Goodbye E46, it's been awesome. New owner is a local forum member so hopefully I'll still get to see it around
Had an emotional day cleaning it yesterday and took it for one last spirited drive.
So how has the ownership been? Quite relaxed I have to say, the cost of the car when I bought it in June 2013 was £4,900 and has been sold for not much less.
In terms of what went wrong, the bills have been infrequent and manageable (all prices rough estimates, new owner has all receipts now).
Starter motor failure: £450
DISA valve preventative maintenance: £60
Water pump failure: £60
Oil filter housing gasket: £not very much in terms of labour, part kindly donated by Atari on these forums
Oil level sensor: £20
Alternator wiring (convinced this failed as a result of a
**** up when the oil filter housing gasket was replaced): £80
Idler pulley went all squealy: £20
Serpentine belt at the same time as above: £12
Exhaust rusted away: £60 for some welding
Consumables:
Rear pads + brake fluid change: £180
Front tyres: £90 each (F1AS2)
Rear tyres: £145 each (F1AS2)
Inspection 1 service: £240 (I think)
And in terms of enhancements?
Alloy wheel refurb + extras: £380ish
BM54 capacitor upgrade + aux input: £150
Refurb of the interior: £8 for a can of black spray paint
Steering wheel leather refurb: £130
It's been a brilliant car and the one I've owned for the longest, I'm genuinely sad to see it go, but it's now time for bigger and better things. Watch this space!