E46 Common Problems?

[danza]

This thread is sparked by this car:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/187629.htm

I point it out to the wife, and we both feel thoroughly peeved that we don't have the cash at hand. Never mind.... BUT...

After a wee bit of digging:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=404646

It seems the axle has parted from the floor pan

According to another of his posts, the guy has had it welded up by a specialist! Do BMW cover such things as this, as it's a known fault, by no means caused by normal use/wear and tear, even if you buy privately, and even if the car doesn't have FBMWSH? Some people seem to think they might, other think you're screwed for many quids for a proper job done by BMW.

Aside this, are there any other problems that plague the E46?

I'm a little worried :/

 

[danza]

Awesome. So you buy an old 3 Series, get loads of free new suspension, and get 5 weeks of hooning around in a new loan car?

Hooning? HOONING?! Thou hast been reading from the book of Penski recently, it would appear

Hmmm. Balls. I don't know what to do about this. I guess I'll start poking about the intywebz for some info on what exactly to look for.

I thought these cars were pretty much bomb proof build wise, mebbe not so...

 

[danza]

2001 and onward are fine I believe.

That's good, BECAUSE I CAN'T AFFORD A 2001 ONWARD MODEL! Damn.

Well, I can but it'd suck and be a 318 or something equally sporting.

 

[danza]

Yeah, was an issue on pre-facelift cars. Subframe just broke on a lot of them - particularly the 328. Was usually done for free by BMW, but is getting hit and miss now particularly if the car doesn't have full BMWSH.

Welding it back up will not solve the problem apparently, and now that's been done it's unlikely BMW will do anything to help you free of charge.

Erk. This sounds bad. The last thing I need is a problem of this magnitude, at this kind of cost to rectify :/

Maybe I should stick with the original plan and buy an Astra Coop, or maybe go Jap. Perhaps I'm being a bit over-cautious though. I've looked around a few places, and can't seem to find many instances of axle/floorpan death, but some people have had sooo many niggling issues with electrics and such, it's not funny.

If you cant afford a decent Bimmer, then why buy one at all? for the badge?

I can afford a decent one. I'm looking at 2000 323 and 328CI's mainly with ~60K on the clock, at about £8k. If 8K can't buy you a 'decent' E46, then what the hell is going on? And no, the badge is the least of concern to me. BMW strive/appear to be regarded a prestigious manufacturer (again, I don't care about prestige), and apparently offer well built cars (or should baring in mind the initial purchase costs), but this doesn't seem to be the case in early E46's to some extent. Grrrr...

 

[danza]

3 complete sets of bumpers? i.e. front & back?

Male Cow Poo.

As for the chassis detatching issue, I smell more cow droppings.

I've not found anything after a quick scan through my back issues of BMW Car & Total BMW Magazines.

My mums early e46 has had no such issue, neither has the e46 my sister owned - yet!

The chassis issue is well documented. It sucks hard. Just google "e46 subframe axle", and you'll find a few results at least

There's no greater likelihood of it happening to people who hammer their car than those who drive like a grandad - it just happens out of the blue, it seems.

 

[danza]

Hmmmm, this has given me a lot to think about.

On one hand is the E46, with a potentially masive problem that could materialise at no notice, but more likely will never be a problem. On the other hand is the drawing board, to which I may have to. go back to :/

I quite like the ATR, and the CTR has grown on me a lot recently. The Astra Coupe has lost some of its appeal due to the shoddy interior (well, the dash at least), but it's not out of the running as a plan B yet. I still really want to stick with a coupe, but I fear a compromise may be in order, somewhere down the line.

 

[danza]

Some people reckon about 1% of cars are affected by the subframe cracking issue. I think it could be a bit higher. It is not just isolated to 99-01 manufactured cars (although it is more common).

Zoiks!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8362789948066992482&sourceid=searchfeed

This is worrying really. Over at e46fanatics:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=157603

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=123618

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=195602

Gentlemen, check your subframe mounts!

I'm still not put off (idiot I am), just now I know what to look for, and what to do if this happens (cry). Is there any way an issue like this would be covered under insurance, that is if BMW won't help financially?

 

[danza]

Exactly!

The more I think about this, the less it makes sense to buy a car that may develop this problem, i.e go for a different manufacturer and never have to worry 'what if it happens'.

 

[danza]

"There are no reliability issues with E46 BMW's!"

ROFLMAO!