BMW Z3 M coupe, anyone have experience with these?

Try to find a 2001 model as it will come with the latest 333Hp motor from the E46 M3 . All of the earlier cars will have the much lower horsepower motor from the E36 M3 variant. Easy car to live with the hatch back is roomy enough for small luggage for trips or 4 bags of groceries.

 

I thought that model had 315hp? The earlier models only had 240 hp. Eitehr way it would be a fun/unique car to have. Good luck in your search for one, they can be hard to find, and some are rather pricey.

 

The earlier had 240 Hp in the US. In Europe they always had 321 hp then 325 Hp .

I love the M Coupe. Such an exclusive , individual and old school car. Must be a blast to drive.

 

I had one. Rear subframes are the biggest concern/deficient design. If/when it starts coming apart, it certainly can be fixed, all it takes is money, & a skilled fabricator. Fun car, just wasn't fast enough for me.

 

I didn't get around to buying one, there were just too few of them here and I just didn't look in far away places.

I researched them a lot though and they are reliable as any other new-ish BMW from that year. Try to get the latest model offered. In Canada it was 2002. The only thing that bothered me was the very outdated interior controls. They looked like they were from the early 90's. But I've driven a few and as long as they're maintained, they should last a long time and be mostly affordable.

I don't now anyone who drove or drives that car in the winter. As long as you don't drive in a snow storm you should be fine. Just find good winter tires and work them in before you use them in the snow. {Put them on and drive with them for a few weeks. Tires don't work perfectly on day one, you may need a couple of hundred kms to get them suited}.

Have the car undercoated in the spring {after a good washing underneath} and one in the fall after a good cleaning.

 

I have an 01 M Roadster in FL. The car is a great around town car. 0-60 is under 5 but the top end is not there (150+). These cars have the aero of a flying brick. Good fuel economy if you don't lead foot. The Schedule 1 + 2 are about 400 - 700 more due to the engine being the S54. There are not many mods options available for the car. It doesn't handle like a Lotus or an NSX but more like a big dog you have to grab by the neck. The S54 engine is capable of 333HP. In the US they changed the locations of the cats for better cold start emissions, hence the drop. The Euro model doesn't have this problem but the header design is different and what is the reason for the difference in power between the M3. 11.5 compression and torque curv is totally flat from 3000 RPM up to 8000 RPM.

The only thing to look for is to make the maintenace is current and the recall work (you have to dig for this) is done on the engine. This relates to a bearing problem that causes pre-mature failure of the bearings which will make pistons go through the cylinder walls. I know this because it happened to me. If it happens you are looking at close to $22K USD to have a dealer replace the engine and parts.

BMW only made 964 of these M Roadsters worldwide and less than that for the M coupe. If you take into account write-offs it is even less than that now, making it not a common car.

 

The MZ3 coupe is a 3 series BMW parts bin car........this is not a negative........it is a positive. Reliability is the same as a 3 series.

Just make sure that the engine main and crank bearings have been replaced.....they failed on almost all of the 2001/02 M3 engines.....and were covered under warranty in North America. I do not know what implications this has in Europe.

 

I have the second last version of it since 2000! I thought so often to sell it - but everytime I drive it I have a grin on my face!!! It`s handling like a Cart, it`s very precise and the power to weight specs are perfect: the car weights almost nothing compared to other cars with the same power output! I`ll keep it forever!!

And: it doesn`t stand on each corner with only little over 9,000 cars build!

Ciao!
Walter

 

Positive or negative that statement is misleading. This is like saying a Gallardo is an Audi parts bin car because the chassis is similar to an A8 and the interior is from an A8 and the engine is based off the A8.

BMW does not do "parts bin cars" the way GM and Ford do. The 01 - 02 may use a modified E36 chassis (it is actually an E36/37 amalgamation), this is the same as the the M3 sharing a chassis. Yes they reuse parts accross all their platforms. That's it. There is more in common with an E46 M3 then there is with a 3 series. Even on the 01/02 M coupe there are suspension differences to cope with the fact that it is almost 3 times stiffer. There are a lot of differences between the 01/02 series and the series before.

You are bang on though. They are VERY reliable.

Not trying to start an argument but wanted to clear up any misconceptions. Also the fact that I support the brand and drive an 01 M Roadster (BMW has never called it an MZ3 that is just a nickname). I am also a Cancer and 100% Candian.

 

Go to www.bimmerfest.com and do a search on the issue mentioned above. Its a big concern if your buying and wanting to avoid a possible downfall.

Cool car and probably not an issue but one you would want to be aware of before hand and inspect for?

Good luck

 

That is a description of what a parts bin car is........

 

I am sure 430 owners don't think of their machines as a parts bin car (don't tell me that every part on the car is 100% original design).

"Parts bin car" is slang term and has a negative connotation and almost always reflects an inferior or cheap product.

Almost every modern car shares parts with some other model; it keeps costs down (interchangeable parts). This does not make something "a parts bin car" as much as it reflects a very common practice since the advent of interchangable parts and mass production. Almost every car today is made based on the American System of Manufacture.

The process of creating each part of a product individually and assembling them together into a single item is called the English System of Manufacture. This by your definition is a "non-parts bin" car. This system has all but been abandoned.

In fact you can take this conecpt of interchangable parts back to the 1500's in Venice and they used to built ships with interchangable parts, were mass produced and were on a type of assembly line. The concept has been around for a long time, just never widely used.

Porsche borrow from VW, Mercedes from Chrysler and vice versa. This is normal practice.

I don't agree at all with what you are saying. However if you want to have fun with term and say we are all driving parts bin cars nowadays... I'm game.