As a young man going out for one of my first test drives, I spotted a squarish looking little car in the lot one day. Green in color, not too big, tidy looking, you could say. It was 1971 and I had a little money in the bank and I was about to graduate from high school. I took the little car out for a drive. It was a BMW 2002. Probably a 1968 or so. Selling price was about what I had to spend - $1,200. But, you know what - I didn't buy it because it didn't talk to me! At least not like the 1969 Z-28 Camaro that I ended up buying. Fast forward a few decades to 2002 when I bought a 323Ci. Red - that car talked to me before I took it for a test drive. After I drove it for a few months though I decided that it only wispered at me when I wanted it to go a few hard rounds and really get me breathing hard. After trying 2 more 3-series coupes I ended up with the '06 Competititon package M3. Baby! That thing talks to me! Or, it did until it was sold, so I could manage the new mortgage and keep my wife from walking out. Anyway, I's still smiling though - I recently test drove THE CAR! This is more fun than the '76 280Z that I bought new, back then. It's the greatest little two seater - Z4-M Roadster! Have you taken one out, yet?! This thing is the best ever - It talks with some real, quiet, but beefy confidence. Not loud like the M3. It's got finesse that the M3 was missing. It wants to be tossed around, but it's not loose. It's got moves that the M3 only dreamed of having. Anyway - that's where I've been and that's where I'm at! I'll fill you in on what the little M-Roadster is like on a day to day basis as soon as I've got the down payment and can put the little guy in the garage!
Good luck with the down payment and I hope you add the beast to your garage soon. I agree that the M Roadster does speak but for me, it was little too loud. I just picked my 2008 Z4 3.0si last week and I really like her voice.. I did get the NAV so she literally speaks to me which is kind of what I was thinking when I read the title to this thread.. hehe Good Luck!
I appreciate the conundrum - the car "talks" to me - but, I see that my initial lack of clarity was eventually something that you were able to wade thru. I will be interested to hear how you enjoy your new Z4! Is it your first BMW? Or, have you moved into this car from something else? The M-Roadster was not the first Z4 I had driven. But, at the time I drove the 3.0si, I didn't see myself in a two seater. I was then driving the ZCP 330ci. It was a fun car that talked to me - great road feel in the wheel, fantastic control, not rough at all over the sometimes nasty roads in Oregon. But, the dealership had an orphaned M3 Competition Package and the sales guy always knows how to get to me. He let me take it out for a drive. If you thought the Z4-M Roadster was loud, let me tell you the M3 is twice as loud. And it has a ride that (in comparison to the M-Roadster), has what seems like zero compliance. So, when I drove the M Roadster I was amazed at the difference. It has more control in over the road behavior than the M3, is much more refined in the sounds it makes, and accelerates and stops with a much more positive feeling than the M3 does. Now that I have driven it, I have to admit that I'm actually happy that I gave up the M3 when I did. Anyway, do let me know how you enjoy the Z4! Now that I've driven one, I can really understand the passion that someone can have for a 2-seat BMW. A high quality machine with a positively stated appearance, with great road feel and fantastic over the road manners.
no doubt I drove the 3.0si prior to the M. IMO, the runflats/sport pkg. rode less than optimum compared to the standard tires and M suspension. The 3.0si had plenty of 'grunt' but the M is special, and I was convinced after the test drive. Good luck with the negotiations, and keep us posted. The z4M-R is a unique and undeniable value. super - car!
My 2008 Z4 3.0si is my second BMW. My first was a 2005 Z4 2.5i which I bought as an experiment. I had always been a truck or SUV driver and in 05 when I decided it was time to get a new ride, I really liked the looks and test ride of the Z4. I bought the 05 from dealer inventory and was unsure how I would like the 2 seater after the "newness" wore off.. Well, after 3 years, that car was for me! I then ordered a car from the factory and picked it up at the Performance Delivery in SC last week. The "grunt" improvement from the 2.5 to the 3.0 IMO is all that I needed. The Z4 driving experience is unlike anything I have ever done before and this car makes every routine trip and adventure. Good Luck!
That is very nice to hear. Your experience over a few years of driving the 2.5 gives me some confidence that long (40 mile +-) test drive experience I had was not a fluke. I have to admit, while at the wheel of the car I really did have an ear to ear smile that just kept on getting bigger. And I would not have expected that I would have felt that way. The overall shape of the car never gave me the same hit as the E46 M3 did. But, the driving experience in the Z4 was ever so much more inspiring than in the M3. Thanks for sharing with me the experience.
Back again - here's the kicker to the story of the lost deal on a '06 priced at $39,995 (never owned with 100 +- miles- after I put 40 miles on during my test drive). I lost out on a second Z4-M (another '06 priced at $41k with approximately 3,000 one owner miles) at a Portland dealership 50 miles from where I live (Salem, Oregon). Now, the same dealership has just reduced down to $44k an '07 Z4-M with 1,070 miles (one owner - CPO car). What is it with these cars and the dealerships? And, with the first buyers that don't even get them out of the garage? Now, if I could find the right buyer for my 02 Jetta Wagon 1.8T - I could go haggle about price for the '07 car. The advertised price on that car was $57k just a week ago (it was at that price since they got the car in the dealership months ago). I guess they really want it out the door! I agree - the non-run flats, and the hydraulic steering - and the S54 really transformed the car. I did test a 3.0 si last summer ( I was driving the M3 at the time), but the overll M-experience, and the super S54 made that car "priceless" in my mind!
what happened on that 2006? You lost the deal on the $39k car? (the one you drove 40 miles) what happened?
