This 2002 Dakar Yellow Z3 coupe 3.0i was built on April 20, 2002. I ordered the car through Shelly BMW on April 5, 2002 and took delivery of it at the BMW Performance Center Delivery Center in Spartanburg, SC. on May 10, 2002. It was originally ordered with Walnut Nappa leather/Black Trim, Heated Seats and Mirrors, Power Glass Moonroof and Rear Luggage Net. However, the story of its origin begins much earlier than that.
When the M coupe was first introduced, my older brother become obsessed with owning one. Not just any ordinary M coupe, he wanted one in Imola Red with Walnut Leather interior. The problem was, Walnut Leather was only available on the Z3 coupe. Week in and week out, he contacted BMW about getting this color combination, and week in and week out, he was told BMW would not build the car. In September of 2001, he ordered an S54 M coupe in Imola Red with Black interior. His intention was to order each interior part in Walnut leather and replace his interior over time. You can read my brother’s story here: https://www.mcoupebuyersguide.com/leatherz-s54
In August of 2001, I graduated from college and made the crazy decision that I would not get a real job, but would run the company my brother started 3 years earlier: LeatherZ, an ecommerce site catering to interior accessories for the BMW Z3 roadsters and coupes. A few months later, I got the idea that it would be a wise decision to move into my parent’s basement and buy my own coupe. As great of an idea as this was for a 22-year-old, I knew an M coupe was out of my price range. The M54 Z3 coupe on the other hand…Now that could be doable. I could even order it in Dakar Yellow with a Walnut interior with the intention of swapping my interior with my brother’s Black interior.
After taking delivery of my coupe (included are images of the car at delivery), the car moved home to Cincinnati, Ohio and I removed the seats and door panels for the swap for my brother’s black interior. I drove to Chicago and met a large wood crate in the basement of Chicago’s Union Station. My brother had built the crate and sent his interior from Seattle via Amtrak. I unloaded his interior and loaded the Walnut seats and door panels back into the crate and shipped them back to my brother in Seattle. The Black seats and Door Panels were then driven back to Cincinnati and installed in my coupe. The car, and our story, was featured in Bimmer Magazine in a November 2003 Mike Miller article.
This was not the only modification this car has seen. I replaced the Z3 center console with the M variant and added VDO Series 1 gauges (Oil Pressure, Oil Temperature and Voltmeter) with OEM BMW Chrome Trim rings and Amber lighting. I added LeatherZ pieces in Spinnebeck Black Suede (not Alcantara, what you see is real suede) – Door Armrests, Door Hockeysticks, Steering Wheel tabs, as well as Shift and Emergency Brake Boots with Dakar Yellow stitching. The steering wheel was made fatter and covered in Black Nappa Leather and Black SpinneyBeck Suede and stitched with Dakar Yellow thread. I added OEM BMW Black Nappa leather to the tops of the door panels and installed OEM leather dash pods over the instrument cluster and passenger airbags. I redid the entire audio system, adding a Kenwood amp to power a JL Audio 6” sub and a JL Audio amp powering new Boston Pro 5.5” and JL Audio XR-525Csi speakers all around. I retained the factory head unit for a finished look. I added Amber LEDs to illuminate the tissue box in the center console partition between the seats as well as the interior door handles. The interior and outside mirrors were replaced with M variations (all three of which came from Ron Stygar’s first M coupe). I replaced the factory clutch pedal with Ron Stygar’s Clutch Pedal with Delrin Bushings. I installed a SuperSprint muffler with DTM tips as well as a Conforti Cold Air Intake (new Amsoil filter at 19,654 miles) as well as a Shark Injector.
In 2010, I took the car to Randy Forbes and he installed his Trunkfloor/Differential Mount Reinforcement Kit along with Ireland Subframe Bushings and an M coupe Differential Cover. Randy was able to install his kit and keep the Spare Tire Carrier, something he had not done before my car.
At 20,000 miles, I installed new OEM BMW M Front and Rear Springs and Bistein HD Shocks and Struts with alignment performed by Kansas City Autosport. I have had a few different suspension setups on the car over the years and I have found that this is the best setup for a comfortable ride that drops the ride height to an acceptable level - The stock Z3 coupe suspension sat too high in my opinion. I installed a new Duralast Platinum Battery in September 2020 and replaced Brake Fluid, Differential Oil, Transmission Oil and Engine Oil in February 2021 (20,751 miles).
The car spent its first 10 years in Cincinnati, Ohio before I moved to Kansas City, Kansas. It has never seen snow and has been rained on only a handful of times in its 19 years. I am unsure why Carfax lists the car as a two-owner car, I am the only owner it has ever seen. Oil was changed religiously every 12 months or 2,000 miles throughout its life.
In 2014, while waiting to make a left turn at a stop sign, a car behind tried to make right behind me and bumped the rear bumper at under 5 mph. The bumper was removed and repainted by the Baron BMW Collision Center in Kansas City, Kansas. No damage to the metal work and no repair work beyond the paint was required for the fix.
The paintwork is in extremely good condition. The car has had Xpel installed on the front end as well as the rear fenders since it was almost new. There is a small (1/8-3/16” diameter) tear in the film but no damage that I can see to the paint below. In addition, the tires have decent tread left, but were new in 2011 and they should be replaced.
Included with the car are the maintenance records and receipt history, all keys (2 keys, 1 valet Key, 1 Glovebox Key), Original Owner’s Manual, Original Window Sticker, Original BMW Welcome Kit, and a copy of the November 2003 Bimmer Magazine the car was featured in. Also included is the original BMW Performance Center plate that was on the car at delivery, a Battery Tender, California Car Cover Indoor Cover, the Original Airbox, Original Z3 side Mirrors, Original Wiper Fluid Container, and Original Z3 coupe Door Sills.
The car currently has 20,769 miles on it. I have promised both of my sons that I would take them for the one last ride in the car before selling it, so actual mileage will be slightly higher. I have gotten a great deal of joy out of this car and hope that its new owner will be able to get a small fraction of what I have gotten from it. I have found that I don’t use the car the way it is meant to be used and am ready for it to be loved the way it should be. Everything works on the car as it did when it was new, if not better-than-new. There are no issues and the car needs nothing except for you to choose new tires.
Contact Andy at andymaddux@leatherz.com