z1's

[mabz]

ive been offered a z1 dont know too much about it till i go and view next friday.ive been told it's a minter and no problems,serviced,garaged etc.its standard apart from the very rare alpina rle's.which will be sold and replaced by the standard items.has anyone on the zone owned a z1 or in the market for a future purchase.how sought after are they.tia

[Blitz]

Very sought after. Super rare classic. Dont know much about them apart from having a M20B25

[billgatese30]

the alpina rle wheels are worth a fortune. lets hope they are in good condition (worth getting refurbed regardless of cost, I might add)

[B7]

What sort of money is it? I'd have one of these. Love 'em

[Ziggy]

What sort of money is it? I'd have one of these. Love 'em

What he said.

[Jon_Bmw]

I've got to be honest, I think they are vile little things.

Rare, for a good reason?

[Ziggy]

I've got to be honest, I think they are vile little things.

Rare, for a good reason?

You have a French car, and therefore no opinion worthy of note.

[pacerpete]

BMW made over 7000 of these , so they are hardly rare, just all stashed away waiting to become valuable. Alas most people that have them think they are in custody of the crown jewels. They drive well in a 325 convertible with a fancy frock kind of way but are tedious to use on a regular basis .
Any Z1 specific parts are very expensive/difficult to obtain. Every one I have been involved in has been hard work to sell and I recall there was only a decent profit turned on one of them

If you want a quirky 2 seater BMW to satisfy your inner gayness a Z3M is a far better car

[mabz]

i know there were 7000 but i heard only 80-ish came to england with a tag of £37,400.if i buy this it will be for sale after a good detail/service.anyone seriously interested feel free to p.m me and i will be more than happy to provide you with as much pics and description you would like before it goes on the web with a discount for zoner's.roll on next friday.

[Andyboy]

They were a novel idea, but ultimately a complete failure. In 1989 £38'000 would have bought a 911 Carrera Targa (the cabrio was £41'000) so a 171 bhp Z1 was never going to be taken seriously.
A TVR S with similar performance (2.9i Scorpio motor) was £13'000 and a Ferrari 328GTS £44'000 - just to show how out of touch BMW were.

At £28'000 with the forthcoming 24v 2.5 engine it might have stood a chance. There isn't a massive market for them in the UK and they are still quite hard work to sell. I wouldn't buy one over a mint 325i Convertible if they were the same price never mind a premium.

[tomson]

Keep us updated with some photos of said car, if you happen to need a new engine for it PM me

[mabz]

Keep us updated with some photos of said car, if you happen to need a new engine for it PM me

no probs

[Kos]

is the car red ?

[Motorhead]

They made 8000 of them. Not enough go to match the looks was always the problem so many have been tuned - AC, Hartge, Alpina, Lornez, etc all did engine work which bought bhp to just over 200. There was also a turbo conversion by Moseman (spelling?). If there is full evidence of a quality conversion these will be worth a little more than standrad ones.

The special trim such as camo seats wears and is difficult/expensive to replace. They have special paint which expands and contracts with the panels so repairing chips and dings is expensive. Condition is therefore improtant as expensive to fix the little things.

Prices range from £10k right up to £70k for an Aplina RLE, but most are about £15-20k.

Let us know how you get on.

[w17led]

I like them.

Been looking on google images and there are some real nice examples.

[Morat]

£70k for a Z1? Nomatter who tuned the Z1 I'd still rather have a mint E30 M3 Sport Evo for half the price. Or in the real world, 5 years school fees!

[madaboutthe30]

My friend has a red one sitting in his body shop for over a year now, customer wouldnt cough up the cash for the work

[mabz]

is the car red ?

no mate its not red.i still have to look at it all i know is that its a z1.the varioflex paintwork is seriously expensive so ive heard so that will be a key factor.i will be viewing it on friday so ill be able to give out a bit more info over the weekend.im just looking forward to sitting in it at the minute.

[B7]

If theres one clour I don't like the Z1 in, it's Red.

The Blacks nice but looking at one on the BMW JOY weekend with Simon and all of a sudden it struck us. It wasn't Diamond black. It;s called Shadow black or something. Really lovely colour though

[Motorhead]

I think its called Dream Black.

Must say, if you're an extrovert, Fun Yellow stands out.

[mabz]

quick update my mate had to work last minute(chef)so ill now be going on tuesday,im a little gutted tbh but thats life and good things come to those who wait.

[mabz]

im very sorry to let you all down guys i have tried my best to see this but have been let down four times now i have really had enough all i was trying to do was turnover a quick buck as i have my first born due in 8 weeks and could have done with the extra cash but nevermind.thanks for your interest.

[Z3I]

im very sorry to let you all down guys i have tried my best to see this but have been let down four times now i have really had enough all i was trying to do was turnover a quick buck as i have my first born due in 8 weeks and could have done with the extra cash but nevermind.thanks for your interest.

Yep, as Pacerpete said, most people who have them think they are the crown jewels, and will wind you up on them. Bad luck mate.

Mid you, I remember a fun yellow example in the showroom at BMW Heathrow in 1991, with a tag of £34000, which was a fortune on the day. Still, I'd swap my 325i convertible for it today..

[Jon_Bmw]

I was really expecting pictures of it as well... Shame.

[mabz]

I was really expecting pictures of it as well... Shame.

sorry dude i feel awful and really pee'd off at the same time.i had people lined up to take it off my hands and i have had to break the news to them and its a real shame.

[poolnoodle]

I can vouch for the OE Z1 alloys - easy to clean

[Jetl3on]

BMW made over 7000 of these , so they are hardly rare, just all stashed away waiting to become valuable. Alas most people that have them think they are in custody of the crown jewels. They drive well in a 325 convertible with a fancy frock kind of way but are tedious to use on a regular basis .
Any Z1 specific parts are very expensive/difficult to obtain. Every one I have been involved in has been hard work to sell and I recall there was only a decent profit turned on one of them

If you want a quirky 2 seater BMW to satisfy your inner gayness a Z3M is a far better car

8000 cars made 20yrs ago, with less than 150 in the UK, if most are stored away in qarages as you say, then surely that qualifies as rare?

[pacerpete]

BMW made over 7000 of these , so they are hardly rare, just all stashed away waiting to become valuable. Alas most people that have them think they are in custody of the crown jewels. They drive well in a 325 convertible with a fancy frock kind of way but are tedious to use on a regular basis .
Any Z1 specific parts are very expensive/difficult to obtain. Every one I have been involved in has been hard work to sell and I recall there was only a decent profit turned on one of them

If you want a quirky 2 seater BMW to satisfy your inner gayness a Z3M is a far better car

8000 cars made 20yrs ago, with less than 150 in the UK, if most are stored away in qarages as you say, then surely that qualifies as rare?

Out of that figure, dare I say 7000 are still left , most in the hands of paedo type polishers, so the numbers are not depleting .
Not exactly on every street corner but hardly hens tooth rare .

[Jetl3on]

BMW made over 7000 of these , so they are hardly rare, just all stashed away waiting to become valuable. Alas most people that have them think they are in custody of the crown jewels. They drive well in a 325 convertible with a fancy frock kind of way but are tedious to use on a regular basis .
Any Z1 specific parts are very expensive/difficult to obtain. Every one I have been involved in has been hard work to sell and I recall there was only a decent profit turned on one of them

If you want a quirky 2 seater BMW to satisfy your inner gayness a Z3M is a far better car

8000 cars made 20yrs ago, with less than 150 in the UK, if most are stored away in qarages as you say, then surely that qualifies as rare?

Out of that figure, dare I say 7000 are still left , most in the hands of paedo type polishers, so the numbers are not depleting .
Not exactly on every street corner but hardly hens tooth rare .

Paedo polishers?? You dont know many Z1 owners obviously, there are 5-6000 remaining through natural wastage worldwide. But ignore that, your using statistics to prove a point, when in reality, 120 Z1`s in the UK, which most people have never heard of never mind seen one, is a rare sight.
Okay its not M1 rare obviously, but compare a car of its era like the Lotus Elan, Porsche 944, Mazda MX5..... Ask anyone if they have heard of any of these cars and see what answer you get.

[pacerpete]

I know all about Z1s,I have owned 2 , I was distinctly underwhelmed and struggled to sell either at a profit, granted that was 10 years ago.
I have owned 5 E34 M5 tourings, 4 Sport Evolutions, 3 E28 M5s, 6 E30 M3 convertibles ,2 Alpina B10 Biturbos and alas,just 1 Alpina B6s. They are all genuinely rare cars that are also useable.

If I wanted an impractical plastic 1 trick pony, I would buy a TVR griffith and spend the large amount of change on AA membership and lots of petrol

[march109]

Don't be silly the AA have a fair use policy firmy placed in small print in their t&c's

[Jetl3on]

I know all about Z1s,I have owned 2 , I was distinctly underwhelmed and struggled to sell either at a profit, granted that was 10 years ago.
I have owned 5 E34 M5 tourings, 4 Sport Evolutions, 3 E28 M5s, 6 E30 M3 convertibles ,2 Alpina B10 Biturbos and alas,just 1 Alpina B6s. They are all genuinely rare cars that are also useable.

If I wanted an impractical plastic 1 trick pony, I would buy a TVR griffith and spend the large amount of change on AA membership and lots of petrol

impressive but does not Change the fact you don't know any Z1 owners. you may have purchased 2 for profit but that's not the same as ownership in the context we are discussing.
The Z1 is far more than a one trick pony which you would know if you look beyond the resale value, It sounds like your judging the car purely on what you lost rather than constructive comments such as the innovative Z axle, found on later Z and BMW models, aluminium monocoque shell, weight distribution, vario paintwork, multi layer plastic body panels, rear diffuser, handling and the unbelievable sliding doors , still unrivalled to this day, technology all before it's time and still a head turner next to most supercars, one of the few cars I have seen that few people criticise, apart from guys looking for a quick profit.

[E30BeemerLad]

The doors hardly caught on though did they.

I didn't realise they had the Z axle, I always thought they just had the same rear end as the E30, but I've never really taken much interest in them.

[pacerpete]

I know all about Z1s,I have owned 2 , I was distinctly underwhelmed and struggled to sell either at a profit, granted that was 10 years ago.
I have owned 5 E34 M5 tourings, 4 Sport Evolutions, 3 E28 M5s, 6 E30 M3 convertibles ,2 Alpina B10 Biturbos and alas,just 1 Alpina B6s. They are all genuinely rare cars that are also useable.

If I wanted an impractical plastic 1 trick pony, I would buy a TVR griffith and spend the large amount of change on AA membership and lots of petrol

impressive but does not Change the fact you don't know any Z1 owners. you may have purchased 2 for profit but that's not the same as ownership in the context we are discussing.
The Z1 is far more than a one trick pony which you would know if you look beyond the resale value, It sounds like your judging the car purely on what you lost rather than constructive comments such as the innovative Z axle, found on later Z and BMW models, aluminium monocoque shell, weight distribution, vario paintwork, multi layer plastic body panels, rear diffuser, handling and the unbelievable sliding doors , still unrivalled to this day, technology all before it's time and still a head turner next to most supercars, one of the few cars I have seen that few people criticise, apart from guys looking for a quick profit.

Yes , both Z1s were bought primarily to turn a profit , I did keep one for about a year as it was a very nice car and I thought if I am patient a nice victim with a good profit will appear (he didn't)
The fact that I struggled to find any cashed up victims shows that you are in the tiny minority more easily impressed by suspension that is found on garden £100 E36s and aerodynamically optimised £1000 rear exhaust boxes than most of the car buying public. Do you own / are you trying to sell a Z1 ?


PS I have an excellent O/S headlamp assembly for one of these extremely rare ground breaking hero chariots ,if you are interested ?

[Jetl3on]

The doors hardly caught on though did they.

I didn't realise they had the Z axle, I always thought they just had the same rear end as the E30, but I've never really taken much interest in them.

It was not meant to be mass produced, it was a designers dream to be given a blank piece of paper to create something different, Dr Ulrich Bez you will recognise the name I'm sure, the man who brought the Z1 to life, has one if these in his living room, that's a huge statement.

The Z axle was fitted to the early cars and the E36 on later models. The doors and the fact its LHD adds to it's uniqueness and exclusivity, why would you want to spend that kind of money and see another 5000 littering the streets Of London? Whenever something catches on, it no longer captures the imagination of the public. Something the Z1 still does 20years later.