plants in it. Only a few months ago I was offered £15000 trade-in.
PVR, what is your average over a 3-4 week period? I can get 40mpg out of the 3.0 when driven very carefully on a long journey (such as up A34 and then towards Milton Keynes along A/B roads. My average over a few weeks is now about 30mpg and that is not exacly driving conservatievly and is with some town driving mixed in,.
Click to expand...

I don't do town driving at all, so my fuel consumptions are long distance only. On a drive back from Scotland with cruise control set at 79, I get early thirties.

Remember that the displacement of the engines are not that different so if driven in a similar way, the consumption is fairly similar. Obviously if you take advantage of the additional power - you will use considereably more. Never have had less then 23 - 25 from the M though, and that is with 170+ on the German motorways and mountain driving.

I do have an RPI scoop though.
 
IK. said:
Darren, I was kidding! Hence the :P ! I already have an 07 Si in exactly the same colour, so wouldn't want another! :rofl:
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I knew you were kidding, hence the flower growing comment but forgot a smiley :D
 
Memo said:
I am debating with the same question at the moment.

I own a 2003 3.0i and wanted to upgrade it to MC. However, the diffrences requested here in Turkey for 2006's is about 30-35k euros. :headbang: THis is a price that I cannot justify.
Click to expand...

I feel your pain - in Australia its also about $25 - 35k difference.
 
Some brilliant comments there guys and very much appreciated...

Some people have mentioned what I would want from the upgrade, that's a good question. I would want a little more back of the chair power when dropping the hammer, perhaps a little more excitement from the exhaust/engine noise, a little more feel from steering, the slightly more aggressive looks (bonnet/splitters and potential of 19" CSLs).

As a side note, I can not think of any car sub £100k that looks better than a black Z4MC with 19" CSLs. I know mine looks stunning, but you know when you have that niggley feeling?

I'm currently sunning a week holiday (with my new fiance! :D ) in the lake district so a lovely time with my two favourite ladies. Having driven from South London the 300+ miles, I do have the benefit of claiming 44MPG which is great by any standards and roughly 450 miles from this tank of fuel. I've also done some good driving so far and at times thought - could I have safely done any more power? Or could I have enjoyed the driving any more/less?

Darren, thanks for your posts, and from reading past posts I can tell you've struggled with this! :) I can't believe your offer though of 13.5k, I'd rather get a wrecked M and upgrade yours part by part! I was offered 20K a while ago from BMW and declined, I was also offered 23K twice not so long ago and believe I could achieve this now if I wanted with some effort.

One point for those who have driven both... Where do you notice the power increase? Is it only when you rev the nuts out of the engine? Is the low end torque (2000-5000 say) about the same?

I think as somebody mentioned, there's nothing for it apart from taking the M for a spin somewhere and they are quite right. Sixspeed offered me a ride in his so I should also take that up eh Sixspeed!? :driving:
 
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