Z4MC to E9X M3 - Anyone done it?

[U235]

I have an 08 Z4MC with every option and 21k miles. My wife has grown tired of it and is almost at the point of refusing to drive in it due to its stiffness and difficult ingress/egress (and she's fit @ 110 LBS, 29 years old, etc.). We're planning on having children soon, and while this is a pleasure vehicle (we have a sedan and full size SUV as well), she has made owning/driving it not fun for me.

We went shopping this weekend, and I felt I'd be stuck with something more civil so we looked at a 2010 S4, 08 S5 and I did us justice and looked at an e90 M3. Honestly, the e90 M3 road the smoothest and was the easiest to get into and out of so my wife endorsed it.

I'm close to pulling the trigger. It's an 08 6spdwith 8500 miles, and pretty stripped down. The only option is the redfox leather and maybe the rims were upgraded. I'll miss the lack of heated seats, but I don't think I'll miss Nav. I'm not sure how good the base stereo is, but I imagine it's decent enough. No sunroof, no rear-seat layflat so it's a pretty pure example of an E90, and one with only 8500 miles.

I think for $42k it's not a bad deal, I worked down the price from $47k, and I'm getting a reasonable trade for my Z4MC.

Has anyone gone from Z4MC to E9X? Can anyone comment on the lack of amenities and how it's affected them?

Compared to the other cars we test drove, this thing is just a beast, amazingly quick compared to the other cars and even to the Z4MC.

[Serious]

Personally if you have 2 other vehicles, and it's just a pleasure vehicle I would tell your wife to pound sand and just drive the other cars when you and her go anywhere. I'm going to guess this is costing you ~$20k to upgrade... I would ask your wife if she would rather drop $20k or just be less irritable about getting in & out of the car.

If you are going to do it though, the e9x m3 is a fine car... not really as exhilarating to drive as a z4M since it's more of a sports sedan than a sports car but super fast, super comfy.

[frenchM3dreamer]

^^^ I "Serious"-ly agree with that

[U235]

It's a $12k upgrade (also getting a car with almost 1/3 the miles). I've put up with the complaining for about 1/2 a year, but in reality, I don't get very many places without her so other than an occasional jaunt to work (we carpool most days as we work in the same office complex), it just doesn't get driven much.

Also, I don't drive the Z4MC to max potential and don't track it. It's very pure and fun, but for me the e90's power will be more fun. I can catch a WOT run from time to time in the Z4MC, but there's really no place to safely utilize the handling abilities of either an e9x or Z4MC except on a track.

Plus with 4 doors, now we can actually use it with friends and not be resorted to a diesel jetta or mind-numbing Toyota Sequoia.

[persian54]

hmm

42k for it is a good price

Did you try looking around to see if you can get a better optioned one for the same price?

The rims are the stock 18s, not upgraded.

[jonasaurus]

Originally Posted by U235

but there's really no place to safely utilize the handling abilities of either an e9x or Z4MC except on a track

On your reasoning above isn't the M3 then a substitute which you also can't fully utilise but only with the advantage of taking more ppl?

[U235]

Originally Posted by persian54

hmm

42k for it is a good price

Did you try looking around to see if you can get a better optioned one for the same price?

The rims are the stock 18s, not upgraded.

Optioned out they go for more, especially with only 8k miles. It seems all the comparable ones are ~$50k and still have something I don't like (color, has a sunroof, etc). The only option I'm really going to miss is heated seats. The Nav in my Z4MC was useless and bluetooth on all my past cars has been so lousy I never use it. Logic7 might have been nice, but I'm not an audiophile.

Were all the 18s the dark gunmetal? I prefer this wheel design to the regular silver ones.

[U235]

Originally Posted by jonasaurus

On your reasoning above isn't the M3 then a substitute which you also can't fully utilise but only with the advantage of taking more ppl?

Well the M3 is faster/more powerful and there are times I WOT my Z4MC safely. However, there's no place safely on public roads to ever really fully utilize a Z4MC's potential nor an E90's in my honest opinion.

So basically the upgrade is, faster in a straight line which is something I could use from time to time, and the ability to haul more people and do it A LOT more comfortably. Additionally, we could now drive this car on quick weekend trips, something we couldn't do with the Z4MC.

Gas mileage is the same, so it's a net-win. The only pitfalls are it'll cost some for this swap-a-roo, and I'll lose out on a few luxury options the Z4MC had (mainly heated seats, nav and an upgraded stereo). However, the Z4MC even with the Carver stereo is just not setup for good sound so I bet the M3's base will actually sound better just because of speaker location on the Z4MC.

[Erhan]

I'm doing the switch. They're totally different cars. Not even close. So you need to decide for yourself.

My reasoning was, I wanted a piece of that NA V8, and I wanted something a little more comfy. Also my girlfriend finds the M3 less scary (her words).

[James T. Kirk]

Originally Posted by U235

My wife...and she's fit @ 110 LBS, 29 years old, etc.... this is a pleasure vehicle... I'm close to pulling the trigger... pretty stripped down... redfox... it's decent enough... no rear-seat layflat so it's a pretty... with only 8500 miles.... this thing is just a beast, amazing...

I can't believe how you describe your wife. Shame on you. Please provide pics of her before you shoot her.

[424D57]

Originally Posted by jonasaurus

On your reasoning above isn't the M3 then a substitute which you also can't fully utilise but only with the advantage of taking more ppl?

Advantage I belive he's looking for is shutting up the wife's whining about his car (something at times I'd pray I could spend 12k to make go away).

-424D57

[Erhan]

Originally Posted by James T. Kirk

I can't believe how you describe your wife. Shame on you. Please provide pics of her before you shoot her.

And there is a topic asking the guy-to-girl ratio

[U235]

Originally Posted by shift@red

I should be able to help. I did just this a few months ago.
I had a 2007 Z4MC, that was lowered, rolling on 18" BBS RSGTs, Supersprint X pipe, Supesprint Race, Gruppe M intake and a few other cosmetic mods. I really liked that car and had a lot of fun with it.
The Z4M is a pretty bare bones car in general, so I dont think youll really miss anything as the nav from that time was absolute trash IMO. My M3 is loaded, however.
The M3 right away felt big to me, and the seating position took getting used to being much higher. Now after a few months, I feel totally comfortable with it. Its still quite a nimble car (epsecially for its size) and no Z4M short of a supercharged one of clubsport coilovers is going to touch you in one.
All in all, im glad I made the switch. I like the M3 much better, and so does my gf and everyone who has been in it. The engine and the noise it makes puts a smile on my face everyday. Its a car that is comfortable for DD'ing but at the same time can tear up a back road with some of the best.
If you have any specific questions, ask and Ill try to do my best to help.

Thanks, I basically pulled the trigger, paperworks being drafted. I had my dealer pull the service on the VIN and he said it looks legit, carfax is pristine, couldn't find any over-spray, original tires don't show much abuse (assumed original @ 8k). I dig the silverstone with the graphite rims, and really like the red leather. I never used my Z4M's navigation so no loss there, like I said, I'll miss heated seats the most. I won't miss the difficult ingress/egress and the fact I couldn't drive it for 2 months when I slightly injured my tail-bone.

[pmeloche]

I went from a 2008 Z4MC to a 2009 E90 M3. My rationale is that since I do a lot of long driving the M3 was better than the Z4MC. Styling wise, the Z4Mc is the best looking BMW car along with the 6 Series IMO. Other than that, the M3 is a superior car in every aspect, especially if you order EDC with it.

Good luck.

[U235]

Originally Posted by pmeloche

I went from a 2008 Z4MC to a 2009 E90 M3. My rationale is that since I do a lot of long driving the M3 was better than the Z4MC. Styling wise, the Z4Mc is the best looking BMW car along with the 6 Series IMO. Other than that, the M3 is a superior car in every aspect, especially if you order EDC with it.

Good luck.

Thanks, I also agree on looks. I got so many looks and conversations on the Z4MC, I know those will be a thing of the past. My E90 doesn't have EDC, I read over all the forums and decided it'd be nice to have, but not a requirement. I don't track and I'd probably never remember to adjust it before spirited driving. Plus, if I go back to my old roots of modifying the suspension, lack of EDC may make things cleaner. I felt the balance of comfort vs performance on the E90 non-EDC was spot-on. It rode smoother than the S5 we test drove yet still plain spanked it in the performance and handling department.

[James T. Kirk]

Originally Posted by U235

Thanks, I basically pulled the trigger, paperworks being drafted.

Good choice. M3 is the superior car on balance.

[persian54]

Congrats

[persian54]

Originally Posted by shift@red

the 6 series though, that things fugly.
M3 is def a better car in every way though.


I dont think youll miss EDC. Most of the time you drive in Normal anyway.

Yes Yes No

[wrh3]

If I had to dump my Z4MC for another BMW, an E9X M3 would probably be it. Having both, I still prefer the raw and involving nature of the Z4MC over the faster, but less involving M3. My wife enjoys riding in and driving both, but she is one of the rare ones......she didn't mind all day mountain drives in the Lotus with header/no cat/straight through muffler either.