Convince me to see sense?

PMKeates · 17 May 2006 at 18:53

It seems you can get a very nice 330i Sport for £10,000, yet a pretty crummy 330Ci for the same money. The coupe looks better, but does it handle significantly better? I'd rather get a nice 328Ci for £10k if a 330i Sport saloon is going to be like driving a boat :confused:

Jez · 17 May 2006 at 18:57

I'd have the 328ci purely on the looks tbh, i doubt they handle much differently if at all

PMKeates · 17 May 2006 at 19:01

Just seems such a shame to drop the 3.0 S6 out of the equation. With an E46 328Ci, I'd be tempted to save half the cash and get an E36 328i Sport. The E46 is a big attraction to me (Modern car, splendid reputation etc.) but the 3.0 S6 is a big part of that.

NickXX · 17 May 2006 at 19:08

PMKeates said:
It seems you can get a very nice 330i Sport for £10,000, yet a pretty crummy 330Ci for the same money. The coupe looks better, but does it handle significantly better? I'd rather get a nice 328Ci for £10k if a 330i Sport saloon is going to be like driving a boat

There is no difference, they are exactly the same underneath. A Sport saloon will handle better than a ci SE as it will have the Sport suspension.

An extra 2 doors does not maketh a boat. A Sport saloon will look better than a bland SE too.

PMKeates · 17 May 2006 at 19:13

NickXX, I feel converted now

Just need to sort £10,000 out and start looking for a 330i Sport. Factor in the essential remap, E46 boot spoiler and policy amendment price and I need £11,000! I'm glad a potential promotion is in the works to ease this burden!

NickXX · 17 May 2006 at 19:14

Coupe:

Sport saloon:

NickXX · 17 May 2006 at 19:17

PMKeates said:
NickXX, I feel converted now

\o/!

You'll get a boot spoiler on the Sport, although it might not be big enough to suit all tastes. A good remap for the 330i will not be much more than £225.

PMKeates · 17 May 2006 at 19:19

Something like this would be more to my preference

NickXX · 17 May 2006 at 19:41

PMKeates said:
Something like this would be more to my preference

That does look really quite good

I want to get somethign similar, but I'm a bit funny about only going for OEM/Alpina parts. I may go for one like this:

PMKeates · 17 May 2006 at 20:03

Out of curiosity, what version of the E46 is it you have?

How do you find it to drive 'enthusiastically'?
Does it feel like the car is enjoying being driven?
How reliable has it been during your period of ownership and before?
Has your experience with main dealers, if at all, been positive?