hows the car @noiseboy72was thinking of buying the z4 coupe (similar crisis)?
Ha, go for it!
I am loving it although I've ended up driving it much more than envisaged due to a work secondment dragging me off the train for a few months. This involves a 3 hour twice weekly commute on motorways and fast A roads.
Mines the 220BHP 2.5 si Sport, so slightly lowered "M" sports suspension and comfy sports seats. For a more supple ride, the SE is a better choice but it depends on the sorts of roads you intend driving on.
If you are looking at the E85 / E86, 2003 - 2009, please see my comments below. For the later E89 with the hard folding roof, I don't have any real experience of these.
Engine wise, the 2.5 and 3.0 6 cylinder are smooth and powerful and not a lot will beat you in a sprint from the lights - or the more critical 50-70 overtaking surge. I also drove a 2.0 litre and if you want more of a tourer and are not so worried about out and out speed and acceleration than they are good motor. The M and Alpine are hugely quick, but quite rare and more expensive to buy. Equipment is pretty basic - cup holders would be nice but the heating and stereo is good for the year.
Things to look for: Roof works properly and ideally the pump has been relocated into the boot. Wheels and tyres are all in good condition and the power steering works properly. Any stickiness (Not tramlining) is a major bill. Check the car sits level and doesn't crash through the bumps, as that requires new bushes to correct. Springs are often changed, so check the ride height is correct. Make sure the exhaust has not been modified, as it gives them a nice throaty roar when accelerating and a horrible drone at motorway speeds...
Insurance is about £240 a year for us.
We are off to the lakes in a couple of weeks and I am looking forward to the drive up, but maybe not the local roads so much!
The stock cup holders (optional extra) are truly awful and only really of any use when stationary.
Very nice, I bought myself an '04 3.0i pre facelift model almost 2 years ago (after deliberating between the Z4 and Boxster S) and love it. I must admit I wasn't too keen on the styling when they first came out, but it seems to have improved with age and I think they look fantastic (perhaps timeless?) with the long bonnet and a lot of people can't believe how old they actually are!
Apparently the 'sticky steering' can be fixed by adjusting the eccentric ring on the steering column, so not necessarily a big bill. A lot of cars are still on original shocks which will be quite tired, I switched mine for a set of Bilstein B4s with new springs which definitely made an improvement (I'm on 18" wheels with non-runflats) and also refreshed the bushes too. There is a 'sound generator mod' which is quite common, basically there is a pipe which goes from the engine into the cabin and you remove the foams from the inside to let in more noise (although some people do find it drones a bit if you remove both pieces of foam).
I see from your photos the wind deflector appears to be missing? It slots in between the roll hoops (the mounting clips seem to be there) and reduces the buffeting quite a bit, so definitely worth getting if you don't have it (although the OEM ones can be difficult/expensive to find).
Gratuitous photo of my car after a recent polish & wax:
https://www.avforums.com/data/attachments/946/946459-865aa0087027928b24e040f06463f714.jpg
Cheers @wicker_man, I've got the wind deflector, it was clipped into the boot lid when the photos were taken data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
It's perfect weather this weekend, I've been looking for excuses to go driving!
Are they factory / OEM alloys?
No Calibre CC S, milled bright spokes and matte black paint finish. Fitted with 18" non run flat tyres. I wanted a more original car really, but I quite like these alloys - which were fitted when I bought it, they seem to suit the car.
I assume MV2s were factory issue?
Not sure what the 2.5 SI Sport had TBH.
I believe the MV2 (style 135) and 5 spoke BBS split rims (style 108) were the most popular wheel styles on the E85, although not sure which were the 'standard' rims and which were options.