E89 BMW Z4

b3mor said:
See post #11. ;)
Click to expand...

A previous gen coupe and 130i are not comparable nor is the current gen Z4 and the last gen in my opinion.

I would suggest you go drive some, it will inform your position a bit more. Steer clear of finance if you are looking to get a mortgage.
 
b3mor said:
I'll definitely give the MX5 a look though, thanks for the suggestion. :)
Click to expand...

It's well worth it. I think it will give you all the fun you are looking for with next to none of the associated costs. I'm increadibly happy with mine and as of yet it hasnt thrown a single bill at me. Even my upcoming service is free as it was haggled as part of the purchase price :P About the only thing to watch for is the cost of tyres if you do go for a sport as they are considerably more on the 16" wheels than they are for all the models with 15's at about £100 a corner.
 
Hi guys,

I've been to see a Honda Civic 1.8 today at a dealer and really liked it. I haven't got to drive it yet but I've booked one up. What do you think of this car?

The car was registered March 2010 and has ridiculously low mileage of ~5k and seems in very good condition. It has had one service and I can get the next 3 years servicing for £300. It is up for £12.5k, does that seem reasonable? I'd obviously look to get some off this plus whatever I can get for my non running Focus on eBay.

Thanks! :)

Have also seen a new shape Astra, seemed nice but the 1.6 looks to be too slow. That was 59 plate with 12k for £9k. Also looked at the mark 2.5 Focus, but the interior isn't anything on the Honda IMO. Hopefully get to look at MX5's soon, but I think 2 seats is going to be too impractical for me...
 
I've donned my sensible hat. :) The house is more important than the car, therefore I need to reduce my budget, but I don't have a set figure, it is flexible.

As I previously mentioned I have reservations about soft top convertibles. So I figured a warm hatch may be a reasonable compromise. Although I grant you the Astra isn't a warm hatch. :D

As I mentioned at the start, I'm just after ideas, I have no fixed requirements so inspire me!
 
Errr....

You can have a solid S2000 for the money the Civic is asking.

VTEC as with the civic
2 seater roadster as with the Z4
Same/less cash compared to the Civic.

Do your research and do not buy one which will throw bills at you and running cost is cheap. You could spend 8-9k and still have a sizeable rainy day fund for issues anyway!

If you do not want a roadster, fair enough. But writing off a Z4 only to buy a Civic for S2000 pricing seems a bit strange, especially when you considered the MX5!
 
You're right; I loved the Z4 at first site and hence my initial idea. I need to put some proper thought into 2 seater vs 4 seater and whether I can live with having a soft top. I'm worried I might come back to find it slashed or something. I have a friend whose Mini convertible had the roof slashed whilst parked on her drive. :(

I confess I'm not making things very easy for you guys as my criteria keep changing! I do appreciate the help and advice though! :)
 
I test drove the 1.8 Civic over the weekend and loved it. In the grand scheme of things it is nothing exceptional but coming from a diesel, and having driven no petrol car other than a lazy 2.5 10v Volvo V70 in the last 7 years it was great. The fun to be had stirring the box and keeping the engine on the boil was immense. :p Can only imagine what an S2000 must be like with an extra 100 horses on tap.

I'm hoping to get a test drive booked up for a Mazda Mx-5 this weekend (hope the sun is shining!), and maybe a Focus 1.8 just to see how much better it is than my old car. I've had my eye out for S2000s too but the ones I've seen have a blue roof which I don't like. They do look like cracking cars though. :)
 
b3mor said:
You're right; I loved the Z4 at first site and hence my initial idea. I need to put some proper thought into 2 seater vs 4 seater and whether I can live with having a soft top. I'm worried I might come back to find it slashed or something. I have a friend whose Mini convertible had the roof slashed whilst parked on her drive. :(
Click to expand...

Your thread is called 'E89 Z4'. This car doesnt have a soft top :confused:
 
I know that Fox. :p

I thought it was obvious the budget change means the E89 Z4 is no longer in budget. Perhaps it is time for a new thread... :confused:

So, at the moment(!), I'm considering:

E85 Z4
Honda Civic
Honda S2000
Mazda MX-5

I have no idea how soft tops stand up to daily use year round and have some concerns regarding the security of the roof. Anything else seem like a good idea? Civic Type R seems to be the one that is missing. I'd better do some insurance quotes.

Hi Ahleckz. No I haven't driven a Z4 yet, although I'm sure it would be a lot more fun than the Civic being RWD and all. Are you looking at an E85 or E89?
 
It would be the E85 I'd be looking at. I can't justify the extra cost on the E89.

Yours and mine search is probably quite similar, so will be following your decisions with interest. I ruled out the S2000 due to insurance costs. A good grand more over the Z4 for me. I've ummed and ahhed about hot hatches but I really don't think I really want one. I don't need practical at all, I just want something fun!
 
Good god don't buy a 1.8 civic, don't get me wrong I have a 2.2 diesel and for our current needs its great but I came from a mk3 mr2 precluded by severak decent petrol motors before this and its not even close as an overall experience. That 1.8 needs a lot of work and its underpowered overall. As said already you'll get closer to the kind of car your looking for for less cash than the civic, hell you can get a 1.8 for about 5k why spend more than double, or if you must spend that kind of money don't buy such a boring car!
 
b3mor said:
I know that Fox. :p

I thought it was obvious the budget change means the E89 Z4 is no longer in budget. Perhaps it is time for a new thread... :confused:

So, at the moment(!), I'm considering:

E85 Z4
Honda Civic
Honda S2000
Mazda MX-5

I have no idea how soft tops stand up to daily use year round and have some concerns regarding the security of the roof. Anything else seem like a good idea? Civic Type R seems to be the one that is missing. I'd better do some insurance quotes.

Hi Ahleckz. No I haven't driven a Z4 yet, although I'm sure it would be a lot more fun than the Civic being RWD and all. Are you looking at an E85 or E89?
Click to expand...

Unless your considering a basic and old Honda Civic the only car in that list that really wouldnt eat into house funds is the MX-5 imho. The s2000 is in a completley different league for insurance (for myself its an increase from £800 to over £2500) and you have to pay considerably more to get a good one than you would an MX-5.

I think you need to consider your priorities, you cant realistically save for a house and buy a 2010 Honda Civic with less than 5000 miles on it........... A quick look on Auto Trader suggests the bare minimum for that spec civic is £11000, for that money you could buy a Z4, S2000 AND an MX-5!

Why not step the budget right down to say £5-6000? If you have 12k sitting around to be able to afford something you could quite easily by yourself a fun or a practical car and still have a good 50-60% of your capital left for the house deposit.

A couple of fun examples;

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201134411957420/
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201145427203763/

Or something sensible;

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201126395695742
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201140419410387

In regards to living with a soft top day in day out, I've never found it an issue as of yet. Yes its a bit noiser and colder but the car more than makes up for it. In terms of security, are you going to worry about your windows all the time if you have a hatchback or hardtop? It's just as easy to smash glass as it is to slash a roof.
 
Last edited:
AndrewP said:
Similar decision I went through over the last few months, some good advice in my original thread - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18338496
Click to expand...

Thanks, I confess when I saw the Nissan 350Z prices I was like :eek: I must have one of those, but I'm guessing the running costs (especially fuel) would be mental. Also I don't think driving that on my usual 6 mile commute to work, half of that in stop start traffic would be much fun. Definitely some food for thought though. :)

rodenal said:
Good god don't buy a 1.8 civic, don't get me wrong I have a 2.2 diesel and for our current needs its great but I came from a mk3 mr2 precluded by severak decent petrol motors before this and its not even close as an overall experience. That 1.8 needs a lot of work and its underpowered overall. As said already you'll get closer to the kind of car your looking for for less cash than the civic, hell you can get a 1.8 for about 5k why spend more than double, or if you must spend that kind of money don't buy such a boring car!
Click to expand...

I don't want such an old car, I've been driving old cars since I started driving 10 years ago and it is only when you get in a newer one that you realise how much nicer it is. I won't buy new , but anything 1-3 years old seems sensible. :confused:

BinnsY said:
Unless your considering a basic and old Honda Civic the only car in that list that really wouldnt eat into house funds is the MX-5 imho. The s2000 is in a completley different league for insurance (for myself its an increase from £800 to over £2500) and you have to pay considerably more to get a good one than you would an MX-5.

I think you need to consider your priorities, you cant realistically save for a house and buy a 2010 Honda Civic with less than 5000 miles on it........... A quick look on Auto Trader suggests the bare minimum for that spec civic is £11000, for that money you could buy a Z4, S2000 AND an MX-5!

Why not step the budget right down to say £5-6000? If you have 12k sitting around to be able to afford something you could quite easily by yourself a fun or a practical car and still have a good 50-60% of your capital left for the house deposit.

A couple of fun examples;

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201134411957420/
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201145427203763/

Or something sensible;

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201126395695742
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201140419410387

In regards to living with a soft top day in day out, I've never found it an issue as of yet. Yes its a bit noiser and colder but the car more than makes up for it. In terms of security, are you going to worry about your windows all the time if you have a hatchback or hardtop? It's just as easy to smash glass as it is to slash a roof.
Click to expand...

I think they're a bit older than I'd like tbh. I drove a 52 plate and look how that ended up. Okay it was a diesel that was seemingly bound to go pop but anyway, I don't see the point in buying another 9ish year old car that could have something big go wrong that could write it off. I'm sure that Civic would be bullet proof, but it doesn't look half as nice as the new one does it?

Tried some insurance quotes, you weren't wrong about the S2000 so sadly that is off the list. :(

I have however spotted a June 2008 Civic Type R GT(?) with 45k on the clock for 10k from a dealer. The insurance is surprisingly only about £150 more than the 1.8 so I'll be having a look at that. :cool:

Thanks for the feedback all. :)
 
Oh and I forgot to mention the finance! Needless to say Honda Finance won't be getting a penny from me.

£4,990 2 years ~ 15% APR
£4,990 3 years ~ 17% APR

I can get 6.2% APR from the bank!
 
I have no idea what's now going on in this thread, but if you get the E89 Z4 with the "big alloys" (19s) the tyres will set you back £500 for a pair of fronts and £700 for a pair of rears.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom