OWNER: Jeremy Walton
CAR: 2000 BMW Z3 2.0
Mileage: 138,985
First drive of shabby chic BMW – pleasently surprised
CHEAP AS CHIPS BIMMER
CHEAP AS CHIPS BIMMER
My sixth BMW, yet another with over 100,000 miles recorded, dropped into my local lap. After my Lotus Elise sold satisfactorily, I spent months scanning for a cheaper sporty 2-door.
Budgeting £3000 for a cheaper option, I short-listed last Toyota MR2 edition 3 and Audi TT quattro series 1. I also looked at BMW Z3 and MG-F/TF. I couldn’t face running a K-series motor again – the Elise taught me that much – so the MGs favoured by friends went off-limits.
Audi sold thousands of the first TT and there was wide choice from sub-£1,000 parts cars to £10,000+ dealer prices for the lighter 238 bhp Sport quattro TT, a limited edition. I spent most time investigating TTs, including a track ride in an impressive S-line TT quattro that a fellow journalist had shrewdly bought at £500. Oh, and a £6000 TT Sport that had no MoT, ten previous owners and was SORN at £6000: fortunately it was too far away to economically inspect.
I switched my attention to the lighter Toyota MR2, the nearest thing you can get to a steel-bodied Elise. Then my local garagiste, Peter Jenkins at Auto Services, called. Pete has honestly and effectively tended everything from my 1980s BMW to a relative’s broken budget Vauxhall.
I tried Jenkins’ excellent 2.8 Z3 when the Lotus was sulking, now he had a local customer desperate to sell a 2-litre, 6-cylinder version of Z3. A different prospect to the widely available 1.9 litres 4-cylinders that were range-starters to the Z3 range.
I was not keen to have another BMW, as I wanted a change. Well, the Lotus and a previous 1958 Sprite had certainly provided different rides. Now the priority was to spend less time fighting a fickle British sports car in a cold garage – and more out there enjoying soft top breeziness in relatively reliable comfort.
Back in the day, I didn’t rate the Z3 versus contemporary Mercedes, Audi and Porsche product — all also available comparatively cheaply today. Yet I had enjoyed some memorable miles in California with an asthmatic 4-cylinder Zed and enjoyed other UK and US outings.
Back with reality 2018 and a scruffy Cosmos black convertible. Exposed on the ramps at Auto Services, blemished by many obvious cosmetic warts, this Z3 must be an unlikely buy for man so short on dazzling DIY skills?
The more I looked, the more I could see this 138,000-mile survivor in my post-Lotus life. Yes, the beautiful metallic paintwork was blistered in small scabs of rust, the bonnet sported more blooming areas than Chelsea flower show and the blotchy hood had suffered an aftermarket Perspex pane replacement, peeling back fabric surrounds.
The front plasticised bumper/spoiler had more spots than a rampant teenager and the interior looked very BMW Yuppie era, via near-golden leather implants.
I ask you, who chromes a gear lever into slippery stubbiness?
Then I lifted the bonnet. I had been warned it had a sporty exhaust and a couple of engine bay mods:
I could see the stout double-tube steady bar and the butchery that implanted cold air feed and a cone filter air intake, crouched beneath tacky chrome tin plate. And more rust, much more surface rust.
I began an Anglo-Saxon sentence: “You must be --- ing joking, even at this money.” Then I spotted an underbonnet selection of small BMW build plates in German, although Z3s were built at BMW’s US plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. I could read when this Z3 was built, April 2000 for June first registration in UK. More significantly I could see a proper BMW Individual build. That explained the fancy M-seats, M-embossed steering wheel, matching door trims and that shiny gear lever.
Mmmm – “How much will he take on this?”
“The owner wants £1250” replied Peter.
OK, that is seriously cheap for a premium badge vehicle with nine months MoT, so we wheeled it out into the sunlight, having sussed that the undercarriage sported new brake lines, an unspecified leak (power steering suspected) and more aggressive rust to the rear of the front arches.
I looked in disbelief at the well treaded but obscurely branded rear tyres and the scars revealed by strong sunlight on the driver’s seat.
It’s a common fault on high mileage two doors with contoured and bolstered sports seats, but this was worse even than my 160,000-mile 635.
“Rude not to test drive it, now it’s outside” prompted Peter.
So we set off for my home. About two miles into that mission, we turned to each other in surprise: it drove beautifully! The sway bar across the engine bay defeats most of the 100,000 mile sag that occurs in soft top bodies and the straight six sounded a treat from 4000 rpm to 6500 redline, just as this 1971cc performed in BMW’s contemporary 320i and 520i. Recently overhauled brakes were prompt and we had slop-free steering.
Intense document and physical vehicle checks are part of my rather boring buyer routine. Recently, I’ve found an online friend in Total Car Check. For less than a tenner they seem to perform to more expensive HPI levels and above. The 7-page report revealed that the MoT mileage of this 18 year old had been clipped 6000, but with almost 140k recorded through six owners and a couple of personal registration plates, I was not fussed.
The missing paperwork that mattered was any evidence of a recent service and the very useful BMW Owners handbook. None of that stopped me, as car and owner were well known locally. A low purchase price, a charming drive and those BMW Individual items, plus our summer heat wave were persuasive. Especially as most of the workload were the kind of basic cosmetics that I might, just might DIY…
I needed to replace the rear tyres with £250 plus of Kumhos to match the serviceable fronts, so I bid £1,000 on the W-plate Bimmer. Two days later, the owner accepted my offer and I drove Z3 home, via Checkpoint tyres to install those fat rear covers on 8.5 x 17 rims.
Then I was all set for an adventure in brutally cheap, modern classic, sports motoring.
Jeremy Walton
Click HERE for Part 2
BMW Z3 CONTACTS
Total Car Check:
£8.99 for a 7-page report included, MoT mileages, private plates and original specification/
chassis-engine numbers
www.TotalCarCheck.co.uk
Footman James:
Dudley, West Midlands DY1 4TA. Classic car insurance, significant discounts on car club discounts, especially BMW Car Club UK.
Tel: 0333 207 6101. www.footmanjames.co.uk
Auto Services Warminster:
Looked after all but my Lotus, proprietor owns a couple of BMWs including a Z3.
Tel: 01985 215749.
Checkpoint Warminster:
Supplied and fitted two rear Kumhos, have used for a number of assorted BMWs and Nissans,
competitive prices and conscientious service.
01985 215148