Z3 owned from new

[RustyZ3Fan]

Hi I bought my 2.8 Z3 in 2000, from new. It's been great, but now getting rusty. So I'm here to get some advice please!

 

[Lee]

Hi Rusty, picture of your car or we don't believe you

What advice do you want, everyone will say fix it.

 

[Stevo7682]

Hi and welcome from me in Scotland and yes as already said unless its totally gone folks on here will recommend saving it especially since its a 2.8 not a 1.9 .
But some pictures and a more detailed description of what the rust issues are if its just outer panels then these can be changed out.
Stephen.

 

[RustyZ3Fan]

Here it is - apologies for the hood cover!

 

[ktnez99]

Here it is - apologies for the hood cover!

They all look great until you delve underside and the edges. What issues have you with your car? Any photos?
Welcome! I’ve a 2.8L 1999 Z and know what a great car they are.

 

[RustyZ3Fan]

Hood cover came from "Prestige Car Hood and Trim Manufacturers" btw. Very good, except it has made light scratch marks near to where the lugs fit into the gap between the front of the doors - they should have put a soft material inside at the points where it touches the paintwork. Good customer service too.

 

[RustyZ3Fan]

thanks for the welcome messages.

I've been meaning to get new sills for a year or two. But when I looked more closely a month or two ago, it looks like the inner sills have rusted too- not sure how badly (it looks bad, but I don't really know what to expect). So I'm trying to work out what to do.

I called Redish Motorsport - they would certainly do a great job, but it could go to £10k if they need to fabricate new inner sills. I believe that is more than the car is worth. Also, I live in London, not Bristol!

I really like the car and would be happy to spend a few thousand to get it fixed - I haven't experienced any other major problems (yet - touch wood).

I've been wondering if it is possible to pay someone to to remove the inner sills from a scrap car - to at least save the fabrication cost. But maybe this is overkill, if the existing inner sills can be repaired.

For a proper assessment, the sills need to be removed and then the rust on the inner sills removed to see how bad they are. But I don't think the sills are going to go back on again once they are off.

 

[ktnez99]

My advice is to get the outer sills off to have a good look at the inner sills. The outer sills cost me £90 each new with a discount from BMW. They have increased in price since.
I’d also have a really good look all over the underside, the boot and the engine bay.

 

[Duncodin]

Thing about the inner sills is that the metal is very thick so can be quite a lot of surface rust and small holes without lossing stength. The metal is also very flat and boxy so very easy to shape new sections without fancy metal forming tools. The most comon area for rust is around the jacking points and of course the box end sections.

 

[Devon Z]

Hello and , also owned mine from new in 1999, can’t help with rust on a zed as it hasn’t got any but plenty of info /help here

 

[hard top]

to the Forum.

 

[Shelly]

 

[RustyZ3Fan]

My advice is to get the outer sills off to have a good look at the inner sills. The outer sills cost me £90 each new with a discount from BMW. They have increased in price since.
I’d also have a really good look all over the underside, the boot and the engine bay.

A year and a half ago, my normal garage arranged the MOT and then fed back that it was badly rusted and now was the time to sell. I took it to another BMW guy for a second opinion - he said it was in pretty good nick and the rust was superficial. He specifically checked the boot and said it was ok. I got him clean off the rust and reseal it. But without removing everything - since that was going to jack up the cost - maybe not such a great idea.

 

[Mint]

Hi and to the forum from me too in Stafford. Agree with all the above, definitely worth fixing up especially as it's a 2.8. Good luck.

 

[RustyZ3Fan]

I'm now trying to get some idea of pricing to get the inner sills repaired and outer sills replaced. Could be as much as £5,000 or £6,000 if a proper inspection shows the rust damage is extensive.

I've looked on Autotrader at 2.8s from 2000 and they mostly range in price from £4,000 to £8,500. Wondering if there is any clear pricing logic for the large range in pricing.

If I could find one with sills in good condition (or is this unlikely?), for say £6,000, would this make more sense than getting the work done on mine?

Or what about, say, a 2015 Z4, to sidestep rust issues for a few years?

 

[Duncodin]

I'm now trying to get some idea of pricing to get the inner sills repaired and outer sills replaced. Could be as much as £5,000 or £6,000 if a proper inspection shows the rust damage is extensive.

I've looked on Autotrader at 2.8s from 2000 and they mostly range in price from £4,000 to £8,500. Wondering if there is any clear pricing logic for the large range in pricing.

If I could find one with sills in good condition (or is this unlikely?), for say £6,000, would this make more sense than getting the work done on mine?

Or what about, say, a 2015 Z4, to sidestep rust issues for a few years?

Don't decide anything untill you get the outer sills off and see what the inners are like.

The outers just screw on so easy to remove so nothing to be gained by leaving them on and guessing what's underneath.

 

[Jam03]

I'm now trying to get some idea of pricing to get the inner sills repaired and outer sills replaced. Could be as much as £5,000 or £6,000 if a proper inspection shows the rust damage is extensive.

I've looked on Autotrader at 2.8s from 2000 and they mostly range in price from £4,000 to £8,500. Wondering if there is any clear pricing logic for the large range in pricing.

If I could find one with sills in good condition (or is this unlikely?), for say £6,000, would this make more sense than getting the work done on mine?

Or what about, say, a 2015 Z4, to sidestep rust issues for a few years?

Welcome!
It’s a familiar dilemma on here. Depending on the mileage, your car is probably worth anywhere from £2k to £6k+, so it’s never going to make logical sense to spend thousands fixing it up unless it has sentimental value.
If it’s only the sills that are rusty, then you can buy a set of second hand or new ones. I suspect you could get that done for say £1k. You could do a very basic tidy up of the inner sills unless the jacking points are badly rusted.
How is the rest of the car? Normally by now you could be needing a lot of replacement bits on the front and rear suspension, the fuel tank straps etc, which can easily add up to another few £k.
I think at this stage of the Z3’s life, it pays to take on a few DIY jobs.
Unless it’s a mint rare model, taking it to places like Redish just isn’t going to make sense.

 

[RustyZ3Fan]

Don't decide anything untill you get the outer sills off and see what the inners are like.
The outers just screw on so easy to remove so nothing to be gained by leaving them on and guessing what's underneath.

I've arranged an hour's inspection on a ramp with a garage for September. They will give me an estimate (or ideally a quote) then, to help me make a decision. I suspect though, that if the outer sills are taken off, it won't be possible to put them back!

 

[RustyZ3Fan]

Welcome!
It’s a familiar dilemma on here. Depending on the mileage, your car is probably worth anywhere from £2k to £6k+, so it’s never going to make logical sense to spend thousands fixing it up unless it has sentimental value.
If it’s only the sills that are rusty, then you can buy a set of second hand or new ones. I suspect you could get that done for say £1k. You could do a very basic tidy up of the inner sills unless the jacking points are badly rusted.
How is the rest of the car? Normally by now you could be needing a lot of replacement bits on the front and rear suspension, the fuel tank straps etc, which can easily add up to another few £k.
I think at this stage of the Z3’s life, it pays to take on a few DIY jobs.
Unless it’s a mint rare model, taking it to places like Redish just isn’t going to make sense.

Thank you - some helpful thoughts.

It's clear that the rust is on the inner sills too. And the outer sills have some bubbling at the back end too, which suggests I am likely to find some rust on the back end of the inner sills.

I don't have the time or experience to work on the car myself.

Why would I keep it:

- I like the very precise feedback through the steering wheel (I've been told that later cars with full power steering don't have that precise feedback).
- it's very comfortable
- I like the shape
- I've never had any problem with the engine
- I like that it has very basic electrics - I can disconnect the battery with no problem (there are periods when I don't use the car much, so don't want the battery to drain).
- hassle, cost and wait of buying a new car.

Why would I get rid of it? If it was going to need more structural repair in the future so that I would be throwing good money after bad.

I've been saying until now "if I can keep it running for just one or two thousand a year, on average, then that makes it cheaper than the depreciation on a new car"

But since Nov 2024 it's been expensive: about £4,000 of work:

- Renew both rear brake back plates
- Renew both rear wheel bearings
- Renew handbrake shoes
- Renew rear brake discs and pads

- replace Roof microswitch

- Renew front shock absorbers
- Renew front coil springs
- Renew top mounts
- Renew bump stops and duat covers

- replace seat bushes
- Renew viscous fan hub

 

[Duncodin]

I've arranged an hour's inspection on a ramp with a garage for September. They will give me an estimate (or ideally a quote) then, to help me make a decision. I suspect though, that if the outer sills are taken off, it won't be possible to put them back!

If the outers are rusted beyond repair then why would you want to put them back on.

The outers are purely cosmetic. Not structural at all. But they can make the car look much worse than it is. You can buy new ones for a few hundred pounds.

The important thing is the inner sills. You need to get them looked at.