Z4 E85 3.0 or 2.5

A

arl10

Member
Hi just traded my Boxster for a car for my son to learn to drive in 2019 VW Polo so I am skint , 2nd one we have bought in 7 months , looking for a toy to have some cheaper fun in about 2-3.5 k , is the 3.0 the best to go for or would the 2.5 do ?
Seems quite a few 2.5 s about but not many 3.0 , what should I look out for any cars to recommend ?
I had a 2009 E89 3.0 sdrive for 6 weeks bought from main dealer but had too many problems to keep .
 
Ive just sold a Boxster 2.7 and gone for a 2.5 SE. Whilst the Boxster was a great handling car I do find the Z4 more fun. After trying a few 2.5 and 3.0 I couldnt tell much difference and didnt really need a 6 speed box for what I do. I also found alot of the 3.0 cars I looked at had either been modified to death, wragged or both. Whereas the 2.5's seemed to be in much better condition.
 
We also have a boxster as well my my 2.5 zed - the boxster, while awesome, is sometimes a little ‘serious’ and ‘too powerful to have fun with’. Don’t get me wrong - it’s sublime and excellent at everything it does.

But....

The zed is so much fun!! It’s chuckable, it’s not so powerful that you’ll lose your license when you reach the ‘fun’ line, and it doesn’t have the open wallet surgery of a Porsche. Oh, and it’s not as highly strung as a Porsche either - zeds seem to run for 120k + no problem!

Both are excellent cars - but for me in the real world (of speed cameras, people driving ponderously....etc)....the zed wins...most of the time...usually ;-)
 
Get the best/well maintained car in your budget regardless of whether its a 2.5 or a 3.0..I tested a few 2,5's before I bought a 3.0 and I felt they were plenty quick enough to have fun in. Obviously the 3 has a bit more grunt but nowt wrong with the 2.5
 
Hi thanks! I also like the coupe but prefer the soft top,as it is 2 cars in one. Is there any must haves apart from heated seats? M sport seats look nice but are they for a slightly built person? Lots for sale with over 100k are they to be avoided? Any specialists to consider or is it better to go with a forum car?
 
From what I have seen lately you are going to struggle to find a good 3 litre in your budget, unless it has done some serious mileage. And you'd have to at least double your budget to get a decent Coupe!

Personally I'd rather buy privately, preferably from a forum member, so you can get a feel of how the car is likely to have been treated.

If you see a 2.5 advertised that looks good why not see if you can try it then you'll get an idea of whether you need to focus on a 3 litre, even if you have to up your budget a bit.
 
This looks a well looked after example, pretty much one owner and serviced more than required.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007091041977?advertising-location=at_cars&radius=1501&price-to=3500&price-from=1000&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&make=BMW&include-delivery-option=on&sort=relevance&model=Z4&postcode=cm75ns&page=1

The key would be finding out what is wrong with the roof i.e. if it’s going to be a small fortune or a large fortune to fix it.
 
16'' wheels? £300 to sort the roof out if you are close enough to one of the guys who can do it. Shame its not got auto headlights and wipers though. I paid not much more for my 3.0 litre.
 
There's quite a bit to this question...

2.5 vs 3.0 and pre vs. post facelift versions of both. As an example the post facelift 3.0 is nearly 200kw in a car a little over 1000kg so it goes like the clappers (a touch over 5 seconds to reach 100kms/h) and the torque is great.

The engines across pre and post facelift all sound pretty great. I think (* think) all the 2.5 and 3.0 variants come with the tube from the engine intake to the cabin to bring engine noise into the cabin. The 3.0 definitely do.

Do you want more speed and takeoff? - 3.0 (facelift = more)
Do you want great handling - both although the sports models include M suspension which works well
More bling? - the 3.0 have bigger alloys and some other bits; nothing major although a 3.0si or 2.5si include the MSports suspension. My 3.0si 2006 (facelift) also came with the M style steering wheel which IMHO is the best steering wheel I've laid my hand on ever, and to give you an idea I changed my steering wheel out twice in my BMW F30 and 3 times in my last MX5 :)

The 2.5 and 3.0 engines are both great re fuel. The facelift option includes a better auto gearbox if that is your thing (it's great) and I get around 7 litres on average on long drives on the freeway with hills.

My daily is a twinscroll turbo 3.0 335 F30 BMW and the Z4 3.0si feels pretty closely matched, albeit not quite the same torque.

I went out for a drive with a fellow owner in a pre-facelift 2.5 auto and he was having plenty of fun :)

Just make sure you get a Z with the sports button if you have an auto!!
 
Oh and I should add that whenever someone asks 'small vs bigger' they normally find out later it was bigger they wanted :)
 
Whats the maintenance like on the 2.5si, I'm not so torn between 3.0/2.5 more torn between buying a car that's going to make me broke and not, I've seen quite some horror stories about the n52 engine are they to be believed?
 
N52 engines are pretty bomb proof providing you change their oil regularly and exercise them. Only expensive problem I’ve had in circa 56k miles was a sensor failure ... mostly labour in stripping and rebuilding to top of the engine!
 
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