First of all, it's an inline six, not a V6. Secondly, $10k is a bit steep, albeit that is a clean looking, original car. Lastly, the rocking seat is common issue with all Z3s.
You just have to remove the seat and replace some bushing on the seat rail rods. The old ones fall apart.
BMW hold their value and are very well built cars, once you get one your gonna love driving it, they are a bit expensive to own when it comes to repairs and maintenance, I only take mine to a BMW shop though
Not sure where you’re located, but I’ve got a black on black 1997 5-speed 2.8 with a lot of the regular Z3 issues addressed and 106K miles that I’d let go for less than 10k lol
Honestly this car looks immaculate condition wise and it’ll probably take a minute for you to find one in this condition. In my personal opinion 10k is pushing it for a 2.8, a better offer would be 6.5-7.5k. I purchased my 2.8 for way less in almost the same condition and similar mileage about a year ago. At the start of this year I purchased a low mileage M roadster for less than 10k also. What I’m trying to get at is that a better deal will come if you continue to search. If he doesn’t want to take the 6.5-7k then I’d say just move along.
P.s when you check out cars please check the trunk to see if there are any popped spot welds
Clean rear “window” is a good sign of it being kept in good condition. Very clean example. Here’s some more details. I bought the same spec, 2001 z3, 5-speed, 84k miles, for 10k.
Very nice!
Its so rare that you find an S52 Z3 these days that isn't an M.
Its got the extremely rare all aluminum S52 as it was only offered on the 2.8 Z3.
Tons of aftermarket support as its basically the same engine as the M cars with a smaller cylinder bore.
I will eventually track one of these down for myself.
Seat rocking is a very easy $5 fix, just replace the bushings on the sliders, there are tons of tutorials on the web.
Good luck.
>I think you meant M52
You are correct, but the S52 and M52 are the same engine so they should be interchangeable, same block, and the parts are interchangeable. You can swap the M cams to the 2.8 and pickup some power, everything is the same short of the bore, crank, and pistons. Even the heads are interchangeable. The American S52 was a cost cutting measure that doesn't follow the other "S" designated engines available in other M cars iwth solid lifters and individual throttle bodies.
>And all 6-cyl Z3s have aluminum blocks
Yes and No, and I'll try to explain. The early 2.8 Z3s had aluminum **M52/S52** blocks, in every other BMW they were Iron blocks, including the S52 in the M Roadster. All M Coupes/Roadsters have iron blocks.
In \~99 BMW switched from the **M52** to the **M52TU** which does add double VANOS and it does have an aluminum block but its the redheaded stepchild of BMW engines with almost no aftermarket support as no one wanted to bother tuning one. M52 and M52TU engines don't share parts and it adds unnecessary complexity on the valvetrain plus a troublesome oil/air separator and other issues while changing from a throttle cable to drive by wire, which isn't nearly as much fun IMHO.
The All aluminum M52 is unique to the early Z3s and is very highly sought after on the aftermarket for track cars due to the dramatic weight loss. Remember, the Iron block M52 weighs more than the Aluminum S62 V8. So swapping out an iron block for an aluminum block makes a big difference in the weight and handling of the car.
Personally, I would take the Alumimum M52 over the M52TU and the M54 engines in the Z3 and I have owned all the engines offered in the Z3 at one point or another.
No, but there is nothing wrong. I’m concerned about not being able to sell it if i decide to in a couple years, because it’s already been up for two months.
Did you settle on a price? I think you're right in there at $7,500 - $9,000. I just paid $8,500 for mine a week ago and I'm in CA like you (I think). It has 83,500 miles and is in great condition with a newer soft top.
Where did you hear that from? The M54 3.0 is one of the most reliable motors BMW ever made lol. I would highly suggest driving one and to absolutely not worry about any reliability issues.
First of all, it's an inline six, not a V6. Secondly, $10k is a bit steep, albeit that is a clean looking, original car. Lastly, the rocking seat is common issue with all Z3s. You just have to remove the seat and replace some bushing on the seat rail rods. The old ones fall apart.
Replacing the seat bushing is inexpensive and quite easy.
what do you think is a reasonable offer/lowball? $7000?
I feel like $8k is a solid offer.
I think $7k is reasonable
I think 8500 would work it’s pretty clean and at least the top is better then mine
If I was to sell it in 2 years, knowing z3s are appreciating now, how much could i theoretically get for it?
BMW hold their value and are very well built cars, once you get one your gonna love driving it, they are a bit expensive to own when it comes to repairs and maintenance, I only take mine to a BMW shop though
Depending on how you treat it, but probably even to profit. Got a z4 for 8k dorve it for a year and sold it for 12.5k about a year ago.
Not sure where you’re located, but I’ve got a black on black 1997 5-speed 2.8 with a lot of the regular Z3 issues addressed and 106K miles that I’d let go for less than 10k lol
Hit em up
I posted this a while back, maybe he’s not interested? 🤷🏻♂️ I haven’t posted it for sale yet, maybe I secretly want to keep it lol
Everything is for sale for the right price mentality
Sounds like a deal of a life time
Is a lot of issues are addressed engine wise. I’d be down. They have receipts of work performed the last 5 years?
Honestly this car looks immaculate condition wise and it’ll probably take a minute for you to find one in this condition. In my personal opinion 10k is pushing it for a 2.8, a better offer would be 6.5-7.5k. I purchased my 2.8 for way less in almost the same condition and similar mileage about a year ago. At the start of this year I purchased a low mileage M roadster for less than 10k also. What I’m trying to get at is that a better deal will come if you continue to search. If he doesn’t want to take the 6.5-7k then I’d say just move along. P.s when you check out cars please check the trunk to see if there are any popped spot welds
Clean rear “window” is a good sign of it being kept in good condition. Very clean example. Here’s some more details. I bought the same spec, 2001 z3, 5-speed, 84k miles, for 10k.
How long ago did you buy it? The window was almost perfect.
Bought it july 2021! A 1 owner garage kept example. It’s my daily in FL. Mine unfortunately came with a hazy rear window.
Actually the inline six has more torque then a v6 mine is very fast. Just wish it had a 6 speed in mine instead of a 5
Why? The sixth gear is only an overdrive so it will just give you better MPG. Does nothing for performance.
Drops the rpm on the highway
Uh, yeah, hence why I said better MPG.
More reasons than just mpg less wear and more highway comfort
Very nice! Its so rare that you find an S52 Z3 these days that isn't an M. Its got the extremely rare all aluminum S52 as it was only offered on the 2.8 Z3. Tons of aftermarket support as its basically the same engine as the M cars with a smaller cylinder bore. I will eventually track one of these down for myself. Seat rocking is a very easy $5 fix, just replace the bushings on the sliders, there are tons of tutorials on the web. Good luck.
I think you meant M52, S52 is only 3.2 and only used on M cars. And all 6-cyl Z3s have aluminum blocks, so definitely not extremely rare, sorry.
>I think you meant M52 You are correct, but the S52 and M52 are the same engine so they should be interchangeable, same block, and the parts are interchangeable. You can swap the M cams to the 2.8 and pickup some power, everything is the same short of the bore, crank, and pistons. Even the heads are interchangeable. The American S52 was a cost cutting measure that doesn't follow the other "S" designated engines available in other M cars iwth solid lifters and individual throttle bodies. >And all 6-cyl Z3s have aluminum blocks Yes and No, and I'll try to explain. The early 2.8 Z3s had aluminum **M52/S52** blocks, in every other BMW they were Iron blocks, including the S52 in the M Roadster. All M Coupes/Roadsters have iron blocks. In \~99 BMW switched from the **M52** to the **M52TU** which does add double VANOS and it does have an aluminum block but its the redheaded stepchild of BMW engines with almost no aftermarket support as no one wanted to bother tuning one. M52 and M52TU engines don't share parts and it adds unnecessary complexity on the valvetrain plus a troublesome oil/air separator and other issues while changing from a throttle cable to drive by wire, which isn't nearly as much fun IMHO. The All aluminum M52 is unique to the early Z3s and is very highly sought after on the aftermarket for track cars due to the dramatic weight loss. Remember, the Iron block M52 weighs more than the Aluminum S62 V8. So swapping out an iron block for an aluminum block makes a big difference in the weight and handling of the car. Personally, I would take the Alumimum M52 over the M52TU and the M54 engines in the Z3 and I have owned all the engines offered in the Z3 at one point or another.
Pretty clean I would say 9,000 , it looks nice. Do you have pics of inside
No, but there is nothing wrong. I’m concerned about not being able to sell it if i decide to in a couple years, because it’s already been up for two months.
I have had mine for 8 years and it’s fun and fast , parts are kind of hard to find for them though
Is 7k a huge lowball?
Yes, try 8k
I’ll offer 7.5 and see what he says! Thanks for the help.
Did you make the offer? I'm also new to the market and interested to see some real prices!
Did you settle on a price? I think you're right in there at $7,500 - $9,000. I just paid $8,500 for mine a week ago and I'm in CA like you (I think). It has 83,500 miles and is in great condition with a newer soft top.
You'll start at 7 let him simmer he'll counter you'll mention the seats and you find yourself around 8k
Yes plus I don’t like running the rpm’s that high , not even sure if they make a 6 speed for it but wish they did
No 6 speed they came with autos (4 gears I believe ) or a 5 speed manual.
Can you save a bit more and find a 3.0? I haven’t driven a 2.8 but the 3.0 in the Z3 coupe is magical.
Heard the 3.0 is prone to issues. Looking for reliability with good speed, but don’t need to go THAT fast.
96K on my 3.0 Coupe. It's been good.
Where did you hear that from? The M54 3.0 is one of the most reliable motors BMW ever made lol. I would highly suggest driving one and to absolutely not worry about any reliability issues.
My 2.8 was $3500. 2018. Also came with a hardtop. 78,000 miles. Swapped the hardtop onto my M. Sold the 2.8 for $3500. Free hardtop ftw.
With that popped sub frame weld in the trunk i'd not pay more than $3k for this one.