1999 BMW Z3M Roadster

First registered in November 1999, this No Reserve S50-engined Z3M is finished in the Dakar Yellow that was such a show-stopper on the first E36 M3 press cars of the early 1990s. A rare colour on the RHD Roadsters, it really pops in daylight and still looks classy – not something you could say about every shade of yellow chosen by car manufacturers over the years.

Since 2006, which is as far back as the online MOT history files go, our Z3M averaged between one and two thousand miles a year. It’s now showing 55,000 miles. There were no advisories on the last MOT which was carried out last October.

Current owner Derek bought this car a year ago, having given up on his long search for a Z3M Coupé. Typically, as soon as he bought the Roadster, a suitable Coupé in Estoril Blue turned up. ‘It’s got 70-odd thousand miles on it and it doesn’t feel as tight as this Roadster,’ says Derek. The arrival of the ‘hearse’ means that this sparkling convertible is now up for grabs.

The bodywork is described by Derek as perfect, apart from a tiny dimple on the right hand side of the bonnet which he thinks may have been caused by the bonnet being closed with something left on top of the engine and a couple of minor touch-up marks on the front bumper - as you might expect.

The electro-hydraulic soft top is in good condition and works perfectly. The even better news is that the car comes with the optional hard top, an item you’d otherwise be paying in the region of £1200 for, including the fitting kit. Because it was ordered new with the car, Derek’s one is of course in the correct shade. There’s a stand and a non-BMW bag for it which will be included with the car. Derek has noticed some clunking over rough roads when the hard top is in place but thinks this can be easily sorted through the top’s adjustment mechanism. He simply hasn’t got around to it.

Some AC Schnitzer parts were fitted to the car in 2005, including the two roll hoops, pedals, handbrake, door trims and a front spoiler at just under £630.

Beautifully worn-in black nappa leather heated sports seats set the scene for a fabulous cabin. The Z3M’s supplementary clocks on the heater controls console might not be in the ideal place for fast reference, but they certainly make the driving environment feel special and different. There’s a button on the dash for the remote control Clifford alarm.

Options ticked by the first owner included a front passenger airbag, heated windscreen washer nozzles, air conditioning and an M leather steering wheel velour mats. A gearknob and handbrake lever were added as part of the 2005 AC Schnitzer upgrade mentioned earlier. The short-shifter alone was over £730. There are also some carbon-effect trim pieces on the doors and what look like AC Schnitzer pedals. The whole cabin ambience is a great testament to BMW build quality and careful stewardship over the years.

The boot felting is very clean and intact, and there’s an official BMW tyre compressor and tool kit in there too. The gas rams are still doing a good job of holding the boot panel up.

Apart from the usual traces of surface corrosion on the odd suspension component and bracket, the underside of this Z3M appears to be in fine fettle. The undertrays have done a good job of protecting the car, and even the exhaust boxes – traditionally vulnerable to stone attack or inside-out corrosion – seem to be in excellent shape. The custom-built stainless steel back boxes and quad 3in tailpipes were fitted by Cobra in 2012.

Out-of-sight bits under the bonnet present just as well as the on-show bits. Not just the magnificent MPower engine, either: all the hard-to-reach areas that traditionally get littered with leaves and caked oil are virtually spotless, as are the factory identification plates, slam panels and suspension turrets. It’s one of the cleanest engine bays we’ve seen.

The car comes with a folder from the supplying dealer containing all the books, a full service history and all the old MOT certificates. The service book has a beautiful array of eight BMW Main Dealer service stamps up to 41,000 miles, (how many cars like this can you find with a dealer service religiously carried out every 5,000 miles?! ) followed by 5 more from (genuine) BMW specialists. In addition there’s a £450 bill from May this year for the refurb of the BMW wheels and for the supply and fit two new Pirelli tyres. Steering alignment work was carried out in the same month, and a new battery was installed in February (£120).

There aren't many more invoices because the BMW appears not to have gone wrong much in its life - just what you expect with proper preventative maintenance. Please take a look in the Gallery and see what we consider to be one of the best service histories we've seen for a while.

The MOT History carries on the good news, helps confirms the mileage, and confirms our general belief that this is one of the best serviced, unmolested Z3Ms out there.

BMW enthusiasts will tell you that any Z3M is a cracking performance car; small, punchy, great handling, links to Bond (tenuous...!), etc. Some of those enthusiasts will then go on to say that the post-2001 S54-engined Z3M Roadsters are worth more than the earlier S50 cars like the one that’s on offer here, but we’re not quite sure why that is. There’s hardly anything to choose between the two in performance. If a tenth of a second improvement on the 0-60 time and a slightly smoother rev is important to you, then obviously you should look around for an S54. We strongly doubt that you’ll find an equivalent mileage one in better condition than our S50 though.

For our part, we'd much rather have a sparkling S50 like Derek’s than a run of the mill S54. Apart from anything else, the S50 was the first Z Series car to offer mini-supercar performance. That’s surely worth celebrating.

If you feel the same and fancy the idea of the 7000rpm zing of that superb MPower motor bouncing off the inside of a tunnel and straight into your ears, uninterrupted by metal or glass, then this could be the car for you.

This stunning Z3M, which we estimate will sell for between £12,000 - £16,000, but most importantly is being offered at No Reserve. We always encourage viewings and this car is located here at The Market HQ in Abingdon. Just click the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to arrange an appointment. Ahead of that, or at any time during the process, you’re more than welcome to ask any questions or jot down observations in the comments section below. You won’t be shocked to hear that our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section will answer general questions that are frequently asked about how The Market works.

Also please note that we have a network of trusted suppliers with whom we work regularly and successfully: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.