Cheap MX5 or Z4?
Discussion
Digby said:
One question for those in the know...
Did all Z4s come with electric water pumps? I keep seeing that cropping up, but can't seem to find a definitive answer. Given my budget and the subsequent mileage on the cars within that budget, I may need to prepare for some preventative maintenance. Reports seem to suggest they just go. No warnings etc. One second fine, the next, stranded (assuming you spot the dash warning and don't cook them) I also watched a video on how to change them and was a little surprised that you needed to remove an engine mount and raise the engine to remove the pump! Would that be the same on all models?
Once again, thanks for all the input.
As someone said the early ones with the M54 engine have a normal mechanical water pump, it's only the facelifts (early 2006 on) with the N52 engine that have an electric one. Did all Z4s come with electric water pumps? I keep seeing that cropping up, but can't seem to find a definitive answer. Given my budget and the subsequent mileage on the cars within that budget, I may need to prepare for some preventative maintenance. Reports seem to suggest they just go. No warnings etc. One second fine, the next, stranded (assuming you spot the dash warning and don't cook them) I also watched a video on how to change them and was a little surprised that you needed to remove an engine mount and raise the engine to remove the pump! Would that be the same on all models?
Once again, thanks for all the input.
The electric pump on my first Z4 died at just 60K miles and it did overheat in about a mile. But it was a dark December night and I was on an unlit NSL dual carriageway so no way was I stopping. I drove another 10 miles or so home and although it did go into limp mode didn't cause any other damage. My 2nd Z4 seemed to still have the original when I sold it on 91K miles, so it's a bit of a lottery.
I had the same engine in a 2006 325i and that electric water pump died at 135K, but I've no idea if it was the original or had been replaced before.
I’ve never tried a Z4 as I preferred the SLK from that era. I liked the coupe version especially the Z4M and nearly bought one, but couldn’t get my head around the fact that the coupe was an after thought after the roadster, so they’re heavier. Go figure.
MX5 NC - good car. Stiff and planted - almost an S2000 but lacks power. Not a spiritual successor to the NA in my view.
Out of left field for your budget - Boxster 986; 3.2 or 2.7. Plenty about and within budget. Go for a cherished one where the IMS has been replaced and you should have a future proof car.
MX5 NC - good car. Stiff and planted - almost an S2000 but lacks power. Not a spiritual successor to the NA in my view.
Out of left field for your budget - Boxster 986; 3.2 or 2.7. Plenty about and within budget. Go for a cherished one where the IMS has been replaced and you should have a future proof car.
Edited by maz8062 on Wednesday 26th June 22:43
Edited by maz8062 on Wednesday 26th June 22:44
maz8062 said:
I’ve never tried a Z4 as I preferred the SLK from that era. I liked the coupe version especially the Z4M and nearly bought one, but couldn’t get my head around the fact that the coupe was an after thought after the roadster, so they’re heavier. Go figure.
MX5 NC - good car. Stiff and planted - almost an S2000 but lacks power. Not a spiritual successor to the NA in my view.
Out of left field for your budget - Boxster 986; 3.2 or 2.7. Plenty about and within budget. Go for a cherished one where the IMS has been replaced and you should have a future proof car.
I've had 3 Z4 Coupes (currently an M) and everything I've read says a Coupe was always planned, but for some reason BMW released the Roadster in 2003 and didn't make any Coupes until 2006. But as Roadsters are E85s and Coupes are E86s that suggests they were always going to happen. Claimed unladen weight for an M Roadster is 1,485kg and 1,495kg for an M Coupe. If 10kg is that crucial Carbon fibre roof panels and tailgates are available for Coupes! MX5 NC - good car. Stiff and planted - almost an S2000 but lacks power. Not a spiritual successor to the NA in my view.
Out of left field for your budget - Boxster 986; 3.2 or 2.7. Plenty about and within budget. Go for a cherished one where the IMS has been replaced and you should have a future proof car.
Edited by maz8062 on Wednesday 26th June 22:43
Edited by maz8062 on Wednesday 26th June 22:44
Anyway as you've said Boxsters are around for that sort of budget, but if they have an issue it can get expensive quickly.
Mr Tidy said:
maz8062 said:
I’ve never tried a Z4 as I preferred the SLK from that era. I liked the coupe version especially the Z4M and nearly bought one, but couldn’t get my head around the fact that the coupe was an after thought after the roadster, so they’re heavier. Go figure.
MX5 NC - good car. Stiff and planted - almost an S2000 but lacks power. Not a spiritual successor to the NA in my view.
Out of left field for your budget - Boxster 986; 3.2 or 2.7. Plenty about and within budget. Go for a cherished one where the IMS has been replaced and you should have a future proof car.
I've had 3 Z4 Coupes (currently an M) and everything I've read says a Coupe was always planned, but for some reason BMW released the Roadster in 2003 and didn't make any Coupes until 2006. But as Roadsters are E85s and Coupes are E86s that suggests they were always going to happen. Claimed unladen weight for an M Roadster is 1,485kg and 1,495kg for an M Coupe. If 10kg is that crucial Carbon fibre roof panels and tailgates are available for Coupes! MX5 NC - good car. Stiff and planted - almost an S2000 but lacks power. Not a spiritual successor to the NA in my view.
Out of left field for your budget - Boxster 986; 3.2 or 2.7. Plenty about and within budget. Go for a cherished one where the IMS has been replaced and you should have a future proof car.
Edited by maz8062 on Wednesday 26th June 22:43
Edited by maz8062 on Wednesday 26th June 22:44
Anyway as you've said Boxsters are around for that sort of budget, but if they have an issue it can get expensive quickly.
https://fastestlaps.com/comparisons/amv1ls03mizg
Both great cars mind.
Interesting bunch some of these Z4 sellers.
All I have done is asked a few questions relating to specific cars and it hasn’t gone very well…
Does the air con work? Question completely ignored.
Have you had it long? Completely ignored..
What was the reason it failed the mot a few weeks ago due to the engine light? A: No idea.
Has it had paintwork on one side, or is it just the light making it look a different colour? Completely ignored.
How many owners? A: No idea. (No offer to find out)
How many owners? A: Don’t know. (No offer to find out)
Mot advisory for tyres at the last mot prompted me to ask if they were ok / replaced A: Not really looked.
Do you have any pics with the roof up? Is it in good condition? A: Looks ok. Come look yourself (No pics and a 2 hour drive to find out)
I could add five or six more examples here. None of the above were cheap cars. Am I being too fussy?
All I have done is asked a few questions relating to specific cars and it hasn’t gone very well…
Does the air con work? Question completely ignored.
Have you had it long? Completely ignored..
What was the reason it failed the mot a few weeks ago due to the engine light? A: No idea.
Has it had paintwork on one side, or is it just the light making it look a different colour? Completely ignored.
How many owners? A: No idea. (No offer to find out)
How many owners? A: Don’t know. (No offer to find out)
Mot advisory for tyres at the last mot prompted me to ask if they were ok / replaced A: Not really looked.
Do you have any pics with the roof up? Is it in good condition? A: Looks ok. Come look yourself (No pics and a 2 hour drive to find out)
I could add five or six more examples here. None of the above were cheap cars. Am I being too fussy?
Not unusual. As with any sports car, make sure your checking out all the 'non mainstream' sources of cars for sale which is nearly always where the good ones hide (often changing hands between multiple owners of the same group).
Facebook groups, owners clubs, forums (they still exist!)...
Facebook groups, owners clubs, forums (they still exist!)...
Digby said:
Interesting bunch some of these Z4 sellers.
All I have done is asked a few questions relating to specific cars and it hasn’t gone very well…
Does the air con work? Question completely ignored.
Have you had it long? Completely ignored..
What was the reason it failed the mot a few weeks ago due to the engine light? A: No idea.
Has it had paintwork on one side, or is it just the light making it look a different colour? Completely ignored.
How many owners? A: No idea. (No offer to find out)
How many owners? A: Don’t know. (No offer to find out)
Mot advisory for tyres at the last mot prompted me to ask if they were ok / replaced A: Not really looked.
Do you have any pics with the roof up? Is it in good condition? A: Looks ok. Come look yourself (No pics and a 2 hour drive to find out)
I could add five or six more examples here. None of the above were cheap cars. Am I being too fussy?
Part of the fun of car shopping. If you really don’t want to deal with that sort of thing then you’ll need a dealer and pay accordingly. All I have done is asked a few questions relating to specific cars and it hasn’t gone very well…
Does the air con work? Question completely ignored.
Have you had it long? Completely ignored..
What was the reason it failed the mot a few weeks ago due to the engine light? A: No idea.
Has it had paintwork on one side, or is it just the light making it look a different colour? Completely ignored.
How many owners? A: No idea. (No offer to find out)
How many owners? A: Don’t know. (No offer to find out)
Mot advisory for tyres at the last mot prompted me to ask if they were ok / replaced A: Not really looked.
Do you have any pics with the roof up? Is it in good condition? A: Looks ok. Come look yourself (No pics and a 2 hour drive to find out)
I could add five or six more examples here. None of the above were cheap cars. Am I being too fussy?
Plenty around just take your time and enjoy it.
Mad Maximus said:
Part of the fun of car shopping. If you really don’t want to deal with that sort of thing then you’ll need a dealer and pay accordingly.
Plenty around just take your time and enjoy it.
The only thing with some dealer adverts is that they simply name the car and then go on to list absolutely every single feature listed in the original sales brochure. You get zero information about the actual car, but will know it has door pockets, usb slots, an illuminated ashtray, vanity mirrors, car mats, alloy wheels, map light, glove box……Plenty around just take your time and enjoy it.
I know what you mean, though. It just struck me as odd as I don’t remember it ever being this bad with previous car purchases. Many don’t even list which engine the car has. All good fun!
Edited by Digby on Sunday 30th June 20:40
Shamless copy paste (more or less) from another post I made...
Well, thanks again all; in the end, I picked up this 85k mile, 2004 3.0 manual (well, the kind chap delivered it) as it was very cheap and had some bonnet damage. I therefore decided to gently ease myself back in to playing about with cars and very, very slowly, over the last couple of days, messed about with it...
Oil and filter change, stubby aerial installed, damaged bonnet removed and second hand one fitted, new lower arms + bushes and drop links, cleaned the headlights, removed the foam from the sound resonator pipe and my pièce de résistance.....fixing what turned out to be a broken xenon headlamp levelling arm (Thanks to the Z4 FB group for letting me know what it did!) with some 1970s Meccano! You can see the yellow arm I made in the pics below, although that was taken before I bolted it in.
A few more jobs I want to do, but even with numerous breaks, I ached, a lot, so that will do for now.
Well, thanks again all; in the end, I picked up this 85k mile, 2004 3.0 manual (well, the kind chap delivered it) as it was very cheap and had some bonnet damage. I therefore decided to gently ease myself back in to playing about with cars and very, very slowly, over the last couple of days, messed about with it...
Oil and filter change, stubby aerial installed, damaged bonnet removed and second hand one fitted, new lower arms + bushes and drop links, cleaned the headlights, removed the foam from the sound resonator pipe and my pièce de résistance.....fixing what turned out to be a broken xenon headlamp levelling arm (Thanks to the Z4 FB group for letting me know what it did!) with some 1970s Meccano! You can see the yellow arm I made in the pics below, although that was taken before I bolted it in.
A few more jobs I want to do, but even with numerous breaks, I ached, a lot, so that will do for now.
Fantastic stuff. Has the roof motor been relocated to the boot from the drain channel it sits in? If not that's a key job to do to avoid a massive headache in future as it sits in a 'cup' in the channel which gradually fills up with water & drowns the motor. There's a handy space behind the boot lining on the front left side which the motor was relocated to on my old Z4 by a previous owner.
Gastons_Revenge said:
Fantastic stuff. Has the roof motor been relocated to the boot from the drain channel it sits in? If not that's a key job to do to avoid a massive headache in future as it sits in a 'cup' in the channel which gradually fills up with water & drowns the motor. There's a handy space behind the boot lining on the front left side which the motor was relocated to on my old Z4 by a previous owner.
Fortunately, already done by Z Shed.
Maracus said:
Nice write up. What did you use for the headlight to get it so clear?
Thanks.
I have used kits before, but returned to my usual method of 800 to 3000 wet and dry by hand and then finished with some E-TECH Restored Headlight Clear Coat I have had lying around for a while. Most kits are pretty good these days, although the ones that use pads in a drill are a bit too..... 'aggressive' for my liking. That said, my friend used one recently and got on just fine. I think I would only use those if I were taking the headlamps completely out.Thanks.
So far, we have used:
Turtle Wax Headlight Restorer Kit (twice)
Bass motor headlight restoration kit (comes with pads for drill)
Digby said:
I have used kits before, but returned to my usual method of 800 to 3000 wet and dry by hand and then finished with some E-TECH Restored Headlight Clear Coat I have had lying around for a while. Most kits are pretty good these days, although the ones that use pads in a drill are a bit too..... 'aggressive' for my liking. That said, my friend used one recently and got on just fine. I think I would only use those if I were taking the headlamps completely out.
So far, we have used:
Turtle Wax Headlight Restorer Kit (twice)
Bass motor headlight restoration kit (comes with pads for drill)
Thank youSo far, we have used:
Turtle Wax Headlight Restorer Kit (twice)
Bass motor headlight restoration kit (comes with pads for drill)
Digby said:
Shamless copy paste (more or less) from another post I made...
Well, thanks again all; in the end, I picked up this 85k mile, 2004 3.0 manual (well, the kind chap delivered it) as it was very cheap and had some bonnet damage. I therefore decided to gently ease myself back in to playing about with cars and very, very slowly, over the last couple of days, messed about with it...
It's always great to see the final outcome of these threads, and you've been pretty busy with the spanners! Well, thanks again all; in the end, I picked up this 85k mile, 2004 3.0 manual (well, the kind chap delivered it) as it was very cheap and had some bonnet damage. I therefore decided to gently ease myself back in to playing about with cars and very, very slowly, over the last couple of days, messed about with it...
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