How many Zeds left in the UK?

[B21]

A rainy afternoon here..so got bored and crunched some numbers..interesting..but..

Model Range	Taxed	SORN	Total	% SORN
Z3	7,759​	8,002​	15,761​	51​
E85/E86	13,457​	5,437​	18,894​	29​
E89	19,448​	906​	20,354​	4​
G29	2,018​	33​	2,051​	2​

Some errors due to the largest numbers rounded to thousands...but close enough for goverment work..

Interesting to see how many E85M are sorn at the end of Q1..same story for Z3, maybe many more are Garage Queens destined to never move again? Has rust got to the Z3 and E85 meaning they are SORN beyond econmic repair?

 

[Ianmc]

If the Z3 number is correct, it's very sad. They were designed to be used year round and are just as much fun in the Winter - you only live once!

 

[RickyBobby]

A rainy afternoon here..so got bored and crunched some numbers..interesting..but..

Model Range	Taxed	SORN	Total	% SORN
Z3	7,759​	8,002​	15,761​	51​
E85/E86	13,457​	5,437​	18,894​	29​
E89	19,448​	906​	20,354​	4​
G29	2,018​	33​	2,051​	2​

Some errors due to the largest numbers rounded to thousands...but close enough for goverment work..

Interesting to see how many E85M are sorn at the end of Q1..same story for Z3, maybe many more are Garage Queens destined to never move again? Has rust got to the Z3 and E85 meaning they are SORN beyond econmic repair?

As with most analysis that probably raises more questions than it answers - source, timing ....etc

In terms of the SORN volumes - I suspect they are as much a reflection of the stupid CO2 based tax system as they are the condition of the bodywork.

 

[Pingu]

It's very difficult to get accurate figures from "HowManyLeft". There must be at least 10 different datasets for Z3 alone.

How Many Left?

How Many Left. See how many cars of any make and model are left on Britain's roads.

www.howmanyleft.co.uk

How Many Left?

How Many Left. See how many cars of any make and model are left on Britain's roads.

www.howmanyleft.co.uk

How Many Left?

How Many Left. See how many cars of any make and model are left on Britain's roads.

www.howmanyleft.co.uk

These are just the ones listed on the main pages. Any that aren't called BMW as the Marque or Z3 as the Model on the V5 won't be here.

You can get very reasonable answers for global data, but the errors will be worse the more you start trying to drill down to the different engine sizes and trim levels.

 

[Rod and Kate]

I'll start the official count.
'' Us'' Z3 blue (1). Taxed.

 

[Pond]

Z3 blue (soon to be red). SORN (for the foreseeable future at least).

 

[spurs fan in a coupe]

I do my best to keep the number low

 

[B21]

It's very difficult to get accurate figures from "HowManyLeft". There must be at least 10 different datasets for Z3 alone.

How Many Left?

How Many Left. See how many cars of any make and model are left on Britain's roads.

www.howmanyleft.co.uk

How Many Left?

How Many Left. See how many cars of any make and model are left on Britain's roads.

www.howmanyleft.co.uk

How Many Left?

How Many Left. See how many cars of any make and model are left on Britain's roads.

www.howmanyleft.co.uk

These are just the ones listed on the main pages. Any that aren't called BMW as the Marque or Z3 as the Model on the V5 won't be here.

You can get very reasonable answers for global data, but the errors will be worse the more you start trying to drill down to the different engine sizes and trim levels.

I picked up 8 Z3 variants…plus 30+ E85/86 and 38 E89 variants…anything left is in the noise ..IMHO

 

[Pingu]

I picked up 8 Z3 variants…plus 30+ E85/86 and 38 E89 variants…anything left is in the noise ..IMHO

I get 7896 Licensed and 8012 SORN for Q1 2024. The numbers are different, but the sentiment is the same. It's about a 50/50 split over winter, and a 60/40 split in summer. The more interesting one, for me, is the Q1 numbers over the years...

Year	Taxed	SORN	Total	Lost
2009​	19828​	1429​	21257​
2010​	19318​	1603​	20921​	-336​
2011​	18361​	2117​	20478​	-443​
2012​	17615​	2738​	20353​	-125​
2013​	16579​	3252​	19831​	-522​
2014​	15930​	2698​	18628​	-1203​
2015​	15544​	3049​	18593​	-35​
2016​	14731​	4261​	18992​	399​
2017​	13841​	4254​	18095​	-897​
2018​	12664​	5032​	17696​	-399​
2019​	11874​	5630​	17504​	-192​
2020​	10232​	7596​	17828​	324​
2021​	9779​	7037​	16816​	-1012​
2022​	9493​	7245​	16738​	-78​
2023​	8699​	7536​	16235​	-503​
2024​	7896​	8012​	15908​	-327​

My guess is that a SORN'd car in Q1 is a summer car. The SORN number is going up every year. The average lost per year is around 350.

Rust has started, but hasn't really affected Z3s. Compare that to BMW E30s. They hit the bottom of the bathtub around 2001. Z3s are defying the bathtub curve.

15000 cars and only losing 350 per year is pretty astonishing.

 

[bronty]

For ever 4392 people one of them owns a Z3

 

[Pond]

Rust has started, but hasn't really affected Z3s. Compare that to BMW E30s. They hit the bottom of the bathtub around 2001. Z3s are defying the bathtub curve.

15000 cars and only losing 350 per year is pretty astonishing.

Probably because so many now are garaged throughout the year and only used as Summer cars.

Not really much of a surprise thanks to our wonderful weather.

The convertibles that suffer with rust are probably those that were used year-round when they were newer. It happens a lot with convertibles, just look at the MOT history of many. Loads of mileage for the first 3-4 years, then it starts to tail off as time goes on. I put it down to company cars and leasing in the last 25 years.

 

[B21]

I get 7896 Licensed and 8012 SORN for Q1 2024. The numbers are different, but the sentiment is the same. It's about a 50/50 split over winter, and a 60/40 split in summer. The more interesting one, for me, is the Q1 numbers over the years...

Year	Taxed	SORN	Total	Lost
2009​	19828​	1429​	21257​
2010​	19318​	1603​	20921​	-336​
2011​	18361​	2117​	20478​	-443​
2012​	17615​	2738​	20353​	-125​
2013​	16579​	3252​	19831​	-522​
2014​	15930​	2698​	18628​	-1203​
2015​	15544​	3049​	18593​	-35​
2016​	14731​	4261​	18992​	399​
2017​	13841​	4254​	18095​	-897​
2018​	12664​	5032​	17696​	-399​
2019​	11874​	5630​	17504​	-192​
2020​	10232​	7596​	17828​	324​
2021​	9779​	7037​	16816​	-1012​
2022​	9493​	7245​	16738​	-78​
2023​	8699​	7536​	16235​	-503​
2024​	7896​	8012​	15908​	-327​

My guess is that a SORN'd car in Q1 is a summer car. The SORN number is going up every year. The average lost per year is around 350.

Rust has started, but hasn't really affected Z3s. Compare that to BMW E30s. They hit the bottom of the bathtub around 2001. Z3s are defying the bathtub curve.

15000 cars and only losing 350 per year is pretty astonishing.

As I said one block of Z3 models was rounded as it was measured in ’000s not individually…

So a guesstimate of 7,759 vs yours of 7,896 is close enough to catch the sentiments..I suspect that there will still be a heavy SORN component in Q2..but we will see in due course…

Ditto on E85/E86..I suspect there are quite a lot of uneconomic to repair in the eyes of the owner..

What I found surprising was the very low SORN rates for E89s..

 

[Pond]

What I found surprising was the very low SORN rates for E89s..

Because they have a metal roof. Seen to be able to withstand the British Winter. And they are newer than the others so still viable as a daily car. Look at the G29; pretty much all are used as dailies because they are very new, despite having a soft-top. Many are leased aswell, so the drivers don't give a sh***.

 

[Lee]

A rainy afternoon here..so got bored and crunched some numbers..interesting..but..

Model Range	Taxed	SORN	Total	% SORN
Z3	7,759​	8,002​	15,761​	51​
E85/E86	13,457​	5,437​	18,894​	29​
E89	19,448​	906​	20,354​	4​
G29	2,018​	33​	2,051​	2​

Some errors due to the largest numbers rounded to thousands...but close enough for goverment work..

Interesting to see how many E85M are sorn at the end of Q1..same story for Z3, maybe many more are Garage Queens destined to never move again? Has rust got to the Z3 and E85 meaning they are SORN beyond econmic repair?

Answering your question on rust, having rebuilt hundreds of Z3's & 4's we rarely see rusty chassis, there's always exception to the rule where some have had an impact underneath and the weather has got it , most we see have rotten panels but the main chassis is ok.

 

[B21]

Answering your question on rust, having rebuilt hundreds of Z3's & 4's we rarely see rusty chassis, there's always exception to the rule where some have had an impact underneath and the weather has got it , most we see have rotten panels but the main chassis is ok.

Thnx for the clarification