Hello

[Happypaul]

Hi,I'm looking st buying a z3 v soon,,always liked their old school styling,and now they are at a price I can afford for a bit of summer fun!
I came off my bike a couple of weeks ago and was written off so decided to return to four wheels for the rest of the summer,,,.
Change of direction vehicle wise as I have always been an Italian fan,current cars,Alfa GT,Fiat coupe 20v turbo plus,Fiat 500, even the bike was a Duke lol.
So,the fiat coupe is being sold,,and the bikes gone so a soft top was decided on.
To be honest I hadn't considered a Z3 as I thought the prices would be prohibitive,,,but not so.
Some nice (seemingly) examples for under 2k.
Anyway can someone tell me what to look out for when looking over a z3?
Cam belts?
Looking forward to owning one very soon,so any help is appreciated,
Cheers
Paul

 

[badman gee]

Welcome

 

[GazHyde]

Welcome Happypaul

There have been a few recent new members comment on what other brands call "value for money". They were not this cheap when I bought mine three years ago.

Plenty of information on here, so have a good trawl through. There is some general information in these two articles...

http://zroadster.org/wiki/bmw-z3/ge...mation-for-potential-buyers-by-mike-fishwick/

http://zroadster.org/wiki/bmw-z3/general-bmw-z3-information/bmw-z3-basic-history-by-mike-fishwick/

Cheers, Gary

 

[Aceman]

Hi and welcome.

Cam belts are not a problem as the 6's are chain driven and as long as they have been serviced regulary then they will last 200k+ miles.

If you can stretch a little futher than £2k then a good 2.8 would be a good buy for not much more. Check for boot floor welds which just about all Z3's suffer from, you need to look for rusty spot welds under the boot carpet which is an idication of a failed spot weld. Some Z3's suffered worst than other and some haven't had any problems at all, it appears to be a little pot luck as to whether you get one that is fine or not but don't worry the boot floor can be welded up for around £200-300 so use it as a bargaining tool if you find one. Sills covers in the wheel arches are prone to rusting due to road crap building up in the arch liners so check the edge of the lower sill in the front and rear arches, again easily rectified. You may have heard of people having Vanos problems with BMW's but unless you get a Z3M the majority of the other 6's don't suffer from problems in that area.

Don't discount the 1.8/1.9 as there are plenty of them around for good money with them being the most popular model and by far the most on the road. Lots to choose from so I would post up here when you find one you like and ask for opinions there are always plenty of people happy to give advice on here who have gone through the same things you are doing now.

 

[EnthuZiaZT]

Welcome to Zorg, Happy Paul You've come to the right forum for you! lol

 

[zedonist]

Hi and welcome, I am biased and would say go 1.9 M44, but seriously get the biggest engine your budget can get, mechanically the car is a DIY dream, and parts are reasonable, so if you are good with spanners, then a cheap fix up could be an option, body work is expensive, so Make sure all panels are in good condition, if they do rust, it s The bottom rocker panels and the rear arches.

Evidence of regular oil change is a must, service history, receipts etc, if they are not used regular then they can be prone to sludging, so shine a torch down the oil filler cap, high mileage should not put you off if serviced regular, all variants of engines will give plus 200k miles no problems.

When driving check for wandering steering, sign bushes need replacing, check for broken rear springs, make sure no warning lights, engines should be tight and smooth and no rattles, 6's prone to vanos issues and 4's suffer from cam shaft sensor, all engines can suffer from broken / perished induction and breather hoses.

Check carpets for damp, and as Aceman has said check boot floor welds, also check exhaust condition, probably most expensive part on the car to replace oem.

My order of preference would be 3.0, 2.8, or 1.9 16v, but depends on budget

 

[badman gee]

Great write up ^

 

[Happypaul]

Thanks folks really appreciated,,I think my budget is just around 2k,,that's the insurance from my poor wee Duke!!
I'd love the grunt of a 2.8 and believe their not that bad to run either,but I'll see what pops up when the money is in my account.
Reserve on my coupe has just been met on fleabay so maybe a bit more to the Z budget after all,,
Loving the black but also the white,,red,,,gunmetal,,estoril blue,,,,och it's no easy this lark

 

[Pep]

Go for silver

 

[zedonist]

Yes it has to be silver, all Z3 were produced in Silver, if it is not Silver then it has been resprayed, so steer clear!

 

[La_vida_diver]

Welcome and you will have great fun I decided to change from a Bike to Z3 a couple of years ago and wish I had done it years earlier. 2.8's are just about in your reach and the acceleration will remind you of the bikes so would be a great choice. the others are all fine but the 2.8 twin Vanos just has the edge unless you look at the 3.0 or the M for me and they are about in your price range just!

edit
OOPS! Dislexia rule KO!

 

[zedonist]

Welcome and you will have great fun I decided to change from Dike to Z3 a couple of years ago and wish I had done it years earlier. 2.8's are just about in your reach and the acceleration will remind you of the bikes so would be a great choice. the others are all fine but the 2.8 twin Vanos just has the edge unless you look at the 3.0 or the M for me and they are about in your price range just!

I think a Dike would make me buy Z3 if she did not let me watch!

 

[board]

Yes it has to be silver, all Z3 were produced in Silver, if it is not Silver then it has been resprayed, so steer clear!

Don't listen to zedonist, all the silver ones have been machine polished so much they are down to the primer