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Forgot to mention that I cleared the airbag fault, which appeared when I had the battery disconnected for a few days, with my newly-acquired C310 scanner thing, and it hasn't come back. Money well spent!

Anyone think that £4850 is too strong money for this car?

Well, the ad is up here and on Autotrader. I need to keep telling myself it's only a temporary departure!

Much has changed, but some things stay the same. I might well be back in a Z4 in the next week, if luck falls my way.

In the ~7mths since I sold my lovely grey auto for £3700 to a delightful chap from the Midlands, I've bought a second home in the countryside (that is currently draining my bank account), and bought the most countryside of accessories to go with it.
That's a vanishingly rare petrol V8 Discovery 3, running a Jag 4.4L engine. It's been an absolute pleasure to potter around the countryside in, and has performed dutifully at shuttling various things between London and Norfolk. 8mpg around London is hard to stomach, but it's pretty happy to do 22mpg on a motorway run at 70ish. The Volvo continues to provide perfectly adequate service pottering around London on its battery, and that's about all there is to say to that.

So, what of the Z4? Well, I put a few Wanted notes out on the various Facebook groups, stipulating a few non-negotiables (3.0i, manual, £4k budget) and a few desirables (heated seats, parking sensors, service history). I was contacted by a lovely chap locally to me in Norfolk who's likely to need to sell his car after getting caught considerably the wrong side of 100mph. A shame for him, but wonderful news for me.

I went and drove the car over the weekend, and it's in every bit as good condition as he described. As sad as it is to appear to profit from another's misfortune, we immediately agreed his asking price and are waiting to hear the outcome of his court visit this week.

Plans at the moment are fairly loose. I've bought a set of sunflower 17s to get refurbed and shod with decent (square) rubber, as the car is currently on (mint) MV3s. I've booked a trackday for the end of August at my local circuit (Snetterton) with some friends, to see how it goes without any tweaking - although I'm planning to swap in some DS2500 front pads and a spot of fresh ATE Typ200 fluid. Then I'm aiming to make up for my missed Eurotrip last year (see further back in this thread) in late May, by taking a week-long drive around Switzerland and a few laps of the Ring on the way home with some friends.

Here's to updating this thread in a few days' time!

So, the poor chap has been given a 6mth ban with ho hope of appeal (for going really quite fast). Looks like I've just bought another Z4...

In terms of spec, it's boring silver with black leather. It has almost every option ticked, bar the Carver stereo - a shame, but at least gives me the opportunity to fit an Android unit. Powerfold mirrors are apparently not working (shocked), but everything else seems in really decent nick barring a small patch of dull paint on the rear wing.

The owner was also quite fastidious about maintenance, and has fixed a lot of the classic failure points. New seals on the rocker cover and oil filter housing, as well as serviced VANOS and DISA bits and pieces.
The 17s are in pretty rough shape, and I'm not sure if I'll have time to get them refurbed before I go on track at the end of March. Might just chuck on some fresh rubber and YOLO it...

Anyone want to buy a set of very good MV3s with tyres that have plenty of tread?

Welcome back to Z4 ownership.

Welcome back. And ain’t nowt wrong with that colour. It’s certainly not boring!

Cheers chaps. As Gary Glitter said, it's good to be back.

I seem to have rolled the insurance algorithm dice and bagged a double six. The Disco is with Admiral, and I thought I'd give them the chance of taking more of my money on a multi-car policy. I filled in all the details on their website (they were very helpful about having cars registered at different addresses - I need the Disco registered in London to keep my parking permit), and clicked the button to be told how much more my policy would be to add the Z4.

The answer? -£200.

I looked at it a few times, wondering if I'd done something thick. When it all checked out, it turned out that adding the Z4 to my existing policy for the Discovery made it £200 cheaper...

Completely baffling, but I'm not going to argue. I suspect they'll look to reclaim some of that come renewal time, but even then it's still substantially cheaper than taking out a second policy with a different provider.

Sometimes being an old git (at 40) and living in the countryside pays off.

Aiming to collect on Tuesday evening, and feeling a bit like a child on Christmas Eve.

Looks well!

paddy wright wrote: ↑Fri Feb 17, 2023 3:34 pm Looks well!

Yeah, the seller definitely falls into the "active enthusiast" category, which is exactly the kind of person I enjoy buying cars from. I think this is his third Zed, and he's been very good at the whole proactive maintenance side of things.

I'm sure it will require some fettling, but it seems like it's in a really good place to start with.

Having not driven a manual before, I found the gearshift to be very notchy. I'd love to do a Coolerworx conversion on it, but I think I'll start with the basics. Changing the transmission fluid seems straightforward, and I'll probably do the diff oil while I'm in there. Looking at the kit to refurb the shifter bushing initially, but needing to take the exhaust off seems like a royal pain. I might grab a slightly heavier knob while I'm thinking about it - I don't mind the ZHP, but it's not my favourite. Maybe Storm Motorwerks?

A heavier gear knob definitely helps, but you might want to try removing the Clutch Delay Valve too.

The car made it home without dramas yesterday evening, which is always a pleasure.
My first solo drive in it revealed a few things.

• The gearshift really is pants. Per the point above, I don't think it's had the CDV removed but it's been wet/dark since I bought it so I haven't checked. I might just bite the bullet and do the plastic bushing while I'm at it.

• It desperately needs an alignment. I think I'm going to go with slightly more aggressive settings than stock, but not so much that it exacerbates the wandering into lorry wheel ruts.

• The base stereo is just awful. Not sure how I'm going to solve this yet, but comparing to my previous Carver setup made it sound like Deacon Blue were being played through two cups and a bit of string.

• It needs the smaller wheels and more sidewall. There's just too much rear grip with 255s, and the ride on 18s isn't good enough for the rural roads where I live.

• It sounds so much better than my last one. Need to have a poke around in the airbox, but as it stands I don't think I'm going to bother with the cone filter I bought.

Overall, very happy.

ATS Euromaster (of all people) have a deal on Eagle Assy 6s at the moment, meaning that a set of four fitted to my sunflowers comes in at only £330. Far too good to pass up.

It's a marmite thing but the french fries have been removed already for you from the rear lights. Imo it makes the rear end look so much better on pre-facelift

Its either luck or you're great with a camera and get the perfect angle but both supplied photos of the car its looks amazing.

Usel wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 12:07 pm It's a marmite thing but the french fries have been removed already for you from the rear lights. Imo it makes the rear end look so much better on pre-facelift

Its either luck or you're great with a camera and get the perfect angle but both supplied photos of the car its looks amazing.

It's definitely luck, and the fact that the previous owner kept the car very clean. It's a shame the ride is so disappointing on 18s, because Z4s look so much better on a larger wheel.

I had no idea 'French Fries' even existed until your post, but now you've mentioned it I can't unsee it. They look loads better without.

Well, I've found a local specialist in the wilds of Norfolk, and the car is booked in for a couple of weeks' time when I'm back in the country.

Getting the brake fluid (ATE Typ200) and front pads (Ferodo DS2500) changed for something a bit more sporty, and the shifter bush replaced.

List of parts for the shifter are:
25111220439 - two plastic washers that sit either side of the joint where the arm meets the shifter
25111222015 - plastic washer that sits on the arm itself
25111220600 - plastic collar that sits at the base of the shifter

So much plastic that's never been changed in 100k/20yrs, which can only improve the feel. I'm not expecting an MX5 rifle-bolt, but it needs to be better than it is.

If the CDV is still present, I'm going to get him to whip that off while he's in there too.