So So Sad

[BonBon]

It is unfortunate that the traffic to this amazing site has deteriorated to such a low level.
Please ensure that down the line the wealth of information is not lost.

[motco]

I agree. It is one of the civilised sites and should be subscribed to.

[LaRy]

It is a pity, why? I've seen the same in the Swedish BMW forum. Almost dead, no technical questions, even as it is Z3 season. My guess is that younger persons use Facebook and Twitter, places where they maybe compare the colour of the car or nice rims.

I have been working with cars as a hobby for 55 years, owning and repairing the same Z3 for 12 years, following every post concerning the Z3. I'm not alone with this exerience. But we need to reach people having problems, make them ask. I would say that it is important that all visitors to this forum maybe looking at Z3 threads in Facebook or Twitter, inform that likely you will get a proper answer to the problem, by visiting this forum.

But we need also to have a 2 way discussion. Example, problems engaging first gear from 25 of April. Did you change oil? Did it help? Did you solved the problem in some other way? Maybe problems what oil to buy or how th change? Ask again and we will help. The forum need to be alive.
In general, many visitors ask, but give no feedback. The feedback will help others.

It is also a question of age, elder with Z3 experience keep to the forums, younger believe that the world of information = TikToc.

[Robert T]

I am keeping the forum going, but yes, the traffic has waned somewhat from it's heyday. We still get quite a few people signing up, but very few of them seem to want to post. Please do keep contributing to the knowlegebases, as I think that is what people still come for.

The groups on Facebook do seem to be more active, and I do answer some questions on there. I try to post links back to stuff on the forum when I can to encourage its use, rather than typing out the same answer again on FB. If you can do the same it might help to keep us going a few more years!

Cheers R.

[LaRy]

I have a new theory: Maybe younger owners of cars don't understand that a Z3 can be repaired by ordinary people without fault code readers. That is the advantage of the Z3 (compared to Z4), it is close to totaly free from bus communikation. Electrics are wires and relais, you can change a light bulb without resetting anything. In mechanical view of point, it is just a simple designed nice car and easy to find spareparts.
Z3 is the last "analogue" car, loved by the owners because of that. If you press the pedal to the right, it is a steel wire going straight to the engine (at least in the older ones), no computer between the pedal and the engine. No delay!

[petecossie]

I have a new theory: Maybe younger owners of cars don't understand that a Z3 can be repaired by ordinary people without fault code readers. That is the advantage of the Z3 (compared to Z4), it is close to totaly free from bus communikation. Electrics are wires and relais, you can change a light bulb without resetting anything. In mechanical view of point, it is just a simple designed nice car and easy to find spareparts.
Z3 is the last "analogue" car, loved by the owners because of that. If you press the pedal to the right, it is a steel wire going straight to the engine (at least in the older ones), no computer between the pedal and the engine. No delay!

Well said, there is so much information on here that is so valuable to Z3/4 Roadster and Coupe owners it needs to be available to all.
I'll certainly use the site more, when I can.

[Mike Fishwick]

It's not a problem which is peculiar to this forum - it is something common to most forums these days. I guess that today's owners are either shy of becoming involved with others, or prefer to 'meet' people on a Facebook group. If you are not a Facebook fan you are often left out.

A typical example is the BMW Car Club forum, which many years ago was reasonably active, but now struggles to attract a handful of posts in a year - mind you, the BMWCC membership brings apathy to an art form!

[John Wilson]

I no longer have a Z3 so don't post any more, but still have a fondness for the forum. I think when photobucket removed all the pictures from the site it was a big blow and a lot of technical knowledge was lost. And , of course, the competition from the 'org' site doesnt help. Nice to see Mike Fishwick still posting. A total legend on the site in it's heyday, and with in depth knowledge worth listening to.

[Mike Fishwick]

I think that the lack of traffic here is a sign of people's preference for Facebook, Twitter, and other social media groups. This first took place when internet forums such as this began to replace technical queries in club magazines, and now we are seeing forums being replaced by specialist groups on various social media platforms.

Lack of technical knowledge coupled with a lack of interest is another factor, not to mention the tendancy of today's owners to buy an old car as a summer toy, to be disposed of in Autumn or when an apparently expensive fault appears. So many people are at the mercy of garages.

Where will it end? As electric cars take over, fuel will become more expensive and harder to find, and cars such as the Z3 will begine to disappear.































































































































































































































































































































































































































































which are cherished posessions. Perhaps we are looking at the end of forums such as this.
Of course, we will be encouraged to take advantage of scrappage schemes to join the ''EV revolution' - which I am sure is intended to prevent the population from being able to travel freely, and to absorb the savings of those who own and use our older cars.

Here in rural France EVs are few and far between, as are public charging points. We are also free of the government-led propaganda exhorting us to spend £30.000 or more on a pretty humble EV. I guess that we cannot expect anything better from the country whoch gave us the Red Flag Act . . .

[gas guzzler]

On returning to the Z3 fold and this forum after an eight year absence I was quite surprised to see how few posts were being made on this forum. I suppose the fact people are using facebook sites contribute and the fact there are other sites

[Mike Fishwick]

My photos may have been deleted by Photobucket, but they are alive and well in my computer! I also have lots of illustrated articles written for the BMWCC, so if anyone fancies adding them to the Knowledgebase please let me know.

[Mike Fishwick]

My articles are a mixture of touring, technical, and book reviews, so perhaps some form of Knowledgebase sub-index would be handy.

[Robert T]

Hi Mike,

Would love to have some more articles from you.

If you would like to post your articles in the Z3 forum, I will move them into the appropriate knowledgebase and index them.

I am happy to host any photos on the website, appropriately watermarked, if I can remember how to do it. If you have them hosted in an external account or on a cloud drive, I will pull them. If not, you can email them to me a few at a time, and I'll upload them for you.

Many thanks, R.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

[Althulas]

Hi another prospective is the .org site. Don’t get me wrong net was here when I bought my ///M and was and still is a good valuable resource which I come back too but I’ve found the org site a lot easier to use and you can upload your photos straight from on your device without the need for old photo bucket maybe that’s why other people moved maybe.

[Warrior]

The old saying ' a picture is worth a thousand words' is truer today than it ever was.

A post saying that a particular Ceramic Polish is great has nothing against a decent photograph of a gleaming black Z3 before and after shot!

The problem with forums that provide worthy information, as this one does, is that it slowly educates a wider audience who then use that expertise to impart their new found knowledge on other platforms. However, what's happening now is you have to be a part of two forums, 5 Facebook pages, Instagram, Tik Tok etc., and the follows and comments are diluted.

Robert T: We had an exchange of emails a couple of years back regarding stickers and merchandise which weren't progressed. Happy to pick up where we left off if you want to create a revenue stream to fund any improvements. Technology has moved on and lends itself to personalised items at no greater cost.

[Buz007]

I’m still here! Often refer back when I’m doing bits and bobs on the car. I joined this site back in my 20's when I first bought my Z3 and here I am, 15 years later, at the right age to play James Bond