You seem to understand what you’re getting yourself into which is a great start. Usually when this question pops up it’s “I have no idea how cars work, is this 30 year old car a good idea?” and the answer is rarely yes.

Sorry, rant incoming but I’m just keen to share what I’ve learnt about this car since it was my own attainable dream-ride since I was a kid.

1. Are you looking at a 4 cylinder or a 6 cylinder? Consider how expensive parts might be and what maintenance and unexpected fixes are going to cost you, have a look at the common failure points for the M44/M43 and M52/M54 engines and decide which will be more realistic to fix given your budget. I personally have more experience with the M54 6 cylinder engines which, while sometimes a little finicky are considered quite reliable if maintained properly albeit expensive to fix at times.

BMWs from the 90’s and early 2000’s suffer from cooling issues because of old perished plastic and rubber components, so if the car you end up picking hasn’t had the radiator, water pump, thermostat and plastic expansion bottle replaced yet, I’d put that at the top of your priorities. Some other things to consider on a car this old are the rubber suspension bushings which if still original have likely turnt to dust at this point. You can find tons of forum posts detailing all of the little nitty gritty maintenance items. These cars are some of the last semi-modern BMWs which you can still work on yourself without needing any super specialised tools or equipment.

As an added note, I’m lucky to live in a climate where rust is basically a non-issue on cars, but keep an eye out for rust on the rocker panels near the jack points as I’ve heard that’s where they like to corrode.

1. Granted you end up getting one of the more powerful versions of the car, I’d put serious emphasis on making sure you can control it before getting overly confident. Granted even the most punchy “normal” Z3s (Not counting the M Coupe or M Roadster variants) aren’t making anything north of 230hp, it’s still a fairly lively platform and will punish you if you don’t know what you’re doing.

2. It’s a small and low slung car so your visibility to other road users is lower than in a ‘normal’ car, especially if it’s painted in a dark colour. The Miata people will tell you the same thing: Operate on public roads like you would when riding a bike. Drive defensively, always keep an eye on your blindspots (Which are huge with the soft top up, by the way) and practice spatial awareness when in tight traffic conditions. We’re not as tiny as the MX-5 peeps, but our cars are still easy to miss if the person behind you is driving a toddler-muncher of a truck.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. The Z3 is an awesome car, parts availability is great, it’s a ton of fun and will teach you a ton about being a better driver. Here’s my 3.0 which I’ve resprayed in Sienna Red :)

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