Gone but not forgotten (and now I'm back back).

[roadvoyager1]

At the weekend my Z3 went to it's new owner, @Malcolm, in Chester-le-Street. He came to view the car twice and over a period of 4 hours we assessed him and his wife as being suitable owners for the car. We are confident that the car will be well looked after and improved over the coming months, with the only risk being that it may get polished down to bare metal.
After nine and a half years memembership of Zroadster.org I would like to give thanks for the support and camaraderie of the members I have had the pleasure to meet and liaiase with. A well run forum, that contains a huge amount of information, very few of the silly/unpleasant comments that come up on other forums and a great community spirit are a credit to the founding members and admin crew (you know who you are). So, thank you very much.
Although a "Z" is not on my future horizon I will be hanging around for a while and look forward to reading about the many exploites and adventures that will appear over the coming months.
I may have gone, but you will not be forgotten

 

[roadvoyager1]

Well I have to admit having had a flirtation with an Audi TT (apologies for such bad language !!). It was brief, in fact very brief!
Viewed a 2008 TT coupe with 58K miles and very good service history, mainly by Audi. Had the brake discs and pads replaced as they looked rather tired along with several other bits that I was not happy with. Drove 140 miles home without event. In fact, I was quite impresed with how smooth and quietly it ran.
Next day I was driving in heavy traffic for a prolonged period and this is when I started having concerns. The gearbox (DSG automatic) was hestitating and surging when moving from a standstill. It was unpredictable making the car difficult to drive. I was fortunate to be able to get it checked by a local automatic gearbox specialist the following day. They confirmed that this was not "normal" behaviour for the gearbox and based on their experience said that they believed their was a mechanical problem (there were no codes showing) with the mechatonics unit (the bit of wizardary that changes the gears). The cost to replace the unit would be in the order of £5K-£6K!!
So, having had the car for 3 days I evoked my rights under the Consumer Protection Act 2015 and informed the dealer that I "reject the car as faulty". In fairness to him I had a full refund in my bank within a few days and the car was collected promptly. The whole experience has left me feeling very wary about venturing into TT territory again.
My thoughts are now turning towards a E89 Z4. For my budget it will have to be an early one. I have read the buying advice thread and the 2.5ltr 2.3i seems to be the pick of the bunch. I will probably be waiting until early next year, but I am certainly interested in learning more. If there is a good low milage example you know of, or are thinking of selling then please let me know.

 

[t-tony]

I, for one would vouch for the 23i. I love mine.
And, in fairness to the VW DSG gear box, we have had 5 vehicles of various milages and all.diesel engined car with much higher torque than petrol cars and never had a days grief with either one. Just saying.

Tony.

 

[petecossie]

The main thing is you found out in time about the gearbox. What you don’t know is how previous owner(s) have driven it. So onwards and upwards as the saying goes.
Now gives you time to have a look at Z4s.

 

[roadvoyager1]

I, for one would vouch for the 23i. I love mine.
And, in fairness to the VW DSG gear box, we have had 5 vehicles of various milages and all.diesel engined car with much higher torque than petrol cars and never had a days grief with either one. Just saying.

Tony.

Thanks for the feedback @t-tony. I thought the VW DSG gearbox would be a safe bet at only 58K miles. I had read a few forum posts about similar problems, but they seem to be the exception. The gearbox had an oil and filter change by an Audi dealer 9K miles earlier. The gearbox specialist I used has a very good name in the north-east and no real gain in telling there was a problem if there wasn't. I must just have been unlucky to have found a bad one, and then lucky to have found the problem as quick as I did.

 

[roadvoyager1]

The main thing is you found out in time about the gearbox. What you don’t know is how previous owner(s) have driven it. So onwards and upwards as the saying goes.
Now gives you time to have a look at Z4s.

Thanks @petecossie. I am going to wait until next spring to buy, so plenty of time to investigate.

 

[t-tony]

Thanks for the feedback @t-tony. I thought the VW DSG gearbox would be a safe bet at only 58K miles. I had read a few forum posts about similar problems, but they seem to be the exception. The gearbox had an oil and filter change by an Audi dealer 9K miles earlier. The gearbox specialist I used has a very good name in the north-east and no real gain in telling there was a problem if there wasn't. I must just have been unlucky to have found a bad one, and then lucky to have found the problem as quick as I did.

I think you were just unlucky too. I was warned, after I bought the first one (a VW Eos 2.0 diesel) so when I bought a Touran I purchased an extended warranty which did get used, to cover a rear wheel bearing! If you ever get down near Lincoln and would like an extended road test of an E89 23i give me a shout.

Tony.

 

[petecossie]

The up side to this is hopefully we’ll get to see you next year at Newby Hall or similar meetings with your new Z4.

 

[roadvoyager1]

If you ever get down near Lincoln and would like an extended road test of an E89 23i give me a shout.

Tony.

Thank you for the offer Tony. No plans to come down to your area in the near future, but will keep it in mind. I would appreciate the opportunity to talk pros and cons of E89 ownership with somebody as knowledgable as yourself, so will get in touch if we can incorporate a trip to Lincoln on our travels.

 

[roadvoyager1]

Well I had settled myself to waiting until spring to get a replacement for my Z3. Things change!!
Spotted an e89 Z4 on FB Marketplace, not somewhere I would normally even look at, but for some reason I had.
Checked out the private seller through his business website (and the business through Companies House) and within 48 hours was driving home with this.

First registered June 2009, 2.3 sdrive automatic with many of the available options fitted and 88k on the clock.

There was a full service history, although the MOT history until 2021 didn't look great, but it got a clean bill of health in 2022 and at the start of this year when it also had and oil change.
Today I took it for a MOT and it passed with one advisory. As expected, at the price I paid, I have found a few jobs that need doing, the biggest being to replace the thermostat. Codes have been read an there don't appear to be any persistent faults, so looking good so far.
I will be SORNing it over the winter, and hope to be joining up with old friends next year.

 

[Duncodin]

That's a beauty. I wouldn't be able to sorn it over winter. I'd be looking for excuses to drive now. I do love the e89.

I looked in the smilies dropdown and couldn't find one for "Green With Envy" No. Hang on. There is one.

 

[Z Victor 1]

Nice, my favourite E89 colour combination. '..Z9..' ?

 

[t-tony]

Well I had settled myself to waiting until spring to get a replacement for my Z3. Things change!!
Spotted an e89 Z9 on FB Marketplace, not somewhere I would normally even look at, but for some reason I had.
Checked out the private seller through his business website (and the business through Companies House) and within 48 hours was driving home with this.
View attachment 278695
First registered June 2009, 2.3 sdrive automatic with many of the available options fitted and 88k on the clock.

There was a full service history, although the MOT history until 2021 didn't look great, but it got a clean bill of health in 2022 and at the start of this year when it also had and oil change.
Today I took it for a MOT and it passed with one advisory. As expected, at the price I paid, I have found a few jobs that need doing, the biggest being to replace the thermostat. Codes have been read an there don't appear to be any persistent faults, so looking good so far.
I will be SORNing it over the winter, and hope to be joining up with old friends next year.View attachment 278701View attachment 278703

Looking good!

Tony.

 

[Malcolm]

Hi Robert,
That’s a great looking Z4,good luck with this one,
Back plates and service jobs done on the Z3,will update soon on full progress.
Regards Malcolm

 

[roadvoyager1]

Nice, my favourite E89 colour combination. '..Z9..' ?

Oooops, changed to Z4. Thanks.
My favourite colour combo as well, they were the colours used in the launch brochure.

 

[Paul Rice]

Great choice

 

[roadvoyager1]

Hi Robert,
That’s a great looking Z4,good luck with this one,
Back plates and service jobs done on the Z3,will update soon on full progress.
Regards Malcolm

Thanks Malcolm. Good to hear from you.Will be interested to hear your progress report. Will be in touch.