Hi All,
I don't have a BMW at the moment, but would like to ask a question.
My only experience of owning a BMW was a 730, great drive for about 3 months then the gearbox went, didn't leave a great taste.
I'm thinking about buying a Z4 and would like your considered opinions of wether this would be a good car to suit my circumstances
I've got a Mazda MX5 and love it, its not the fastest or the best looking of cars and it does have a hiardresser car type image, but I've had more fun driving that than any other car I've ever had, and that includes RX7s, Porsche 924 & 944 as well as a heap of Mercs & Audis.
I do quite a lot of long journeys, 400 milles in a days run is not unusual and I find that the Mazda is fine over these distances.
However I've now got a dodgy left knee and hip and and I think my days of driving a manual are fast running out so looking for an auto to replace it, but frankly the MX5 auto is not a great car.
I've been looking at alternatives, my first thought was the Merc SLK280, but I'm not that impressed with Merc build quality & reliability. None of the Audi's float my boat and I'm really not keen on anything VW.
So I'm after something that handles nicely, feels sporty, has reasonable performance good fuel consumption. reasonable priced parts, servicing etc and must be reliable.
I don't want something that feels like a small saloon car, but want something thats got a bit of 'fizz' to it. (a James May expression). Also looking at several Jap options eg 300Z,350Z etc.
I'd like to be able to cruise down the motorway at 70 and still hear the radio or carry on a conversation. But prefer to take back/country roads when possible. I prefer a soft top. Not fussed about A/C.
So in your opinion is a Z4 going to fit the bill ?
If so which one ?
Are there any years/models that I should avoid.
In terms of price its going to have to be around a 2005 with fairly big mileage which I Know may impact reliability or do these cars take high mileages.
If I spend £4k on a 100k miler will I be facing high bills or could I get 2-3 years out of it ?
Any help and advice would be appreciated.
Chaz