Why do you own a Z4?

Because I always wanted one. And I always wanted an M car. Eventually the two desires collided and now I have an awesome car that I will probably never sell, certainly not by choice unless I can replace it with a Carmine Red 911 Targa 4 GTS. Which is not going happen :lol:
 
I have never owned a nice car in my life (now 50 years of it). First car was a Hillman Avenger and due to my high levels of testosterone, youthful stupidity and only third party insurance, it only lasted me 6 months before I wrote it off. I migrated onto Datsun 1200s and had a nice coupe for many years and although fun to drive and work on, it wasn’t all ‘that’. Roll on marriage, children combined with a career in arboriculture, having a nice car was never an option as any available funds for transport were spent on something practical – an 05 2.0 DTi Vauxhall Zafira.

Fast forward to a change of career into InfoSec, a substantial uplift in salary and a move back to NZ, I found myself in position to start looking around for something a little newer. First investigations were actually into updating the family bus, but the more I looked, the less comfortable I felt in spending a large wedge of cash on a car I would rarely drive. I then recalled my investigations many years ago into Z4’s when I was living in the UK. My current beast came up on tinternet, the price was right, I was ready and the bank balance allowed for a cash purchase so there was little hesitation.

The zed has to be the most fun car I wish to own. Top down driving in NZ is a pleasure as there are so many sunny days in Christchurch to enjoy it. Roads are great and rarely crowded so you have numerous opportunities to enjoy the power and handling. There aren’t too many of these around in Christchurch and those that are, are not as well loved as mine. So with her mint condition and perpetual clean state, she always turns heads even when stationary.

All of the family love being in the passenger’s seat and my wife likes to drive it when she is feeling brave enough. Every time I climb into it and turn that engine on it makes me smile, and dropping the roof down and taking off turns that into a proper grin. As noted by many here, there are not too many roadsters that have its looks and even after 12 years, it still looks fantastic and MX5s just don’t …. well, they just don’t right?
 
I was diagnosed with a serious illness in my 20's and in 2015 had a huge shift in my life because of it.

Decided "F it" and that life was too short so I decided I wanted a convertible sports car just-because, inspired by my close friend's love for Miatas. My dad had always liked the Z4 and I guess that influenced me a bit.

Few years later with a lot of medical dramas, bouts of depression, close brushes with the scythe wielding figure and a transplant, I'm finally on the mend. The Z4 is a constant reminder of this major chapter of my life that my family and I have had to overcome and to not take each day for granted!

It also does some nice skids :rofl:
 
When someone asked if my air cooled 911 was for sale I began to think what I could replace it with, I wanted a convertible, a Boxster S was the first choice for me but looking in all the usual places there were hundreds of them for sale, it didn’t bode well for long term values, which in fairness has proved right, at the time I had an Alpina D3BT as a company car and thought it would be nice to have an Alpina Roadster too, doing some research I stumbled upon the Evo magazine review https://www.evo.co.uk/tvr/tuscan/14195/bmw-z4-m-v-boxster-s-v-tvr-tuscan-v-alpina-m-power-strikes-back , I didn’t even know about the Z4M until I read this article, anyway it made my mind up and I’ve never looked back :driving:
 
I grew up around convertibles & roadsters.... my brother had old MG midgets then an MX5 NA and a couple of MGFs, and I messed about with a couple of old Escort XR3i convertibles when I was in the UK.

When I came to Thailand I looked at a few MX5s but the ‘sensible part of my brain’ said get a 4 seater as a family could be on the cards.

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A couple of E36s later and still no kids, I was helping my girlfriend look for a mini, and the guy at one garage took an interest in my e36 convertible and showed me a Z3 and Z4 he had in stock

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The Z4 really struck a chord with me even though it was a standard early car with just a 2.2, so a deal was done

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No regrets.

And my girlfriend also ended up with her mini too, so everyone was a winner

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Well I'm a hairdresser for a living so it was the obvious choice. (GROAN).

As a young man my ambitions of car ownership we're generally trying to get bang for buck in terms of looks and speed. Having had several cars I had a 57 Audi S3 for about 2 years suddenly realised houses are quite expensive... sold the car (my only real chunk of money) and bought a £750 Mondeo which did for the next 3 years....

Still saving for that house but the petrolhead in me could justify a couple of grand on something a bit more exciting car wise.

I fancied doing the North Coast 500 and having had 'a go' of a mates MX5 thought the 500 best be done in a drop top sports car.

Looked at the usual suspects S2000's etc but too much cash. Wasn't impressed with early boxsters build quality (not a patch on the Z4 - feels cheap inside in comparison)

I was suprised to see how good value a Z4 is. I bought my first 03 3.0i for 3k with 111,000 miles on the clock. I overhauled the suspension and got it in top condition, had for about year and crashed it :headbang: A low speed affair believe it or not.

I felt so guilty seeing it go on the low loader! Took the insurance cash and the car is back on the road somewhere according the the tinternet.

I started my car search again and I just could not find any better car for the money than another Z4.

This time a 2006 3.0si. Silver (the whiter silver?), nice aftermarket multispoke M wheels, red sports seats, fat m steering wheel and aftermarket suspension all round.

Both my cars turned heads, which I think can't really be said for most cars costing in the low thousands - I don't buy cars to show off but hey its nice to be noticed!

I love getting the roof down on a sunny day. Any excuse. It just adds to the journey. I also think it makes you want to seek out a journey further a field on a nice day. I love the noise of the straight 6. I love the bang for buck. I like the smallness of the car. It feels like a hark back to sports cars of old.

It's fairly practical too, manages my costco shop no bother!

I would like an M lite next but I also really don't want to lose my drop top ability! (And an m235i convertible seems even more hairdressery to me..)
 
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