In need of advice or tips on buying a Z3 2.8

[Peimli]

Hi guys,
I'm newbie to the zroadster family and about to be a proud owner of a beautiful roadster.

My question is, what would you be looking for when buying a Z3 2.8? I would appreciate any tips and advice, as I'm going to see a few this coming Sunday.

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

 

[bluesaz3]

Hi guys,
I'm a newbie to the zroadster family and about to be a proud owner of a beautiful roadster soon.

Now my question is, what would you be looking for when buying a Z3 2.8? I would appreciate any tips and advices as I'm going to see a few this coming Sunday.

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

Hi Peimli ,
Welcome i am a newbie and have had my car about 6 mounts . I looked long and hard before purchasing a car here in Australia and normally only about 50 or so cars on the market at any one time.
The points i would look for would be its history ,
servicing records of new or replacement parts ,
general ware and tear on carpet brake pedals s/wheel seats and seat belts hood function this will give a idea if its a daily drive or weekender and weather its had one careful owner and many careless.
The front shocks can bled oil at the top , and if you can jack the car up off all 4rs and check for play in the drive train and front and rear control arms and bush,s and steering gear .
Whilst the wheels are of the ground rotate the wheels and listen to the bearings for wear and play .
And have a look at the brake rotors and pads check for scoring and rotor thickness if the rotor as a noticeable lip they normally best to be replaced this car has a rear disc hand brake inside the disc and can be hard to check the condition.Once the car has been lowed down it should then sit level and true and not lobsided.
The gas lift struts tend to give up on the hood boot and bonnet.
The body condition also is it straight and true look for door and panel margins.
It is best to look for a low millage car if you can find one , and the 2.8 has a plastic thermostat housing which can fail which leads to over heating and a replacement head gasket .
The electrical system has a lot of sensors on it and can some times trigger a warning like abs air bag after moving the seat position.
I have hared that the rear body can separate from the rear suspension if driven like a lonely and rips the welds.

I understand you have a m.o.t in the uk and the car may have been checked more regularly than hear in South Australia we do not have a yearly check . We have a drier climate so rust is not a problem here and have had no issue with sized bolts or rust in the body this might not be so in the uk and i understand the drain holes from the hood in the rear wing door/wheel arch section can block and the water may go else ware like into the cabin.

Whilst most people i have talk to about these cars they seem to be reliable but not with out faults in my experience the car is easy to work on and not overly expensive on fuel, parts and with any car you will find good and bad .

Hope this helps you ,Good look ,cheers.
Mick.
.

 

[raymond]

Check the MOT history. Go through the service history and read all the receipts.You can also post details of the car on this forum so that the members can look at it. I would advise that if possible you take the car to a garage and get the car up on a ramp to look underneath for rust. Severe rust is rare but it can occur around the rear suspension/ sill area. Otherwise treat the purchase as you would with any car. Look at the edges of the sills and the return flanges on the rear wings for rust. Get chassis number and run it here https://www.bmwvin.com/ for build options.

 

[andyglym]

to the forum from West Cumbria. The above just about covers it. Good luck

 

[Nodzed]

Hi & Welcome .... All of the above but don't be put off by a high mileage car if its been well maintained and serviced the straight 6 is a fairly bullet proof engine capable of high miles, ask any of us +100k'ers, a high mileage car with a great service and maintenance history is much better than a low mileage one without it IMO.

 

[Peimli]

Thank you for the quick response!
Here is a few pictures of the beauty.
It has full service history, 120k miles on the clock, the roof just has been changed, air conditioning, 18" M3 style alloys.

 

[Nodzed]

Thank you for the quick response!
Here is a few pictures of the beauty.
It has full service history, 120k miles on the clock, the roof just has been changed, air conditioning, 18" M3 style alloys.

Very nice cant beat a silver and red combo but then I may be a little bias

 

[DavidM]

Welcome from Ireland!

A quick overview of what I would look for knowing what I know now about a Z3 - which still isn't very much - but here it goes:

Engine
Driving experience
Interior condition
Check carpets for dampness
Garaged?
Sills
Bodywork
Underneath for rust - including suspension condition
Check boot floor and ensure weld seams haven't been tampered with.
Hood
Alloys - damage
Wing mirrors
Service history including number of owners

Best of luck!

 

[Jjim]

As it has had a new roof fitted, just check around the seals to make sure it has been done properly - no gaps around where the roof joins the body around the boot. Look in boot, behind the trim to see if there is any water or damage, to indicate if the seal was not done right.
Also check to see that when the windows are up that they meet the rubber on the roof. As when a new roof is fitted there is some adjustment and there is sometimes a small gap between the top of the window and the rubber seal.

Looks good thou, hope it's as nice when you go to look at it

 

[bluesaz3]

gee looks great ,good luck.

 

[Peimli]

As it has had a new roof fitted, just check around the seals to make sure it has been done properly - no gaps around where the roof joins the body around the boot. Look in boot, behind the trim to see if there is any water or damage, to indicate if the seal was not done right.
Also check to see that when the windows are up that they meet the rubber on the roof. As when a new roof is fitted there is some adjustment and there is sometimes a small gap between the top of the window and the rubber seal.

Looks good thou, hope it's as nice when you go to look at it

Thanks, because I didn't think of this at all.

 

[Bumpa]

Look carefully at the spot welds on the boot floor. On the larger engined cars there have been some issues on some cars with the engine's torque tearing the differential mounting away from the boot floor. This should be obvious if you can get the car up high enough to look at the diff and its cross member. The spot welds on the boot floor also might appear depressed or even torn if the problem is present on the car. A repair is possible but time consuming and costly. There are videos on YouTube showing this problem.

 

[Bonzeau]

I know I'll probably get my Knuckles rapped for this, but I think that it's important that a lot more things need to be checked out for a first time buyer. So go on to www.zroadster.net .. and search for the topic 'Tips for purchasing a Z3' Sorry if this contravenes any forum rules, but it sure is a comprehensive guide for a 'newbie' to the world of the Z3

Bonzo.

 

[5harp3y]

I know I'll probably get my Knuckles rapped for this, but I think that it's important that a lot more things need to be checked out for a first time buyer. So go on to www.zroadster.net .. and search for the topic 'Tips for purchasing a Z3' Sorry if this contravenes any forum rules, but it sure is a comprehensive guide for a 'newbie' to the world of the Z3

Bonzo.

Sharing is caring

 

[Bonzeau]

Sharing is caring

Exactly! It sure helped me! And I used it as a checklist when I went down to London to check out a Z3 for my Chum!

 

[roadvoyager1]

These cars are 15+ years old. They seem to age well, however, they do suffer wear and tear. The price asked should reflect the condition and how much time and effort has been put into maintaining the car. If you are paying around £2500 expect to find plenty of jobs in need of attention, around £5000 should get you a car which has most major wear parts (brakes. suspension etc.) refurbished. If there is documentation to show the work has been done great, if not best assume it may not have been.
Desirable options are sports seats, 17" alloys and air con. 2,8 ltr cars from 1999 to the facelift tended to have quite a lot of factory fitted extras, no doubt to retain sales before the facelift was launched. They also have the double vanos engine.
The example you are looking at runs 18" wheels and looks lowered, which looks great, just be aware that the rear suspension is not readily adjustable and the inner edges of tyres suffer heavy wear. Speed bumps have also been a problem for some people with this modified set up.

 

[Bonzeau]

I personally think the wheels are too big and are not in proportion to the car. You notice the wheels more than the car as a whole!

( Other opinions are available! )...



Bonzo.

 

[Peimli]

These cars are 15+ years old. They seem to age well, however, they do suffer wear and tear. The price asked should reflect the condition and how much time and effort has been put into maintaining the car. If you are paying around £2500 expect to find plenty of jobs in need of attention, around £5000 should get you a car which has most major wear parts (brakes. suspension etc.) refurbished. If there is documentation to show the work has been done great, if not best assume it may not have been.
Desirable options are sports seats, 17" alloys and air con. 2,8 ltr cars from 1999 to the facelift tended to have quite a lot of factory fitted extras, no doubt to retain sales before the facelift was launched. They also have the double vanos engine.
The example you are looking at runs 18" wheels and looks lowered, which looks great, just be aware that the rear suspension is not readily adjustable and the inner edges of tyres suffer heavy wear. Speed bumps have also been a problem for some people with this modified set up.

You wrote that the rear suspension is not readily adjustable, but can it be done if it's not adjusted? (This might be a silly question...)

 

[roadvoyager1]

My understanding, although I have no personal experience, is that caster and toe can be changed by using eccentric bushes. I think a few people have used them and they might be able to advise on how much of a benefit they are. Here is a link to Powerflex.
https://www.powerflex.co.uk/road-series/product-details/Rear+Trailing+Arm+Bush+Adjustable/10882.html

 

[Cooper]

@bluesaz3 hello from Tasmania! Now back on topic

If the car is lowered the camber on the back wheels will be in the negative which will scrub out the interiors of the wheels over a shorter time than wanted [same as mine]. There is no oem adjustment to compensate for this. The best remedy is some weld in tab kits and you need two sets. The rear sub frame has to be dropped and the sets welded in and then an alignment is in order. It is very costly so you must weigh up the option of wearing tires and having a nicer look or spending the money and having longer tire wear. The second option is the power flex adjustable bush replacements [as per @roadvoyager1 has pointed out] which can correct camber to 1 degree only. The third option is ensure you get tires that can be taken off the rim and put back on reversing the direction so you can then start to scrub the other side of the tires and inflate a bit higher. This is what I am doing atm

18" rims will give you a harsher ride so don't aim for those pot holes! You have the interior chrome pack which is nice.

Note that it does not have the roll hoops and sports heated seats which you may [or may not] be sad about later. Nevertheless, you will love the car !!! BTW I didn't know any of the 2.8 had the double vanos as stated above - learn something new every day.

Cheers,