Thinking of a z3m coupe....
Discussion
Thinking of getting a z3m coupe, would quite like a 50k ish mile s54 engined model. Good choice? Other options would be a 996 c2, elise/exige of some kind, or maybe a cerbera.
Couple of quick questions.
Generally how are the running costs on these?
Insurance....what do people pay in what area and at what age etc?
Im 26 with 3yrs no claims, garage in central london, what should i be paying? Any places to try?
Any other advice at all as to what to check for?
Many thanks
Couple of quick questions.
Generally how are the running costs on these?
Insurance....what do people pay in what area and at what age etc?
Im 26 with 3yrs no claims, garage in central london, what should i be paying? Any places to try?
Any other advice at all as to what to check for?
Many thanks
gibbon said:
Thinking of getting a z3m coupe, would quite like a 50k ish mile s54 engined model. Good choice? Other options would be a 996 c2, elise/exige of some kind, or maybe a cerbera.
Couple of quick questions.
Generally how are the running costs on these?
Insurance....what do people pay in what area and at what age etc?
Im 26 with 3yrs no claims, garage in central london, what should i be paying? Any places to try?
Any other advice at all as to what to check for?
Many thanks
I don't own a coupe but do own the Roadster.Couple of quick questions.
Generally how are the running costs on these?
Insurance....what do people pay in what area and at what age etc?
Im 26 with 3yrs no claims, garage in central london, what should i be paying? Any places to try?
Any other advice at all as to what to check for?
Many thanks
Running costs are cheap because the car is light, so not to bad on fuel.
Servicing will be more expensive due to the nature of the car.
The Roadster is group 20 probably the same as the Coupe & i am 33 full no claims & pay £700 fully comp
Service history is a must with these cars as they do require attention to detail whilst servicing them etc.
I have owned 2 Elise's & as much fun as there are, i would'nt swap my Z3 M for another.
Edited by boobles on Tuesday 31st March 11:58
You're gonna get caned on insurance, in central London whatever you get, even with a garage. I'm 43 and my premiums on my Coupe in SE25 when 40, were 600 (garaged) then dropped to under 300 when I moved (and got older) to Surrey not garaged all the time.
FHS is important, but don't discount a rep indy service. When hunting for one originally, I saw 7. One was a dog and the owner a tw@t. The rest were all excellent, and the owners were all enthusiasts. So it doesn't take long to sort good from bad. Running costs really depends on your mileage. I hardly use mine now and it costs nothing to run
. Just tax and insurance which is the same for anything.
It's going up for sale soon, and it will be a sad day for me when it goes. IMO it's a much more useable, pleasurable, comfortable and unusual car than any of the others you list.
Z
FHS is important, but don't discount a rep indy service. When hunting for one originally, I saw 7. One was a dog and the owner a tw@t. The rest were all excellent, and the owners were all enthusiasts. So it doesn't take long to sort good from bad. Running costs really depends on your mileage. I hardly use mine now and it costs nothing to run
. Just tax and insurance which is the same for anything.It's going up for sale soon, and it will be a sad day for me when it goes. IMO it's a much more useable, pleasurable, comfortable and unusual car than any of the others you list.
Z
gibbon said:
Thinking of getting a z3m coupe, would quite like a 50k ish mile s54 engined model. Good choice? Other options would be a 996 c2, elise/exige of some kind, or maybe a cerbera.
Couple of quick questions.
Generally how are the running costs on these?
Insurance....what do people pay in what area and at what age etc?
Im 26 with 3yrs no claims, garage in central london, what should i be paying? Any places to try?
Any other advice at all as to what to check for?
Many thanks
As ZEAD said, at your age you probably cannot afford the insurance. In Central London & ungaraged at your age I would guess approx £1700 + the annual cost (£500+ including fitment for the first year) of a tracker at the very least. I pay £330 @ 52 years old in Norfolk, with the car kept in an alarmed garage linked to Norwich Police Station 24/7 - for which I pay...Couple of quick questions.
Generally how are the running costs on these?
Insurance....what do people pay in what area and at what age etc?
Im 26 with 3yrs no claims, garage in central london, what should i be paying? Any places to try?
Any other advice at all as to what to check for?
Many thanks
I owned a ZM Coupe for 2 years.
I bought it when I was 24 and the car is actually relatively cheap to insure - less than £800 - this was Surrey.
Running costs, don't expect to get any better than 25Mpg.
Tyres are generally cheap enough at no more than £100 a corner 245 40 17 rears, fronts 225 45 17. Goodyear Eagle F1's Asyms are a good bet.
Since you have mentioned an S54, we can be spared of all the scaremongery that goes with vanos.....HOWEVER! The S54 in the ZMCoupe was the only S54 engined car that did not receive a bottom end bearing shell recall. The reason for this was the lowered rev limit - so if you do buy one, it may be worth getting this done at an Indy for peace of mind.
Front ends are a magnet for stone chips, so expect this.
The S54 benefits from DSC, but to be honest its rather intrusive.
You could do worse than look at Jons PY version as its very well priced. if I was in the market, unless it was not as described, it would be on my driveway.
Another point to check is Rear Trailing arm Bushes and the bootfloor issue as the diff puts a lot of strain on this area - known to blow its welds.
With regards to servicing, I would go Indy all the way but with the BMW Warranty being available to cars out of warranty, it may be prudent to go that route for peace of mind purposes - only really for the engine. There are many good indies and CPC is now based in BorehamWood which isnt quite central london but accessible.
Hope this helps.
Rags
I bought it when I was 24 and the car is actually relatively cheap to insure - less than £800 - this was Surrey.
Running costs, don't expect to get any better than 25Mpg.
Tyres are generally cheap enough at no more than £100 a corner 245 40 17 rears, fronts 225 45 17. Goodyear Eagle F1's Asyms are a good bet.
Since you have mentioned an S54, we can be spared of all the scaremongery that goes with vanos.....HOWEVER! The S54 in the ZMCoupe was the only S54 engined car that did not receive a bottom end bearing shell recall. The reason for this was the lowered rev limit - so if you do buy one, it may be worth getting this done at an Indy for peace of mind.
Front ends are a magnet for stone chips, so expect this.
The S54 benefits from DSC, but to be honest its rather intrusive.
You could do worse than look at Jons PY version as its very well priced. if I was in the market, unless it was not as described, it would be on my driveway.
Another point to check is Rear Trailing arm Bushes and the bootfloor issue as the diff puts a lot of strain on this area - known to blow its welds.
With regards to servicing, I would go Indy all the way but with the BMW Warranty being available to cars out of warranty, it may be prudent to go that route for peace of mind purposes - only really for the engine. There are many good indies and CPC is now based in BorehamWood which isnt quite central london but accessible.
Hope this helps.
Rags
Edited by Rags on Tuesday 31st March 16:19
Tonapah said:
As ZEAD said, at your age you probably cannot afford the insurance. In Central London & ungaraged at your age I would guess approx £1700 + the annual cost (£500+ including fitment for the first year) of a tracker at the very least. I pay £330 @ 52 years old in Norfolk, with the car kept in an alarmed garage linked to Norwich Police Station 24/7 - for which I pay...
Well, myself, i wouldnt care to assume what a stranger could or couldnt afford, however having insured a porsche at 25 at the same address im used to paying out for insurance, the question was really to gauge the level, i have been quoted a best of £1100 so far.Thanks for all the info, i may well take a look at the PY one advertised, im just weighing up a few options at the minute. I still need to test drive one, along with a 996c2 ro compare.
gibbon said:
Well, myself, i wouldnt care to assume what a stranger could or couldnt afford, however having insured a porsche at 25 at the same address im used to paying out for insurance, the question was really to gauge the level, i have been quoted a best of £1100 so far.
This is very good, are you sure you are telling them it's in central London I know some one who had his wheels nicked at a London address and insurance wouldn't pay out as he had a massive excess clause if it wasn't in his garage when parked within 500m of his house.Mines not an S54, but if you are interested in a 'slower one' then PM me.
z
.I bought my second z3m Roadster back in December, cracking cars, had no issues with them what so ever. Sold the first one for a TVR and realised what a mistake I had made.
You need to ensure money has been spent to look after them, servicing to include the inspection 1 and 2s is vital, alot I looked at simply had the oil services and were not through BMW specialists - people need to know what they are doing with these cars otherwise they can be very expensive.
When you get one take it to www.evolveyourcar.com in Luton, these guys work on the Z3m all the time and just had inspection 2, full remap - What a difference its made! these cars are really good fun, also fine for a daily drive - The S50 engine cars dont have traction control and can be very tricky in the wet, however they do provide alot of grip and I have found you need to be pretty careless, or impatient to loose it. You just need to drive with caution. Im the Dry - awesome.
Granted - would have preferred the M Coupe instead of Roadster but picked up a bargin so could not resist.
I cant recommend them enough, if you deal with a specialist the servicing and maintenance does not need to be costly either.
If you want to know any more, I would call Imran at Evolve - He ran a z3m coupe and has developed alot of parts including airboxes etc for the car. They modified a car for someone on her and that produces 360bhp and is apparently a monster - Considering the standard cars show around 290 - 300 as true BHP its pretty impressive.
You need to ensure money has been spent to look after them, servicing to include the inspection 1 and 2s is vital, alot I looked at simply had the oil services and were not through BMW specialists - people need to know what they are doing with these cars otherwise they can be very expensive.
When you get one take it to www.evolveyourcar.com in Luton, these guys work on the Z3m all the time and just had inspection 2, full remap - What a difference its made! these cars are really good fun, also fine for a daily drive - The S50 engine cars dont have traction control and can be very tricky in the wet, however they do provide alot of grip and I have found you need to be pretty careless, or impatient to loose it. You just need to drive with caution. Im the Dry - awesome.
Granted - would have preferred the M Coupe instead of Roadster but picked up a bargin so could not resist.
I cant recommend them enough, if you deal with a specialist the servicing and maintenance does not need to be costly either.
If you want to know any more, I would call Imran at Evolve - He ran a z3m coupe and has developed alot of parts including airboxes etc for the car. They modified a car for someone on her and that produces 360bhp and is apparently a monster - Considering the standard cars show around 290 - 300 as true BHP its pretty impressive.
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