Z3M Coupe "Bread Van"
Discussion
There are few better all rounders than the E46 I am currently saving for, however the funky little M delivery van has always been a little favourite of mine - I've yet to drive one though.
Being Z3 (and therefore E30?) based, what are these like as a modern drive? I cover about 20k a year.
These really are holding their value well, so would be an older car pound for (about £14k) pound than an E46, however the individual (no BMW pun intended) shape and image really appeals.
Here's the deal breaker though. As nice as these may or may not be to own and drive compared to an E46,if I cannot take my mountain bike in or on it, then it's off the list. Having carried bikes on all sorts of cars, I detest tailgate/bootlid mountain racks, and these are unsuitable for heavy odd shaped DH bikes anyway .... It's in the boot, or on the roof therefore. Can a mountain bike fit in the bread storage area and / or can you get a set of roof bars for these cars that would enable me to use my Thule racks?
Being Z3 (and therefore E30?) based, what are these like as a modern drive? I cover about 20k a year.
These really are holding their value well, so would be an older car pound for (about £14k) pound than an E46, however the individual (no BMW pun intended) shape and image really appeals.
Here's the deal breaker though. As nice as these may or may not be to own and drive compared to an E46,if I cannot take my mountain bike in or on it, then it's off the list. Having carried bikes on all sorts of cars, I detest tailgate/bootlid mountain racks, and these are unsuitable for heavy odd shaped DH bikes anyway .... It's in the boot, or on the roof therefore. Can a mountain bike fit in the bread storage area and / or can you get a set of roof bars for these cars that would enable me to use my Thule racks?
As the picture proves and when I had mine a few years back (around 00/01) there's racks that fit and I've seen the thules fitted to a couple. Certainly do-able! great cars, I loved the simplicity of them; great NA engine (mine was an S50), LSD, good looking (IMHO) if a little front light when really into high speeds, but I'd love to have put mine in the garage and kept it, I was doing 18k a year and it never missed a beat (although servicing wasn't cheap)...good luck, I can't think of a more unusual future classic shape...
Certainly will not fit in the back (see a pic of my old one: http://www.geocities.com/bmw_z3_m_coupe/100_0577.J... and http://www.geocities.com/bmw_z3_m_coupe/100_0362.J... ) and I would have to question if putting a roof rack on an M Coupe is really such a good idea... As for driving, the M Coupe is very glove like, you sit on the rear axle litterally, and it will feel quite nervous at high speeds compared to an M3.
Also, unless you go for the S54 engined one, you will not have DSC so at 20K a year you might want to have to think about that too.
Also, unless you go for the S54 engined one, you will not have DSC so at 20K a year you might want to have to think about that too.
Rassi, do you think that a roof rack would be a bad idea because it may be dangerous / unstable to drive a Z3MC with one? Whenever my bikes are on the roof, I drive very sedately to ensure that they remain stable, but also becuase the fuel economy plumits.
Appreciate what you say about the driving position, and the lack of TC in the cars likely to be in my price bracket. All fine in the summer, but as you suggest, perhaps not ideal at this time of year.
Hmmmmm????
Appreciate what you say about the driving position, and the lack of TC in the cars likely to be in my price bracket. All fine in the summer, but as you suggest, perhaps not ideal at this time of year.
Hmmmmm????
mat205125 said:
There are few better all rounders than the E46 I am currently saving for, however the funky little M delivery van has always been a little favourite of mine - I've yet to drive one though.
Being Z3 (and therefore E30?) based, what are these like as a modern drive? I cover about 20k a year.
These really are holding their value well, so would be an older car pound for (about £14k) pound than an E46, however the individual (no BMW pun intended) shape and image really appeals.
Here's the deal breaker though. As nice as these may or may not be to own and drive compared to an E46,if I cannot take my mountain bike in or on it, then it's off the list. Having carried bikes on all sorts of cars, I detest tailgate/bootlid mountain racks, and these are unsuitable for heavy odd shaped DH bikes anyway .... It's in the boot, or on the roof therefore. Can a mountain bike fit in the bread storage area and / or can you get a set of roof bars for these cars that would enable me to use my Thule racks?
E36 based.Being Z3 (and therefore E30?) based, what are these like as a modern drive? I cover about 20k a year.
These really are holding their value well, so would be an older car pound for (about £14k) pound than an E46, however the individual (no BMW pun intended) shape and image really appeals.
Here's the deal breaker though. As nice as these may or may not be to own and drive compared to an E46,if I cannot take my mountain bike in or on it, then it's off the list. Having carried bikes on all sorts of cars, I detest tailgate/bootlid mountain racks, and these are unsuitable for heavy odd shaped DH bikes anyway .... It's in the boot, or on the roof therefore. Can a mountain bike fit in the bread storage area and / or can you get a set of roof bars for these cars that would enable me to use my Thule racks?
militantmandy said:
mat205125 said:
There are few better all rounders than the E46 I am currently saving for, however the funky little M delivery van has always been a little favourite of mine - I've yet to drive one though.
Being Z3 (and therefore E30?) based, what are these like as a modern drive? I cover about 20k a year.
These really are holding their value well, so would be an older car pound for (about £14k) pound than an E46, however the individual (no BMW pun intended) shape and image really appeals.
Here's the deal breaker though. As nice as these may or may not be to own and drive compared to an E46,if I cannot take my mountain bike in or on it, then it's off the list. Having carried bikes on all sorts of cars, I detest tailgate/bootlid mountain racks, and these are unsuitable for heavy odd shaped DH bikes anyway .... It's in the boot, or on the roof therefore. Can a mountain bike fit in the bread storage area and / or can you get a set of roof bars for these cars that would enable me to use my Thule racks?
E36 based.Being Z3 (and therefore E30?) based, what are these like as a modern drive? I cover about 20k a year.
These really are holding their value well, so would be an older car pound for (about £14k) pound than an E46, however the individual (no BMW pun intended) shape and image really appeals.
Here's the deal breaker though. As nice as these may or may not be to own and drive compared to an E46,if I cannot take my mountain bike in or on it, then it's off the list. Having carried bikes on all sorts of cars, I detest tailgate/bootlid mountain racks, and these are unsuitable for heavy odd shaped DH bikes anyway .... It's in the boot, or on the roof therefore. Can a mountain bike fit in the bread storage area and / or can you get a set of roof bars for these cars that would enable me to use my Thule racks?
Mat,
A roof rack should be fine, but watch the weight issue. DH bikes are heavy SOB's (unless they've got lighter since I competed in the late 90's?) and I would think that you may exceed the weight limit for the roof.
Worth looking into first.
As for the differences the E46 will be the quicker car and more refined. It also hanldes far better both in terms of outright grip and adjustability. In contrast, the breadvan is more of a challenge though and a lot more characterful as a result.
It's a charmer the old breadvan and one that will hang onto it's value better than the M3.
Not sure which option I'd pick TBH
A roof rack should be fine, but watch the weight issue. DH bikes are heavy SOB's (unless they've got lighter since I competed in the late 90's?) and I would think that you may exceed the weight limit for the roof.
Worth looking into first.
As for the differences the E46 will be the quicker car and more refined. It also hanldes far better both in terms of outright grip and adjustability. In contrast, the breadvan is more of a challenge though and a lot more characterful as a result.
It's a charmer the old breadvan and one that will hang onto it's value better than the M3.
Not sure which option I'd pick TBH
Also consider that the M Coupe has quite a narrow and short roof, so not sure you would be able to fit 2+ bikes + having all that weight up high on light car (1300 kg) would adversely affect handling, I would honestly lean towards an M3. That said, I dearly loved my M Coupe and it has maintained the same price over the last 4 years so pretty much a depreciation proof future classic.
Cheburator mk2 said:
rassi said:
Brakes + front end suspension is E36 M3, rear is E30 M3 (semi-trailing arms).
The Z3 and Z4 have Z-axle at the back - nothing to do with the E30. Much closer to the E36... It was the E36 Compact, which had the rear axle off the E30 due to space limitationsZ3M
[url=http://bmwfans.info/original/Z3/Cou/Z3 M3.2-S54/ECE/R/N/2001/02/mg-33/ill-33_0998/]
[/url]E30
[url=http://bmwfans.info/original/E30/2-T/M3-S14/ECE/L/M/1987/02/mg-33/ill-33_0214/]
[/url]look pretty similar to me, the Z3M rear axle was been strengthened up but pretty much the same
Cliffv8 said:
Cheburator mk2 said:
rassi said:
Brakes + front end suspension is E36 M3, rear is E30 M3 (semi-trailing arms).
The Z3 and Z4 have Z-axle at the back - nothing to do with the E30. Much closer to the E36... It was the E36 Compact, which had the rear axle off the E30 due to space limitationsZ3M
[url=http://bmwfans.info/original/Z3/Cou/Z3 M3.2-S54/ECE/R/N/2001/02/mg-33/ill-33_0998/]
[/url]E30
[url=http://bmwfans.info/original/E30/2-T/M3-S14/ECE/L/M/1987/02/mg-33/ill-33_0214/]
[/url]look pretty similar to me, the Z3M rear axle was been strengthened up but pretty much the same
I had a z3m before my current z4m. I bought genuine BMW roof bars which i used a roof box on (dog was in the back of the car!) with no problems at all. I would be a bit careful of teh weight issue though as that's a small roof area and you'll really do some damage to the handling.
Oh yeh, and if you're going to buy one, try to stump up the extra for an S54. It's much better and has less reliability issues. Should also hold it's value well as they're even rarer.
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