Z4 Insurance

[Locki]

Hi all,

I wondered if any of you might be able to recommend a good company for insuring a BMW Z4 3.0i?

I was a day or two away from buying a TVR Tuscan, but after a couple of test-drives, the temptation of a brand-new (reliable?) BMW Z4 3.0i versus the second-hand Tuscan is proving too much I'm 95% confident that I'm going to buy (and hopefully pick up) a brand new Z4 tomorrow.

Thanks if anyone can help!

Paul.

p.s. In avoidance of offending any TVR drivers, I still love, and will buy a Tuscan, but it'll have to wait until I can afford a brand-new one for the warranty, and to reduce the risk of the reliability issues on the older straight six engines. My Range Rover is already proving too much of a burden in that respect!

[ghunter]

AS a previous 2003 brand new Tuscan S owner, I think you've made a good decision in not buying the Tuscan. I fell in love with the car but after 6 months of ownership and monthly visits to the dealer, car off the road for days every time, I decided not to wait for the inevitable engine blow up and parted company with the car. 50 grand is too much to pay for a car with such poor QC and mechanical / electrical problems. The speed six is obviously flawed. Its a shame as the car definitely stirs the blood and could be a great product. There's a great cameraderie between TVR owners that you will not find with other marques and this makes them fun to own.

I've ordered an M3 because I want to enjoy driving the car and enjoy the reliability and technology. Maybe less distinctive but definitely more time behind the wheel which is what counts.

[The GMan]

If I was you, I would go for a Boxster S. I drove the 3.0 Z4, and it is was just not that inspiring to me. It is a fantastic car, but until BMW bring out an M version I would stay away! That's just my 2 pence worth of bollox though!
I have to admit though the design really dose grow on you.

[Donut]

BMW Insurance are now very competitive.

[iains]

I am insuring mine through BMW Insurance, they came in about 40% cheaper than others and have not (thus far) made requests / required me to fit a tracker or similar device.

BTW - How have you got your hands on one so quickly? Us mere mortals have had to wait for ages.....

[hwassall]

Admiral were the cheapest for us by quite a margin, even cheaper than BMW Insurance. I would be wary of their 10 month accelerated policy though as another broker told me that some insurance companies do not accept the accelerated no claims. No idea if this is really true.

[Locki]

Thanks for the advice everyone on insurance - I think I got quite a good deal in the end.

ghunter: About the Tuscan - I do really love them (a couple whizzed past me in the opposite direction while I've been out all weekend running in the Z4, and they definitely stir the blood!), but I'm still really pleased with the Z4. It's only 1 or 2 seconds slower, and once I'm confident with the car, it's easy to turn off all the driver assistance for a rear-wheel-drive Tuscan'esque experience!

GMan: I did think seriously about the Boxter S, but for a car with the equivalent spec of my Z4, I would have paid £10k more, and until my driving ability improves, I'm already at the edge of my prowess with the Z4's handling/power.

The Z4 I bought is a 3.0i, with all the added options _except_ the upgraded speakers and Sat-Nav. You really can't hear the stereo with the roof down anyway, and anyone considering paying £2,000 for Sat-Nav, should first consider an 02 XDA. It's a £300 hand-held PC/PDA/Phone, which has an always-on internet connection, and for an extra £300 you get a full Sat-Nav car-kit. I've used this to find my way to some quite remote places in the UK in my Range Rover, so I can definitely recommend it.

As for how I got it so fast and jumped the waiting list, I found an advert in Top Marques for ‘UK supplied Z4's available now’. Basically a consortium of guys (the one I dealt with is a Rally Driver) speculate by putting down deposits on things like the Z4, the Aston Martin AMV8, Ferrari's and so on, and then sell their place in the queue for a premium when the vehicle is available for delivery. I hadn’t really considered the morality of this until I was driving home with the car, but with hindsight I do feel a bit guilty for supporting this system. Someone out there would be getting theirs a week earlier if it wasn't for this king of thing.

I managed to run it in fully this past week, so I tried out 6,500 revs a bit over the weekend. It's definitely fast enough for me with a 0-60 of 5.9 seconds and a top speed limited to 155, but I'm really not sure how that compares to other comparative cars in the same class. I'll stick up some photos and a more detailed report on my experiences so far when I've had a chance to clean the zillion dead insects off it!

Paul.