BMW and M Power Owners

[Uncle_Gravy]

Looking at 3L Z4 again, think I'll be taking th plunge and get one at some point, seem to be holding their values since this last time I saw them, setting a budget of 6-6.5k for one

 

[shaank]

Looking at 3L Z4 again, think I'll be taking th plunge and get one at some point, seem to be holding their values since this last time I saw them, setting a budget of 6-6.5k for one

do it - I picked up a 2006 3.0Si a month ago as a 2nd car / run around and I love it.

 

[Marvin]

Snip

Love it in the red - not common on Z4s (colours in general TBH), will keep an eye out, though I don't venture to north Kent that frequently...

 

[DarrenM343]

Badger, I was enquiring about that car too. I think the first buyer pulled out so went up for sale again and by the time I saw it and got in contact it had already sold.
Hope you managed to get a decent discount on it as they (or another sytner dealer) had an interlagos roadster with satnav and lower miles(25kmiles vs 29k miles) along with just one previous owner at a grand or two less not long before (cant reember exact figure) - think it was £16999. Red is nicer though and personally prefer no satnav as per yours !

 

[sigma]

Finally got round to driving a E39 530i... SE. I see why people rant and rave about these cars, it felt so solid! Showing its age now, sadly, and obviously the sports seats and touches would be nicer to live with but it has made me think that an E63 630i may well be the car for me... lovely engine.

 

[[TW]Fox]

The E63 630i has a completely different engine btw

personally prefer no satnav as per yours !

I can't imagine why you'd PREFER not having satnav? I understand why you'd not be bothered if it didn't have it but what is there to prefer about not having it? The Business CD unit in the Z4 looks totally rubbish, at least the nav gives you more OBC functionality and allows the use of an Intravee...

 

[badgeruk]

I can't imagine why you'd PREFER not having satnav? I understand why you'd not be bothered if it didn't have it but what is there to prefer about not having it? The Business CD unit in the Z4 looks totally rubbish, at least the nav gives you more OBC functionality and allows the use of an Intravee...

I didn't want it. Its ancient and will lack any features my phones sat nav would have so never be used. It also allows me to change the headunit easily to one with all the modern features i want, with far better audio at the same time. Cant think of a single positive of having it over an after market radio/phone combo apart from keeping the oem look, which is far less important to me then features and audio quality.

@Marvin: Thank, I didn't want silver again, and I really didn't want black black with added black so when this appeared I had to at least take a look.

@Darren: I didn't get much of a discount but looking at all the coloured Z4s they seem to be a few k more then the normal colours. If i didn't buy it for near the price they wanted i couldn't imagine it taking more then a week for them to have done so. Private prices I saw were around 1.5k or so less, by the time you add on warranty and have the inspection 2 and mot done I would have been no better off. And I guess sometimes you have to pay that little bit more to get what you really want.

 

[DarrenM343]

I can't imagine why you'd PREFER not having satnav? I understand why you'd not be bothered if it didn't have it but what is there to prefer about not having it? .

Look rubbish, chunky dated and ruins the look of an otherwise lovely dashboard. To me a Z4 and especially the M is that it's about the driving experience .

I prefer a sat nav that's integrated more into the front of the dash, with the rest of the clutter, not plonked on top.

@Badger, agree and prices have been going up recently. Worth paying more for what you want too.

 

[Voxination]

So guess those answer whether is a roaster or coupe And chances are if you see a dark red ( phone does a good job of messing the colour up ) Z4m around Kent its mine, cant see there being many if any down here in that colour.

Looks good, will keep an eye out for you

 

[J1nxy]

ah, great! Let me know what you think

So I've dropped the loaner back today after having it since friday. No point in it sitting on my drive doing nothing when I'm away until thursday night.

So my thoughts on the car...

It was a 420d Sport with the standard auto, not sport auto, and had a half decent spec, including Business Nav, electric seats, folding mirrors, sun protection glass and a couple of others. So for the type of car not bad.

To drive at anything around town the engine and gearbox work very well together and it has sufficient power not to feel slow or cumbersome. The ride is very good on and the handling pretty decent as well. Where it really starts to come undone is in the accelerating up to or at motorway speed where the engine where it just feels sluggish and unresponsive. Maybe I've been spoilt by driving cars with significantly more power for the last 15+ years but to me it'd be a deal breaker. If it was a company car it'd be probably a different story but if it was my money I'd be looking higher up the engine range.

The interior is ok, its well laid out and the seats are comfortable, the non M-Sport steering wheel is truly horrible, both feeling cheap and poorly laid out with the buttons for cruise and stereo in odd places. Its a quite plasticy dash and the instrument cluster without the full black panel is a bit poor too with only a tiny display in the middle which isn't much use or that visible.

Room in the back is on par with my 6 coupe but bizarrely my kids declared that the 6 is easier to get in and out of even thou it has 2 less doors...kids hey Boot is a nice size and the power tailgate is a really useful option, with the comfort access I'd think that it'd be very good indeed.

The standard speakers are a thing of horror, they lack any quality and are just about good enough to listen to 5 live on AM, but if you feed it anything even half decent then the sound is abysmal...whatever options you take get the upgraded ones, even if you can't stretch to the HK system.

Overall for a loan car its not bad, but it does highlight just how far apart the 4 and the 6 are in both quality of materials used and finish and that the 3.0D S6 Twin Turbo engine in mine is a absolute gem of an engine.

Just my 2p worth

 

[[TW]Fox]

but it does highlight just how far apart the 4 and the 6 are in both quality of materials used and finish

I'm fairly sure we once had a little spat when I pointed this out about the 2 Series (Which is the same as the 4 Series quality wise)

But I'd echo your thoughts really having done about 600 miles in a 320d (Which is basically the same) last week.

 

[sigma]

The E63 630i has a completely different engine btw

I thought it was same engine until 2007 when it was replaced by the newer lump with 272 bhp and less reliability?

Edit - just looking around and it appears that you are correct.

Poo

 

[[TW]Fox]

The E39 530i was only ever fitted with an M54 engine. The E63 630i was only ever fitted with an N52 engine (or N53 post 07). Both different, but the good news is the N52 is even better than the M54.

 

[sigma]

In what way was the N52 better?

 

[[TW]Fox]

More power, more modern, slightly more efficient.

 

[sigma]

More power, more modern, slightly more efficient.

That's a relief, as long as it's not a ticking time bomb.

Part of my thinkks I should get one with a V8 and set aside some £ to get a garage to change as many gaskets as is feasible in one fell swoop. From what I've read on here they're known for oil leaks?

 

[J1nxy]

I'm fairly sure we once had a little spat when I pointed this out about the 2 Series (Which is the same as the 4 Series quality wise)

But I'd echo your thoughts really having done about 600 miles in a 320d (Which is basically the same) last week.

I believe you are right we did I isolation and without the extended exposure to a MY14/15 6 the interior of the 1/2/3/4 would be ok. I think to be honest the bit that made is particularly bad was the steering wheel which felt like something from a 1980's arcade machine...with red stitching That and the pointless game n watch sized screen in the middle of the dash. Other than that if I was buying a company car it'd be ok...spending the sort of money I have on a car I'd be a bit disappointed if it was like the one I borrowed.

 

[PMKeates]

I believe you are right we did I isolation and without the extended exposure to a MY14/15 6 the interior of the 1/2/3/4 would be ok. I think to be honest the bit that made is particularly bad was the steering wheel which felt like something from a 1980's arcade machine...with red stitching That and the pointless game n watch sized screen in the middle of the dash. Other than that if I was buying a company car it'd be ok...spending the sort of money I have on a car I'd be a bit disappointed if it was like the one I borrowed.

I'd say extended exposure to any upper end BMW would be enough to make one realise that a 2 Series is a bit naff in comparison.

 

[xs2man]

I'd say extended exposure to any upper end BMW would be enough to make one realise that a 2 Series is a bit naff in comparison.

Think he was talking about the 4 series, but admittedly, to my eyes, the interiors look almost identical. Which is part of the reason why I didn't even remotely consider the 3 series when I went for my 5. I thought the e91 interior was okay, the F31 was dire.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Think he was talking about the 4 series, but admittedly, to my eyes, the interiors look almost identical. Which is part of the reason why I didn't even remotely consider the 3 series when I went for my 5. I thought the e91 interior was okay, the F31 was dire.

The 3/4 Series pretty much shares the 1/2 series dash. They feel like big 1 Series now, whereas before they felt more like a smaller 5 Series.