Price: $16,800
Mileage: 138,400 Miles
Engine: 6-Cylinder M52B25TU Engine
Transmission: 5-Speed Manual Transmission
Exterior color: Arctic Silver Exterior
Interior: Black Leather Interior
Additional features:
Fine Wood Trim
1 of 93 1999 BMW Z3 Coupes in Arctic Silver/Black Leather
ZHP Shift Knob
Leather Steering Wheel
Leather Sport Seats
Moonroof
Alpine Stereo
HiFi Sound System
Cruise Control
Fog Lights
Cup Holder
Clock
Automatic Stability Control (ASC)
Front and Side Airbags
Limited-Slip Differential
Factory Front Mud Flaps
BMW M Coupe Carpet Floor Mats
Tinted Windows
Keyless Entry
Style 32 17” Sport Wheels
Continental ExtremeContact High-Performance Summer Tires
Extra Set of 17” Winter Wheels w/ Bridgestone Blizzak Snow Tires
Clean Carfax
The BMW (Z3) M Coupe is the SR-71 Blackbird of the BMW M world (if you have no clue what an SR-71 is, you have some Googling to do). Lockheed’s ultra-secret internal Skunkworks division designed the SR-71, whereas the BMW M Coupe was the secret internal project of BMW Motorsport GmbH engineer Burkhard Goschel. Following the tradition that resulted in the E30 3 Series Touring, Goschel penned a hatchback onto the already fantastic M Roadster. Adding a lid to a platform originally designed to be a convertible resulted in the most rigid BMW ever (at the time). The M Coupe was roughly 260% more rigid than the M Roadster. It was destined to be a one-off novelty, hidden deep within the basement vault of M GmbH forever, but then BMW did something shocking—and offered it for sale! Enthusiasts salivated in anticipation of a shooting brake-style hatchback, with its staggeringly unique lines and the power and handling to back them up. If you wanted all of the styles of the M Coupe, without the price, you opt for the Z3 Coupe, which was highly optioned, including sports seats, sport wheels, sports suspension settings, and a limited-slip differential.
This 1999 BMW Z3 2.8 Coupe offers an excellent opportunity to own one of the most unique BMWs ever made. Finished in Arctic Silver over Black leather, with 138,400 miles, it is powered by the M52B28TU engine. (TU stands for technical update). The M52B28TU is good for 190 horsepower, but those horses are compounded by the Z3 Coupe’s rigid chassis when routed through the ZF 5-speed manual gearbox and a limited-slip differential. More importantly, the M52TU is one of BMW’s most reliable engines, having none of the oil consumption issues that the M54 engines do. Other notable options include sport seats, a ZHP shift knob, Style 32 sport wheels, and factory mud flaps (a unicorn part for us M Coupe and Z3 connoisseurs). There is a second set of wheels with snow tires with Bridgestone Blizzak tires, making this a true four-season sports car. It was originally delivered in Dallas, Texas in January of 1999 and remained there under the first owner until 2004 and 60,000 miles. It spent the next sixteen years with the second owner in Connecticut and New Hampshire, only being driven another 65,000 miles (roughly 4,000 miles a year). As such, it is free of the typical corrosion and wear that a Northeast car would typically exhibit. The third owner is a Glen Shelly regular who purchased it in December of 2021 and brought it to Colorado.
As it sits, it is a fantastic driver-quality example. Rather than do our typical refurbishment, it made more sense to post it as it is to offer it at a very reasonable price point for a Z3 Coupe. The cosmetic condition is very presentable but does show flaws consistent with its age and miles. Mechanically, there are no glaring issues. Common issues like trunk floor spot weld separation, sloppy seat bushings, and glove box sag are absent. Items we noted on our inspection are slight 5th gear lean (sticky shift pin bushings), typical transmission seeps at the shift selector and output shaft seals, the flex disc is nearing replacement, and the age and type of the water pump and cooling system are unknown, but it is not leaking or showing any signs of failure. Visible components appear to have been replaced. We also noted typical oil seeps at the valve cover, oil stand gasket, and wear on the sway bar end link bushing and control arm bushings. None of these need to be addressed now, and we would be happy to do the work for you if and when desired. As it sits, this is an excellent entry into one of the most unique BMWs ever made and a very compelling price point.
The Arctic Silver metallic paint is in great shape and very presentable. There are minor flaws commensurate with age and mileage. The worst are scuffs on the front bumper cover and spider cracks in the lower front lip; there is also a coating on the lower leading edge. Other imperfections consist of small rock chips and occasional scuffs and swirls. Various panels on the car have been painted, with most gauging in the 7-9 range. There are some deeper areas of double digits in the right rear fender area. There is no notable rust, and all VIN tags are in place. The Roundels are all in good shape, except for the hood Roundel white paint is missing. All trim and black work are present and not UV faded. The passenger side license plate trim is damaged and scuffed. The outer headlight lenses are clear but do have some scratches. All indicator lenses and taillight housings are clear and crack-free. The Style 32 wheels are excellent; they appear to have been refinished. The tires Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires have 7 to 9/32s tread remaining. The rears have 2020 DOT dates; the fronts have 2012 DOT dates, but no dry rotting. The winter wheels and tires are generic wheels with Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires that have 2020 DOT dates.
The interior is very presentable. The headliner is not sagging, and the A-pillar trim has no glaring wrinkles. The carpets are in fair shape and are protected by M factory floor mats. The forward portion of the door card leather is lifting on the driver’s side. The seat leather is also in good to fair condition, with moderate creasing and wear on the driver’s side bolster. The seat bushings do not rock. All seat motors work. The steering wheel has been re-wrapped but is presentable. The instrument cluster has no blown-out pixels, and all gauges work correctly. The rearview mirror is the manual type and has no danger of leaking fluid on the center console. The glove box does not sag. The center console wood trim is presentable, with minor clear coat cracking on the edges. The Alpine stereo sounds great and has hands-free Bluetooth. The heat blows warm, the air condition blows cold (although we have not been able to test it on a warm day), and the blower motor is quiet. The ZHP shift knob is excellent, as are the boot and e-brake boot. The power windows, power door locks, and cruise control work. The moonroof is INOP—which is for the best. The rear hatch cover is present and in great shape. The trunk carpet is clean, and the tool kit and owner’s manuals are present. Two keys and keyless entry-FOBs are included.
This has been a well-cared-for Z3 Coupe. The M52B28TU engine is one of BMW’s most reliable engines, having none of the oil consumption issues that M54s do. We’ve had several that have come through the shop that have crossed the 300K mile mark. The M52 starts on command and pulls strongly to the red line. There is no VANOS rattle. There are oil seeps at the valve cover and oil stand gasket, and we do not have a record of cooling system replacement, but the components we can easily see appear to have been done. There are no codes or check engine lights. The transmission shifts smoothly, and the clutch take-up is correct. There is slight 5th-gear lean due to sticky shift bushings when the gearbox is cold. The shift knob re-centers under 3rd gear once the gearbox is warm. The transmission output and shift selector seals are leaking, and the flex disc has slight cracking. Nothing needs to be addressed immediately, and a replacement flex disc is included with the car. The brakes are firm, and the suspension is compliant. The sway bar end link and front control arm bushings have slight cracking. The rear trunk floor has no failed spot welds. We can address any or all of the abovementioned issues, but none require immediate attention.
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