Anynoe know the downsides of the Z3M roadsters?

[StereoInstaller1]

Just buy some decent headphones. No sense having a stereo at all. And like all things ghey, chicks dig them.

[gearheadE30]

Noisy cars, by the way. Mcoupes not so much, but the roadsters tend to rattle and bang quite a bit.

[DrMcDave]

there is def some rattles in the mcoupe. I put dynamat all over in the "trunk." I still need to do the hatch door. It helped a lot.

I do agree that they aren't that quiet.

[Stanley Rockefeller]

Spoke with the seller today, he mentioned that he bough tthe car last year with the diff mount issues, so as a result he had 3g's worth of work done on the rear diff and the electrical system at the same time (supposidly there's some electrical work that needs to be done at the same time in that area).

Gonna look at it tomorrow. Car has 100k miles on it...west coast car. Also has the hard top in the pics (if you click on one of the pics, it'll open the other pics too.

thanks again for the help.

[10Toes]

[Cloudbase]

Z3M Roadsters are great cars. They are holding their own much better than the Z4. The suspension is somewhat antiquated, but the end result is a much more raw and connected experience than other BMW's of that era and beyond. It's a rewarding car to drive at the limit and the E30 rear end makes for lots of hoonage! The roadster chassis isn't as rigid as the Coupe (but not much is). Any slop can easily be tightened up with a Strong Strut / Butt Strut kit.

Don't listen to the convertible haters, they don't know any better! IMO Z3M is the truest modern itineration of the classic British roadsters of the 60's and 70's.

The Z3 section of BF.C is one of the tightest groups on any forum I've been to. It's a great resource that can answer you questions.

Weak points:
Engine - S52's have all the common E36 M3 issues. Cooling system, vanos, etc. Really a bullet proof engine if taken care of as we all know.

Trunk Floor Separation - I would want serious documentation and pictures of the subframe work and def consult Randy Forbes. He is a guru. That is some serious trunk floor separation. I can't think of what electrical work would need to be done back there.

Tranny / Clutch - Also relatively bulletproof. I would expect several clutches on a 100K car and there are plenty of replacement options for the S52. Stock clutch line is horrible, but easily remedied with a CDV delete. Shifting can be notchy, but this is also easily fixed by replacing the shift pin bushings. You have to pull the tranny and aquire a set of drifts to install the new bushings with, but it is an easy job.

Suspension - we already covered it. IE subframe bushings are how the car should have come from the factory. Shocks will be worn if they are original on 100K miles. Because it has the E30 trailing arm set up you will feel a little motorboating under hard acceleration. Check for cracking in the front hats / towers. It's rare, but known to happen. Rear shock mounts will prob need replacement too, but it's easy on the roadster.

Brakes - stock brakes are spectacular. Check the fluid to see if it has been flushed regularly. I run stock for the street and floating euro motorsport rotors / Hawk pads up front for the track.

Interior - Seat bushings will be worn if stock. You'll feel the seats rock slightly back and forth. Walen sells replacement ones that are bomber. Glove box sag is very common. The US models got a piece of battleship armor that was too heavy for the original design to support. This is easily fixed by a reinforcement found on eBay and removing the battleship armor. Leather Z mk II armrest is a must if it doesn't have one. Auto dimming mirror will eventually leak and ruin the console. The original vendor in Detroit will swap it out for a bulletproof electric one for around $100. HVAC light bulbs seem to go out first. It's a bloody pain to get to, but search BF.C Z3 section of a DIY. Seatbelt guides get brittle and break, this is very common.

Exterior - Front lip will prob need repaint. Had mine professionally done for $150. Convertible top rear window could be cloudy and cracked. It has to fold to put it away so glass wasn't an option. Tops aren't cheap, but you've got a hard top so who cares. Speaking of which, this is a $1500 to $2000 value depending on the condition. Estorial is my favorite M Roady color. You might be stuck with that spoiler. Other than removing that, clear corners are the only change I would make.

$13,500 is a descent price for a 100k roadster with the hardtop if the subframe work checks out and everything else is in great condition. I would assume fair market would be closer to 11,500, but the hardtop might be worth the full $2,000 to the right buyer. I wouldn't be scared of subframe work it if it was fixed correctly, but remember if it was just taken back to stock, then it could fail again. Randy Forbes FTW!

[Cloudbase]

I like the roadster , i think the hatch looks like a clown's shoe lol and if its red i get the lolz , so ulgy , i think now i have a soft spot for soft tops.

Red Clown Shoe FTW!







4x4 stance is partly due to uneven parking garage surface...

It's still a very polarizing design. It's aged really well, but still polarizing to this day.

[Jean]

They are OK, IMHO coupes are better unless you HAVE to have a vert.

[LJ851]

Those coupes are bad ass, especially in black or evergreen.

[Cloudbase]

Estoril Roadster w/ Hardtop is Badass too. I almost bought one. Me and the owner serviced the shift pin bushings on this one in August.

[Stanley Rockefeller]

Checked out the car today. The owner mentioned that the sale didnt' include the top as his buddy wants it for his Z3 roadster. For this he wanted an additional 1200.

I pulled the rear carpet in the trunk to inspect the repair work....wow, whoever did the work did a GREAT job! not only was it reinforced from the trunk side, but the rear diff cover was upgraded to the "Y" shaped diff cover with not one, but 2 diff mounts!

The car also has great feedback from the shifter, and the seller was impressed with my ability to shift and drive the car properly (unlike other drivers who test drove his car).

The one downside was squeaky rear brakes, and that the SRS bag light was on..not too sure what's involved with the repair of that.

After thinking considerably about this car, I think I'm gonna hold out for an M coupe.....I mean to say my friend is gonna wait out for an M coupe ;)

thanks again guys

[Mike30e]

Dammit Stanley, if you pick up either one, you have to come back to Cow Town... at least for an afternoon in the summer!

[Cloudbase]

Checked out the car today. The owner mentioned that the sale didnt' include the top as his buddy wants it for his Z3 roadster. For this he wanted an additional 1200.

I pulled the rear carpet in the trunk to inspect the repair work....wow, whoever did the work did a GREAT job! not only was it reinforced from the trunk side, but the rear diff cover was upgraded to the "Y" shaped diff cover with not one, but 2 diff mounts!

The car also has great feedback from the shifter, and the seller was impressed with my ability to shift and drive the car properly (unlike other drivers who test drove his car).

The one downside was squeaky rear brakes, and that the SRS bag light was on..not too sure what's involved with the repair of that.

After thinking considerably about this car, I think I'm gonna hold out for an M coupe.....I mean to say my friend is gonna wait out for an M coupe ;)

thanks again guys

The dual ear diff is probably Randy Forbes kit. One thing to consider is that this one is done and you won't have to worry about it later. My brother has Randy's kit on his M Roadster and it really makes a difference in the feel.

The brakes are always intermitantly squealy. Especially when they get down to about 1/2 life. It comes and goes. Usually with one good heat cool cycle mine run quiet.

SRS light wouldn't concern me too much. It usually a seat connecter that gets unplugged with the battery connected while detailing. When did the seller say when it came on?

As for the M Coupe you will pay quite a bit more, they carry a hefty premium over the Roady's. Mcoupebuyersguide.com is the best place to look. My buddy Jon started it when he was looking for his. His car is the grey one below:

[Stanley Rockefeller]

Dammit Stanley, if you pick up either one, you have to come back to Cow Town... at least for an afternoon in the summer!

Hahaha! sure thing Mike, I'll make sure to let you know forst of my road trip plans :)

On a side note, I wanted to tell you how shocked I was after I moved here at the low prices of cars over the prices in AB and SK. I mean out here, finding any make vehicle with less than 150k on the clock and over 10-15 years of age is very common, and nobody prices them higher due to low mileage. Also, many of these cars sit in underground garages (no exposure to the elements) and do not suffer from the common rust issues that plagued many of my old VW's, BMW's and Volvo's due to the lack of salt and sand being used on the roads.

I read an article recently in the Vancouver post mentioning that the average km driven by lower mainland drivers is a staggering 12,000kms per year!! I think the last time I heard the average kms driven by SK or AB drivers was at least double that!

Check out Craigslist when you have a few minutes, you will be amazed at the low prices of some of these cars!

[Stanley Rockefeller]

The dual ear diff is probably Randy Forbes kit. One thing to consider is that this one is done and you won't have to worry about it later. My brother has Randy's kit on his M Roadster and it really makes a difference in the feel.

The brakes are always intermitantly squealy. Especially when they get down to about 1/2 life. It comes and goes. Usually with one good heat cool cycle mine run quiet.

SRS light wouldn't concern me too much. It usually a seat connecter that gets unplugged with the battery connected while detailing. When did the seller say when it came on?

As for the M Coupe you will pay quite a bit more, they carry a hefty premium over the Roady's. Mcoupebuyersguide.com is the best place to look. My buddy Jon started it when he was looking for his. His car is the grey one below:

Thanks Cloudbase, you've given me alot of great resources to check out and will report bak my findings :)