BMW E46 318ci (06 plate) - advice

alx · 3 Jun 2013 at 17:30

A friend of mine is offering to sell his 2006 BMW 318ci M-Sport (~70k miles) to me for £3k - it's been valued over the phone at £3.5-4k from a dealer who is willing to buy it, he's taking it for an 'official' valuation this weekend. All being well, does £3k seem like a bargain price or not really?
I wouldn't normally consider a 4 pot BMW and would rather a straight six, but seeing as I could potentially change from my current car (2005 Focus Zetec 1.6) without much outlay I'm quite tempted.

Reason for the cheapish price is that he's moving abroad for work and as part of the deal they will give him 50% of the value of everything he has to sell in the move (ie car, bike etc) as a sort of relocation perk/bonus. Hence he's not fussed about selling to me for a knockdown price.

He's owned it for about the last 2.5 years/20k miles, so a fairly reasonable time. What do I need to look out for? I know E46's aren't horribly unreliable but I believe they need to be looked after so they don't end up as a money pit.
Any advice welcome.

[TW]Fox · 3 Jun 2013 at 18:33

£3k is a bargain for that car provided it's in good condition etc.

The 318Ci isn't the best engine in the range but frankly at £3k you won't get a better E46 taking into account age/condition etc. Sounds like a really good buy.

ChocolateStarfishRammer · 3 Jun 2013 at 18:36

Absolute bargain.

alx · 3 Jun 2013 at 18:58

Cheers for the replies, it does seem like a pretty good deal.

Will organise a test drive and give it a good looking over but I think he's treated it pretty well - haven't heard him complain about it!

Anything I should look out for in particular at that age/mileage? Anything I should think of replacing if it hasn't been already?

Scania · 4 Jun 2013 at 07:13

Plastic housing(s) at the rear of the block, part of the cooling system, get brittle over time, split and cause engine to dump its coolant and overheat, probably look at the radiator too.
Both of the above have been done on my e46 318 twice over its life (it's a 98 S plate) fairly probable these parts on an 03 plate need looking at but as yet have not been replaced...,

I got my garage to change the gearbox oil on mine - was advised to do this due to it leaking, transformed the feel of the box, but not sure if this was due to the existing level being low or not tbh.

Change the heater "hedgehog" before it inevitably fails and gives you erratic / non functioning blowers.

Change the pollen filter, high probability it's clogged up.

[TW]Fox · 4 Jun 2013 at 08:16

Scania said:
Change the heater "hedgehog" before it inevitably fails and gives you erratic / non functioning blowers.

I couldn't disagree more. Why would you replace this part before it fails? It doesn't leave you stranded if it fails, it isn't serviceable and there is every chance it won't actually fail whilst he has the car anyway. There is no reason at all to pre-emptively replace the final stage resistor unless you are really desperate to spend money on something.

Change the pollen filter, high probability it's clogged up.

Only if the car has patchy or no service history - the microfilter is changed as part of every scheduled service on a 2006 E46.

alx · 4 Jun 2013 at 08:48

Thanks for the advice guys.

My local BMW garage is advertising the following prices for services, do they sound reasonable? There's also a few good independent BMW specialists in Aberdeen so I have some choice.

Oil service: £139
Inspection 1: £229
Inspection 2: £339

Just wanted to know for when/if I need to service the car - my friend says the next service is due in ~6500 miles. I'm guessing it's based on time as well as mileage in case you're not doing many miles??

Scania · 4 Jun 2013 at 09:28

[TW]Fox;24391121 said:
I couldn't disagree more. Why would you replace this part before it fails? It doesn't leave you stranded if it fails, it isn't serviceable and there is every chance it won't actually fail whilst he has the car anyway. There is no reason at all to pre-emptively replace the final stage resistor unless you are really desperate to spend money on something.

I mention it as its the one item that's failed on all of my BMW's , e36, e38 (twice!) e39 and e46! It's a common failure (due to overheating usually as the thing gets hot and has - due to its location - little to no ventilation to cool it) and bloody annoying when it fails (as mine on the e46 did this weekend) as currently I have no aircon and am getting cooked by the screwed up ventilation system!

The OP specifically asked for suggestions of things to be replaced if they have not been changed already, given my somewhat annoying experience of the "Hedgehog" it seemed a good shout.

Only if the car has patchy or no service history - the microfilter is changed as part of every scheduled service on a 2006 E46.

True enough, but I know of a few BMW serviced cars that have clearly had this missed (either that or lived in a desert environment by the state of the filter upon removal!)

rodenal · 4 Jun 2013 at 09:34

It's easy to check the pollen filter, change if required but as already mentioned if it's been properly serviced it should be fine

I wouldn't be touching the fsr unless it was giving trouble either tbh. If it goes the worst thing you're going to be is very hot for a while

Scania · 4 Jun 2013 at 09:42

rodenal said:
If it goes the worst thing you're going to be is very hot for a while

And Sod's law dictates it fails when you need the aircon, just like mine decided to pack up completely over the weekend, yesterday's drive home was not very pleasant!

I'd wondered if it was a bit suspect for a while and certainly now regret not erring on the side of caution by replacing it earlier.

Yes, it's a pig of a DIY job, and pointless unless you get a good quality OEM replacement (cheap ones fail quickly from experience) but as I say it's a very common failure and I would imagine a replacement would last the ownership of the car.

rodenal · 4 Jun 2013 at 09:55

...but you don't know if it's been done before and even if you could tell you'd need to get at the thing first. Just wouldn't be (and isn't) on my list of preventative maintenance.

alx · 7 Jun 2013 at 12:10

Right, so I test drove the car last night - quite a decent drive, managed to get out into the Aberdeenshire countryside a bit.

From my limited expertise of test drives everything seemed ok, no funny noises or rattles as far as I could tell. Seemed to go well, stop fine, handling was good and relatively comfortable, although the gearbox oil could potentially do with replacing (will look into whether it's been done before). Tyres also have plenty of tread on them which is a bonus I guess.

Regarding its history, it's been serviced regularly and no obvious ones missing - last service was an inspection 2 ~7k miles ago done about a year ago. Computer said next service is in 5k miles, would that just be oil??

It's also just been MOT'd in April, details below.

Work carried out:
Replaced front exhaust bracket, nearside front anti roll bar link. Replaced power steering pipe between pump to rack and replenished fluid. Replaced nearside rear coil spring.

Advisory:
Front and rear brake discs require renewal next pad change (worn and corroded)
Nearside side shaft seal starting to leak at axle, front lower inner wing panels damaged and loose.
Front bumper loose at nearside and offside – ie it bows out slightly at the top corners just in front of each wheel. A google suggests this could just be a loose bracket/bolt which is potentially an easy fix?

Anything there to get particularly/seriously worried out?

Also, does anyone have recommendations for discs/pads to use as I might as well replace them when/if I get the car?

Jono8 · 7 Jun 2013 at 12:38

Very cheap at 3K. I would bite his hand off before he trades it in for more!

[TW]Fox · 7 Jun 2013 at 12:39

Yes, next service is just an oil service.

Discs and pads wise I had new discs and pads all round last year and just went with OEM. They work well and I didnt see the point in messing about.

Sanchez · 7 Jun 2013 at 12:45

alx said:
Regarding its history, it's been serviced regularly and no obvious ones missing - last service was an inspection 2 ~7k miles ago done about a year ago. Computer said next service is in 5k miles, would that just be oil??

That's right. As far as I know it goes Insp 1>Oil>Insp2>Oil and repeats.

Advisory:
Front and rear brake discs require renewal next pad change (worn and corroded)
Nearside side shaft seal starting to leak at axle, front lower inner wing panels damaged and loose.
Front bumper loose at nearside and offside – ie it bows out slightly at the top corners just in front of each wheel. A google suggests this could just be a loose bracket/bolt which is potentially an easy fix?

Anything there to get particularly/seriously worried out?

Also, does anyone have recommendations for discs/pads to use as I might as well replace them when/if I get the car?

With regards to the brakes, you can get them done with the Value Service plan that BMW offers. When I priced it up they were similarly priced to a decent indie so I just went to BMW, who also offer 2 years warranty on any parts they sell. You're looking at about £515 for both front and rear pads and discs from BMW.

You can get a list of their prices online. The value service stuff I find is good value for money, other work that might need doing is typically a lot more expensive than most places.

alx · 7 Jun 2013 at 13:26

Cheers for the advice guys, appreciated.

Will need to check if the pads actually need changing (they may have a fair bit of life in them still) or is just worth doing everything at the same time?

[TW]Fox · 7 Jun 2013 at 14:15

Always get new pads if changing discs.

rodenal · 7 Jun 2013 at 15:58

As above - pads are (relatively) cheap anyway so there's no value in not sticking new ones in.

How's the handbrake? Its an ideal time to inspect the mechanism/ shoes whilst everything is off.

alx · 7 Jun 2013 at 16:17

rodenal said:
As above - pads are (relatively) cheap anyway so there's no value in not sticking new ones in.

How's the handbrake? Its an ideal time to inspect the mechanism/ shoes whilst everything is off.

Handbrake seemed absolutely fine. Used it a few times when at lights, on a slope etc. Didn't need any excessive pull for it to work.

Tom|Nbk · 7 Jun 2013 at 17:04

[TW]Fox;24391121 said:
I couldn't disagree more. Why would you replace this part before it fails? It doesn't leave you stranded if it fails, it isn't serviceable and there is every chance it won't actually fail whilst he has the car anyway. There is no reason at all to pre-emptively replace the final stage resistor unless you are really desperate to spend money on something.

Agreed, it's a massive ball ache to change.