Z4M Buyer Advice

N

NickJonathan

Member
Hi everyone I'm new to the forum and just looking for some advice on buying. I'm sure this topic has been covered 100 times before but would appreciate everyone's input.

Firstly anyone have first hand experience between the Z4M and the 3.0si. I'm due to drive the 3.0si tomorrow but struggling at the moment to find an M within 60 miles of south Wales to compare the two. I owned a Boxster S for a while which I loved but currently own an E90 320d which is lovely but waaaayyyyyy too sensible now circumstances mean I go back to a weekend car! Any experience would be good. Ive kind of got my heart set on the M though even though my other half is urging me to stay sensible!

I'm looking at an 07/08 with 30-40k miles so anything you would suggest checking before buying? Lots of people seem to be selling prior to Inspection II so I'm budgeting £600-£1000 extra for that. Just wondering what else to watch for?

Appreciate your help and if anyone is near Cardiff and feels generous enough to take me for a blast (obviously I wouldn't be rude enough to actually ask to drive your car) then I would really be grateful and I'll cover your fuel costs obviously! Just want to compare the ride and acceleration between the 3.0si and the M before committing!

Cheers
Nick
 
Hiya Nick

Just upgraded from an Si to an M, I can say honestly the 3.0si is 70% of the car the M is. The Si is great good mpg great speed etc etc....

But my God the M is another league and that 30% is massive in looks, performance, driving experience, its better in every way apart from of course cost and running costs.

I’m not sure if you truly appreciate every line and subtle touch the M gives you form looking at the sharp angles of the bonnet to the detailed M stitching colour around the steering wheel unless you move form a si to a m I wonder :? , not only that my Si was a bit “poverty spec” and my M is fully loaded! So that was a massive different all I can say is get one with sat nav system love it :D

If you can afford am M do it! , if you decided against it the 3.0 si is a great car, I suppose it a bit like the old Pug 205’s there was a 1.6 and a 1.9 and although the 1.6 gti was a great little car you knew you should have always purchased the 1.9.

With such a large purchase be prepared to travel most guys on here travel hundreds of miles for a good car especially is your after a z4mc!

Paza
 
NickJonathan said:
Hi everyone I'm new to the forum and just looking for some advice on buying. I'm sure this topic has been covered 100 times before but would appreciate everyone's input.

Firstly anyone have first hand experience between the Z4M and the 3.0si. I'm due to drive the 3.0si tomorrow but struggling at the moment to find an M within 60 miles of south Wales to compare the two. I owned a Boxster S for a while which I loved but currently own an E90 320d which is lovely but waaaayyyyyy too sensible now circumstances mean I go back to a weekend car! Any experience would be good. Ive kind of got my heart set on the M though even though my other half is urging me to stay sensible!

I'm looking at an 07/08 with 30-40k miles so anything you would suggest checking before buying? Lots of people seem to be selling prior to Inspection II so I'm budgeting £600-£1000 extra for that. Just wondering what else to watch for?

Appreciate your help and if anyone is near Cardiff and feels generous enough to take me for a blast (obviously I wouldn't be rude enough to actually ask to drive your car) then I would really be grateful and I'll cover your fuel costs obviously! Just want to compare the ride and acceleration between the 3.0si and the M before committing!

Cheers
Nick
Click to expand...

I went on the same journey about a month ago and saw some real horror cars.

1. 1200 mile fluid change, not just for the health of the car but a sign the previous was looking after their investment.
2. Brakes are way expensive check the discs for scoring and wear.
3. Inspection I who close to the recommended interval was it done.
4. rear springs are prone to failing. check on test drive, and visually.
5. If you go for a roadster (why wouldn't you?) check the hood mech for grinding whining etc..
6. Interior - depending on the leather colour they can look tired quickly, and thats just depressing.

However, I personally paid a wee bit extra and bought my car from the main dealers ///M department. Got a 2 year warranty, loads of wee niggles corrected, and a super clean car in the right colour combo.

As a car to drive (being a former M3, Porsche Cayman S, Audi S6 owner) - The fun is all in the upper end of the power band IMO, the car has a wonderful deep note at low revs that turns into a typical BMW metallic rasp when the hammer goes down (sublime!!) you may even get a little burble when you come off the gas which makes my nethers fizz... Out of all the cars I have owned the Z4M is without doubt the most fun (Not the fastest, but thats just numbers). Less cramped and tbh less wanky than the Cayman, and as for the M3 and S6, well, they eventually just become fast saloons. :driving:

I have driven the 2.3 Z4, nice car etc.. run flats are the devils work. All I can say.
 
Thanks for your advice guys really appreciate it! One of my concerns is a friend of mine has the 3.0si and says one of the reasons he chose it was because he felt the power was more usable for everyday driving because the torque kicks in lower down the rev range. I couldn't tell whether he was saying that because he was trying convince himself he'd made the right decision getting the Si! I had a S2000 a few years back and although it was fun it was annoying as the car was sluggish under 6,000rpm and keeping it in the fun rev range was impractical! I'm concerned the M will be a little like that and the number of times I'll get an opportunity to exploit the power will be few and far between. Frankly I've never driven a car with more useable power than the 335d! Love that car but really fancy another roadster although I prefer the look I the coupe!

Did u find the lower peak torque in the Si meant you could use the power more around town etc whilst keeping your license as I imagine by the time that lovely metallic rasp starts to sound your already doing 50 in 1st?
 
The Ms power curve is a nice steady one, you don't have to rev the nuts off it like the s2000. It just puts a big grin on your face when you do go right around the rev gauge :D

Are you planning on keeping the car long term? If so I'd say the M will keep you happier for longer.
 
sluggish under 6,000rpm
Click to expand...
Nah, the engine is a masterpiece.

The Si just doesn't have the same drama for me personally, nice car, but I disliked the ride and missed the epic power of the ///M. I couldn't live day to day with the Si tbh, however, I could live with the better mpg figures.

I used my ///M as a daily driver for the first time yesterday, driving through Edinburgh, and while I'd rather be in a comfy saloon due to the roads it burbled along nicely and even in 6th gear on the motorway pulled well. Best thing is to drive one against the other.
 
M is not under powered in anyway way and is a completely different to a s2000 any vtec is annoying to drive I remember my old accord tyre r . You have a massive power band in the M in almost any gear if am honest.

The M is a more "raw" drive to the si that is noticeable, clutch is a little heavier only really but lots of little things make it more of an experience, but remember the M has not got the crappy steering and the issues that all other zeds suffer from.

The thing you need to remember is the M is a "elite" car therefore 90% of people will be happy enough with the Si but the other 10% will require an M for all the raw driving rasping experience :thumbsup:

I can assure you once you drive an M you will not look back at all , only reason you will is cost an M will cost an additional £1500 per year to run IMO. Tax £460 not £260 Insurance £100 quid more, Fuel £400 a year more and then servicing, but it’s worth every penny

Cheers Paza

Edit : Re Mpgs I can get 32 mpg on the motorway , but my average mpg with town, motorway etc ins around 27/28 mpgs
 
I went from 3.0 to M and they are different cars. If you want a smooth fast car go for the 3.0, if you want a grin a minute with some character go for the M. The noise alone is worth the difference in cost. I haven't regretted the change.
 
I went from 3.0 to M and they are different cars. If you want a smooth fast car go for the 3.0, if you want a grin a minute with some character go for the M. The noise alone is worth the difference in cost. I haven't regretted the change.
 
Cheers for your replies. When I said sluggish under 6,000rpm I was specifically talking about the S2000 and wasn't suggesting the M would be at all sluggish, just like the idea of having bags of torque and power low down the rev range to put a grin on my face around town!

I'll be keeping for around 18 months but live in city centre and walk to work so I'll probably do no more than 6k miles each year so probably 10k over the time I own it. Was hoping for a little less than £1500 extra per year over the Si but if it's that much better then I don't mind paying the extra! Insurance isn't much more suprisely for the M. What's everyone's view on using indie's for servicing? I found my local indie to be far better for my Porsche than main dealer. I realise that using an indie will stop me getting a dealership warranty but is that only for Inspection I and II or does it apply for oil change etc as well?
 
Cheers for your replies. When I said sluggish under 6,000rpm I was specifically talking about the S2000 and wasn't suggesting the M would be at all sluggish, just like the idea of having bags of torque and power low down the rev range to put a grin on my face around town!

I'll be keeping for around 18 months but live in city centre and walk to work so I'll probably do no more than 6k miles each year so probably 10k over the time I own it. Was hoping for a little less than £1500 extra per year over the Si but if it's that much better then I don't mind paying the extra! Insurance isn't much more suprisely for the M. What's everyone's view on using indie's for servicing? I found my local indie to be far better for my Porsche than main dealer. I realise that using an indie will stop me getting a dealership warranty but is that only for Inspection I and II or does it apply for oil change etc as well?
 
You'll get biased views on here :)

FWIW I went from S2000( 18 months) to Z4 2.5si( 6 months) to Z4M (5 years!)

still love it to bits and it is quick ( as an Audi TT driver found out yesterday exiting a roundabout). Pulls like a train through the revs then at 6000rpm all hell breaks loose :evil:
 
Nothing wrong with an Indy, mines at 50k now so no point carrying on in my view with main dealer. Inspec 2 is a major one, my warrenty is from APC

Have a read of this post I did before purchasing mine as Tom said

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=36108

My insurance is only an extra £100 per year which is not bad at all, in my view you capital is far better protected in an M then a si , I have notice the prices crumble a little in the si if am honest hence the reason to jump ship a little, due to the e89's.

There not doing a e89 M so therefore the prices should hold out i think
 
Cheers that's a really useful thread. Can anyone expand a little more on the VANOS issue? I've heard about it but don't really know too much? Hoping it's not as much of an issue as the IMS issues with the 986/996 and early 987/997 Porsche engines which was quite rare but promised catastrophic engine failure and a £10k rebuild if they went bang! Always a little worrying once the warranty expired!!
 
Go for the M if you can afford the extra running cost. Fantastic car living down here in Cornwall I meet very little that it can't show a very pretty rump to, including a very nice R8.

I was worried about VANOS issues, you here horror stories. However, when I took the time to read up on it, the later Engine in the Z4 doesn't really seem to suffer much at all. You will hear the VANOS chirping away once the engine is warm, between 2800 & 3600. They really do all do it.

While we’re on funny little quirks. You may also here the Clutch spring rattle if you turn the engine off without depressing the clutch, so depress it and it doesn't rattle.

Had my car for just on a year now and it’s cost a fair bit to run, as I’ve replaced the tyres & taken it through a level 1 inspection. But it hasn’t missed a beat. It’s been fantastic on track, on the way to work, on Sunday hoons and on the way to the pup with the Mrs on Sunny evenings.

Get one you know you want to. :driving:
 
From what i can tell everyone with the 3.0/M dilemma seem to choose the M with no regrets. On paper they appear quite similar but in reality those that have made the switch feel there is a significant difference... Depends on a few factors for each individual I guess.

10 years back I had a lovely 2.0 16v Corrado: beautiful car, very revvy, was in stunning condition too, but the fact there was a VR6 version that everyone raved about always made me hanker after one... Eventually I traded up to experience that fantastic engine and sound. In reality my 16v was in better condition than my VR6 but it was obvious which engine/experience was superior. After that I vowed never to get the smaller engined version of any sports car again, hence the V6 GTV I had over the 2.0, and the M version of the coupe, and I've never regreetted it once :)
 
If you are patient and prepared to travel then you won't regret buying an ///M, i looked at 3 before i got mine, infact the further away it is the longer the drive home when you come to collect it!!! :driving:
 
Cheers guys, i know what you mean, I'm not sure whether it's me needing to grow up but I just agree that unless you've got the ultimate version of a car I just feel a bit shortchanged when I see one driving around. Was the same when buying the boxster s, just couldn't being myself to consider the standard car!

What happens when VANOS fails? Is it terminal? The worry with the Porsche was you got little to no warning that IMS was about to fail. The car was literally running perfectly and then all of a sudden the car would dump its oil and the engine would chew itself to pieces! Luckily never happened to me but a mate had his engine destroyed after 6,000miles! That said I think it's like anything else, you look at forums and you'll always to be put off buying anything because there's always someone who's had a bad experience so I take with a pinch of salt!

How do u know its VANOS? I've heard it's kind of marbles in a can sound?

Off I go to test 3.0si at 11am, I'll report back what I thought!
 
I always hate to jinx it, but engine & general drivetrain reliability I think has been very strong on here across all M owners.. 2 replacement engines & no specific vanos issues iirc.. So it's unfair to compare VANOS issues on earlier M3s and Porsche IMS stuff with the S54 in the Z4m.

Gives me huge confidence too that mine has needed a slight oil top up between service intervals only once in 61k.

Then again, would I buy a 50k mile car that had Indi Insp 1 & 2 & might not have had the shims adjusted, giving premature vanos wear.. probably not.

Soon as the qualifying is over I'm going for a hoon in mine 8)
 
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