Searching for my Dads 1999 Z3 V410 ETC (Currently SORN)

[HarrisonD]

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping the power of the forums can help me pull off a bit of a miracle and track down a piece of family history. I am looking for my dad's blue 1999 BMW Z3 so we can hopefully bring it back home.

My dad imported the car from Dusseldorf, Germany (in UK spec) back in the day. He absolutely loved it, but he ended up selling it in 2001 at the VW garage in Taunton because I was born and he needed something more practical!

Fast forward to today and I recently bought myself a 2008 Z4 Coupe. Seeing it on the driveway and taking it out for a drive has completely reignited his passion for the Z series, and we've decided we want to try and find his exact old car to buy it back.

The Car Details:
Registration: V410 ETC
Model: 1999 BMW Z3 (UK Spec, imported from Dusseldorf)
Mileage when sold: Approx. 20,000 miles (in 2001)

What we know right now:
We’ve done some digging on the DVLA/MOT checkers. The car is currently marked as SORN. The last V5C change was in 2018, and the MOT ran out in 2018 as well. At its last MOT, it only had around 53,000 miles on the clock.

Because it’s a low-mileage car that was SORNed right when the logbook changed hands, we suspect someone bought it as a modern classic or a project back in 2018 and has it tucked away in a garage somewhere.

Does anyone on here own V410 ETC, or know the person who does?

If the current owner is reading this: we would love to know more about where the car has been since 2001. If the car is sitting unfinished or you simply haven't had the time to enjoy it, we would love to make you a fair offer to bring it back into the family.

If anyone has any leads, sightings, or knows of a garage where it might be sitting, please reach out. Any help would be massively appreciated!

Thanks for reading!

 

[Jam03]

Good luck with the search. Looking at the MOT history, I think there’s a good chance it’s garaged somewhere.

 

[RickyBobby]

The car was recorded as a Cat N write off in November 2017 and aquired by the 5th (last) owner in May 2018.

 

[HarrisonD]

The car was recorded as a Cat N write off in November 2017 and aquired by the 5th (last) owner in May 2018.

Wow thank you for checking that. That explains the timeline, someone must have bought it as a repair project in May 2018 and SORNed it to do the work, and maybe never finished it. Really appreciate you digging that up.

 

[HarrisonD]

Good luck with the search. Looking at the MOT history, I think there’s a good chance it’s garaged somewhere.

Cheers! Yeah, we are praying it's tucked away under a dust sheet waiting to be finished.

 

[Jam03]

Cheers! Yeah, we are praying it's tucked away under a dust sheet waiting to be finished.

The latest info changes things a bit. Might have become a donor car. There are a number of people breaking Z3’s for spares. Might be worth checking with them. @Andyboy @spurs fan in a coupe There are others not active on here but in FB.

 

[HarrisonD]

The latest info changes things a bit. Might have become a donor car. There are a number of people breaking Z3’s for spares. Might be worth checking with them. @Andyboy @spurs fan in a coupe There are others not active on here but in FB.

A very good point and definitely a sobering thought. Thanks once again for your input, I'll drop them a message now.

 

[Pond]

Does the fact that the car is a write off (of whatever category) and has been off the road for eight years not detract from the thrill of searching for it?

If it were me, I would forget that particular car and just look for a similar one which hasn't been off the road for years and written off. Even if you do find it (which is fairly unlikely), there is a good chance you won't be able to buy it, unless you pay way over the market value. It could be a wreck and will now always be worth less because of the 'cat' tag.

 

[HarrisonD]

Does the fact that the car is a write off (of whatever category) and has been off the road for eight years not detract from the thrill of searching for it?

If it were me, I would forget that particular car and just look for a similar one which hasn't been off the road for years and written off. Even if you do find it (which is fairly unlikely), there is a good chance you won't be able to buy it, unless you pay way over the market value. It could be a wreck and will now always be worth less because of the 'cat' tag.

I completely get where you're coming from, and if this were just about getting a Z3 on the driveway, you'd be 100% right, a clean ready-to-drive example makes way more sense logically and financially.

But for us, it's very much a 'heart over head' situation. It’s the history behind this specific car that matters. The thought of finding my dad's actual car, and bringing it back to life as a project is a massive part of the appeal. Because of the sentimental value, we aren't bothered about the Cat N badge or the future resale value, as it would likely become a 'forever' car for us anyway.

Even if the current owner won't sell it, or if it turns out it was broken for parts, we'd love to know the end of the story and where the car ended up. It brings a bit of closure!

If we exhaust all options and hit a dead end, we will definitely take your advice and just look for a nice, clean example to buy instead. But for now, the thrill of the chase is half the fun!

 

[HarrisonD]

Hi guys, thanks so much for all the help so far. I've got a bit of an update on the hunt for my dad's old Z3.

I ran a VCheck and actually managed to pull the original auction photos from May 2018. The report says it was in Bristol and I can see a DHL lorry in the background of one of the photos, I believe it went through Bristol Avonmouth Copart, as they are right next to the DHL distribution centre. The listing said water and flood damage along with minor dents, which sounded scary at first. But looking closely at the pictures, the rear plastic window has a hole in it and there's a pretty big dent in the driver's door. So it's possibly got left out in the British weather, the interior got soaked, and the water ingress probably fried a few modules, which perfectly explains why the insurance company wrote it off as a Cat N rather than paying to dry it out and fix the electrics.

So the working theory right now is that someone local to the South West bought it from Copart Bristol back in May 2018 as a cheap project to dry out and fix up. If anyone knows someone hoarding a Topaz Blue 2.8 manual project car with a dented door and ripped rear screen, please give me a shout.

Any leads or ideas on where else to look locally would be massively appreciated. Cheers!

 

[RickyBobby]

Did well to track that down and get the photos

 

[Jam03]

Very unusual seats. Looks like E36 seats. Never seen that before.

 

[RickyBobby]

Very unusual seats. Looks like E36 seats. Never seen that before.

Certainly not the sport seats it was originally supplied with and suspect the original hardtop also went missing somewhere along the way.

 

[RickyBobby]

.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

LOL....I looked at the top picture and thought "Hmm...I don't see the driver's side door dent". Then scrolled down and saw it on the "wrong" side. It's hard to get used to most of these cars being right hand drive....

Best of luck finding it. It sounds like a labor of love.

I'm very fortunate in some regards in that my father kept the '01' that I talked him into buying (to replace a miata). It's now mine, but only because we lost him in '17. I plan to keep it in the family. I know for sure my son would love to have it someday. Neither of my girls can drive a manual (I know, I'm a horrible father....but I tried to get them to learn...they had zero interest). Mine still has only 8,000 miles on it.