The wife and I are in the market for a new (used) fun car and we have narrowed our choices down to two, either a 2006+ 350z Touring or a Z4 Coupe 3.0si. So is there any thing i should watch out for or know about these cars? Mainly it's just going to be a fun daily driver maybe a few HPDE's a year and a little autox here and there but nothing crazy.
I've had a 2007 since new as a three season daily driver for 100,000 miles now, and it's been to over 30-40 track days since 2010. As I've got it set up, it's a very balanced track car with adequate power and great brakes.
It's been quite reliable, the only real non-wear item I've had to deal with was a belt tensioner, but those just seem to be a 60-70,000 mile wear item.
Track related wear items have included lots of tires, pads and rotors, a front strut bearing, front ball joints and bushings, rear control arm bushings, and the front are rear passenger side wheel bearings. Oil analysis still shows the engine as healthy.
Consumables aren't Miata costs, but not bad, especially if you compare them to the M Z4 coupe. I run 17" wheels, which saves about $80 a corner in tires, and an entire set of rotors runs under $300 shipped, as opposed to almost that much a piece for the M. Hawk DTC-60 track pads are still pricey though!
I've got a six speed, and those are relatively rare. I think the numbers are something like roughly 800 in North America-- there's more for the M versions, that all had manual transmissions.
Most of the underhood service items are easy to access-- at least on the top side. There's a lot of room under that long hood.
It's also kind of neat to be able to get more than 30 mpg on highway cruises to and from the track.
PS-- Just to be that guy, the coupe is an E86.
Two other items--
Make sure you fit with a helmet on-- it's not big inside
If you want a harness rather than the OEM belts, you're pretty much out of luck unless you put in at least a half cage-- no rear seats for a clip in harness!
Thank you for the information, the biggest factor with these seems to be finding one lol
About four years ago I looked very seriously for a coupe. The story always seemed the same when I found one. It was either its already sold or I just took a deposit on the car. Of course there were those that the owner had priced high enough it just didn't make sense to buy. I ended up with a very low mileage 2008 3.0si in almost perfect condition. Love the car but on the occasion I see a coupe (not very often) I still would love to own one. Good luck in your search!
The wife and I talked it over and we have decided that if we can't find the z4 coupe we want (manual,3.0si, not white or silver) then we are going to be "more" practical and buy a 335i manual coupe lol
Beautiful cars are all I have to say!
Why not a 3.0 Z3 coupe?
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