Z4 Coupe - Buying Advice

J

jones3870

Member
Hey folks,

I'm soon to be searching for a new car and have my heart set on a Z4 Coupe. First question I have is would you reccommend now a good time to buy or do you think the prices will drop any further?

Secondly I'm half tempted by the M, however after reading a few reviews it seems hard to justify the extra running costs etc ,as their doesn't seem much between them and the 3.0si...?? Take into account I'm quite young and the insurance alone is an extra £500 a year!

I'm looking to spend around £14-15k (obviously more for the M) and would preferably like to buy from a forum member, but as there doesn't seem to be too many around at the minute I'll be searching everywhere.

Your advice is much appreciated. Thanks.
 
Hiya,

I may still be willing to sell my Z4MC, see this thread here for details if you're interested: http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=19316

It's not priced much above the budget you have set aside for a 3.0si. Nobody really knows what will happen to future values or what the economy may bring. I've been thinking about this for a while, may be in Spring prices will firm up a little but who knows.

I also realised that 10 year old Z3MC's with average miles still fetch around £10-12k. Also the Z4M may turn out to be last naturally aspirated 6cylinder M car that BMW produce, I reckon that it's sure to be a future classic, especially in Coupe form.

Good luck with the search.
 
Lol that's what's sort of running through my head. I just imagine hearing the engine of the M roaring at me then not being able to resist.

Am I right in thinking it falls into the higher tax bracket though? With that added to the extra fuel and insurance costs I can't really afford it.... :( Unless I get one at a bargain I suppose.
 
jones3870, it's worth stretching to the ///M if you can, without overstretching yourself, if that makes sense.
 
yes tax band is higher, so £400pa.
fuel mpg is about the same.
servicing is about twice as much, but if you try and find an M that has recently done it's inspection I service then you can go for another 25k-30k without another major service (i.e. Inspection II). Doing it this way then you'd be looking at another £700-£800 for the first year.
 
I'd love to get the M but unless I get one at a 'steal' I don't think I can afford the extra running costs - didn't realise the servicing was a lot more expensive tbf!! :o

What do you guys think I should be paying for a lowish mileage (<40k) good spec 3.0si in todays market?
 
nicko said:
peddy said:
fuel mpg is about the same.
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:dizzy:
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Hmm - When on forum runs the M's always have to refuel well before us 'humble' 3.0 drivers - MPG's far worse on an M (and my 3.0 is Auto too which also fells MPG).
To my mind, unless your moving from something exotic, I'd say the 3.0 with 265bhp is plenty fast enough.
 
Around town I get around 19mpg (actual) with a heavy foot... M is around 17 or 18. Not a big difference IMO.
 
peddy said:
Around town I get around 19mpg (actual) with a heavy foot... M is around 17 or 18. Not a big difference IMO.
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Talk about traffic light grand prix?! You must seriously beast it around town to be getting that sort of MPG. In my old 3.0se the lowest I saw was 25mpg and I was giving it some through the twisties. :wink:
 
There's a lot of traffic lights in London! :thumbsdown:
Did you calculate 25mpg or is it what the car is stating because it always over estimates.
 
Am I right in thinking it falls into the higher tax bracket though? With that added to the extra fuel and insurance costs I can't really afford it..
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........and therein lies the crux of this one Jonesey ! :wink:

Why buy something that you can`t afford, and if you can barely afford the tax/insurance/fuel on the M, then you`ve NO chance with the servicing, as it costs more again.

This is not to decry the merits of the M, as it surely is a fantastic car (not driven the Z4M, but I have owned an E46 M3, with the same engine...), but if you drive the 3 litre, in isolation, I promise that you will love it, and as for the roar of the M.........well the 3.0si sounds pretty good as it is; let me tell you !

Be careful not to get drawn in to buying something you can`t afford, as some of the M-lads on here will have you believe that the 3.0 is like some kind of slow-mobile, but 0-60 in 5.5 secs, and 265bhp isn`t slow in anybody`s book.

Having said all that, of course, if you CAN afford the M, then yes, it is the ultimate Z4 Coupe, but if you`re frightened of ever putting your foot down because you can`t really afford to, then it`s all been a waste of time.

Choose wisely, young Grasshopper........ :dance2:
 
peddy said:
There's a lot of traffic lights in London! :thumbsdown:
Did you calculate 25mpg or is it what the car is stating because it always over estimates.
Click to expand...

Admittedly I relied on the trip computer. :headbang:
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'll go for the 3.0si unless an unresistable opportunity arises on an M.

The 3.0si will be a huge jump from my current car anyway (Clio Sport) as I downgraded from a TT to buy a house a couple years back. So now the search starts.... :)
 
After a year of running the M I can safely say even if they run faultlessly (like mine) they are not cheap to keep on the road compared to an ordinary motor. I went in with my eyes open and budgeted accordingly, but at your age I imagine insurance would be a killer, bear in mind premiums have really climbed recently :(
 
I was in the same situation 2 months ago, and ended up with an 3.0SI. Certainly the M is a more exciting car, with probably better steering and less tramlining (no runflats), not to mention the extra power and sound. However, the 3.0SI is a great car, and certainly exciting on a nice B road. To me, the added expense in road tax (2x), maintenance (2X+), insurance (+300£), fuel consumption and also a smaller boot made me go to the 3.0. I haven't done a test drive in the M, though, as I know it would be tough to resist to buy one, if you can afford it.
 
The 3.0Si is a great car. If you can't afford or can't justify the cost of the M, settle for the 3.0Si. When I had mine I noticed the engine matured nicely with some miles on it. It of course didn't have the M sound but did sound great with 25k miles under its belt and seemed more powerful then also, as if at that point it was perfectly run-in. It had a kind of whine at high revs, if that's the right way to explain it,kind of reminded me of my old E30 M3. The Si is also louder than the M believe it or not, some may prefer that actually as it can sound more sporty all of the time. The M is fairly quiet until you hit the loud pedal, the Si is more boomy. Although not a big difference, I actually find the M easier to live with on long journeys.

One thing that did annoy me with the Si however was the tramlining on the runflats.

Like-for-like driving I think the M is 2-3MPG worse than the Si, its not as bad as the paper figure suggests. However, the M begs to be revved which will of course be detrimental to fuel economy.
 
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