How to Buy a Z3 or M Roadster

It’s important to have a strategy when buying a car. There are lots of good strategies, here is a simple one.

Look the car over carefully in the day light and decide if you want it or not.

If you don’t want it walk away.

If you do want it make a list of the things you don’t like as a discussion point for negotiating price.

Z3 and M Roadster things to look for:

• Sagging glove box – with the glove box closed push up on it from the bottom, it should be firm and not saggy. The glove boxes on these cars are heavy and tend to sag.
• Seat play – the back and forth mechanism on the power seat develops about a quarter inch of back and forth play. Put the seat about in the middle of it’s back and forth adjustment making sure that the seat back is not resting on the inside of the car. With your legs push back and forth and see if the seat will slide back and forth. My car has this problem and it’s very common with Z3s. I’ve had mechanics estimate about two hours work per seat to fix it ($200 per seat)
• Broken seat belt guide – there is a seatbelt guide on both seats, frequently one or both of them are broken. They are very hard to fix so most people just live with it.
• Convertible top wear – a cloth convertible top is a wear item, like tires or brakes. You should expect to have to replace it eventually. A new top will run $3000 to $5000 ( I know that’s a wide range, I’ve never actually replaced the top so I gave a safe range).
• M Roadsters do not have a spare tire. They did come with a can of fix a flat and a 12 volt compressor in the trunk on the right hand side. Frequently the repair kit is missing.
• Z3 check the spare tire, make sure all the tools are there.
• Dash lights – the light bulbs on the three climate control dials are frequently burned out. Check the lights in the other buttons – AC etc. These lights are not too horrible to replace – I’d guess and hour or so for a mechanic. I have replaced some of the ones on my car that are burned out but not others.
• Make sure all the speakers work and sound good – sometimes people play the system too loud and damage speakers.
• The usual car stuff stuff – tire wear, oil puddle on the ground, strange noises, driving straight etc.

If, after making the list you still want the car assign a dollar amount to each item and subtract it from the asking price, then make an offer. When the negotiation starts you can say “Well, the seats slide like a roller coaster and the top is worn so I can’t give you the asking price...”

After you have made your deal and brought your vehicle home here is a link to a site that has links for fixing all of these issues if you feel so inclined.