1998 BMW 3-Series

Z3 2.8L Convertible

2.8L Straight 6 Cylinder Gasoline Fuel

Manual

4USCJ3323WLC09942

Rear Wheel Drive

Gasoline

This listing is for a very nice Z3 2.8L convertible. This car has been babied and has 81xxx original miles on it. I have listed it at 82000. It even has all of the original warning stickers on the gauges, etc. in like new condition. I bought this car in June of 2010 with 69K on it at the time. This car has spent most of its life in AL away from cold, bad weather. I have had the car since 2010 as a summer toy and stored it from October to April only starting it to keep the engine in good order during the storage period. I drove it to AL, NC, and TN a few times traveling for work for the miles I have driven it, but it was a third car for me (possibly even as a middle-age crisis vehicle). This car is very fun to drive and very tight. The power leather seats are in great condition with no cracking or tears. It has the original 6 disc CD changer and cassette player which both work perfectly. The top does not leak and power motor works beautifully. The plastic back window that BMW decided on is like all of them--hard to see out of and hazy. I put the top down and don't look through it! The wheels are in good condition; the paint is in good condition with the exception of the usual peeling on the front bumper cover which can be seen in the pictures. There are a few chips in the paint near the gas tank cap which are barely noticeable. The front bumper cover has a crack in it just as it did when I bought it. I assume someone ran it up on a curb since it is so low to the ground. The left fog lamp lens is cracked but in working condition. I always wanted a convertible and purchased this one as a toy for lack of better justification. The Check Engine light came on in September of this year on one of my trips to NC, and I took the car in for a diagnosis. The shop found that the head at Cylinder #5 had poor compression due to thread damage and was repaired with a half-length insert along with a full tune up. The car ran beautifully while I owned it for 12000 miles before the repair and 1100 miles after the repair, but the insert worked loose. I am told by my local shop it is because the insert used was the half-length variety. I had my local shop put the proper full length insert in, but the compression is not what it should be in Cylinder 5, and there is a misfire at Cylinder 5. Quite honestly, I am very frustrated because the original repair was performed with the half-length insert which retapped the cylinder and prevents it from being retapped properly now I am told. The shop that has it tells me that the cylinder head needs to come off for a proper repair to the cylinder thread. It makes me sick really because this car looks so nice and runs so strong, but I don't have the money/energy/time to work with someone to locate parts and repair the car right now. I also don't see the value in keeping it in my garage in the way while I save the money to fix it. This car does not smoke and has never smoked and ran perfectly before this event. I fully believe this is a minor issue, but I am counting this as a "been there, done that, got the T-shirt" experience in life and am offering it for sale because I know there are many BMW enthusiasts who will jump on this and have a collectible car in like new condition within a few hours of repair. I don't know what else to say, but I am so disgusted with the original shop's poor repair and the money they have cost me that I have lost interest in this car and in BMW cars quite honestly. Please know that my seller's ratings are outstanding, and although I don't normally sell vehicles on eBay, I know that the market is there for someone looking to repair this themselves or to even upgrade it to an M3 with an engine swap. The car runs and drives as it is and had a minor skip when accelerating before taking it to the second shop for diagnosis after the tune up. Other than putting a new battery in after buying in the summer of 2010, I have only changed the oil and driven it happily while smiling. Feel free to email for any questions, but I have described it as well as I can and don't know what else I can say about it. It has full power accessories, all working, and if I had the time to take pieces off of it I could sell it piecemeal totaling the book value I am sure. I realize it is not going to bring full value with the repairs that are needed, but I don't think the answer is disassembling it either. I don't have the knowledge to do the repair myself, and people that do get paid well for their skill. I don't have the money to invest any longer in a toy and am cutting my losses which means your gain unfortunately for me. Perhaps there is an enthusiast who is looking for this particular find and can offer me a fair price for both of us. I will offer to deliver the car to you for an additional $250 + $1/mile (one-way distance) paid in advance through PayPal.