Z4 or S2000

The Z4 is suprisingly reasonable for a BMW running cost wise. Provided nothing goes wrong, its relatively light weight (1300kgish) means its suprisingly economical - probably as much if not more so than the S2000 - and it's also pretty quick as well (0-60 is 5.9 seconds). The engine itself is reliable, the major reliability flaw is the roof motor which, due to a design flaw, fills with water. It's probably the only £1k bill you can get on a Z4.

Contrary to the above I don't think you need to get one 'loaded with kit'. The Z4 is hardly the sort of car you'll want to use for long trips anyway, its a sunny day roof down sports car therefore things like integrated navigation are less important than they would be in a 3 Series or a 5 Series. The main benefit of the Nav is the way it allows excellent ipod integration - unlike an E39/E46 it doesn't make the interior look any better as it has a foldout screen not a dash mounted screen - and as a system its a decade old and interface wise certainly looks it. Its a nice bonus to have but it isn't a deal breaker.

The 3.0i Z4 is generously equipped as standard - electric leather memory seats and climate control are standard fit. Xenons are nice to have but as the 3.0i Z4 has projector headlights and a headlight washer system a good aftermarket install is inexpensive and effective.

I picked one up 4 years ago for my parents and other than a failed roof motor it has actually been very reliable. It suffered from the common cracked springs issue just before it was purchased and has been good ever since. Servicing is reasonable - its last service was an Inspection 1 at £229. Tyres are 180 quid for the back and 130 quid for the front.

Whats bad? Well the interior is fairly cheap and nasty and it isn't exactly a pleasant place when its raining or when you've got a long trip to make. The steering is a real shame - it lets the car down unfortunately. It has electric power steering with next to no feel. The stereing in my E39 is miles better which is quite sad really, as the sports car of the range it should be the other way round! The ride quality is a bit harsh as well - so much so that when pushing on along bumpy B roads it knocks your confidence the way it bounces around, it could do with a more compliant suspension setup. It is even worse with the standard runflat tyres which you'd be very very very well placed to bin.
 
Well I've not had my S2000 very long, I would definitely suggest test driving both, as I found them to be miles apart to drive. Admittedly I test drove two of the smaller engine Z4s and not the 3.0. The steering, as Fox mentioned, just felt odd, and with sports suspension and run flats on large alloys gives a pretty unpleasant ride on back roads

I use the S on a pretty boring A road commute ~ 30 miles a day. Will I get bored of it? probably, but at the moment I'm loving it.

Oh and the boot, although pretty small is large enough for two to go camping for two nights, with all paraphernalia (quite proud) :)
 
Update:

I bought a Z4. This one to be precise Click Me

I wasn't planning on buying for a month or so but I noticed the Z4 in the link and thought it was too good to pass up. It's immaculate, well spec'd and doesn't look or feel like nearly a 9 year old car. Seriously good value for money considering what you get for just over £7K.

I test drove an S2000 that was way overpriced at a main dealer (11k for a 2005 plate) and although I thought it was a good car and arguably it handled better than the Z4, I thought the power delivery wasn't to my liking. The noise between 6 and 9K rpm is amazing and so is the pick up, but I reasoned that as most of my commute is sat at 60 with the odd overtake, therefore the Z4's delivery suited my driving style better. The gear box in the S2000 is also brilliant. Direct, with a mechanical resistance that feels satisfying. I will say one thing though, the S2000 does have enough low down torque despite what I've heard about V-Tech engines.

The Z4's engine is quality though. Effortless power pretty much all the time coupled to a very direct feeling gear box. The power is brilliant as well. This is the fastest car I've ever owned and it's adictive having the car push you back in your seat whilst going throught the gears.The steering is also good despite what I've read in reviews. It does have a less direct and more springy feel than the S2000 or even my MR2 but it's about a thousand times better than what I was expecting. In addition, on my trip back from Bristol on the M4, the computer said I was getting 40.3 mpg sat at 75. I know it's not the reason you buy a car like this but it's a nice perk to have even if it hardly affects the total cost of ownership.

Now for the bad bit. Yesterday morning I reversed off my drive and was about to turn left to get out of our cul-de-sac when I look to my right and see my next door neighbour reversing out of his drive without looking, I quickly put the car in first to drop back down on my drive but it was too late. Crunch. He hit my driver's side rear wing and the side of my bumper! Seriously annoying having only had the car for 3 days. Good news is that it's purely cosmetic damage, bad news is that my new pride and joy is tarnished and I'm going be extremely picky when I get the car back from the Bodywork Shop.

So overall, I'm very happy and will be a lot more so when I get the car back next Friday and everything is sorted (it cant be taken in until next thursday as the Bodyshop is booked up). Once that's done, I'm going to retrofit the amazingly useful cupholders:rolleyes::p and wait for the tyres to wear to a point where I can validate buying a set of non runflats. I'm probably going to go for a set of Goodyear AS2s at the massive sum of £104 per corner.
 
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Nice choice, sounds as though you've done things in the exact right way.

The thing as you find with the s2000 is the power delivery is a bit marmite you either love it or you hate it.

Louts like me and Simon love it, hence when I test drove the Z4 after the s2000 it just wasn't "enough".

Nice car :)
 
hilly said:
Nice choice, sounds as though you've done things in the exact right way.

The thing as you find with the s2000 is the power delivery is a bit marmite you either love it or you hate it.

Louts like me and Simon love it, hence when I test drove the Z4 after the s2000 it just wasn't "enough".

Nice car :)
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Cheers. The power delivery on the S2000 was fun and the noise was something that I could see being very addictive. I was definitely in a good position having to choose between the S2000 and the Z4. Both are cracking cars. I think I bored my workmates for a solid week after the S2000 test drive telling them how well the gearbox and engine worked together:p

I know what you mean about the Z4 not feeling enough. It's a really quick car but because of the smooth delivery and the fact that it feels very composed, it can sometimes feel deceptively quick and not enough of an "event".
 
Malc said:
Cheers. The power delivery on the S2000 was fun and the noise was something that I could see being very addictive. I was definitely in a good position having to choose between the S2000 and the Z4. Both are cracking cars. I think I bored my workmates for a solid week after the S2000 test drive telling them how well the gearbox and engine worked together:p

I know what you mean about the Z4 not feeling enough. It's a really quick car but because of the smooth delivery and the fact that it feels very composed, it can sometimes feel deceptively quick and not enough of an "event".
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Exactly, each car although the same basic type of car (two seater, sporty convertible) has massively difference drives and characteristics. You've just chosen the best for you;

The s2000 does get a bit too much, especially on longer journeys as it's not very refined. Although that has suited me for a couple of years it's a big reason as to why I'd be changing cars at some point, to something a bit more "sensible".

the s2000 is certainly an event and whilst driving it is the main reason to me, why it feels "special". I just didn't get that from the Z4, though it's a more than capable car.

Again, great choice, your car looks a lovely example :)
 
[TW]Fox;22374090 said:
Looks like a great car - congratulations! The engine is fantastic, isn't it :D
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Yep it's brilliant. It's just completely effortless but also fun when needed and above 3000rpm, the growl it makes always brings a smile. It was always my plan to at least own one 6 cylinder car before technology moves towards other things and now I've done it.

Draeger said:
Oh.......and kill your neighbour immediately.
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Haha. Apart from being a bit dosey, he's actually been very cooperative during all this which has made it loads better. It was blatently his fault but from some of the stories I've read on here, being able to prove that is easier said than done.

I can't wait to have it all fixed. I might look at getting the few stone chips in the front bumper sorted as well.
 
Lovely motor.

If you haven't already, make sure you sign up to z4-forum.com and say hello :)

I should probably give you some stick for getting a ragtop though (coupe owner here) :p
 
[TW]Fox;22374090 said:
Looks like a great car - congratulations! The engine is fantastic, isn't it :D
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+1
The M54 is sublime.
Having said that, I'm sorely tempted to swap mine for a 3.0si but they're still too expensive IMHO.

[TW]Fox;22379707 said:
No ragtop, no point.
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The Coupe is a great car in its own right, although I can see where you're coming from.
 
I owned a BMW Z4 3.0 roadster for 2 years and I absolutely loved every minute I spent in it.

It handled very well, had loads of grip and got me to sixty nice and quick too. For the two years I owned the car I averaged 30MPG and could get high 30's on a motorway run, although I am sure that isn’t why you are thinking of getting one.

Mine had:

Sat Nav
Cruise Control
Heated Seats
10 Speaker System
6 CD Changer

The car was reliable has hell and the only money I spent on it was a new set of brakes and tyres which wasn’t too bad at all.

If I hadn’t moved to Australia I would have kept it longer or bought a Z4M.
 
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