Still Pining for an e46

Snookums

Snookums

Snookums

Soldato
Joined
27 Mar 2013
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Nottingham
For years now I've wanted an e46. Always have done. When I got my ST150 it was between that and the e46 but went ST150 for reasons that atm, I don't know why. I'm falling more and more out of love with it as the days go by.

So right now I'm really contemplating swapping it in to get one. I was contemplating going for a 350z instead but I'm always gonna have this part of me that wants an e46 and if i get a 350z I'll probably still wish I'd had gotten a e46 instead.

But which one do i go for. I don't want a car slower than my ST so that means 325 and above. I remember vaguely reading the 325 comes with all the issues the 330 has so may as well go 330.

My other issue is i'm not really not sure whether to go diesel or petrol. My daily commute is only 15 miles each way but every/every other weekend I do a 200 mile each way trip.

Right now I'm looking at 330Cd's and 330Ci's m sport.

Budget: From looking at these I have no idea what I should be spending can see them as low as 1500 (obviously dogs) and up to 6/7k (low mileage well looked after but could still show issues.) So I'm thinking of a middle ground budget.

What to look out for at certain mileages/in general. Obv any rust spots but is there anything notorious for going wrong with these at certain points?

Lastly, Am I crazy for pinning over such a basic car? Its not even the BMW badge its the shape and the fact I've loved them for as long as I can remember. Of course all of this could lead up to me test driving one and being thoroughly disappointed. Looking at booking in some test drives this week hopefully.
 
They don't have anything intrinsically wrong with them that is 100% going to fail, but may come with the usual age related issues that any car would ie. rust, bushes failing, random rattles and bodge jobs from previous owners. They do have some issues with the coolant expansion tank exploding, some rattles from the VANOS and oil consumption too. If you can do a lot of work yourself then this will be a major plus as it means that you won't have to worry about a lot of it.

They are all round, lovely cars. They sound great, they still look great and they drive great. I wouldn't buy one for more than about £3k and I'd definitely only buy one from a private person at this price range. Make sure you check the MOT history website closely as this is your way of finding out what issues it's had, what has been fixed and what has been left by a penny pinching owner. Also, look for well written adverts and cars that are running on decent tyres. Any owner that's spent £500 on a set of tyres, when they could have easily just spent £200, is likely to be they type of owner you want to buy from.
 
330Ci are lovely, not sure what a 330Cd is, but if it is a diesel, oh no please do not. The main attraction of the BMW's is the gorgeous straight 6 engine in petrol configuration yes as diesels they are good, great infact, but a straight 6 petrol sounds lovely.

Fox I am sure can guide you correctly but these are old now so be prepared for a suspension over haul and make sure it has no oil/fluid leaks anywhere.
 
Gaygle said:
They don't have anything intrinsically wrong with them that is 100% going to fail, but may come with the usual age related issues that any car would ie. rust, bushes failing, random rattles and bodge jobs from previous owners. They do have some issues with the coolant expansion tank exploding, some rattles from the VANOS and oil consumption too. If you can do a lot of work yourself then this will be a major plus as it means that you won't have to worry about a lot of it.

They are all round, lovely cars. They sound great, they still look great and they drive great. I wouldn't buy one for more than about £3k and I'd definitely only buy one from a private person at this price range. Make sure you check the MOT history website closely as this is your way of finding out what issues it's had, what has been fixed and what has been left by a penny pinching owner. Also, look for well written adverts and cars that are running on decent tyres. Any owner that's spent £500 on a set of tyres, when they could have easily just spent £200, is likely to be they type of owner you want to buy from.
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I'm open to trying a lot of things myself. Haven't had to do anything on the ST but the Fiesta before I dont a fair few jobs so I'll always have a crack at a problem before sending it to the garage.

Gibbo said:
330Ci are lovely, not sure what a 330Cd is, but if it is a diesel, oh no please do not. The main attraction of the BMW's is the gorgeous straight 6 engine in petrol configuration yes as diesels they are good, great infact, but a straight 6 petrol sounds lovely.

Fox I am sure can guide you correctly but these are old now so be prepared for a suspension over haul and make sure it has no oil/fluid leaks anywhere.
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Yes 330Cd is a diesel. This was my thinking, I know that straight 6 will sound sooo much nicer.

Just waiting for Fox to drop in any moment now :p
 
Snookums said:
I'm open to trying a lot of things myself. Haven't had to do anything on the ST but the Fiesta before I dont a fair few jobs so I'll always have a crack at a problem before sending it to the garage.
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As long as you've got a decent range of tools, a lot of stuff can be DIY'd and OEM parts are pretty reasonable if you know where to get them from.

Snookums said:
Yes 330Cd is a diesel. This was my thinking, I know that straight 6 will sound sooo much nicer.
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I wouldn't get a diesel at this sort of age. There's too high a risk of expensive parts going wrong, which if it happens, you can't do anything about. You can generally save money on replacing bushes etc by DIYing it as the parts are cheap, but the labour is expensive. But if you need to replace turbos and injectors, the parts are very expensive, even if the labour isn't so bad.
 
To be honest, if you are going to bother with an E46 as a car you've lusted after for years, you might as well get the M3 and fully experience it.

You've got to be an enthusiast to want to seek out an E46 these days :)
 
paradigm said:
You've got to be an enthusiast to want to seek out an E46 these days :)
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I've got an e46 330ci and I'm not an particularly enthusiastic. Even with the nice straight six and nice interior it's past its time as a 'general car' unless, like me, you give up at fixing everything. But overall I'm happy I bought and experienced it instead of a Ford Focus or something. It is in its element when your coming home on the motorway from the airport at 2am and the roads are smooth and the engine is a quiet, nice hum and there are no screens or ipads on the dash distracting you (I have the orange backlight on the darkest setting) and you put your foot down a bit and go... "a bit faster"... and still only a background hum.

Also gunning it down sliproads away from the people who join motorways at 40mph.

Snookums said:
What to look out for at certain mileages/in general. Obv any rust spots but is there anything notorious for going wrong with these at certain points
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The problem is, with it now being an enthusiasts car, some of the things that are listed as going wrong with it you see on forums are 'enthusiast problems' that you personally might be happy living with day to day:

Rust front wheel arches
VANOS problems (rattle at front of head unit), lazy under 3k RPM...
Drink oil for breakfast
Eat Handbrakes for lunch
Oil sensor, but kind of irrelevant when you're checking ever 300 miles
"suspension problems"
The entire cooling system is a weak point (I read this was a day 1 complete change /refresh by enthusiasts, mine has been fine with preemptive change of the squeaky water pump)
There has been a passenger Airbag recall too.
 
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almoststew1990 said:
I've got an e46 330ci and I'm not an particularly enthusiastic. Even with the nice straight six and nice interior it's past its time as a 'general car' unless, like me, you give up at fixing everything. But overall I'm happy I bought and experienced it instead of a Ford Focus or something. It is in its element when your coming home on the motorway from the airport at 2am and the roads are smooth and the engine is a quiet, nice hum and there are no screens or ipads on the dash distracting you (I have the orange backlight on the darkest setting) and you put your foot down a bit and go... "a bit faster"... and still only a background hum.

Also gunning it down sliproads away from the people who join motorways at 40mph.



The problem is, with it now being an enthusiasts car, some of the things that are listed as going wrong with it you see on forums are 'enthusiast problems' that you personally might be happy living with day to day:

Rust front wheel arches
VANOS problems (rattle at front of head unit), lazy under 3k RPM...
Drink oil for breakfast
Eat Handbrakes for lunch
Oil sensor, but kind of irrelevant when you're checking ever 300 miles
"suspension problems"
The entire cooling system is a weak point (I read this was a day 1 complete change /refresh by enthusiasts, mine has been fine with preemptive change of the squeaky water pump)
There has been a passenger Airbag recall too.
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Cheers dude, I'll be sure to keep an eye/ear out when looking.

Any example of good tyres to out for and bad ones?
 
Cooling system will break, you'll have to replace pretty much all of it if it hasn't been done already. Front control arms eventually go, rust is an issue on wings.

Miss mine every day.
 
i had an 02 330 clubsport for 4 years really glad i had one, but even the newest e46 is 10 years old now. its still in the family now, issues so far are, rust under the rear quarter panel, rust under front wing, front suspension was replacement, but was previously lowered so didn't help. it doesn't have full leather so the front seats are very worn now, rips etc.

other than that when its cleaned it still looks great, just don't look to close.

shame you don't like e92's, its what i have now and is really nice
 
Duke said:
Pining for an old diesel? Odd. At least get the 6 pot petrol :p
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Okay maybe not a diesel :P

acemastr said:
Cooling system will break, you'll have to replace pretty much all of it if it hasn't been done already. Front control arms eventually go, rust is an issue on wings.

Miss mine every day.
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How much is it to overall the cooling system?

ace-rimmer said:
i had an 02 330 clubsport for 4 years really glad i had one, but even the newest e46 is 10 years old now. its still in the family now, issues so far are, rust under the rear quarter panel, rust under front wing, front suspension was replacement, but was previously lowered so didn't help. it doesn't have full leather so the front seats are very worn now, rips etc.

other than that when its cleaned it still looks great, just don't look to close.

shame you don't like e92's, its what i have now and is really nice
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A car over 10 years old you can expect things like rust tho which I am prepared for.

I do like the e92's but its the e46 I've always loved.

Theres a manual 330Ci a few towns over from me, as much as I don't want a manual I may go for a test drive just to get a feel for one.
 
Snookums said:
How much is it to overall the cooling system?

Theres a manual 330Ci a few towns over from me, as much as I don't want a manual I may go for a test drive just to get a feel for one.
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The cooling systems aren't that expensive to replace, though I'd definitely opt for a decent brand radiator over a cheap Chinese eBay special. I seem to recall (doing it DIY) replacing the entire system on my E36 325i was a few hundred £. Looked to be similar costs for my E46 330d also, but amazingly it never needed doing. The power steering pump and the aircon compressor did however.

And you really do want the manual in a 330Ci if you are getting one as a keen driver! The automatics whilst quite smooth, are nothing like autos of modern times, they are pretty "dumb", not really quick enough to be in the right gear when you want it if trying to have a hoon, but are relaxing enough on a motorway or long cruise.
 
paradigm said:
The cooling systems aren't that expensive to replace, though I'd definitely opt for a decent brand radiator over a cheap Chinese eBay special. I seem to recall (doing it DIY) replacing the entire system on my E36 325i was a few hundred £. Looked to be similar costs for my E46 330d also, but amazingly it never needed doing. The power steering pump and the aircon compressor did however.

And you really do want the manual in a 330Ci if you are getting one as a keen driver! The automatics whilst quite smooth, are nothing like autos of modern times, they are pretty "dumb", not really quick enough to be in the right gear when you want it if trying to have a hoon, but are relaxing enough on a motorway or long cruise.
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The auto vs manual issue is my biggest issue really. I love having a manual at times then at other times i hate it. I'm not completely shunning off manual, expecially is the auto box isn't all that in them.

I keep saying clubsports pop and peaking my interest aswell :P

http://www.phantommotorcompany.co.uk/used-BMW-3 SERIES-Wigan-Lancashire-986579
 
The cooling sytems on my m52 engine had problems because the head gasket failed, and although the radiator w/distorted expansion tank and hoses, were indeed a few hundred, the head gasket labour, which I could not do myself, was not.
Had the control arms done too.
 
I can honestly say that the e46 M3 that I owned was superb. It was five years old when I bought it in 07, and the absolute only issue I had with it was some very minor rust to the door sil. I'm pretty sure corrosion issues were rectified in the later models, but it still might be worth checking. Just a shame I rolled it into a lake.
 
New to me 330Ci Clubsport owner here also, had it 3 weeks now and love it! Like you always had a soft spot for the E46's and my friend was selling this one so I thought why not, even if I only keep it for a few years.
As said make sure its got decent service history, this one has had all BMW service history and suspension arms etc all done in the last few years, so I am hoping it stays relatively problem free for a few years at least.
They desperately need an LSD though.
 
Opinions on this one;

http://www.ktlcars.co.uk/used-cars/...ite-visit&_ga=1.52695466.349798482.1472108812

The advert's not amazing and I'm not a massive fan of the interior but this one is primarily just for test driving and see how I like the feel of it. MOT history says back in 2015 it failed due to play in the front pins/bushes so I'm hoping that means the suspension has already been overhauled.

Althought some of the reasons for previous failures has me wondering if the previous owner really looked after it; faulty bulbs, tyres below legal limit etc.

No harm taking it for a test as I have no intention of buying it anyway. Just thought I'd ask for motors views. :)
 
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