This E85 BMW Z4 Is A Six-Cylinder, £2350 Roadster Bargain
BMW’s Z4 has finally exited the womb after what feels like one of the longest pre-launch campaigns of any car ever. This fresh slice of six-cylinder Z fury has put us in the mood for a more affordable – and more available – option, and roadstering doesn’t get too much more affordable than this.
Back in the mid 2000s the Z4 was in its first (E85) generation. Built as a US-biased alternative to the Porsche Boxster, it majored on rear-wheel drive and sweet six-pot engines almost throughout the range, the only exception being Europe’s lowly 2.0i. The soft-top Z4 was as popular as free doughnuts, too, so after a decade or more on the road there are shiploads to choose from.
What do you make of the styling? It was, erm, controversial when it was launched, but we reckon this beauty, with its duck-tail spoiler and unmistakeable face has aged fantastically well.
From 2003 a 2.2-litre car served as the six-cylinder entry point until it was replaced for 2006 by a slightly torquier 2.5 with the same 174bhp – although outputs varied by market. It’s among these two power units that you’ll find the absolute bargain basement but there are better engines to consider as well. You may want to take a seat before you dive into the exhilarating depths of choice – all for less than £2500.
At the time of writing we found a risky-looking crash-damaged 3.0i for just £1500, a 2.5i with a broken roof, a dead key fob and a persistent engine management light issue for £1999 and what is probably our pick of the budget options: a 138,000-mile 2003 2.5i with some cosmetic issues but a little more bang for your buck.
This 189bhp rev-chaser will launch to 62mph in seven seconds flat, average over 30mpg if you’re extremely good at hypermiling and deliver proper BMW straight-six noise all year round. It also has a smart set of optional alloys, unlike some of the cars you’ll find with the boggo-spec 16-inch pram wheels lost inside chubby tyres. This is a car that, with a bit of elbow grease, could look like it was worth five times its asking price of £2350.
The main problem we can see is the condition of the wheels. They look a bit like they’ve been bounced around a quarry for a week. There’s some ugly wear to the (manual) gear lever and driver’s side seat bolster, but a little spend on fixes could have this old warrior looking almost like new. More to the point, the visible wear and tear looks honest. It’s not a car that’s too good to be true.
The end of summer might not seem like the best time to buy a soft-top, but that’s one way you could help haggle that price down even further. If we get a dry autumn, it’s the best season of the year to own a fun car. Who’s tempted?
Comments
ct is dead
Ik
NEWS FLASH
Just stop dude
CT isn’t dead, nor is it dying. I mean, the staff is trying really hard to kill it by withholding signups, but that isn’t working. Instead, the site is just normal garbage.
Dont you think they’re making an effort here? £2350 is better than £225000
189 hp? I will not buy that,as it has less hp than the new ST and it s a frckin BMW!
15 years is a long old time.
??
The ST has 0,7l less displacement, 3 cylinders less and a turbocharger, you can absolutely not compare it to the 2.2l 6 cylinder naturally aspirated engine in the BMW.
15 years ago the Focus ST had 170 hp, the Mondeo had 220 but that one also had a 3.0L V6.
That costs over 10k here
The cars had a well sorted chassis setup. Wouldn’t take much work to make it an exceptional handler.
Even next to £6k 986 Boxster, an older car (987’s are still £9k) this is silly value.
Still, I’d have a coupe even if it was more expensive. Much prettier and less floppy
Coupe should fare better in the long run in terms of value, too.
If you’re going to continue doing bargain articles then this is better than a £250,000 650S
675lt and tbh that was a good deal. Most of the time rare supercars are sold for more than what they were when they were new
Or we could just continue to do a mix? It’s good to look at attainable stuff as well as dream cars! 675LT was an interesting one because it’s bucking the trend of limited-run supercars going for way more than they did originally
Price down as it’s nearing winter and if we have the weather we had last year, this car will be packed away for 3-4 months. - This happens every year with a lot of RWD drive cars. Also expect 350z/370z price drops.
It will cost a lot more to run so it’s not a bargain at all.
hey, when are you gonna fix the site?