Is it worth it?

[Delta3D]

Hey all,

So currently I have a Seat Ibiza FR, the 1.2TSi FR spec one with 105hp - I've wanted something with a little more 'oomf' for my next car and was thinking of going a touch older. I've seen I can get insured on a BMW E46 330Ci, but I'm wondering, would it be worth it?

Obviously there's a pretty good gain in power, especially for an 18 year old's 2nd car, but are these common to have faults/go wrong? I don't mind the drop in mpg as I know it's gonna cost more fuel wise etc.

Ps - I'm not here to get lectured about being too young for a rear wheel drive/more power etc like most forums would.

 

[ShivP]

An E46 no matter when in the lifespan is starting to get a little dated now. I assume you are at college? What are you planning to do after - if you are going to uni it will be unlikely the uni will let you keep a car if you live in a halls on campus so is it really worth swapping for such a short period?

If not and you want something relatively reliable then don't buy a 12-16 (or more) year old BMW, it is at the age now where it will start to have niggles. Suspension, particularly sensors etc. If you like spannering though you could keep these costs on the cheap

 

[andicole0]

How much have you been quoted for the insurance. Older cars have a tendency to have more and costlier breakdowns. If you are prepared for that then fine.
If you go this route please get some advanced driving lessons like skid pan etc.
Andi.

 

[Scania]

If you go this route please get some advanced driving lessons like skid pan etc.
Andi.

This almost implies if he doesn’t, it’ll kill him.

Whilst you can never have too much training and advanced driving/skid pan is an excellent course (I’ve done both) I can’t say it made that much of a difference to my driving and / or car control.

Iirc I had my skid pan course when I had an e39 528i, prior to that I’d had a 728i and a 328i and never had a lairy moment in either.

If he drives like a tool then it’ll bite him, if he’s sensible and leaves the TC on (especially in the wet) then he’ll be just fine imo.

The biggest problem will be finding a good one, old cars now and many have been used & abused, decent low mileage examples will command a considerable premium.

 

[ShivP]

This almost implies if he doesn’t, it’ll kill him.

Whilst you can never have too much training and advanced driving/skid pan is an excellent course (I’ve done both) I can’t say it made that much of a difference to my driving and / or car control.

Iirc I had my skid pan course when I had an e39 528i, prior to that I’d had a 728i and a 328i and never had a lairy moment in either.

If he drives like a tool then it’ll bite him, if he’d sensible and leaves the TC on (especially in the wet) then he’ll be just fine imo.

The biggest problem will be finding a good one, old cars now and many have been used & abused, decent low mileage examples will command a considerable premium.

To be fair a 330ci is a 230bhp machine, your x28i are/were probably 190bhp and the 728 maybe a bit more but is a waftomatic barge so unlikely to be spikey

But anyway he doesn't want lectures about too much power

 

[andicole0]

This almost implies if he doesn’t, it’ll kill him.

SNIP

'Almost', yes, as it could kill him. If he is in fact 18 then he is in the most accident prone age group.
Andi.

 

[Scania]

To be fair a 330ci is a 230bhp machine, your x28i are/were probably 190bhp and the 728 maybe a bit more but is a waftomatic barge so unlikely to be spikey

But anyway he doesn't want lectures about too much power

The e36 328 was more like a mk2 Escort, sideways everywhere if you provoked it!

Yes, tailout in an e38 isn’t too likely.....

 

[[TW]Fox]

Waste of time now.

 

[sigma]

Depends how handy you are with spanners, how much spare time and cash you have.

They're fussy and old enough to be a bit of a pain and also 99% of them will likely be for sale due to having an issue, I reckon.

Sensors (maf, o2, coolant etc), vanos, disa valve, ccv, coolant system (rad, hoses, expansion tank) all potential issues, not to mention rust and generic things that go wrong on old cars, clutch, bushes etc.

 

[tom_nieto]

Great cars in their day, but will start to have lots of gremlins now. Lots and lots of abused examples too.

Nothing wrong with having a rwd car when you’re young. No worse than having a rapid fwd if you’re going to drive like a tool.

 

[dacads]

To summarise save up and get something newer and reliable

Something like a Fiesta ST would be a semi decent stepup.

 

[mjt]

Honestly, probably not. Depends what you want from a car though. Do you want dependability and low running costs, or do you want a 15-20-year-old BMW with the associated issues?

What's your budget? Maybe you can get something more exciting than a 1.2 Ibiza, but without the problems a 330Ci will most definitely bring.

 

[GTAMADDOG]

I went from a 306 HDI to an E46 330d and 'power'/rwd has never been an issue for me personally. My experiences from driving the car for four years now suggest that you need to be seriously trying to provoke the car with DSC off to get any sort of tail-happiness going on.

As has been said by others, the biggest issue with these cars now is the niggles they regularly have and rust. I like to think I keep on top of things on my car, but since Christmas alone I've had to replace a brake pressure sensor, 2 ABS sensors, the EGR thermostat and I'll be replacing the main thermostat as well in the next week or so when I can get a genuine one. Luckily all of the sensors decided to wait until after the cars MOT in January before going wrong so that was a bonus. In addition to those things I want it serviced in the next month, it'll need two new rear tyres soon and thanks to rust I'll be looking to get one of the rear arches sorted in 2-3 months (other arch is bizarrely corrosion free). I'm sure there's some other boring stuff I had planned for it, but I've forgotten them at the moment.

Personally I'm quite happy to be hands-on and fix most things myself, but if you plan on taking the car to a garage every time something goes wrong then I'd probably suggest looking at another car. I like the car, but my personal experience from the last few months alone suggests that you need to be thick skinned when it comes to any problems you may get and you need to be prepared to spend more money on maintenance than you probably expect.

 

[Delta3D]

Mechanics wise I'm happy to get my hands dirty - Budget is around £7000 including insurance, was quoted £1700 on the 330ci but my current insurance was £1400.

Currently on a degree apprenticeship in IT, so no issues with parking or anything about going to uni

I'd like something that I can tinker with, fair enough there is a few things I'd like to do with my Ibiza (Not any chavvy/boy racer/'Ricer' things)

 

[rodenal]

I'd honestly suggest waiting until insurance is actually sensible before bothering moving up in the car world - that's crazy money to spend on insuring an old, likely unreliable BMW.

I also could never stomach spending anywhere near your budget on an E46, there's nothing "special" (great cars in there day don't get me wrong) enough about them that warrants that kind of asking price.

 

[sigma]

I'd honestly suggest waiting until insurance is actually sensible before bothering moving up in the car world - that's crazy money to spend on insuring an old, likely unreliable BMW.

I also could never stomach spending anywhere near your budget on an E46, there's nothing "special" (great cars in there day don't get me wrong) enough about them that warrants that kind of asking price.

We were all young once though, I recall spending similar amounts at his age I got bored of 'tinkering' when it turned into a weekly 'what's gone wrong now?' question and spending my time chasing issues instead of enjoying the damn thing.

 

[rodenal]

I loved mine too but I spend about £3k on the actual car and insurance was about a third of what we are talking above for an ibiza

Something like a z4 I could almost understand, you'll get the same engine and niggles, less rust, no roof and a car that will likely be worth more in a couple of years. Still couldn't stomach £1700 insurance on one though, madness. These cars aren't even that quick

 

[Frozennova]

To be fair a 330ci is a 230bhp machine, your x28i are/were probably 190bhp and the 728 maybe a bit more but is a waftomatic barge so unlikely to be spikey

But anyway he doesn't want lectures about too much power

Tbh I'd consider it wise advise, you don't need power to get it wrong.

I looped an MX5 on a cold damp day driving not particularly fast (No faster than I'd drive the same road in a FWD hatchback)

 

[GT3]

You have to really want an E46 now, they were great cars and still are for someone that understands they will need constant maintenance. I have had mine for 3 years (50k miles) now and replaced the following: heater hedgehog, waterpump, thermostat, radiator, expansion tank, vanos seals, rocker cover gasket, oil filter housing gasket, entire ccv system, front control arm bushes, rear trailing arm bushes, front and rear top mounts, 4 dampers, 4 springs, front brake flexi hoses and 1 brake line. On top of this they are pretty heavy so as a result are heavy on tyres and brakes, the M54 engine will likely drink oil at somewhere between an alarming to barely acceptable rate. Mine is a 325ti so luckily doesn't suffer with the rust problem that the coupes, saloons and touring suffer from, I think that would be too much for me to cope with! Having said all that I've done all the work myself and suffered virtually zero depreciation, averages 32mpg and has therefore been a very cheap car to own for me.

 

[dacads]

Mechanics wise I'm happy to get my hands dirty - Budget is around £7000 including insurance, was quoted £1700 on the 330ci but my current insurance was £1400.

Currently on a degree apprenticeship in IT, so no issues with parking or anything about going to uni

I'd like something that I can tinker with, fair enough there is a few things I'd like to do with my Ibiza (Not any chavvy/boy racer/'Ricer' things)

Maybe wait another insurance year then get something like a BMW 130i?

Insurance is not bad as there's not many of them about so less crashes.

I had a fiesta 1.4 for two years before buying mine.

Power is astonishing at first of course but be sensible and you're golden, plus you soon get used to it.