Collection day on Wednesday..

[Finray]

So looks like I'm joining the club on Wednesday, picking up an LCI 2.8, gonna road trip it 5 hours back home. Putting together a list of things to take with me, so far I've got:

Battery booster
Torch
Tyre pump
Screwdriver of truth
Eye pro
Gonna grab a bottle of 5w40 when I get there

As for things to check I've got a notepad with:

Engine bay:
Cold start check
Check under oil cap
Pull dipstick and check level/condition of oil
Coolant level
Spark plug/coil age

Exterior
Check body panels for damage
Sills/arches/pinch welds/subframes for rust
Exhaust condition
Tyre age/tread
Brake pad thickness/disc condition
Uneven tyre wear (inside of rear tyres particularly)
General paint inspection
Door handle gaskets

Interior
Seat bushings, glovebox
Roof condition (it's got a hard top fitted - cheeky to ask to check underneath?)

Anything I've forgotten I might want to check on? Here's the ad: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/327155156340

On an unrelated note, I'll have a very rare very desirable fashionable rare set of style 64s that someone could be lucky enough to buy from me (they look great, honestly!)

Could also be tempted to swap interiors for a black one down the line some day... (and coloured indicator style lights for clear!)

 

[ChrisD]

So looks like I'm joining the club on Wednesday, picking up an LCI 2.8, gonna road trip it 5 hours back home. Putting together a list of things to take with me, so far I've got:

Battery booster
Torch
Tyre pump
Screwdriver of truth
Eye pro
Gonna grab a bottle of 5w40 when I get there

As for things to check I've got a notepad with:

Engine bay:
Cold start check
Check under oil cap
Pull dipstick and check level/condition of oil
Coolant level
Spark plug/coil age

Exterior
Check body panels for damage
Sills/arches/pinch welds/subframes for rust
Exhaust condition
Tyre age/tread
Brake pad thickness/disc condition
Uneven tyre wear (inside of rear tyres particularly)
General paint inspection
Door handle gaskets

Interior
Seat bushings, glovebox
Roof condition (it's got a hard top fitted - cheeky to ask to check underneath?)

Anything I've forgotten I might want to check on? Here's the ad: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/327155156340

On an unrelated note, I'll have a very rare very desirable fashionable rare set of style 64s that someone could be lucky enough to buy from me (they look great, honestly!)

Could also be tempted to swap interiors for a black one down the line some day... (and coloured indicator style lights for clear!)

If you can, take a scan tool to check for any fault codes.

 

[IainP]

So looks like I'm joining the club on Wednesday, picking up an LCI 2.8, gonna road trip it 5 hours back home. Putting together a list of things to take with me, so far I've got:

Battery booster
Torch
Tyre pump
Screwdriver of truth
Eye pro
Gonna grab a bottle of 5w40 when I get there

As for things to check I've got a notepad with:

Engine bay:
Cold start check
Check under oil cap
Pull dipstick and check level/condition of oil
Coolant level
Spark plug/coil age

Exterior
Check body panels for damage
Sills/arches/pinch welds/subframes for rust
Exhaust condition
Tyre age/tread
Brake pad thickness/disc condition
Uneven tyre wear (inside of rear tyres particularly)
General paint inspection
Door handle gaskets

Interior
Seat bushings, glovebox
Roof condition (it's got a hard top fitted - cheeky to ask to check underneath?)

Anything I've forgotten I might want to check on? Here's the ad: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/327155156340

On an unrelated note, I'll have a very rare very desirable fashionable rare set of style 64s that someone could be lucky enough to buy from me (they look great, honestly!)

Could also be tempted to swap interiors for a black one down the line some day... (and coloured indicator style lights for clear!)

2L bottle of water, warning triangle and a hi-vis vest.
Do check it still has a wheel brace.

 

[Pond]

2L bottle of water, warning triangle and a hi-vis vest.
Do check it still has a wheel brace.

And the AA phone number!

 

[Gatsoburner]

Boot Loom of Doom
Water in boot under carpet, leaking 3rd brake light.
Id want to see the soft top so roof needs to come off definitely.


Torch & mirror so you can ger half a decent look underneath without belly crawling.

have you been on vehicle smart app with the Reg number, all MOT details held inc fails and why

Where you collecting from ?

 

[Finray]

If you can, take a scan tool to check for any fault codes.

Got one, good shout

2L bottle of water, warning triangle and a hi-vis vest.
Do check it still has a wheel brace.

Water is an obvious one, yeah I'll grab a couple litres after pickup. Got my roady safety stuff I can pinch from the work car. Is the wheel brace securing the spare wheel or do you mean the widowmaker jacks?

And the AA phone number!

Parts & Garage with national recovery for £8!

Boot Loom of Doom
Water in boot under carpet, leaking 3rd brake light.
Id want to see the soft top so roof needs to come off definitely.

Torch & mirror so you can ger half a decent look underneath without belly crawling.
have you been on vehicle smart app with the Reg number, all MOT details held inc fails and why

Where you collecting from ?

Could you expand on boot loom of doom? How easy is taking the hardtop off, not unreasonable to expect the seller to say ok? I've ran a cheap vcheck which all checks out, MOT history is a bit storied, quite a lot of brake pipes, but nothing dramatic. Heading to Barrow-in-Furness then back to Dundee.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[jimcwestie]

Best of luck collecting your Z3. Keep us all updated.

 

[Gatsoburner]

In the boot, NS hinge you'll see the wiring loom inside a protective wrap.
Its common for fraying and causing a multitude of problems.
Roof comes off in less than 2 minutes, it's the lifting clear of the cars bodywork as you walk it away from the car to the rear. Very heavy and a 2 man job but as I say, easy.
Make sure you have HEX / star tools for the screws that lock it into the windscreen NS and OS corners. Id hope the owner has this but no drama if not and you're taking your own.
Id be flabbergasted if the owner said no !!

 

[D R Oldfield]

HI i live in Barrow message me i might know the car , or if i can help you look at it ?

 

[elevensies]

whats a LCI 2.8?

 

[Finray]

whats a LCI 2.8?

It's a facelift car but it's the 2.8 M52TUB28 not the M54B30

 

[Pond]

whats a LCI 2.8?

Life Cycle Impulse. Poncy name for a facelift.

 

[Pond]

It's a facelift car but it's the 2.8 M52TUB28 not the M54B30

Can't beat car manufacturers for saving a few quid. They bring out a facelift car then use up the old engines lying around until they run out before fitting the new ones.

 

[Stevo7682]

At least its a good engine.

 

[Finray]

Life Cycle Impulse. Poncy name for a facelift.

and here I was thinking I was doing it right by using beemer parlance on a beemer forum

Can't beat car manufacturers for saving a few quid. They bring out a facelift car then use up the old engines lying around until they run out before fitting the new ones.

Yeah I was stuck, I definitely wanted a facelift, but the 2.2 isn't enough, the 2.5 is too rare, and the 3.0 too expensive. Thankfully they did me a goldilocks car especially!

Casual 250 miles home, it barely batted an eye. I'll write up some more about it tomorrow, bedtime now.

 

[the Nefyn cat]

And now the spending starts. Best bookmark Realoem and make a note of the last seven of the VIN. How do I know?

 

[elevensies]

and here I was thinking I was doing it right by using beemer parlance on a beemer forum

to us its a z3, or a z3m
just keep it simple like facelift, or pre facelift, coupe or roadster and whatever engine it is.

glad you had a nice easy drive home, you need to drop some pics up now, we like pics,

 

[Z Victor 1]

Interesting that you said, '..the 2.2...not enough..', I had a 2.8 and a 2.2 sport. I really liked the 2.2. It sounded great and I didn't notice any great difference in performance 'on the road'. A track day might be a bit different if you do that.

 

[Finray]

Interesting that you said, '..the 2.2...not enough..', I had a 2.8 and a 2.2 sport. I really liked the 2.2. It sounded great and I didn't notice any great difference in performance 'on the road'. A track day might be a bit different if you do that.

I won't lie, that decision was made from the numbers, I quite liked the sound of the extra 50 lb/ft!

glad you had a nice easy drive home, you need to drop some pics up now, we like pics,

On the drive at the sellers

Less than 30 minutes into ownership, I nip in to Asda for a meal deal and come back to this..

Little break about 100 miles in to catch a snap in the good light

Obligatory border crossing photo

Got it home smoothly, temp needle stayed rock solid in the middle the entire journey. Cruise worked perfectly. Little bit of figuring out a seating position for long distance, definitely should have worn smaller shoes.

Next day I took it up to my brothers so we could get a good look at it (he's the one with all the tools!)

Picking up the wains in our roadsters

Got the hard-top off and cleaned up the soft-top (slight panic before I found out you need to hold the brake to engage the roof motor).

Ran it into town and gave it a quick blast with a pressure washer, it'll get a deep clean in due course. Inspiring the next generation..

Took the kids to the park (both said they liked it more than Dads MX-5)

Quick McDonalds (got the tonneau cover on *somewhat* at the park). When crossing the car park, a 3.0 Z4 hard top came through with the windows cracked. I said "Can I have your engine?" to him not expecting him to hear, he pulled up "Is that your 3?" "Aye, but it's only the 2.8, can I pinch your motor?" "Ach well, yours is the prettier one at least". Couldn't help but agree.

Gus approved (showing it off to one of my friends)

Embracing the cliché of looking back after parking up

Absolutely love the wee thing. Buckets of torque, plenty of fun to be had even changing at 4k. Lovely engine note inside, but I'd like a bit more volume eventually. I think the '09 tyres on the rear aren't really helping the slightly vague feeling in the handling. Still plenty of tread and only slight cracking on the sidewall but they are well past their shelf life. Better condition than the age would suggest though. Fronts are I think '21 so needing changed also, which is fine because I want to go to 17"s and bring the profile down slightly, not painted on tyres but a little less chonk than current.

First things first: Got a bluetooth headunit coming so I can bin this FM transmitter, will eventually do a nice retro style blaupunkt but for now I just need functionality. On the hunt for some 17" BMW wheels, the 64s are better in person and are growing on me but I still would love 42 or 78s. Then have a look at what it's going to need sorted before the next MOT, then maybe I can justify an exhaust. I see an M54 intake and cam in the distant future also...

Thanks to everyone who chipped in with help! Cracking forum this.

 

[the Nefyn cat]

'09 tyres on the rear