Tha Zeee blog is the story of James' adventures with his new to him 2006 Z4 3.0i:
07/24/2009: Well, sad as it is, I knew this day would come. Tha Zeee was sold today, nearly 8 months to the day. It is a sad day for me, but I think the car is going to someone who is going to love and care for her like it was a member of the family, as have I. Tha Zeee's replacement, is a 2008 Audi A3 5 door. Not quite as peppy as the Z, but a nice way to carry a baby around. All told, She is leaving me at 30,100 miles. I have to say that the ~9K miles I put on her, were some of the best ever laid down in a car. For almost every weekend between February and early April, Ana and I drove the beaches in Pinellas county, sun on our skin, wind in our faces.
06/15/2009: As I suspected, it makes better sense to have a 4 door SUV or large 4 door car with a soon to be newborn. I put "Tha Zeee" up for sale. I am pretty sad to let the car I have always wanted go, but it just doesn't make sense to keep a 2 seat roadster unless it was my 3rd car.
05/18/2009: Changed the oil at 28,353 miles. Maintenance counter shows the mileage remains about 7K before they will do the next free one.
04/26/2009: Ana and I found out we were going to be having a baby today...This sadly means I am probably going to have to part ways with Tha Zeee.. :(
03/31/2009: Haven't posted much since we have been at the beach EVERY weekend since the last weekend in February. All I can say is that this car is in its element this time of year!
02/21/2009: Tha Zeee escorted my buddy Alex to his wedding, the photographer took a ton of pictures of us in and around Tha Zeee. I can't wait to see the pics!
2/16/2009: President's day photoshoot. Some perfect shots of Tha Zeee from the Channelside parking garage.
02/11/2009: Got to feeling a little better and took some pictures of Tha Zeee. Check out the pictures link on the left.
02/09/2009: The CSL Wheels have finally arrived from www.modbargains.com and they look fantastic, check out the gallery photos! I had just over 25.5K on the car when I put them on here.
02/04/2009: Tha Zeee's first trip to the dealer...$399 Took it in for the following: Windshield gasket was riding up at the top creating wind noise, Driver side window leak at intersection with top and A pillar, Broken driver side cup holder, Scheduled free brake flush, replace wiper blades, activate factory alarm that I had installed a while back.
The only negative here was that the previous owner had the front windshield replaced, and although they used BMW glass, it was not replaced by BMW. The folks who did it used too much silicon and thus the gasket would not sit properly. To remedy that those folks also cut the back side of the gasket, which was fine when the car wasn't being driven. BMW worked with me on the price to have the glass removed, glue removed and clean, window resealed, and a new gasket replaced. They did a fantastic job, it looks just like the day it rolled off the showroom and does not make a sound with the top down (note: 45F with top down is a tad cool). The alarm and all the triggers work perfectly. The cupholder does its job now, and the window no longer leaks (the tech said dirt had built up in the drain tube and caused it to overflow). The brakes also feel like brand new and stop nice and firm (not that they were bad before, they are just better now).
I also ordered a new set of rims and tires (and a set of locks) for Tha Zeee, they should be here in the next week or two. 18x8F and 18x9R Hyperblack CSL Replica's with 225/40F and 255/35R Yokohama S. Drives.
01/25/2009: So its been a few weeks since the last update. Went out for a long drive on arguably the most beautiful day I have ever seen. Temperature ranged from 73-77F the entire time. I have been using Optimum No Rinse car wash on Tha Zeee and its just given tremendous results. After one month the Dodo Juice wax still shines like crazy, but I notice that it always kind of hazes up the paint, but if I buff it just a bit, the "haze" or blotchiness I can see disappears. Odd. At any rate I just passed about 3,000 miles since I got her. Check out the new pics in the gallery.
12/27/2008: I did a full detailing of the interior today, it looks sooooo good! I also washed and waxed the exterior. Afterwards Ana and I drove from the beaches in Clearwater, all the way down to the end of Pass A Grill beach (it was 84F today!). Tha Zeee never looked so good!
12/25/2008: Merry Christmas to Tha Zeee! Ana got me a rubber trunk mat and the pair of exhaust tips for Tha Zeee for Christmas. Tha Zeee looked great most of the day. On the way home though, it rained like cats and dogs for about 12 miles...So much for clean!
12/24/2008: All the items needed to get the paint looking fantastic again have arrived. I spent the entire day detailing the exterior!
12/20/2008: We attended the DuPont Registry's "Cars and Coffee" a monthly gathering of exotic cars. Afterwards Ana and I ate breakfast over at First Watch in downtown Tampa. Amazing food as always! At any rate, I stopped and snagged a few pictures of Tha Zeee while we were down there. Check out the pictures link on the left...
12/19/2008: Today I began wet sanding the driver side fender and then polishing it back out. What a difference!
12/15/2008: I received the BMW Sound Generator I picked up used off of www.zpost.com. The engineer's at BMW sold this add on that basically pipes the intake sound into the cabin of the car. While I don't notice much on the low end, when you get her up above 4500 RPM, she really screams that brassy BMW inline six note!
On another note, I sent back the XM Tuner module, as it appears to be bad.
12/13/2008: Ana and I took Tha Zeee to St. Petersburg for a long road trip for photos, food, and to show the car to her parents. We stopped at Wrights Gourmet Deli in Tampa for lunch, then drove down to a few spots in St. Petersburg for picture taking. The car is a dream to drive and is really comfortable considering its size. One can easily also get a weeks worth of grocery's in the trunk, even with 2 coats, various camera gear and tripods already in there. Check out the pictures link on the left.
12/11/2008: I installed the alarm (and apparently the dealer had already activated the feature) so its ready to go. I also installed the XM, only to find out the tuner module the shipped was bad...
Making a list of things I would like the dealer to address when I take it in:
Window gasket windshield (coming up) and driver side (leaks a
tad if I am overzealous with the water)
Driver side cup holder - fix
Verify Alarm Programming
12/10/2008: Goodies arrived as I received the XM adapter and the factory alarm in the mail today!
12/6/2008: I got sprinkled on this morning! Bummer!
12/5/2008: I picked up the key from BMW today and what a great day to have to do so - middle of the day, 75F and not a cloud in the sky! I also received the windscreen today, what a difference it makes!
12/4/2008: I ordered a 2nd key from the stealership and picked up a set of all weather floor mats for Tha Zeee today. I also let Ana take Tha Zeee to St. Pete to show off to a group of her old coworkers...
12/3/2008: I applied 3 coats of Raggtopp today, wow what a difference that made. The top looks even more fantastic!
12/2/2008: I received the Raggtopp cleaner from ProperAutoCare, and proceeded to clean Tha Zeee's roof. Tomorrow I will apply the protectant per the directions.
11/30/2008: I did a level 3 detail on Tha Zeee tonight. I started with a yellow pad and Menzerna Intensive polish. Next I moved to a white pad and Menzerna Final Polish 2. Next I applied Menzerna FMJ using a red wax pad and buffed with Detailer's Paradise's monster fluffy microfiber. The shine is amazing but still needs a few more minutes under the polishing pad. I uploaded some new pix in the gallery. I also ordered some Raggtopp cleaner and protectant today. I also ordered the Roadster Solutions Windscreen to help keep the turbulence down a bit inside the car.
11/29/2008: Ana and I cleaned up the interior on Tha Zeee today and then took it out for a nice ride through downtown Tampa, showed it off to my mom, then drove out to Clearwater beach and back. It was a bit chilly, temps were in the 50's tonight.
11/28/2008: Ana and I purchased "Tha Zeee" a Jet Black 2006 BMW Z4 3.0i with 21,000 miles on the odometer today. Tha Zeee has a 6 speed automatic, black power top, sports package, auto dimming mirrors, Bluetooth, BMW Link, tan and wood grain leather interior, and the 10 speaker audio system.
We purchased her from Hillsboro Automart in Tampa, and I left the Lexus there and never looked back.
It is fair to say that I have wanted a Z3/Z4 since I first saw a Z3 in Goldeneye back in 1995.
Naturally I took some pictures and have some pictures from the dealer's website as well. Click the pictures link at left to go see them.
At any rate, click on the pictures link to see her.