After my car was scrapped, I had been thinking about getting a Z4 as my next car.
My trusted used car dealer was pushing the E89, but I was interested in the E85. The dealer ran out of patience and gave up, so I decided to go with the E85.
Oops. The sales page is gone. Of course, because I signed the contract.
Only the cache of the image search remains. I bought this one.
2006 BMW Z4 3.0si. The first generation, in other words, the Z4 with model code E85.
Why I choose this… It’s complicated, but after losing my car in an accident, I realized that the value of a car like the 135i is not understood by people who are not interested in cars.
Nowadays, not many people are interested in cars. Especially the younger ones.
Moreover, cars themselves seem to be placing value on things that are easily understood, like glowing in rainbow colors, convenient boarding and disembarking, looking huge at first glance, looking tough, rather than essential considerations like performance.
I could arrogantly claim to be obsessed with the difference in performance, making fun of such things… but, unlike in the past, speeding is now a serious crime. Dangerous driving resulting in death or injury has also been established as a crime.
<Dangerous Driving Causing Death or Injury Act>
The Dangerous Driving Causing Death or Injury Act is a new law in Japan that came into effect in 2013. Prior to this, if a person was killed or injured due to car driving, the law of Negligent Driving Causing Death was applied, which had a maximum imprisonment of 7 years.
In recent years, there has been a problem with the penalty being too light for death accidents caused by drunk driving or malicious driving, and this law was enacted as a countermeasure. The Dangerous Driving Causing Death or Injury Act applies to fatal accidents that meet specific conditions, and the maximum imprisonment has been set to 20 years.
For example, there was an incident where an BMW M235i, which was running at 194 km/h in Oita and is gradually becoming outdated, collided with a right-turning car, causing death or injury to the other party.
Certainly, it seems like there is little traffic on a long straight road, but running at 194 km/h in such a place is definitely not good. It’s not a highway.
But even 20-30 years ago, I think the party going straight would have been held responsible, but I doubt it would have been 10:0 like this. There was also no crime of dangerous driving resulting in death or injury. There may be people who say, “I wouldn’t be going that fast 20 years ago!” but that’s not true. Even a 2000 model Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 could reach 180 km/h in 17 seconds, and could accelerate up to just under 200 km/h if the limiter was removed. It’s not that the M235i was particularly fast.
The fact that it has become so hysterically noisy means that society is changing to think more legally, more safely, and more importantly about life, which can also be said to be progress.。
When I think about incorporating this change well and differentiating myself, I wonder if it’s really the ones who are obsessed with appearance, like “glowing in seven colors, convenient boarding and disembarking, looking huge at first glance, looking tough”, or the ones who are obsessed with performance, that are the monkeys.
When I think about it, I come to the conclusion that the era of “driving high-performance cars” is over.
My accident was also a right-hand turn… well, in my case, the other party wasn’t looking at all, and there was no speeding, so it was a normal accident, different from the Oita case. I was rammed on the right side.
However, it’s not like I always passed at 30 km/h. It was fortunate that on that day, the truck that indirectly caused the accident was there, and I wasn’t in the mood to speed, so I was driving at that speed. Depending on the day, I might have gone much faster. Accidents are unlucky, but the situation was lucky.
So, setting aside performance, I looked for a car that fits my character, or rather, a car that would satisfy me if I became a character that fits that car.
That’s the Z4.
The Z4 is now in its third generation, and I could have afforded any of them, but I went for the first generation Z4.
There are various reasons, but… to sum it up, it’s like this.
Friendly, gentle design
I don’t know, not just for the Z4, but don’t recent cars have a kind of hostile atmosphere if you consider their headlights as eyes? I don’t really like that…
Some people say that it’s cool and intimidating, but I only make that face when I’m about to poop, so when I see a car with a front mask like that, my first impression isn’t, “Wow, it’s cool and intimidating,” but more like, “Hmm? Is he about to poop?”
Of course, I’m probably the only one who sees it that way, and everyone else probably thinks the glaring design is “cool”…
Small body
In Hunter x Hunter, Leorio says, “A big car and good sake,” but if I’m driving, a smaller car is better. I feel like a big car would be inconvenient.
Well, of course, if it’s too small, it’s a problem, but there’s no point in driving a bus-like big car if only two people are riding. It’s a two-seater, so something the size of a Corolla or a bit bigger than a Vitz should be enough.
Vitz = it called TOYOTA Yaris in North America
With that in mind,
| 1st Z4(E85) | 全長4,100ｍm×全幅1,780mm×全高1,285mm |
| 2nd Z4(E89) | 全長4,250mm×全幅1,790mm×全高1,290mm |
| 3rd Z4(G29) | 全長4,335mm×全幅1,865mm×全高1,305mm |
The Z4 is getting bigger and bigger with each generation. I’d say it’s becoming Americanized, but the first generation was made in South Carolina, the second generation in Germany, and the third generation in Austria. The first generation was the most American, right?
By the way, for reference on body size,
| 1st Z4(E85) | 全長4,100ｍm×全幅1,780mm×全高1,285mm |
| 135i(E82) | 全長4,370ｍm×全幅1,750mm×全高1,410mm |
| 86(トヨタ) | 全長4,240ｍm×全幅1,780mm×全高1,310mm |
| Vitz | 全長3,885mm×全幅1,695mm×全高1,500mm |
| Prius(6th) | 全長4,600mm×全幅1,780mm×全高1,420mm |
| Roadster(Matsuda) | 全長3,915mm×全幅1,735mm×全高1,235mm |
So, in terms of size, it’s Vitz ≒ Roadster < Z4(E85) < 86 < 135i < Prius. For a car that can only carry two people, the Z4 (first generation) is already quite big.
Convenient soft top
Soft top or hard top…
This was another point I was unsure about. A soft top is made of fabric, right? It seems like it would be easy to poke holes in or cut open to steal the contents.
Also, if it’s parked outside, wouldn’t the roof be damaged by sunlight?
So at first, I was considering hard-top convertibles like the SLK, the second generation Z4(E89), or the Daihatsu Copen.
However, I thought it would cost 500,000 to 600,000 yen to replace a soft top once, but it turns out it’s about 300,000 yen even if you have it replaced at a dealer. Sure, if you say it’s a 300,000 yen repair, you might flip out, but if you’re driving a 135i or something, it’s more like a somewhat expensive repair. There are plenty of spots where that much repair cost is incurred.
Furthermore, if you look up a nearby soft top replacement specialist, it’s about 60,000 yen (is this just labor?).
I don’t know how much a soft top costs, but it says it’s rare for it to exceed 200,000 yen (labor + soft top), so it probably doesn’t cost 200,000 yen. It’s probably not an original product, but it might be cheaper to have the roof cut than to have the glass, door, or key broken or get a coin scratch.
In this case, doesn’t it matter whether the roof is a soft top or a metal plate?
Of course, considering things like sound insulation and air conditioning equipment, a metal roof seems slightly better…
But if you think about it calmly, how are the seams in a hard-top convertible?
For example, the Copen doesn’t have anything like a sheet between them, so I think it’s waterproofed with something like a gasket.
Let’s check out the Z4(E89) for fun… AutoPart-F is super convenient at times like this.
Oh, the roof is split in two like this…
How are the seams…
I see, there’s a gasket all around.
German cars have gaskets that hurt, but they’re quite expensive… let’s see…
| ①54377192493Seal F Roof Shell | 140,448円 |
| ③54377192951RRoof Shell Seal | 191,910円 |
Oh… it’s really expensive…
I looked for a compatible one a little, but it’s mostly around 1,000USD to 1,500USD, so it’s not much different from buying the original in yen.
There are also cases written overseas where water gets inside the panel as it gets old and the panel needs to be replaced, so it’s not necessarily cheaper than a soft top in terms of running costs, and it became a consideration.
Also, I used to drive a white 135i, so I wanted to make the body white.
With a soft top, even if the body is white, the soft top is black, so it looks stylish in two-tone. With a hard top, the roof is also white, but the seams stand out and it doesn’t look very cool.
It might be more convenient than a Roadster or a Copen
Then, there’s the Mazda Roadster and the Copen with a hard top. They both have MT options, so I was torn, but I eliminated them from the candidates in the initial stage.
The reason is that I’ve ridden in a Mazda Roadster and a Copen for a few days and I know that there’s a bit of a hassle with the soft top opening and closing. Well, it’s not a big deal…
The Roadster is basically manual. They say that once you get used to it, you can open and close it while riding, but it seems quite troublesome. You have to check that the screen (the place where clear vinyl is pasted instead of the rear glass) doesn’t fold in a strange way.
The Copen boasts a full electric open! But it’s not full.
There’s something called a screen lock, which is a manual lock that connects the front window and the roof. I think the current model is probably the same.
In the case of the Z4, the first generation E85 that I bought, the screen lock is electric. So you can open and close it just by pressing a button. This little bit of hassle can make a difference in how often you open and close it.
The soft top is small
Also… I considered the BMW120i Cabriolet and the BMW330Ci Cabriolet.
It’s reassuring to have four seats. It can also be used as a luggage space, and maybe someone will ride in it…
I thought so, but I cut them out of the candidates completely.
Luggage can be sent, and if I need to carry people, I can use the Vitz.
More importantly, whether the soft top opens and closes quickly and is durable is far more important for everyday commuting.
The longer the soft top, the longer it will be in the “wee” state. The speed is basically limited by the design.
Also, if you try to put the roof from the back to the front on a “bridge”, the root part requires quite a bit of force. Naturally, if the roof is long, it needs to be a sturdy mechanism, which makes it heavy, and the device to move that heavy mechanism also becomes hefty.
In that sense, not only the stylish appearance, but also the maintenance and usability led me to decisively go for a two-seater.
The trunk is surprisingly large
Finally, what tipped the scales was the trunk.
The trunk of the Z4 is surprisingly large, with a capacity of 260L.
The trunk of the 135i was 370L, so it’s about 2/3. There’s no through-trunk…
However, if it’s this big, it’s enough for domestic trip.
Japan is an island, so there are no overseas trips that can be made by car.
Comparing with other cars
| 1st Z4(E85) | 260L |
| 2nd Z4(E89) | 160L(310L with the roof closed) |
| 3rd Z4(G29) | 281L |
| Mazda Roadster | 130L |
| Honda S2000 | 143L |
| Fairlady Z34 | 241L |
So, the trunk is large for the size of the car.
In the end, the uses of the car are
・Commuting
・Shopping
・Travel
So, how much can you load… Can you go on a domestic trip without inconvenience? That was the final consideration.
So, I just bought it on the spot. Well, there was no vehicle inspection left, so I was told it would take about a month for the vehicle inspection and maintenance… I can’t wait.