Any E89 Z4 owners out there?

Can you tell me a bit about them?

One of the lads in the office has just told me his wife had a sDrive20i for a while and they loved it. Reckoned in spite of the lowly bhp output, it was a nice thing to hoon in.

Any real-life experiences from members on here?

 

Guilty as charged!

But amazingly Mrs Spuff is actually quite up for the Z4. I'd forgotten about it before she mentioned this evening, but we did go on a bit of a mythical shop for her when we had the X5 - something for just her local journeys. She sat in a Z4 in Elms showroom and loved it but she's more sensible than me, which is the reason she (we) didn't buy one. But she's a big fan and could be a nice antidote to the X3.

Elms have a poverty spec white with red leather 23i in stock which I'm tempted to test drive to get a feel for it.

We'll see. The whole convertible thing this morning started with a discreet enquiry on a 987 Gen2 Boxster from Porsche Swindon. It ended with them not having that available but them trying to sell me a 981 Boxster S at £40k.........double what the original enquiry was!

But my fears around Porsche ownership remain. Just feels like it could be ruinous. BMW AUC seems more comfortable - but maybe it's just familiarity. Who knows but the Z4 could fit the bill.

 

Thanks for that @Livster

@snrbrtsn - good info there. I have to confess, I'm slightly concerned about the suspension / ride quality since my experience of the latter E-series cars were of pretty solid suspension (thinking specifically the E9x and whatever the original 1er was designated. Need to have a testdrive to find out.

@kleynie - sorry to hear about your work colleague. We had something similar happen to a chap at work just when I started back in 2000 and it was really tough for everyone at work. Can't (and don't want to) think about how that affects someones family. But certainly a good reminder to live life to the full.

Unfortunately, although Elms appear to have two cars in stock which look great, their spec lists leave something to be desired and I really want to get whatever I buy right so that I'm not wondering "what if" several months down the line. I want to be really choosey with this one and at least have the benefit that I'm in no rush. Must have cruise control, xenons, heated seats, nav, if a convertible then some form of upgraded sound package.....

As I said above, Mrs Spuff really up for the exotic car on the fleet experience, but both of us have a niggle about whether it really is a fab idea given there may be times when it makes sense to have a car which seats three. Seems silly to even think about it since most people have one car and make do with that, but just to hedge my bets, I am going to testdrive an M135i and have also asked my old Salesman chum at Dick Lovett to run me a PCP scenario on one of his in stock or tell me whether it's worth paying cash.

http://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/1-Series/3.0-M135i/Bristol/3415094-605564261-3497042.aspx?srcmdc=se_na_fa_

I've decided what I really want is something which sets the pulse racing - whether that be the start-up sound at 6am every morning in the garage or relentless acceleration on the lovely country roads I have to the station.

The vert edges the excitement factor by giving the topless experience. But would the 23i really give me the start-up I'm after? Don't think so - therefore this would be the one I'd be after....

http://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/Z/3.0i-sD...55922-605662830-3497216.aspx?srcmdc=se_na_fa_

Decisions, decisions. Just need to persuade Mrs Spuff out for a testdrive or two over the weekend!

 

My only reservation is from my car history.....

When I had the S2000 back in 2006 (an absolute minter 04-plate which I'd owned for 18months), I had my head turned by the Focus ST-3, which at that time was one of the fastest hot hatches (barring the S3). The turbo power was overwhelming on the testdrive compared with fairly under-endowed (from a torque perspective) S2000 and the Focoid whisked me away with its turn of speed, married to practical hatch.

That particular relationship lasted 11months before I got utterly bored of its hooligan nature and the fact it was, at the end of the day, "just" a hatchback with a big engine.

I'm concerned that a M135i might blow me away on a testdrive and end up leaving me with the same feeling a few months down the line; that it is just a fast hatchback.

A Z4 on the other hand, might not be the same weapon but appeal to the emotional side more.

Even since writing this morning about the sDrive35i, I'm actually even erring back to the poverty spec 23i which Elms have on their forecourt. Maybe what the Polo has taught me over the last few months is that we don't need hundreds of toys and neither do we need as many BHP as its possible to squeeze out of a car either?

The car at Elms has leather, bluetooth, satnav and xenons as Standard - all of which my Polo is lacking and all of which I was looking to accrue through a new purchase. The options may be limited to heated seats (again, on my "must have"), 19" wheels and front & rear PDC (which was also on my "nice to have"), but is there that much which I NEED? What is doing it for me at the moment is the beautiful combo of flat white & red leather interior, M Sport trim and those 19" wheels. It's got the head-turning quality I was looking for, oodles more spec than I have currently (and the toys I wanted when my search began) and 0-60 in 6.6secs which is approximately 50% quicker than my Polo, which has already proved to be a bit of a laugh. Perhaps on reflection, this could actually be the perfect car?

http://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/Z/2.5i-sD...88263-605667770-3497052.aspx?srcmdc=se_na_re_

High chance that Elms might get a call with a 500quid deposit today.

 

Holding deposit down on Elms car and test driving on Sunday.

 

Spuff, you're a legend!