For Sale Z3 Derby.

[Michael Burridge]

Saw this at Carwise, Duffield,near Derby. Looks in excellent condition , think it's a 2.8 judging by the rear body.Sports seats etc. Garage shut today so don"t know anything else.View attachment 96124 View attachment 96125

Aaaah - just found this post - interestingly, I went to view this car when I was looking for a decent Z3. Spoke at length with the dealer on the phone who described it as concours... Duly also obliged with some pics of the soft to (hard top removed).

Having been assured that it was "immaculate" and "Concours", I paid a holding deposit and arranged to go and view (My mate drove me up to Derby - The intention being that I'd drive it back). A loooong way from Aylesbury!

When we arrived, I honestly didn't want to even get out of the car.. It was certainly far from immaculate and that was just from seeing it from my mates car. The pictures online had made this look way better than it actually was. I reluctantly got out and had a short test drive - completely underwhelming! Performance seemed poor and just not nice to drive...

Luckily I got my deposit back although the dealer was not having it that it had been described incorrectly and insisted I would not find a better one... I found a MUCH better one the next day (Which is now on my driveway)...

Lesson learned - Pics can be deceiving and so can dealers! My wife would have killed me if I came home with that car!! Think it sold a few months later but for a reduced price... Could be made nice I guess and good luck to whoever owns it now - just wasn't for me...

 

[Z Victor 1]

Glad you found a good one @Michael Burridge , I spotted that one as I rode past on my bike. It looked pretty good, but from my own experience I know that on closer examination cars can be quite different.I certainly wouldn't have paid anything like the screen price!

 

[ktnez99]

It’s worth what someone is willing to pay. As with anything. Having had my Z from new and having paid multiples of £7k for my car, this thread is amusing. I paid my money and got a lovely car which gives me much enjoyment. I can’t put a price on this.

 

[Michael Burridge]

Yes - thanks @Z Victor 1 . I viewed in November 2018 so maybe the garage took my feedback on board and did something about it.. When I viewed, the headlights were full of water (I don't just mean a bit of condensation, there was probably half an inch of water in the bottom of one of them) - they were also very foggy on the outside too. There were a few scratches on the paintwork, and the bonnet appeared to have had quite a bad re-spray at some point and the doors appeared a different colour to the rest of the car. The hard top too had been badly re-sprayed and there were just so many little bits and pieces that were untidy - like enamel flaking off the badges, chips and scratches etc. I think the rain disguises a lot - luckily it was dry when I viewed. My friend has an immaculate 2.8 which is stunning - My expectation given the dealers description and assurances was that this would be similar in condition and I was really excited about going to see and potentially bring it home - luckily my head overruled my heart and it was just the following day that I managed to find (in my view) a far better one

 

[Michael Burridge]

It’s worth what someone is willing to pay. As with anything. Having had my Z from new and having paid multiples of £7k for my car, this thread is amusing. I paid my money and got a lovely car which gives me much enjoyment. I can’t put a price on this.

Agreed but had I bought this, I would have paid my money for a 20yr old car that would have needed a whole lot more spending on it before I could even start to feel happy about it... And as for enjoyment, that might well have been an impossibility knowing that I'd stupidly fallen for a salesman's pitch and paid way over the odds in the first place. We don't all have bundles of £7k sitting around

 

[ktnez99]

Agreed but had I bought this, I would have paid my money for a 20yr old car that would have needed a whole lot more spending on it before I could even start to feel happy about it... And as for enjoyment, that might well have been an impossibility knowing that I'd stupidly fallen for a salesman's pitch and paid way over the odds in the first place. We don't all have bundles of £7k sitting around

I was very young and had won a long term contract with a national blue chip company so I treated myself - no justification needed. I remember for years that I’d often be stopped by almost always middle aged men who would ask me about my Dad’s car! Boy, did I put them in their places

 

[Z Victor 1]

Good for you Dawn.

 

[Oddly Godly]

When I was looking at buying a Z3 I ruled a lot out by looking at the mot history. It gives a rough idea as to how well the car has been maintained and driven. I spent hours going through autotrader and eBay putting the number plates in to my mot app. It also gives you the heads up as to what work has been done. I was paranoid about rust as my last mx5 dissolved away in front of me from the inside out. I have to say that Z3s are much less prone to rust. As to £7000 it seems a lot but without knowing what work has been done it's hard to know. I think a Z3 is one of the best value cars on the market. Mine is a 2.8 and was 4k and is pretty immaculate and has done 75k miles. I have seen fantastic looking 1.9s for half that.

 

[Michael Burridge]

When I was looking at buying a Z3 I ruled a lot out by looking at the mot history. It gives a rough idea as to how well the car has been maintained and driven. I spent hours going through autotrader and eBay putting the number plates in to my mot app. It also gives you the heads up as to what work has been done. I was paranoid about rust as my last mx5 dissolved away in front of me from the inside out. I have to say that Z3s are much less prone to rust. As to £7000 it seems a lot but without knowing what work has been done it's hard to know. I think a Z3 is one of the best value cars on the market. Mine is a 2.8 and was 4k and is pretty immaculate and has done 75k miles. I have seen fantastic looking 1.9s for half that.

Thats a really good tip and I do the same with https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history... I'm sure I must slow their internet down when I'm looking for a car! Agree with you on the value of Z3s - its really surprising that you can get such a nice little car for such little money, especially with the smaller engine options.

 

[Oddly Godly]

View attachment 121505 I use the DVLA app on my phone. I even now go through adds just being nosy. At the moment there is a similar looking car on eBay with more miles and a shed load of advisorys. I would have been put off it but someone who could do the work themselves could get a bargain. Particularly as hardtops and the fitting kits fetch such good money. My last car was a stop gap an MK2 mx5 it lasted 3 years and cost £1400. That's less than £500 a year to drive round in a great looking car. Unfortunately at the last mot it had 14 advisorys mainly for rust so it had to go. I know of two others who have switched to Zs from Mazda's due to the rust problems in the older mx5s

 

[Michael Burridge]

That does look nice - I had really wanted this colour when I started looking but I think it has to be immaculate to look good. Atlanta blue seems quite unforgiving where touch ups have been done or panels re-sprayed - unless of course the whole car has been re-sprayed but that then makes you question why and what is it hiding?

Easy to become paranoid when looking for a car eh! But it makes sense to know what you're spending your hard earned money on...

 

[Z Victor 1]

Agree @Oddly Godly, my MX5 looked very nice and was a brilliant little sportscar, but even after quite a lot spent on the body rust was appearing in many places. What a pity they didn't build the body properly, mechcanically they are very good.

 

[Oddly Godly]

I bought my first mx5 MK1 in 1996 and it lasted much better than the latter ones. Plus I liked the Pop up headlights. The later mk2s had a strengthened chassis for the American crash test regulations. It meant having a double skin on parts of the chassis that now rust from the inside. It's an expensive fix. They are fantastic cars but have one floor rust. I assume the newer cars are better but they are out of my budget and don't have the retro appeal of the older ones.

 

[Michael Burridge]

Agree @Oddly Godly, my MX5 looked very nice and was a brilliant little sportscar, but even after quite a lot spent on the body rust was appearing in many places. What a pity they didn't build the body properly, mechcanically they are very good.View attachment 121511

I bought my first mx5 MK1 in 1996 and it lasted much better than the latter ones. Plus I liked the Pop up headlights. The later mk2s had a strengthened chassis for the American crash test regulations. It meant having a double skin on parts of the chassis that now rust from the inside. It's an expensive fix. They are fantastic cars but have one floor rust. I assume the newer cars are better but they are out of my budget and don't have the retro appeal of the older ones.

Have to agree on the pop up lights . The place I recently looked at for undersealing and corrosion prevention do loads of MX5s - the local Mazda dealership apparently send all new ones there for treatment before they sell them... Thats what they told me anyway.