Bmw Z3

blazesoftware

Hi,

Does anyone know what the service interval is on them. Its a 99 model. These have the 5 green indicator lights that drop every so often until none are left and its due a service. For for example if its 10,000 miles does a light go at every 2,000 or how does it work.

Also anyone know when I can get a wind deflector and a set of car mats for a reasonable price.

TIA

kdevitt

The lights go down depending on a number of factors - mainly the mileage and how hard you drive the car - 3000 miles on a motorway, or 1000 miles in city traffic could both knock one green bar off...

Check eBay for the parts you want, you might be in luck. Otherwise try Cooks Ferry in the UK - used to buy a lot of stuff from them (www.cooksferry.com). I'd actually check your nearest dealer first though - on occasion they can be quite reasonable.

Seth Brundle

With regard to mats - I paid just over 100 yoyos for a BMW set recently for my E39
Also have a look at the contacts page on the BMW Club Link below - ou may be able to source the parts from someone there.

blazesoftware

Thanks guys. BMW dealer was quoting about 100 yoyos for the Mats. Didnt ask about the deflector as I didnt think they were available for the Z3. Just saw car for sale with it hence why Im looking for it.

As for the lights I've only done about 1700 since its service and the first light dropped. Its just driving to work each day in and out of town

DukeDredd

Ah the old BMW lights telling you when you're car needs a service...and after a while it'll say "Level One Inspection" and after another few services it'll say "Level 2 Inspection". I remember the level one being around 250 punts and level 2 being 500 punts, both prices excluding the price of the service & this was a few years ago so i can imagine with the Euro changeover and rip-off-ireland it's alot more nowadays. They mighn't even do anything to the car during the inspections! Man am i glad i got out of that ridiculous situation. The bloody things cost more to run than a passenger plane!

Quigs Snr

I have a question. I feel like something for the summer. Ideally an SLK 230 would be nice, but I would consider an early Z3. People are firmly divided on this though, half my mates think it's grand, the other half reckon it's a bit hairdresser !

Can it be a mans car ? Or does it have the same image as say the MX5 ?

IrishRover

Wow Quigs Snr, I think you should have started a new thread for your question as it is bound to get a lot of conflicting responses.
I think many people would consider all the cars you mentioned there a bit "hairdressery", but the funny thing is I can't think of a modern cabriolet of which it isn't possible to think the same!

This is something you may not have considered in a million years, but how about looking out for some kind of classic convertible sports car? You could of course look for a Jaguar E-type, but what about a Triumph Stag just to be that extra bit different? A mint one will cost you a fair whack of money, but if you were thinking of getting an SLK you could afford it I'd say!

No one would dare question your sexuality when they heard the roar of that 3 litre V8! Seriously though, you would never stop grinning when you're behind the wheel and it's the kind of car you walk away backwards from when you get out!



A nice shot from the rear with the top down:
http://www.triumph-stag.ch/galerie/brown_stag_11.jpg

One with a beautiful cream leather interior:
http://www.stag.org.uk/tc.htm

For more pictures see these links:
http://www.cabrionews.de/katalog/triumph/stag.php
http://www.triumph-stag.ch/galerie/

There is even a hard top for winter use!

Quigs Snr

Good suggestion, but I need something a little more modern and practical. Plus I already have a 77 Spitfire at the moment.

MojoMaker

Originally posted by Quigs Snr
I have a question. I feel like something for the summer. Ideally an SLK 230 would be nice, but I would consider an early Z3. People are firmly divided on this though, half my mates think it's grand, the other half reckon it's a bit hairdresser !

Can it be a mans car ? Or does it have the same image as say the MX5 ?

Tool. An MX5 has a much better image than a Z3, I sense a fashionista among us :rolleyes: Both the cars you mention are biased towards females, your lookout if you buy one. Besides which coming on here suggesting you are in a position to buy a throw-away convertible "for the summer" marks you out as a prize twat.

Quigs Snr

When should I get a ragtop then mojo ? For the winter perhaps, it's hardly throwaway, hence i'd stick with a classic, nope I want something I can use day to day for a while.

I am actually a motoring fan, the MX5 has a good image as a well built car which re-introduced the world to small 2 seater motoring again after the fall of British Leyland in the late 70s. It was initially popular with young lady solicitors and the like, still has the girly image, still a good car and would still drive it if push came to shove because it is a better drive than the Z3 with its rather primitive suspension set up especially at the back. SLK nice, but a bit too rich for my blood don't want to blow the bank on something as relativley impractical as that unless I spot a very good bargain. Z3 well that somehow got associated with Bond, and started off life a little cooler, what with the less curvy and more aggressive vented front. Still very dinky though. Still no worse I suppose than my old MGF which had to go due to frankly poor build quality and endless costly problems. That was a year ago. I still have a thing for soft tops, the spitfire will not be road worthy for months as it gets its undercarraige replaced. Plus Z3's are quite cheap now..

As for the fashionista comment, well hardly I currently drove a Volvo S40 abeit in T4 format, and it is quite simply a crazy car disguised as a rep mobile. fashionista though well that applies to almost everyone who buys a car, different things appeal to different people, like buying clothes, you get something you like and something that suits your needs, you often need to comprimise to hit a happy medium. If I were a real fashionista, I would get the SLK in a heartbeat or hunt down a honda s2000. But no, quite simply I want open top motoring again because I miss it. This limits me to about 4 or 5 different cars really. Not interested in saloon convertibles.

I asked a legit question about peoples perception of the car in question, your aggresive response would suggest that you have a chip on your shoulder there Mojo. Or perhaps you are just an opinionated 'twat'. Which is fine too, after all I did ask for opinions.

IrishRover

Jeez Mojo - that's some bad mojo there!

Quigs, I'm very impressed! A Spitfire indeed? I'd love to see some pictures when she's ready.

How about a Lotus Elise? Fast, and renowned for its excellent handling - plus I don't think it has a girly image. Could you afford one? I might have to wait a few years before I can!

Quigs Snr

Hi IrishRover,

Spitty is indeed nice. 77 Brooklands Green, trouble is I was a bit naive to the joys of British Leyland manufacturing at the time and although it looked quite straight, the sills and floorpan needed a bit of work, so its taking quite a while to get that done and done right. Should be on the road in about 4 weeks, but even at that it won't be show condition. All damaged panels are being replaced, and its getting a respray in it's original color, but the interior is faded and needs a lot of work. Exhaust and clutch need doing too. Still not bad, I bought it and drove it to the garage, a total of 100 miles without a hitch, so it wasn't too bad to begin with, I just figure put in the effort now and do it right rather than patch it up and it will last as long as I want it to then.

Elise nice again. Only way to do it is get a UK one (about 11k stg for an early one), take the pain on the import, still work out more than 10k better off than buying a similar one over here, plus there are plenty around over the way.

Trouble is though they use the rover 1.8k engine same as my MGF and I was badly burned with that one. Very badly burned, so I am loathe to go near the buggers again.

unkel

Originally posted by Quigs Snr
Can it be a mans car ?

Course it can

Sure thing the SLK, MX5 and to a slightly lesser extent the Z3 have a girlie image, but that's mainly due to the late 90s economic boom when it was done for wealthy husband to give the wifey some nice wheels that reflected well back on him too...

If you are over concerned about this, get an(other) classic, but most are British and are likely to have more of the trouble you've already faced and I guess from your posts you want rid off

If I were in your position, I'd get an SLK. Forget about finding a cheap one though, they ain't around. Hardly worth importing from the UK either. Good value nevertheless cause of glacial depreciation. Make sure it's an auto with leather if you ever want to sell it again. SLK 230 best one to get second hand imho

What would you care about people slagging you off about driving a girlie car anyway? You are the one laughing when driving it

RicardoSmith

The best handling car, the most enjoyable to drive is the Elise, followed by the MX5. The rest don't come close. However the Elise is very impractical. The MX5 is also the most reliable and cheapest to maintain.

Quigs Snr

Thanks for the input guys.

Yeah the way I see it, MGF cheap to buy, but rubbish car. Been there before too.
Elise, hard to find, MGF engine, scares me.
MX5, like it a lot. As mentioned before handles great.
MR2, no boot, I need some kind of boot.
SLK 230 can get a 97 for less than 20k. Nice car, hard to find though.
Z3 can get a 98 for less than 14k. Kind of like them more than the MX5 to look at, although not to drive. Should be reliable too.

Another classic, well, the spitty is enough for now !!

I think it's down to the Z3 or rushing the spitty back onto the road and holding onto the auld volvo.

WhiteWashMan

Originally posted by RicardoSmith
The best handling car, the most enjoyable to drive is the Elise, followed by the MX5. The rest don't come close. However the Elise is very impractical. The MX5 is also the most reliable and cheapest to maintain.

i still regret selling my mx-5.

best drive i ever had, and if you are looking for a car for the summer with a soft top, then it doesnt really matter what speed it goes at. the feeling fo an open top car is fantastic.
if you can pick up a good '90 mx5 for about 2500, you will have yourself a great car.

Guv

Both hairdressers cars. Check the boot for an emergency spare pair of leather trousers.

That aside both are good cars. I would go for the slk230komp, just personal preference. As for boots I think the leather trousers would have difficulty finding space!

RicardoSmith

Most people think any car with a soft top is a womens/hairdressers car. Thats just a sad attitude in my opinion.

IrishRover

Hi Quigs,
Have you come any way nearer a decision yet? I've been trying to think of more modern convertibles but nothing has struck me as perfect yet. There are a lot of cars that do have cabriolet models but you wouldn't necessarily consider them as roadsters or at least not sports cars as such.

I was thinking of things like the Astra convertible



or a Peugeot 205 convertible



or if that could be considered more of a woman's car maybe the 309 cabriolet.



Maybe they're not quite the sort of thing you're looking for though. I did think though that maybe a second hand BMW 3-series convertible may be just what you would like seeing as you were already thinking about the BMW Z3. I would prefer one of these to a Z3. There's bound to be a few on the forecourt of many BMW dealers now that it's coming up to summer.



What do you think?

Quigs Snr

I like all of those, especially the old 3 series. Must have a look at that. Cheers.

IrishRover

So what did you decide in the end, Quigs?

Quigs Snr

In the end the decision was made for me. Some financial committments came up out of the blue that I was not expecting (mortgage stuff, plus expensive medical bills and repair bills), so I held off for a while.

Up to that point, I had pursued your suggestion of the BMW 3 series convertible. I had gone to see a 95 325i in boston green and tan interior. Loved it and was all set to go for it, finance was arranged etc.. and then the sh*t hit the fan.

Anway, will be looking at this again in the near future, on the plus side though, the spitfire has had its full bodywork restoration and respray, currently in for a new interior and will be on the road this weekend !

IrishRover

Ah well it sounds like it's probably worked out for the best anyway. Great to hear the Spitfire will be back on the road so soon. I'd love to see some pics if you've got any.
Hopefully the weather will be good enough over the weekend to have the top off for a while!

Quigs Snr

Will post pictures in about a week when I get back from holidays IrishRover, it will be pretty decent when done (hopefully).

Borzoi

Quigs Snr wrote:

on the plus side though, the spitfire has had its full bodywork restoration and respray, currently in for a new interior and will be on the road this weekend !

Fantastic, I hope we get a bit of summer, for you to run round in it