Hi all, this is my first post on the site although I have been reading it for a little while as I am currently looking to buy a Z3M Coupe - so please go easy on me...
I currently drive a 2004 TVR T350c which is an absolutely amazing car and the best thing I have ever driven, even amongst lots of other exotica. In 3 years I have done over 20000 miles In the UK and Europe and am a firm beleiver that TVR's and all other sports cars are there to be driven (always with respect of course). I also have a daily run-around for the more mundane tasks.
A new house purchase has forced me to evaluate my car situation to try and free up some cash thanks to the stupidly large deposits required at present to be able to secure a decent mortgage rate so hence my reason for looking to part with my beloved T350c.
The idea is to replace the TVR with a Z3M Coupe up to the value of about £10-11k whilst I purchase and do up the house. Then once the house is done I intend to get straight back into a TVR and possibly keep the Z3M as a track day toy (owning what should be 2 future classics).
I have recently seen a 98/S Estoril Blue Z3M with circa 90k miles that I quite like the look of. It has a few tasteful upgrades/modifications but is still essentially OEM which I like. The chap I spoke to was very helpful and told me the car has been stored for the last 12 months but gave me lots of info on the car with a bit of an overview of the work done which was reassuring. It has been serviced locally recently and not with BMW or a specialist.
The couple of areas of concern for me relate to the boot floor problem and the Vanos (probably predictable I know...) because when I asked about the boot floor I was simply told that it was fine and shows no sign of needing anything doing to it. How in depth should I dig into this and when viewing the car what can I actually check for potential future problems.
Regarding the Vanos I was told by the seller that the car is still on the original Vanos (at 90k miles) and has never shown any problems because it has always been run on the correct oil (not fully synthetic if memory serves me correctly) but when I asked when the valve clearances or the Vanos were last checked I was just told that they hadnt been, aside from the regular servicing. Should I be worried about this and should I be hearing alarm bells ringing?
Am I worrying too much? perhaps wrongly because I know lots about valve clearances etc.. from the TVR as it is these combined with a lack of oil to the top end of TVR's Speed 6 engine which if not checked regularly (12k miles) and treated with respect when cold that leads to all the documented problems with TVR engines. For info, my T350c has now done 43k miles on the original engine following being looked after carefully and warmed up properly. Most people think (wrongly) that the TVR Speed 6 engine needs a rebuild every 10k miles.
Any help would be hugely appreciated and thanks in advance.
I currently drive a 2004 TVR T350c which is an absolutely amazing car and the best thing I have ever driven, even amongst lots of other exotica. In 3 years I have done over 20000 miles In the UK and Europe and am a firm beleiver that TVR's and all other sports cars are there to be driven (always with respect of course). I also have a daily run-around for the more mundane tasks.
A new house purchase has forced me to evaluate my car situation to try and free up some cash thanks to the stupidly large deposits required at present to be able to secure a decent mortgage rate so hence my reason for looking to part with my beloved T350c.
The idea is to replace the TVR with a Z3M Coupe up to the value of about £10-11k whilst I purchase and do up the house. Then once the house is done I intend to get straight back into a TVR and possibly keep the Z3M as a track day toy (owning what should be 2 future classics).
I have recently seen a 98/S Estoril Blue Z3M with circa 90k miles that I quite like the look of. It has a few tasteful upgrades/modifications but is still essentially OEM which I like. The chap I spoke to was very helpful and told me the car has been stored for the last 12 months but gave me lots of info on the car with a bit of an overview of the work done which was reassuring. It has been serviced locally recently and not with BMW or a specialist.
The couple of areas of concern for me relate to the boot floor problem and the Vanos (probably predictable I know...) because when I asked about the boot floor I was simply told that it was fine and shows no sign of needing anything doing to it. How in depth should I dig into this and when viewing the car what can I actually check for potential future problems.
Regarding the Vanos I was told by the seller that the car is still on the original Vanos (at 90k miles) and has never shown any problems because it has always been run on the correct oil (not fully synthetic if memory serves me correctly) but when I asked when the valve clearances or the Vanos were last checked I was just told that they hadnt been, aside from the regular servicing. Should I be worried about this and should I be hearing alarm bells ringing?
Am I worrying too much? perhaps wrongly because I know lots about valve clearances etc.. from the TVR as it is these combined with a lack of oil to the top end of TVR's Speed 6 engine which if not checked regularly (12k miles) and treated with respect when cold that leads to all the documented problems with TVR engines. For info, my T350c has now done 43k miles on the original engine following being looked after carefully and warmed up properly. Most people think (wrongly) that the TVR Speed 6 engine needs a rebuild every 10k miles.
Any help would be hugely appreciated and thanks in advance.
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