Can i afford a 330ci E46

Squid

Squid

Squid

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19 Jan 2011
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658
budget 4-5k
age 25 full no claims.
must be manual

budget to run car 2k year (tax / insurance / mot service etc)

or should i look at
st220
older style vrs
A4 s line 190 b6
suggest others (must be petrol & manual)
or
just wait and get something better.
 
Depending on your annual mileage, it doesnt seem like an outrageous idea. The budget is sufficient for a half decent example. Insurance and tax should be dooable for a grand leaving you with a grand a year for tyres, servicing and repairs. Some years these will cost you more than a grand, others less, so it should average out ok depending on what servicing it needs etc.

Obviously you could have a bad year - an Inspection 2, MOT, some brake discs and a set of tyres would be the wrong side of £1000 before you think about any unscheduled repairs - but then the next year you might spend very litle if your mileage is low.

If you are going for an AVERAGE of £2k a year, you should be ok. If you couldnt possibily afford more than £2k in any one year then it might need a rethink.

Over the course of the last 7 years my 530i has averaged about £2k a year in non-fuel costs. I see no reason why a 330Ci would be any more than this, but some years the dam thing cost a fortune and other years it cost almost nothing so bear in mind its an average.
 
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thanks for the input .... just need find a good example now, yep 2k year would be average running cost i'm already assuming something bad
water pumps, thermostats, engine belts, rear coils would push it over.

Non many around Bristol area with

Leather
Xenon Headlights
Heated Seats
Harmon Kardon Upgraded Stereo
Electric Folding Mirrors

the hunt begins...must resist vrs
 
That sounds about what I'd like to budget for next year when I fancy a 330 of sorts.

Last year I spent £2555 on the Almera

£930 insurance
£930 repairs (£480 MOT repairs, £310 clutch and £140 on service parts + starter motor)
£345 in tyres
£215 in tax

I also spend a fortune in fuel due to doing 17k last year at 27-30mpg.

Next year the insurance is about ~£300 cheaper but obviously it will be more expensive on tyres at £130 a tyre on 18" compared to £65 the now.

Pretty much why I won't be buying one until I know I have money tucked aside and/or 0% card to take the edge of any big bills.
 
I'm lucky with fuel i can walk to work in summer, and mileage is between 5-8k year why im not so bothered about 2l to 3l mid size cars.
 
Apart from the engine and having one owner, that silver one (on the face of it at least) is woeful. The blue one is a million times nicer.
 
There's also a nice black facelift sport with 87k on the clock and cream interior, no wood though so it pulls it off IMO. Think that one is £6k.

I'd love the clubsport that's up for £7k as it's a facelift and only on 59k but £7k + fitting a dynavin is a bit much for for me.
 
I've been patiently looking at them for a couple of months now and tbh I'm really struggling to find one with all the "right" options with a manual box in good condition. They are definitely out there but the age of even the newest ones now makes it difficult to find them. So many look great in photos then have issues aplenty when you go to see the car, regardless of.budget

Getting to the point where I'm thinking about just sacrificing things like xenons, getting an ok early car and refreshing much of it myself or looking at something else
 
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rodenal said:
I've been patiently looking at them for a couple of months now and tbh I'm really struggling to find one with all the "right" options with a manual box in good condition. They are definitely out there but the age of even the newest ones now makes it difficult to find them. So many look great in photos then have issues aplenty when you go to see the car, regardless of.budget

Getting to the point where I'm thinking about just sacrificing things like xenons, getting an ok early car and refreshing much of it myself or looking at something else
Click to expand...

Oh looks like joining the long wait :( what common issue you found when viewing ?
 
Sadly many (most?) are now owned by people who, well, have a different attitude to ownership than the typical owner 5+ years ago. This is reflected in the condition of many of the cars you'll now find. So much so that frankly spec is irrelevent, just focus on a decent example. The standard spec is hardly bad (Though Xenons are important because you cannot easily retrofit them to a prefacelift car, if its a facelift you can though).
 
2001 330ci bought for £2700 dec 2011, no service history on 76k miles, I'm the 7th owner (lol) and I've replaced the entire cooling system for £600, power steering pump and alternator for £500.

Today it's just ticked over to 90k, I'm 25, 4 years no claims and insurance is £547(inc direct debit charges, I think it was £492 exc), tax is £270 a year and I had no advisories at all on the last MOT(thankfully)

Can you run one on 2k a year? absolutely, providing, as Fox says, it's an average
 
Squid said:
your right but traffic in Bristol moves so slow on ring road, works good 20 min drive.

well over budget but low mileage....

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...e/1/keywords/330ci/postcode/bs347qt?logcode=p

may be able talk this down to 5k has all extras i wanted...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...500/keywords/330ci/postcode/bs347qt?logcode=p
Click to expand...

The silver pre-facelift looks gash and dated.

The blue facelift has been up for sale for a couple of months at least, and at that price you have to ask yourself why because it's a high spec car.

You have a very specific list of requirements which could well make it very tricky to find the car you want, so make sure you know which options can be easily retro-fitted and maybe stick them a bit lower down your priority list. I really wanted a car with nav, but after seeing how easy it is to retro-fit a 3rd party one I bought a car without and will fit one when time and money allows. It meant I got the car I wanted and didn't have to spend months and months searching.
 
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Have you considered a Nissan 200sx? They are holding there price very well now. Very hard to find a decent car for under 3k but 5k will get you a very nice example with a few power mods.
 
Great cars in their day but I'm not sure anyone who's looking specifically for an e46 would be interested in an s14/a?


As an alternative to other Jap turbos then maybe
 
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