any z3 coupe owners here?

[56 nomad]

hi,
I posted this on the bmw site but there is not much activity there so i am posting here hoping for some info/help.
i am thinking about the purchase of a z3 coupe with 79000 on the clock with an auto trans for my wife.
i have read about the rear trans mount but would like to hear from anyone on this site about service or any other big ticket items to be aware of...can i wrench on this myself or is it not user friendly? what are typical service costs for this car, longevity issues etc.?
any insight (articles) is very welcome.
regards, ben

[Rot 911]

Post in the Off Topic forum and you will have much better response.

[lin7310948]

i had a 99 z3M coupe for a couple of years..not a daily driver. rear mounts can be a problem as well as the single differential mount...some owners report cracked welds in the rear compartment. very limited driver and passenger space and not much rearward seat movement. non adjustable steering wheel. composite materials on the side tanks of the radiator are prone to failure with time as well as the water pump rotor of similar material. other wise they can be wrenched on but electronics may be a different situation...and there is the BMW tax much as the Porsche tax when service and or parts are necessary. i like the coupes and really do not care for the roadsters and i especially like the M coupes from the rear!! i dont know about the automatics but the standard five speed seemed to be short a gear and was quite buzzy at interstate speeds, so i installed the european six speed. made it much more enjoyable to cruise the interstate!

[56 nomad]

rot , thought i would post here as it is technical

[QUOTE=lin7310948;6948832]i had a 99 z3M coupe for a couple of years..not a daily driver. rear mounts can be a problem as well as the single differential mount...some owners report cracked welds in the rear compartment. very limited driver and passenger space and not much rearward seat movement. non adjustable steering wheel. composite materials on the side tanks of the radiator are prone to failure with time as well as the water pump rotor of similar material. other wise they can be wrenched on but electronics may be a different situation...and there is the BMW tax much as the Porsche tax when service and or parts are necessary. i like the coupes and really do not care for the roadsters and i especially like the M coupes from the rear!! i dont know about the automatics but the standard five speed seemed to be short a gear and was quite buzzy at interstate speeds, so i installed the european six speed. made it much more enjoyable to cruise the

thanks for the response, i assumed the premium on parts etc. mechanically were you satisfied with the car or were there other weak points?
regards, ben

[lin7310948]

it was a very nice car and i had spent a fortune on performance upgrades....but being a porsche guy i just could not be satisfied with the bmw. it was supercharged and had about 340 crank horsepower. but they are heavy at about 3100 pounds. cool little cars but not a 911/930. i would imagine that your wife would enjoy and they are very rare in most areas on the street...lots of folks refer to them as the clownshoe due to the body shape. if you are not too tall they are good on the street and reasonably comfortable on trips. most do not have a spare tire and use some sort of canned sealer and a portable pump...most likely would need to check on the condition of that system as replacements are pricey. the air and heat worked very well and driveability was great!

[lin7310948]

as a note, had the car been imola red or laguna seca blue i would still have it! i just did not like the black over tan when all was said and done with!!

[Flieger]

I agree. you should post in off topic and you will have more responses.

Car Show, Dorkfest 2012

[56 nomad]

moderator please remove this thread. posted in OT..lets see thanks for the responses, and don't post on this thread in P-tech thanks , ben