Yeah yeah I know another E46 thread!

Deleted User 234324 · 22 Jun 2010 at 13:31

Right well, been on the look out now for the best part of 2 months now for a 330 ci, and well there's just nothing semi decent about, as im being fairly specific in spec (facelift, sunroof, bluetooth, FBSH in either imola red, sapphire black or mystic blue) and with a budget of only 8k there's not much at all that doesnt have moon mileage.

So I was thinking what about the 325 ? sure its a drop in power ~35bhp but there are a lot more available with much lower mileage for that budget.

Is the engine power the only difference between the 325ci sport and the 330ci sport or is there more to it than that ?

OllyM · 22 Jun 2010 at 13:45

If you want a sunroof you'll be waiting forever - I strongly recommend that you drop this, if not anything else.

Deleted User 234324 · 22 Jun 2010 at 13:52

Yeah I had considered dropping that as looking on AT now, sunroofs are extremely rare.

[TW]Fox · 22 Jun 2010 at 13:53

Bluetooth is pretty rare as well, hardly any 2003 phones had it.

I think you forget how old these are now...

Deleted User 234324 · 22 Jun 2010 at 13:55

Hence why im looking for the facelift model as thats more likely to have it, its not a vital feature as I can retrofit BT if necessary.

ruffneck · 22 Jun 2010 at 14:09

don't get sapphire black unless you endlessly want to clean it everyday

*I realize this is a slight exaggeration, but it is hard to keep clean*

[TW]Fox · 22 Jun 2010 at 14:16

MadMossy said:
Hence why im looking for the facelift model as thats more likely to have it, its not a vital feature as I can retrofit BT if necessary.

BMW Bluetooth retrofit into a non telephone pre wired car is very expensive.

Deleted User 234324 · 22 Jun 2010 at 14:22

I have no problems with cleaning my car on a regular basis, its only used on weekends anyway, as i cycle to work during the week.

paradigm · 22 Jun 2010 at 14:44

[TW]Fox;16802383 said:
BMW Bluetooth retrofit into a non telephone pre wired car is very expensive.

But a parrot CK3000 EVO and a Connects 2 kit does 99% of the same job, and even "appears" as OEM integrated.

I can control mine through the steering wheel and it appears on the Nav computer as "Telephone" just like the real thing. I lose voice command, but I wasn't fussed about that anyway.

30 minute install, £75 of my money. Job done.

And for what it's worth, I find the black is actually a pleasure to keep clean

But then, I enjoy cleaning it.

ruffneck · 22 Jun 2010 at 16:31

ahh no doubt it looks great when cleaned

just seems to get dirty after one trip!

Gerard · 22 Jun 2010 at 16:34

ruffneck said:
ahh no doubt it looks great when cleaned

just seems to get dirty after one trip!

Black cars get dirty about .00005 seconds after the air hits them

mrk · 22 Jun 2010 at 16:39

Silver ones however do not, as evidenced by mine in the carpark right now which was washed on Saturday and looks like it was washed this morning

[TW]Fox · 22 Jun 2010 at 16:49

paradigm said:
But a parrot CK3000 EVO and a Connects 2 kit does 99% of the same job, and even "appears" as OEM integrated.

Well no, it doesn't do 99% of the same job at all given that the BMW Bluetooth system allows complete control of the handset more or less via the car - you can dial numbers, view the phone book, etc.

Deleted User 234324 · 22 Jun 2010 at 16:51

My only real interest in the BT is answering the phone, calling if necessary and streaming music.

If the parrot can do that then that would be fine as spending over the odds for the same just because it has BMW stamped on it is daft.

paradigm · 22 Jun 2010 at 18:34

[TW]Fox;16803611 said:
Well no, it doesn't do 99% of the same job at all given that the BMW Bluetooth system allows complete control of the handset more or less via the car - you can dial numbers, view the phone book, etc.

Well I can voice dial both contacts and raw numbers, that's good enough for me. Not sure what else I'd need to "control".

[TW]Fox · 22 Jun 2010 at 18:39

paradigm said:
Well I can voice dial both contacts and raw numbers, that's good enough for me. Not sure what else I'd need to "control".

Oh I'm not saying it's not acceptable, its a good solution.

But you claimed it was able to perform 99% of the job that the BMW unit was, and this is obviously not true.

OllyM · 22 Jun 2010 at 18:40

The BMW Bluetooth system won't let you stream music anyway.

Wicksta · 22 Jun 2010 at 18:52

It's not expensive to install the BMW bluetooth at all, I did it for about £250-£300. It's fairly time consuming. The only thing is waiting for a decent model ULF to come along at a decent price, which they do. The loom can be easily made or some guy on BMWLand sells them. I used the OEM retrofit loom and still managed to get it all done for under £300.

I have a Sony Ericsson kit in my 325i now though and had a Parrot mki9100 in my old 328ci, they all do a good job but none are anywhere near as integrated as the OEM kit, especially if you have nav.

[TW]Fox · 22 Jun 2010 at 18:56

Wicksta said:
It's not expensive to install the BMW bluetooth at all, I did it for about £250-£300.

Thats more than 3 times the cost of an aftermarket bluetooth system, and ergo is 'expensive'.

Wicksta · 22 Jun 2010 at 18:58

[TW]Fox;16804529 said:
Thats more than 3 times the cost of an aftermarket bluetooth system, and ergo is 'expensive'.

It's not 'very expensive' though especially for OEM bluetooth and as you mentioned it does quite a bit more. You can even read SMS messages on the nav screen.