1998-2000 Z3 M-coupe maintenance costs

[calvynk]

Hey

So, I'll probably inherit around R170 000 in the next couple of months, with which I am planning to buy my dream car (Z3 M coupe), which I will use for daily driving. I don't drive so much (I'm still studying) and my girlfriend will take my old Merc E280. However, as I am still a student, I don't have lots of cash for big services.

So my question boils down to this: if I can find a good, clean car with circa 100k kilos for my price, what can I expect to see in yearly maintenance costs? I know with older cars this is a tricky question, but ballpark figures will do fine, as well as any additional thoughts experienced guys can share with me.

Also, I might have to go oversees for a couple of years starting 2012/2013. I read that this particular car has the 2nd-lowest decline in resale value of any BMW. So I figured that if I'm forced to sell this will be a smart buy in terms of value loss. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Grega]

Hey

So, I'll probably inherit around R170 000 in the next couple of months, with which I am planning to buy my dream car (Z3 M coupe), which I will use for daily driving. I don't drive so much (I'm still studying) and my girlfriend will take my old Merc E280. However, as I am still a student, I don't have lots of cash for big services.

So my question boils down to this: if I can find a good, clean car with circa 100k kilos for my price, what can I expect to see in yearly maintenance costs? I know with older cars this is a tricky question, but ballpark figures will do fine, as well as any additional thoughts experienced guys can share with me.

Also, I might have to go oversees for a couple of years starting 2012/2013. I read that this particular car has the 2nd-lowest decline in resale value of any BMW. So I figured that if I'm forced to sell this will be a smart buy in terms of value loss. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance for any input.

Howzit

I just bought a 2000 M Coupe last month and all I can tell you is that it is awesome!
However only after buying the car did I start looking at how much it would cost to insure and maintain. And its turning out to be a bit more expensive than I thought.
Examples of costs I have had so far are for brake discs which have averaged from R3000 to R10000 for discs and pads. A level 2 service which includes oil changes and sparkplugs etc I got a quote for R7500!!!! And another for R3000 which is a bit better.
In my experience if you shop around and trawl the forums you can get good advice that can easily half your maintance costs. However I believe these cars are still expensive to maintain but so worth it!!!!

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Sohail]

Calvynk

///M cars are generally expensive to maintain. The Z3 m is based on the s50 b32 engines, e36 m3 3.2. So they aren't cheap.
Servicing costs are roughly 10k a year. theats doing 30000km an anuum. Factor in fuel, tires and the odd issue and the figures add up. Also components arent cheap. Brakes are pricey also.

A level 2 service or inspection 2 service is pricey. below are some rough costs on service items
6.5 lt Full Synthetic oil -+ R700
6 x Spark plugs - R1000.00
Fuel Filter - R650
Micro filter - R300
Oil Filter - R450
Labour - 3 hours or depending on the mech

Hope this helps and i dont scare you from your choice. They are lovely cars and the engine + 6 speed getrag are perfect for eachother. its like bread and butter. Also be choosy when looking at prospective sales. Make sure FSH and invoices of all repairs are available. This will give you an indication on the history of the car.

Good luck

 

[calvynk]

Hey okes, thanks a lot for your feedback so far.

Guess I gotta start working part-time then. Should be worth it though.

Any other thoughts/advice will be much appreciated.

 

[CHER GP]

very nice choice in car calvyn! u lucky to inherent that money while u still a student, i had to wait 5 years before we could afford the M.
my advice would be, if you can wait, put that money in a savings account, earn some interest for a bit and use that interest for the maintainence costs.
i thought i would never come across a good M cos I waited so long, but guess what my time came and there my baby was. :excited::clap::clap:

 

[Reese130]

http://search.autotrader.co.za/www/cars_advert?id=201035187052307
not bad mileage...