Need a new car... E46 coupe?

champ222 · 29 Apr 2009 at 11:10

Morning all.

I currently drive a 1995 Rover coupe turbo. ive had it for about 6 years, it goes like stink and ive done a few mods to make it look the part.

It is now however time to move on i think.

ive been drawn to a BMW E46 coupe, either a 325 or a 330. ive seen a few that are 2003's with 35,000 miles on them for about £11,000 ish which is about my price range really. Finding one with a manual gearbox looks to be quite difficult tho...

Do any of you guys have an E46 coupe?
happy with it?
how reliable are they?
Anything i should be aware of?

....should i?

Alex UK · 29 Apr 2009 at 11:13

Great cars, but ignore the 325ci and get the 330ci.

champ222 · 29 Apr 2009 at 11:16

i know... hehe, i really want the 330, but the 325's can be a bit cheaper, and are actually easier to find in a manual, although thats still quite tricky... whats the fascination with autos?

Thomas. PLease. · 29 Apr 2009 at 11:19

325, all the running costs of the 330, without the extra performance. Go for the 330.

mrk · 29 Apr 2009 at 11:21

Engine wise they are reliable and won’t let you down if you service it when it’s time (all engines).

Sport versions will see through a few cracked suspensions coils in their lifetime (about £170~ each inc labour).

The cabin is nice and spacious for front passengers but back passengers might not like the legroom if they’re chubby and/or lanky.

There may be some rattles over rough road that you can hear coming from under the seats, these can be minimised by using cable ties to tie down various bobbing cables and bits that bounce about on bumpy roads.

When you fold the pas seat forward to let in rear passengers the first aid kit door may open by itself randomly - annoying but meh!

Other than that they’re....awesome (in the right colour combo

)

champ222 · 29 Apr 2009 at 11:27

mrk said:
Engine wise they are reliable and won’t let you down if you service it when it’s time (all engines).

Good to hear

mrk said:
Sport versions will see through a few cracked suspensions coils in their lifetime (about £170~ each inc labour).

suspension coils? as in the springs??? do they collapse of what?

mrk said:
The cabin is nice and spacious for front passengers but back passengers might not like the legroom if they’re chubby and/or lanky.

meh... i dont sit in the back

mrk said:
There may be some rattles over rough road that you can hear coming from under the seats, these can be minimised by using cable ties to tie down various bobbing cables and bits that bounce about on bumpy roads.

i can live with that

mrk said:
When you fold the pas seat forward to let in rear passengers the first aid kit door may open by itself randomly - annoying but meh!

LOL - How random

mrk said:
Other than that they’re....awesome!

VERY good to hear, thanks for the info mate

mrk · 29 Apr 2009 at 11:42

Good to hear
- Aye!

suspension coils? as in the springs??? do they collapse of what?
- Sport versions have ///M sport suspension, on E46 they're common to cracking. Most people say they should be replaced in pairs but when one of my rears cracked the dealer said it's totally a preference thing. I opted to replace just that one and have had no issues.

During MOT or Service the dealer will notify you if they spot any issues here and give you the option of getting it fixed (if they have stock of course!).

LOL - How random
- The latch on the hidden box's door is a bit easy to open with a slight knock really, I can fix it by doing some DIY but I cba taking the box out

VERY good to hear, thanks for the info mate
- No probs!

There are some other bits too but they're more preference things like the quality of the stock stereo etc.

champ222 · 29 Apr 2009 at 11:57

ahhh... the stereo i can sort, do you know what size speakers are in the doors?

mrk · 29 Apr 2009 at 12:02

No idea on the front sizes, never needed to do anything about them!

You do need to rip apart the door though to remove them although there should be no need as the speakers are very good - it's the HU that is pants!

[TW]Fox · 29 Apr 2009 at 12:22

mrk said:
Engine wise they are reliable and won’t let you down if you service it when it’s time (all engines).

Not true. The cooling system on the M54 engine is a known weak point and will, rather than might, fail at some point in the cars life often in spectacular fashion. It's an age thing not a mileage thing as its caused by plastic fatigue on the radiator, and a 2003 is about ripe for it. Budget £400-£500 for a complete renewal of the cooling system.

Gaygle · 29 Apr 2009 at 12:26

£11k on a 6 year old previous model BMW? Rather you than me.

Why not get one for 7-8k?

I mean this was £8.5k and, IMO, looks far better: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/966579.htm

or even this looks alright: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/924342.htm

mrk · 29 Apr 2009 at 12:29

[TW]Fox;13977843 said:
Not true. The cooling system on the M54 engine is a known weak point and will, rather than might, fail at some point in the cars life often in spectacular fashion. It's an age thing not a mileage thing as its caused by plastic fatigue on the radiator, and a 2003 is about ripe for it. Budget £400-£500 for a complete renewal of the cooling system.

Hmm I thought this was only on the 5 series? or are they the exact same coolant system?

champ222 · 29 Apr 2009 at 12:32

mrk said:
No idea on the front sizes, never needed to do anything about them!

You do need to rip apart the door though to remove them although there should be no need as the speakers are very good - it's the HU that is pants!

i already have some nice speakers, thats why i asked

champ222 · 29 Apr 2009 at 12:34

[TW]Fox;13977843 said:
Not true. The cooling system on the M54 engine is a known weak point and will, rather than might, fail at some point in the cars life often in spectacular fashion. It's an age thing not a mileage thing as its caused by plastic fatigue on the radiator, and a 2003 is about ripe for it. Budget £400-£500 for a complete renewal of the cooling system.

hmmm... good to know, is there anything that can be done in advance? to avoid the spectacular failure? like replace the plasic bit that causes the problem? or is it not as simple as that?

champ222 · 29 Apr 2009 at 12:37

Gaygle said:
£11k on a 6 year old previous model BMW? Rather you than me.

Why not get one for 7-8k?

I mean this was £8.5k and, IMO, looks far better: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/966579.htm

or even this looks alright: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/924342.htm

i guess its a matter of personal preference... i wouldnt spend eight and a half thousand quid for a car with 76,000 miles on it!

mrk · 29 Apr 2009 at 12:43

Prefacelift coupes are starting to look a bit dated now IMO, even the facelifted ones are getting there but only in certain colours!

TBH I'm sure you'll find a more recent one in your price range, just amatter of keeping your eyes peeled all over

champ222 · 29 Apr 2009 at 13:05

they look spanking new compared to my old 1995 rover coupe hehe.

the colour... i cant decide on that. i'm a blue car guy generally, but the metallic blues are nice enough, but are nothing special really compard with rover tahiti blue, Estoril blue is THE colour, but the clubsport is the only CI available in estoril, and it has that silly spoiler, and i'm not really a fan of the wheels either.

I'm not a big fan of silver cars generally, but it definately looks good in silver! i also like the grey they do, but dont tend to see it on cars older than 2005. i guess i'll just have to wait and see what comes up.

mrk · 29 Apr 2009 at 13:13

Silver is the colour of win =]

champ222 · 29 Apr 2009 at 13:20

hehe... could well be

GinG · 29 Apr 2009 at 14:13

champ222 said:
i guess its a matter of personal preference... i wouldnt spend eight and a half thousand quid for a car with 76,000 miles on it!

Just getting broken in at that milage!

Buy on condition rather than milage, if milage is an issue, stick some solid colour tape over the display