Anyone Got/had A Z3m Coupe?

[Atari Boy 11]

I have itchy car keys and fancy a change. I keep finding myself looking at the Z3M coupe bread van.

I know the looks are quirky but quite like them. I need some practicality as my wife is due to sprog next month.

Anyone got or had one? Mine would be a daily driver.

 

Many thanks

[m_attt 31 1 Cars]

you do know the m coupe is still a 2 seater dont you

 

i also used to have an m3 evo (same engine) probably not the best idea for a daily or if on a tight budget, they only run on 98+ ron, so thats v-power or equivilent mpg is about 20-25 around town. and parts and servicing are expensive being an m car.

 

but it none of that bothers you go for it, the engine is awesome and very fast in a e36 coupe, and great fun to drive and own so in the little z it will be blinding.

Edited January 3, 2011 by m_attt

[MrG 3]

as above Jonny, most definitely not a family wagon, more or less zero space in the back. Fantastic cars though, the engine and handling are a peach but for practicality reasons (plus service costs/parts etc) I'd look for a 540 tourer or similar. But if you have itchy car keys then find one and have a go BUT I think you'll soon realise that its not ideal for family duties.

 

space in the back can be summed up by this pic!

 

dog in Z3M

[Atari Boy 11]

Wow, I see your point Andrew. I did look at 540's too. I will investigate further.

How is your search going?

[MrG 3]

My search initially amounted to nothing. Had an S6 avant in my sights but it got sold before I had chance to view. I then agreed to buy a very nice 540i touring and even handed over the deposit, only to have the seller ring me up three days later saying his brother had agreed to sell the car for around £250 more, so if I want it I'll need to match the figure (bloody cheek) so I pulled and got my deposit back. He was BS'ing me as the car was/is still available (ebay in blue, really nice).

 

Anyhow after a number of blind alleys I now have a 330i touring. And its nice. But only got it a few days ago so early days yet.

 

But I wanted an estate, space in the back etc.

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

C_W has got one he uses on track. They are more of a toy than an everyday car. I had an 2001 E39 535i Sport recently. 34mpg on a run. 21mpg on average with a lot of short town driving. Faultless car in the 3 years I owned it. Only changed an air mass meter and some rear suspension bushes over that time. 535's tend to be quite a good spec and a little less chavved than the 540, but the servicing is the same. The drive is great but it can be a little boring with the silky smooth power and cruise control. You have to turn everything off to have any fun and once they start going sideways, there is a lot of weight to take them round and the steering on the V8's is not as precise as the 6 pots.

 

If you are talking about Z3Ms budget wise then you could get yourself a nice E39 M5 for that kind of money, but buy a decent one with the Vanos sorted. Much more practical, pretty good residuals and much more poke!

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

Anyhow after a number of blind alleys I now have a 330i touring. And its nice. But only got it a few days ago so early days yet.

 

Nice choice, been looking at those myself and the 330d. Remap one of those and they go like the clappers!

 

Didn't the Z3M come with the S54 (E46 M3) lump in later life?

[MrG 3]

I'm not completely sure, quite possibly, but my Z knowledge isn't too hot.

 

The 330, to be honest I'm quite impressed. Massive amount of punch in a small car plus its very comfortable. My last touring was a 525tds e39 so this makes up for what that lacked however I miss the space of the e39. It's an SE as well and the car looks good.

 

Henry's suggestion of an M5 would certainly fit the bill, but as has been said, get a good one, a bad or poorly one will bankrupt you in no time!

[MrG 3]

forgot to add, I wanted a 330d but they were around £1500 to £2k over what I wanted to spend so had to rule them out unfortunately.

[Atari Boy 11]

I like THIS

[MrG 3]

nice, but be prepared for a harsh ride! I think that's the major criticism of the latter BMW's.

 

Not my cup of tea have to say.

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

The E39 was the last to be made without a dash full of recycled plastic and was not subject to Bangelisation. You're up to £15k now Jonny! Why not go the whole hog with a Chrysler 300C 6.1 V8 SRT-8!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...s80ej?logcode=p

 

I think it may be a Dodge Viper engine in there with 425 bhp. However the value drops quicker than a Texas whores knickers!

[Atari Boy 11]

Now that is serious piece kit Henry, I bet it is thirsty, my S6 did 18 ish and that made me wince filling up.

I have had An E92 3 series with run flats 18's and M suspension and that was not too bad ride wise.

[MrG 3]

e39 m5 all the way if you are in that outlay area Jonny.

[Atari Boy 11]

To be honest Andrew, I'm all over the place car wise.

I have only been out of company cars for 18 months and the freedom to change as and when is tough to get used to.

[2-Pugs 57]

Here's my vote, Atari - E39 M5, but then I am biased ;-) You need to get yourself one Get one with the through load (fold down back seats) for extra practicality. Buy VERY carefully though and don't be tempted by cheap ones. I normally get 22-25mpg combined on a tankful. Mind you I did get 29.5 trundling with the cruise set to 60 back from Manchester once!

 

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=496...mp;id=605699991

[C_W 3 1 Cars]

I've got an M Coupe but it's not an everyday car let alone a family car! That 550i looks like a lot of car for the money, I bet it was megamoney new. E46 Touring sounds like the best choice though!!

[stufarri 98 3 Cars]

I'd plump for a 330Ci Jonny - great balance between performance - 231 bhp, 6.4 0-60 and 30 mpg, and running costs. I had one before my Z4M roadster and my previous M3 cab and I absoloutely loved it. That said, the 330d coupe would be even better, especially if you tweaked it.

 

All depends on budget I suppose, I do agree though that the E39 M5 is a winner but the chance of getting a bad one would put me off and make me worry every time I caned it.

 

E46 M3 prices good at the moment too and more practical than the bread van but not as quirky.

 

Probably not given you much direction, on reflection!

[MrG 3]

It's the same old issue though, practicality over ability or something that combines all, the S6 avant you had would have been an ideal all rounder, what with prams and stuff you inevitably end up with (even though its for a short period). But a good M5 (or even an e39 530d sport) would be good for the duration especially with load through rears (a rare option though on the saloons).

 

With a little one, the access to the rear of the coupe may be fine for you but probably not be OK for the misses as getting a baby in and out of the rear in a car with a sloping roof line does create friction especially when its raining! Baby is kicking off, its wet, cold and you're in a rush..............doesn't bode well that for me.

 

But interesting situation to be in car wise.

[johnhenry 20]

my step dad used to work below 'total bmw' (or something like that) and they did a piece on the z3m coupe a few years back

It was a pheonix Gold (pretty sure thats the colour) and was supposed to be the last one ever made, S54 model. i got picked up from school in it...very nice

 

Research wise

2 models: S50 (early) and S54 (later)

S50, much cheaper, can pick them up now around £10K, but they are prone to issues with the vanos and other little foibles

S54, hold value much better, all the niggles sorted out, tend to find they have a much lower mileage, and about a £16K+ asking price for decent ones, also came with traction control, very docile car but when its being hooned about the back steps out very easily.

 

same engine as an M3 in both, just a modified exhaust mani on them ,so could argue fairly accessible parts for them. mpg, going to be the same as an m3.

 

there are lots of cars more practical, but a z3m is abit more special. plus over the last 3 years, they've held their value near enough

[BusEngineer 7]

From what ive read they are expected to appreciate in value too (the breadvan that is)

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

From what ive read they are expected to appreciate in value too (the breadvan that is)

Probably via speculators but don't really have any motorsport pedigree so aren't going to be classics like the E30 M3, 635 CSi or the Batmobile CSL.

 

What I don't quite get with them is that the 321bhp Evo engine was too powerful for the Z3 chassis so they had to make a hard top "Breadvan", then later they released the Z3M roadster with the same engine? Was this just marketing hype or did someone at BMW have a eureka moment and figure out how to do it? I'm afraid I don't know that much about them and I hadn't realised there were two phases to them.

[johnhenry 20]

pretty sure the z3m roadster came first (i may be wrong). I was told the z3m coupe was a project car made by some of the bmw designers in their free time, to deal with the z3m roadsters lack of structural rigidity.

It was much stronger and seen as a select drivers car. tiny numbers sold, think there are 180 in the UK.

[C_W 3 1 Cars]

Yes the M Roadster came first (on r-plates, maybe some early p-platers, but Coupes started on S-plate). The Coupe was never planned merely (or the story goes) that the people making it wanted to make it a better car so the M Coupe was sanctioned after a mock-up was made in spare time. They drive very differently because of the roof, the Roadster just has shake all the time that I couldn't be doing with, whereas the Coupe is just solid (stiffest BMW ever made at the time as it was based on a roadster chassis with a steel roof added).

 

One thing they could have done was make the suspension a lot stiffer and use of the 6-speed gearbox (the older M3 EVO always had one) but then the 6-speed box weighs a bit more than the 5 but it would have been a nice addition with a lower ratio diff.

 

The only main differences between the S50 and S54 is the engine and traction control, there aren't otherwise any differences so any foibles that affect one will affect another. S54 has bearing shell issues though, unlike the E46 M3 of the time BMW did not recall these citing the lower rev limit as reason but there has still been recorded failures.

 

As for values, many magazine has said they're a "modern classic destined to appreciate", values fluctuated a lot; they took a dip when the Z4M Coupe was announced but they recovered, probably as the two are so different. Then dipped again a couple of years ago in the "recession". But they are probably depressed at the moment like the car market in general.

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

Cheers for the potted history Chris. It sounds like the Z3M Coupe has an E30 diff in the E30 rear end too as these are incredibly long legged too in road trim