On the look out for an E89 Z4

[Mr Tidy]

There are a few nice 23i coming up at reasonable money and some are priced silly, but I do wonder if 200bhp is enough.

I think the only way to find out would be to go and try one!

[Pondrew]

It does appear that there are a number of buyers all looking for a E89 30i. Any car that looks good value gets snapped up instantly.

Probably thanks, in no small part, to this forum.
With so many offering horror stories of the 4 cylinder turbo, it puts a lot of people off them. I've seen it numerous times on here and elsewhere.
The N54 also has some major issues and the cars are more expensive, so puts a lot off those aswell.
Then, of course, there is the 'it has to a straight 6, it's a beemer' brigade.
Which leaves the 23i and 30i N52 cars. Same engine, different displacement. The 23i and 30i 'were' both very good value for money, and the 30i is always going to be favoured over the other for obvious reasons.
Which now makes them very popular, so the prices are bound to rise. There weren't all that many sold new, either, which doesn't help.

[Beerman]

There are a few nice 23i coming up at reasonable money and some are priced silly, but I do wonder if 200bhp is enough.

I think the only way to find out would be to go and try one!

Hardly any come up near me. I'm going to have to travel.

I don't want to waste someone's time turning up do a test drive.

[Beerman]

It does appear that there are a number of buyers all looking for a E89 30i. Any car that looks good value gets snapped up instantly.

Probably thanks, in no small part, to this forum.
With so many offering horror stories of the 4 cylinder turbo, it puts a lot of people off them. I've seen it numerous times on here and elsewhere.
The N54 also has some major issues and the cars are more expensive, so puts a lot off those aswell.
Then, of course, there is the 'it has to a straight 6, it's a beemer' brigade.
Which leaves the 23i and 30i N52 cars. Same engine, different displacement. The 23i and 30i 'were' both very good value for money, and the 30i is always going to be favoured over the other for obvious reasons.
Which now makes them very popular, so the prices are bound to rise. There weren't all that many sold new, either, which doesn't help.

I wouldn't rule out a 4 cylinder, but the prices some people are asking is crazy. I'm not going to pay more for a 4 cylinder over a 6. Private sale cars are really struggling to move.

The number of cars available is increasing on AutoTrader. I hope this balances prices out.

[Mr Tidy]

Hardly any come up near me. I'm going to have to travel.

I don't want to waste someone's time turning up do a test drive.

That's fair enough if it's a private sale, but not so much for a trade sale. Before I bought my first Z4 I went to look at one on sale by a local trader, and might possibly have bought it but it had a few issues and hadn't been advertised as an SE - I wanted a Sport!

[Pondrew]

I wouldn't rule out a 4 cylinder, but the prices some people are asking is crazy. I'm not going to pay more for a 4 cylinder over a 6. Private sale cars are really struggling to move.

The number of cars available is increasing on AutoTrader. I hope this balances prices out.

I know what you mean, there are a lot of deluded car sellers out there.
When I was looking for my F31 recently, I messaged the sellers of every one that fitted the bill (they were all massively overpriced). I said to let me know when they wanted to sell their car for realistic money.
I was shocked at some of the language in the replies TBH.
Let's just say it didn't work!

The only option you have if you think all the good ones are overpriced is to watch and wait. It's a buyer's market, no matter what some may think.

[Silverstar]

Probably thanks, in no small part, to this forum.
With so many offering horror stories of the 4 cylinder turbo, it puts a lot of people off them. I've seen it numerous times on here and elsewhere.

I doubt this forum has that much weight as to why people search out the N52 30i and to be fair this forum has a fair few advocates for the N20 yourself included as well as negative stories about this engine, so it balances out. There are quite few on here that despite those negative stories who have still purchased the N20.

[Silverstar]

For the OP if you are looking at a private sale far away, you could ask the seller if they would do a video call and show you around the car to avoid any waste of time both for you and the seller.

[Beerman]

For the OP if you are looking at a private sale far away, you could ask the seller if they would do a video call and show you around the car to avoid any waste of time both for you and the seller.

Getting on honest appraisal from an owner about the car they are selling is never easy.

I do notice less private sellers are putting any detail in their adverts. They don't want to mention anything about the condition or maintenance of the car. On saying that owners and garages often claim full service history when it is not even close.

[Silverstar]

For the OP if you are looking at a private sale far away, you could ask the seller if they would do a video call and show you around the car to avoid any waste of time both for you and the seller.

Getting on honest appraisal from an owner about the car they are selling is never easy.

I do notice less private sellers are putting any detail in their adverts. They don't want to mention anything about the condition or maintenance of the car. On saying that owners and garages often claim full service history when it is not even close.

That is true and probably because they want any come backs. Still a video call will give you a slightly better idea as to if it is worth the trip.