Done!! [Was: Anyone near Woking this afternoon, 4pm?]

[buze]

I've found a car that just *might* be the ticket, and I've arranged a drive this afternoon; would any esteemed forum expert be around to have a look at it with me? I know it's a long shot but...

Mrs Buze said it's the best looking I've shown her so far...

Also, the pic of the interior shows 2 lights on the dash, is it normal when the car is stopped?

You are looking at my very low mileage BMW Z3 which is in excellent condition.

The car has covered 60,000 miles which really is nothing for these engines. You often see them with over 200k on the clock.

The car has all the bits you would want and being the wide body version it is the one to have! It's got the larger 17" alloys that really set the looks off.

The car has many very desirable option extras from standard ( I have the original BMW spec sheet to prove!)

• Limited Slip Differential (LSD) 25%
• Non smoker pack
• Chrome line interior pack
• Chrome line exterior pack
• Roll-bar protection.
• Wind break
• BMW rear rack
• Velour floor Matt's
• Wood trim
• Heated seats
• Electric seats
• M sport leather steering wheel
• Beige leather seats in excellent condition

The car has in the last month had the bonnet and front bumper re-sprayed due to stone chips at a cost of £500. 6 months ago the roof was replaced at a cost of £550. At the last MOT it had the rear springs replaced and two new callipers. This car is a real drivers car and will put a smile on your face every time you drive it.

Everything works as it should, no knocks bangs or rattles. It really has to be seen and driven to be appreciated.

 

[Low Rider]

I would agree she does look very nice.
Let's hope you've found the one

 

[Shelly]

Lovely looking Z
Good luck

 

[raymond]

Mot history is quite extensive ! Has had the brake pipes replaced. On her last one rear shocks are slighty weeping and one head light was poor. But given the mileage looks good. Check the edges of the sills for rust. Also the arches and where the rear wings meet the sills. Get the chassis number to check the options. Good luck

 

[raymond]

And check for exhaust smoke!

 

[buze]

Mot history is quite extensive ! Has had the brake pipes replaced. On her last one rear shocks are slighty weeping and one head light was poor. But given the mileage looks good. Check the edges of the sills for rust. Also the arches and where the rear wings meet the sills. Get the chassis number to check the options. Good luck

Thanks for that! The seller said "At the last MOT it had the rear springs replaced and two new callipers" which means he has addressed the shock absorbers it seems... I will do the rust check, thanks for the tip.

 

[Grumps]

Just get this checked. In the first 10 years of it's life it did 8000 miles then year 10 to 11 it did 18000.

 

[buze]

MOT reports says "Nearside Head lamp poor condition", is it easy to clean/change? google reports a video on how to clear scratches and yellowing from the headlamp, I wonder if that's enough...

 

[Grumps]

Yep it's amazing how good the kits are. T-cut do one. I used one another forum member gave me, can't remember the make but it did a sterling job.

 

[spurs fan in a coupe]

I live in Woking, not around at 4 o'clock today though, if you buy it, you can stop off here later and ill polish the headlights for you.

 

[g8jka]

Thanks for that! The seller said "At the last MOT it had the rear springs replaced and two new callipers" which means he has addressed the shock absorbers it seems... I will do the rust check, thanks for the tip.

Shock absorbers and springs are different components. If they haven't been done they are not an expensive or hard job to replace anyway so I wouldn't worry too much. Pretty much like most of the jobs on these cars, if the condition is good and it runs well then it will be a good buy. There will always been small issues on any zed due to the age but often they are cheap and easy to fix.

 

[DavidM]

Looks a decent car! Hope all goes well with the inspection!

 

[buze]

Ok, so test drove it, and for /me/ it looks it's a go. I did find a few things a littel bit amiss, but in my mind nothing /really/ spectacular bad. It drives well, the seat does have a very occasional small 'knock' so the bushing will likely need changing at some point, and also the brake seems a bit 'soft' (not the pedal, the braking) -- the car hasn't been driven for a while, and my take is that the disks needs 're bedding'...

The inside is in very good condition, nothing to say there, all the bits I've tried worked, lights, windows, roof etc...

*** I *did* find some rust at the link between wheel arches and sills, the question is, is it *bad* ?

*** The car must have taken a light hit at some point in the past on the driver front side, as the panel seems partially unclipped, the indicator is partialy broken, and the fog light is broken as well.

*** There is bubling on the passenger mirror base...

Here are the pictures. Please the experts, have a look I offered 4200, which leaves me a budget for doing fixes as well.

 

[raymond]

Each sill new from BMW are 120 each per side plus vat. Second hand facelift rear wings are 300 new but a forum member had a couple of rust free ones for 150 . Possible to reuse wings but once you unbolt them more rust is visible so I would get some good secondhand ones

 

[raymond]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Z3-E3...60b50c4&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&sd=201936056565

 

[Brian4]

Usual bits of rust there. Longer term replace sills and front wings. They are easy enough as all external panels are bolt on.

Wing mirrors can be taken off cleaned up and repainted with care as they are prone to snap when twisting them so ask some quetions when you come to do it.
Lights can be got used and the fog lights are the same as on the E39 5 series
If the brakes are soft could be they need bedding in again but the front calipers do suffer from seizing but can be easily refurbished.

Front bumper can be removed fairly easily and broken clips replaced or second hand one fitted.

 

[Grumps]

Looks like the basis of a cracking zed. My priority would be the sills. If budget allows get new ones from bmw and get them painted. The mirror isn't urgent so can be done at a later stage. Again if budget allows get it done at the same time as the sills. Get a good service done on it and then drive and enjoy your new toy!

 

[buze]

Excellent, well it's a GO GO GO then. Thanks every one for the input, I'll very likely start posting some 'newbie' questions pretty soon, so you're bound to hear from me a lot ;-)

the OTHER good news is that I'll deserve to put an proper avatar <- there

 

[Andy-M]

Looks like the basis of a cracking zed.

As already said, it gives you something to tinker with. Looks like the front corner had a little bump at some point of which the side lamp seems to have taken most of the brunt. Spursfan is always a good contact for those things. As for the rust, well its were they all go. Again another job to get done as and when. There also seems a couple of other little marks but the car is 16 years old. Call them character marks
Main thing if you like it .................. go for it.

 

[Bonzeau]

Seems to be in a fair condition for age and looks very nice! Check the underside of the sills, mine looked fine from the side, but were bad underneath. Trawl through the Knowledge base to get familiar with what can be done to the car. Lubricate the mirror swivel linkages and give them a twist each time you wash the car to keep them free. Good luck with her, enjoy all that 2.8 torque!



Bonzo