Z4 (e89) - looking to buy

TomO

TomO

TomO

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28 Oct 2002
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looking to swap the wifes focus for something more interesting and after figuring out that given our use of the two cars we have, a two seater wasn't the craziest idea, and we have come to the Z4 as something that works for both of us.


looking at £12-£15k budget, either the 30i or 35i engine, currently open to auto/dct/manual. must have nav and preferably parking sensors. This has us looking at 09/10 models with 40-70k miles on.


anything to look out for on these as potential faults or other good to have options? how is the standard stereo? anyone have a link to a brochure or options list for the above models as cant find one thats for the UK market for 2009/10/11 ish as many sellers list standard items as options or miss actual options out!
 
I have an E89 sDrive35i and it is brilliant :) DCT was a must for me, the adaptive suspension wasn't. Mine has the pro audio and I wouldn't suggest going lower than that.

I have a heated steering wheel which I didn't think I would use but is actually quite nice when the temperature drops!

Turbos/wastegates, injectors and HPFP are the weak spots so make sure you get a warranty.
 
Standard stereo is rubbish mate. I just chucked £800 at it and it's now awesome. Having listened to the other 10 and 14 speaker 'upgrades' I wouldn't spend any time waiting for them to come up they really aren't that much of an improvement. So aim for idrive and just upgrade whichever system comes with it. Quite how the people that specced the stereo and found it to be adequate boggles the mind. something like this would be a good choice

Other options I'd mark as essential:

heated seats
DCT (if you don't get a manual)
aux usb/bluetooth prep
sub 60k miles so you can just buy the bmw warranty and largely forget about most issues

nice to haves:

heated steering wheel
comfort access
adaptive suspension
wind deflector (I've got no hair to care about, but the chicks appreciate it :p)
 
Will Gill said:
Standard stereo is rubbish mate. I just chucked £800 at it and it's now awesome. Having listened to the other 10 and 14 speaker 'upgrades' I wouldn't spend any time waiting for them to come up they really aren't that much of an improvement. So aim for idrive and just upgrade whichever system comes with it. Quite how the people that specced the stereo and found it to be adequate boggles the mind. something like this would be a good choice

Other options I'd mark as essential:

heated seats
DCT (if you don't get a manual)
aux usb/bluetooth prep
sub 60k miles so you can just buy the bmw warranty and largely forget about most issues

nice to haves:

heated steering wheel
comfort access
adaptive suspension
wind deflector (I've got no hair to care about, but the chicks appreciate it :p)
Click to expand...

Stereo isn't massively important as being a second car it wont see the use and certainly not long journeys, but if the standard one was rubbish but one of the upgrades was noticeably better that would be handy to know when looking at specs.

That one linked to looks reasonable as well.

Fox - looking at mainly 30's but 35's start coming into budget. Plan on test driving one to see what I feel its 'worth' to me over an equivalent 30, as I think they are doable at £15k, but less choice and quite tight on the budget I agree.
 
Get a 2 litre and remap it to 2.8 saves you a lot of cash at purchase and on running costs. it's the same engine i believe. the only other engine that maps well is the 3.5

E85 is more fun
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Get a 2 litre and remap it to 2.8 saves you a lot of cash at purchase and on running costs. it's the same engine i believe. the only other engine that maps well is the 3.5

E85 is more fun
Click to expand...

Nonsense!

The E89 sDrive35i is on another planet to the E85 3.0Si and will generally keep a Z4M honest unless things get seriously tight simply because of the gearbox. The iS is quicker again.

Remapping nullifies any chance of getting a BMW warranty on one of these - and given the number of potentially expensive things that can and do go wrong I wouldn't really want to risk it personally.
 
The 35 is definitely "worth it" over the na 3.0

It's not like the 3 litre car is bad by any stretch of the imagination, sounds nice and pulls well - but it's completely eclipsed by the turbo
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Get a 2 litre and remap it to 2.8
Click to expand...

Iq3eMOS.png
 
[TW]Fox;30094085 said:
The Sdrive 20i and the 28i have exactly the same physical engine, only the map differs.

However remapping them is far from trivial and involves varying degrees of faff.
Click to expand...

I know, I just thought his phrasing (i.e. physical capacity) was intriguing!


There's a £400 BlueFin/Superchips remap which "claims" an extra 81bhp from the 20i - are these not well-regarded in BMW circles?
 
not looking at the 20 or 28 as not keen on 4 pot's and also they are newer and mostly out of budget. If they are in budget, will probably low on spec or high mileage etc.

have test driven a 30 auto, need to drive a 35 as a comparison.
 
If you're anywhere near York you're welcome to see what the DCT is like with my car.

With the age you're looking at be careful of rear light units that let water in. If it gets too far then it ruins the light electronics and needs replacing. People have had success claiming under warranty, but it doesn't seem to be a given and is something worth looking for.

In my opinion a 35i is enough of a leap over a 30i to justify getting one. I prefer DCT but that's obviously an opinion. Like Fox says though, even with the winter discounts this budget could be a bit short of a decent 35i.

As already mentioned the standard stereo is abysmal. The top end Advanced system still isn't anything to shout about but it does at least have a bit of kick.

Please get one with a wind deflector as it makes a massive difference (the comfort pack will give you this, parking sensors and some other bits too).
 
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