Looking at purchasing an E46 330Ci - advice needed.

[Fireskull]

Do it.

 

[Invertigo]

To be fair, reading the above it seems like you want one specifically because you want one, and not because you think it's a premium daily driver at a budget price or some sort of badge self esteem boost.

As mentioned earlier there is a lot of things that can break, this isn't because they're an unreliable cat but because they're old. Same as any old car. Go in with your eyes open and accepting of it potentially throwing up faults at any given time and you'll be fine.

I assume that, if you like older cars, you're happy enough to crack the spanners out yourself? Being willing to do jobs yourself will be a massive money saver too, they're not complex cars mechanically, hell I manage with a similar age BMW (Same engine, different model)

 

[Transform_IT]

To be fair, reading the above it seems like you want one specifically because you want one, and not because you think it's a premium daily driver at a budget price or some sort of badge self esteem boost.

As mentioned earlier there is a lot of things that can break, this isn't because they're an unreliable cat but because they're old. Same as any old car. Go in with your eyes open and accepting of it potentially throwing up faults at any given time and you'll be fine.

I assume that, if you like older cars, you're happy enough to crack the spanners out yourself? Being willing to do jobs yourself will be a massive money saver too, they're not complex cars mechanically, hell I manage with a similar age BMW (Same engine, different model)

Yes mate, I love messing and learning and i'm fortunate enough to have a large double garage to accommodate this. Gearboxes such as the (SMG/SSG) frighten me though, as I have no knowledge or expertise and sadly the car enthusiast forums seem to be dying. However, knowing what I do now about the common fault areas on these cars, I feel most of the issues I can fix myself and the ones I can't, I don't mind paying out to put right. I think really, my original post should have been more aimed at the gearbox differences and should I really be put off by the SMG? - rather than the car as a whole.

The link above for the one in Manchester on eBay is one I am really leaning towards. A viewing and test drive will tell me what to do with my money. Pictures and eBay descriptions only tell 1% of the story - and a story it could be.

 

[Transform_IT]

I've just spoke to a mate from our indie garage and he's said stay away from the SMG's as it will cost £1600+ to fix. He's advised me I might be as well spend that £1600 extra now on a manual if I can.

 

[Lashout_UK]

I've just spoke to a mate from our indie garage and he's said stay away from the SMG's as it will cost £1600+ to fix.

That's probably not far wrong. The actual transmissions are the same (manual/SMG; they even use the same clutch and flywheel) but the SMG is operated by a hydraulic control unit and pump – and the pumps can be four figures (plus if you replace a few sensors at the same time, etc., and add on labour).

You can get rebuild kits for about £500 but I don't know quite how much is involved in changing them. Could be worth investigating. The other issues they can suffer from tend to be relatively minor.

People do seem to rate them, too, but I've not driven one. Probably worth trying both! I think they're very much a love/loathe transmission but, in any case, one you have to spend some time with to understand.

 

[Transform_IT]

True Manual 145k

 

[ezekial]

To be fair, having a garage is a good start. I feel like if you're willing to learn, which you seem to be, and have a decent set of tools, you can actually maintain these cars quite cheaply. I have had a 2002 e46 330d manual for the last 4 years from around 105k miles to 180k. The first year or 2 I had many things go wrong though. Replaced all suspension components except springs, all 4 calipers + discs + pads, engine mounts, propshaft centre bearing, pas pump, fuel lines, inline fuel pump, glow plugs, electric radiator fan, air con blower, 1 wheel bearing, stripped and cleaned my own injectors and some other things...

But after that and with a bit of preventative maintenance it has been very reliable. Because I did absolutely everything by myself on my drive and the parts are abundant and cheap, it cost very little actually.

And to be fair, it never left me stranded anywhere. I know the petrol and diesel each have their own niggles as engines but the chassis as a whole has been quite easy to work on except for a few rusty bolts here and there that needed some lateral thinking. It has been a great car to learn to work on though! There is no shortage of aftermarket parts and there are guides to pretty much everything you would want to do to it floating around. As before, just make sure you clean out the wheel arches regularly... The one thing I haven't been able to fix on mine has been the rust, so it is going to be put on ebay soon...

Another thing you must get, is an OBD cable and install INPA on your laptop. The ability to read the cars values and error codes + make adjustments has been invaluable.

 

[Funky-Melon]

Also, I have another car which is garaged and is more of a toy - its a Volvo 850 T-5R estate.

Lurrrrrvly, is it a manual?

 

[Michael Myers]

i purchased a 325ci as a runabout last year while i go through a house purchase, touch-wood its been fine so far with no issues although i can see its had work done in the past on a few of the commons areas such as coolant system and oil filter housing gasket etc. only thing i have had to replace is a dodgy caliper. i find the e46 a good DIY car as there is lots of space to work on it.