E46 Coupes, nightmare or still worth looking at?

Stormster

Stormster

Stormster

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Stoke-on-Trent
Long and short is I've been offered a straight swap for my EP3. This is more than likely a better the devil you know situation... should I keep my EP3 I've sunk about a grand into it at the moment since purchase on improvements and maintenance and have plans for another grand for timing chain, certain bushes to be refreshed and a bit of paint and dent removal; or swap to the below (or indeed consider a lower mile car)? My car is an 04 reg on 112500 miles.

The car I've been offered is a 2004 facelift 325Ci coupe in Imola Red. FSH (mainly BMW specialist), diff bushes changed to powerflex polybushes, wishbone bushes polybushed, but it's on coilovers (Apex RDX? apparently £600), new top mounts, had a stainless exhaust put on (not loud) and so on. Black full electric leather, near on mint bodywork (mine isn't!) and so on. However, it is on 140k miles.

It looks lovely to me and seemingly in better external condition but looks aren't everything. I know where I am at with Type R's, the BMW is more of a looker by far, performance isn't massively essential as even with the Civic I mainly pootle about... but would this be a daft idea? I paid £2250 for my Civic and granted have spent money on it, but as I say I am going to spend about another grand over time.

If it's not such a ridiculous idea, perhaps not this car, but a lower mile example... can anyone tell me what I need to know about E46's, common issues etc. I gather should I go one then of course ideally a 330Ci manual, I think Ci spec would be a must for me, nicer looking styling by far in my eyes.

If they are deemed a bit of a money pit these days then sense shall prevail and I will just continue getting my Civic right as I know plenty about them but nothing about E46's apart from always liking them but never properly researching about them.

I know I have these daft idea's far too often but hey :D

Thanks guys.
 
When you say "Ci" spec, you do realise that Ci just means it's a Coupe, Petrol, it's not a trim level!

As much as I like E46s (currently looking for a nice one for the Mrs to replace her 316Ti), I'm not sure I could recommend one to someone who isn't a die-hard fan of them (E46s), of which you clearly aren't (Ci Spec, and then admitting you know nothing about them :p). It's one thing to like the styling, but at the age they are now becoming, they are more of a liability than a Jac hatch (even a highly strung one) unless you know them inside out.

It won't be a million miles away from the driveability of your old 1-series, and we all know that you got rid of that for the EP3 because you got bored.
 
Sorry, as I say I know nothing so want to learn! :)

It's a "Ci Sport", so has the sportier bumpers and so on. Thanks for pointing out what Ci means, I should have at least known that :D

I sold the 1 Series to put thousands more into my house deposit as I split with my missus.
 
I like BMW's and therefore would say go for it, especially given you've got the budget to put right a few inevitable issues which it'll most likely have, the cooling system is a weak spot, radiator, expansion tank and a few plastic parts on the engine which become brittle with age and will fail.

The coil overs would put me off (it's a 325 not track spec M3!) if you were to do this I'd advise finding a nice looked after 330i - the 325 has similar running costs without the extra performance.

The e46 - a good one - is a nicer car than the EP3 imo,but, as I say I like German over Jap, only you can decide if this is really for you or not.
 
£600 coilovers will be a million miles better than 12 year / 140,000 mile old stock suspension. As long as it is at a sensible ride height then its probably a good thing for it to have.

Sounds like it has been modified sensibly (bushes, new top mounts, etc), which is often a sign that its been owned by someone who puts time and effort into looking after a car.
 
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Acme said:
£600 coilovers will be a million miles better than 12 year / 140,000 mile old stock suspension. As long as it is at a sensible ride height then its probably a good thing for it to have.
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I'd say the opposite TBH :P
Maybe 1% of cars on the road with aftermarket coilovers have quality items, specced & setup properly for a road car.

You still see tidy E46's about - I'd go for it.
 
Acme said:
£600 coilovers will be a million miles better than 12 year / 140,000 mile old stock suspension. As long as it is at a sensible ride height then its probably a good thing for it to have.

Sounds like it has been modified sensibly (bushes, new top mounts, etc), which is often a sign that its been owned by someone who puts time and effort into looking after a car.
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Just be sure to check for epoxy around the water pump!

I don't know what prices for Hondas are like, but BMWs are pretty cheap to fix if stuff goes wrong, so long as you aren't driving an M car of some description

I'd stick with the Honda if I were you
 
Any old crap if its fairly new will be better than dampers and springs that old with that many miles I recon.

And lol yes check for epoxy bodges and leaks and anything else which could have made him decide to swap it all of a sudden. Rear subframe etc.
 
Aye this is it. To put stuff into perspective, the cheapest of the cheap bottom arms and ball joints will cost me £170 for my Honda, of which I am reluctant to do. So was going to polybush the bottom arms (£175 inc labour) and good quality aftermarket ball joints (can't buy genuine unless you buy the whole knuckle!!!) are £200 fitted!! Honda prices are quite steep. I didn't mind on my last EP3 as it was a minter but we're going back some years of course. My timing chain is costing £330 assuming guides are OK, and if not it's £470 inc labour and an extra £40 for an oil change. That's with Tegiwa in Stoke.

I need to mull it over but I need to ask this guy the questions he won't be expecting me to ask hence the advice here so I'll start making a 20 questions list :)
 
If it's been looked after then it wouldn't be a bad swap. But knowing you you'd be bored of it within a month. They're very refined and don't feel fast but the speedo says otherwise. I've still got my 330 saloon and I'm still in two minds as to let it go or not. Brilliant cars when they're working right but there isn't much to go wrong on them.
 
Why do you change so often?! I thought the EP3 made perfect sense?

The idea of a swap always seems strange. Why do people do it? If the car they were 'swapping' was in good order surely they could simply sell it and have pick of the market for its replacement.
 
I guess it could just be an easy way to do it if you find someone with the car you want, who is interested in your car.

But at the same time, it could be a way to get rid of a car with a known fault quickly, and be in something with similar performance straight away.
 
The EP3 does make good sense as granted I'm spending a few quid on it but once done it should (hopefully) give no trouble what so ever and drive great still for years to come.

But I do admit to getting itchy feet, the amount of cars I've had lately shows that :) I did like the 1 series but how my circumstances were at the time, short of pumping money into that to get a few bits sorted, I sold it for £900 more than I paid 6 months down the line. A rare opportunity and money in the bank when it made sense.

Running budgets aren't too much of an issue, but I don't want to buy an E46 or swap etc and it cause reliability issues. The Civic is reliable, I am doing stuff because I am fussy and it's not up to my usual standards. But I trust the car I have now. I just want to improve it.

So maybe that's what it comes down to. Ok, the Civic is a bit boy racer (at my age anyway) but it is definitely dependable and I do trust it. It's expensive to do things to, but I am doing so out of choice.

Will the BMW be more a case of doing things to because it's essential for operation? I.e. cooling system known issues, diff problems (if there are any), that kind of thing. Will it leave me stranded at this age and mileage? As I don't think the Civic will.
 
IMHO they were great cars a few years back but unless you want it to be a labour of love just don't bother. My E39 was this sort of age when I finally got fed up of it as a daily car.

And if you do want it to be a labour of love why put all that effort into a 325i? Might as well have the 330i.

Some people get lucky with them but with 10-15 year old cars the odds are against you.

I thought the whole point in the EP3 was to save money whilst still having a decent fun car? It certainly seems to fit that bill better than a 325i.
 
Unless the type R is a stinker it will likely cost you less over any sort of ownership term of more than a few months.

I love the e46, still think the facelift looks great but you've got to accept them warts and all - be prepared to fix quite a few niggling problems and deal with rust. I tend to agree that a 325 isn't really worth doing this with, I'd only really want one if it was throwaway money tbh.
 
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