Discussion
Looking into getting one of these for the missus. Can anybody advise which spec I should be looking for. Are there any know problems with the Z4? How are they as an everyday driver doing very low milage? What are the prefered colour combinations? Also can anybody recommend a good dealer in the Manchester / Stockport area other than Benhams. Sorry about all the questions, it just that I know next to bugger all about BMW.
Thanks in advance.
Dave C
Thanks in advance.
Dave C
ntel said:
Looking into getting one of these for the missus. Can anybody advise which spec I should be looking for. Are there any know problems with the Z4? How are they as an everyday driver doing very low milage? What are the prefered colour combinations? Also can anybody recommend a good dealer in the Manchester / Stockport area other than Benhams. Sorry about all the questions, it just that I know next to bugger all about BMW.
Thanks in advance.
Dave C
ok, dont own or drive one of these, but can answer the following
Problems? None I'm aware off, and it'll most probably still be under the 3yr manufacturers warranty anyway
Daily Driver, covering low miles? No Problem! Its a BMW so pretty reliable and varable servicing (done on use via the service indicator) should make servicing very cheap if covering low miles
Prefered Colours.... well I always think they look best in darker colours (Black, sterling Grey etc) just be sensible and you wont go wrong
Options? The really needed the upgraded alloys, and any other bits of extra kit all helps saleabiliy
All in all, I think the Z4's represent great value for money, a car thats easy for the wife to drive, but also one you should be able to have some fun in
ntel said:
Thanks for the info mustard. Just seen one for sale at a local main dealers. 2005 Z4 2.5 Si with 9000 miles on it. Metalic black with red leather for £22,950. Is that about right?
Just log onto www.bmw.co.uk and www.autotrader.co.uk plenty around now, find the spec you want and just compare the prices, you should soon get a feel
I've had my 3.0i for about a month now, and I use it every day in nightmare traffic on my commute, and it's great for it, really comfortable to drive. The 2.5i or the 3.0i are the ones to go for, because they come with the sport button which allows it to be as easy as a 318i around town and on the motorway, and a hooligan mobile when you can be bothered to have some larks.
As for price, I would be (and indeed was) tempted by the 3.0i, because you get a lot more standard spec on them and they're typcially only £0.5k-£1k more than a comparable 2.5i (or even 2.2i), and fuel consumption is almost identical. Decent used buys are in the range £21k to £23k for a 2.5i with mid-teen milage and some decent options. You have to shop around, they vary a lot with location. I also found that condition was variable, some low mile examples were really worn and abused and some high milers were mint.
For options, the 17" twin spoke rims from the 3.0i are adequate, 18"s are nice but they cause a lot of tramlining on poor road surfaces and push up the price, as does Sat Nav. You don't really need anything else on the 3.0i apart from maybe a wind deflector.
The only downsides are that the steering can be a little lacking in feedback (at least compared to a Boxster), and the aforementioned low price on the used market suggests that residuals may be less robust than some of the competition, but not much.
As for price, I would be (and indeed was) tempted by the 3.0i, because you get a lot more standard spec on them and they're typcially only £0.5k-£1k more than a comparable 2.5i (or even 2.2i), and fuel consumption is almost identical. Decent used buys are in the range £21k to £23k for a 2.5i with mid-teen milage and some decent options. You have to shop around, they vary a lot with location. I also found that condition was variable, some low mile examples were really worn and abused and some high milers were mint.
For options, the 17" twin spoke rims from the 3.0i are adequate, 18"s are nice but they cause a lot of tramlining on poor road surfaces and push up the price, as does Sat Nav. You don't really need anything else on the 3.0i apart from maybe a wind deflector.
The only downsides are that the steering can be a little lacking in feedback (at least compared to a Boxster), and the aforementioned low price on the used market suggests that residuals may be less robust than some of the competition, but not much.
As for colour, I find that Sterling Grey and Titanium Silver are very common, and i'm not wild about them. The black is alright, but I prefered the blues and reds (all four, even Bright Red), and I've never seen green or white.
Metallic paint is standard on the 3.0i, so they generally have a bigger range to choose from on the used market.
For the interior, I found the black a bit drab, and it might get just a little warm in summer.
Red is cool, but the rest of the interior is just like the black and didn't really do it for me. So I went with Beige, which is a little rare but really looks the business with black, blue or red.
Metallic paint is standard on the 3.0i, so they generally have a bigger range to choose from on the used market.
For the interior, I found the black a bit drab, and it might get just a little warm in summer.
Red is cool, but the rest of the interior is just like the black and didn't really do it for me. So I went with Beige, which is a little rare but really looks the business with black, blue or red.
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