Discussion
R2T2 said:
They still look fresher than the E90 to me.
I fully agree but that isn't really helping when it comes to running the thing, Fortunately I do all my own maintenance and oil is cheap for me
I don't really drive mine that hard so get mainly 28 30mpg on the fuel comp
i only have it because I wanted an estate that was slightly interesting and not to big
Laguna 3 estate for me next far far better car
R2T2 said:
SidewaysSi said:
I bought an E36 328 a couple of weeks back which does not use any oil. The subframe issues were a concern as my mum's old E46 suffered.
At this price point, I would look towards a Compact instead.
I don't like the look of the compacts. These, to me, look great!At this price point, I would look towards a Compact instead.
s m said:
I put up with the Compact looks and don't worry so much about rust and boot floor issues.Every cloud and all that.......
Interesting, I thought as the E46 Compact has the same suspension/subframe combination as a coupe/manual/touring the floor could still be an issue. How is a Compact less susceptible to the floor issue?
makes me want a compact even more...
SidewaysSi said:
I bought an E36 328 a couple of weeks back which does not use any oil. The subframe issues were a concern as my mum's old E46 suffered.
At this price point, I would look towards a Compact instead.
I had a e36 m3 that I took up to 260,000 miles it never used any oil between services At this price point, I would look towards a Compact instead.
I had it for 6 years and it cost me less in 6 years than what my e46 has in 2 years bar fuel tyres and insurance
rallycross said:
Also be aware the ride on the 18" alloys is terrible not a good motorway car long trips you become very aware of the bumps / joins in the surface.
This ^.Take it down some patched up roads on a test drive and see how much the steering wheel twists about. It gets very tiring very quickly. Those MV2 wheels seem to cause that problem on all of them - I had it with my 330. Also they're a right pain in the arse to clean in between the spokes too.
What the other chaps are saying about the oil consumption is very true too. Expect to budget 1 litre per 1000 miles best case scenario.
The acceleration is very linear on them - there's no sense of occasion or speed at all and I quickly found it to be very dull to drive. High teens to low 20s around town, high 20s on a run at 80. You might see 30 mpg sat behind a truck at 56mph.
I replaced my suspension with bilsteins and eibach springs as the original was totally shot
I also took off the mv1's on mine because they were a total arse to clean, and I prefer style 32's
The ride is not great but it is better than it was before, the rear is particularly crashy but being an estate it reverbs around the whole car and everything bar the dashboard rattles and creaks like a good un on poor road surfaces which is everywhere lol
I also took off the mv1's on mine because they were a total arse to clean, and I prefer style 32's
The ride is not great but it is better than it was before, the rear is particularly crashy but being an estate it reverbs around the whole car and everything bar the dashboard rattles and creaks like a good un on poor road surfaces which is everywhere lol
R2T2 said:
Anything specific I would look to look/listen for on a test drive?
Obviously look for the rust, as they do rust if not cared for. I've waxoyled the hell out of mine, including taking off the front arch liners and cleaning up the inner wings. Mine is fine for rust.On the test drive the suspension should be free of knocks. One thing, which will be bloody obvious, is the steering being a bit wayward. This is the bushes on the suspension arm.
Oil consumption is normal. Often rectified to an extent by changing the crank ventilation valve. Mine had breathing problems which then caused the cam cover gasket to start leaking. This, after sorting the CVV, is an easy fix. Mine was at 600 miles per litre beforehand but that was using oil and losing oil at the same time.
I love mine (see profile), it actually filled the space left after I sold my RX8 (but is twice as efficient on fuel!). Looking at the adverts on this thread I think I may have under-estimated the value of mine, which is a pleasant surprise.
All that jazz said:
This ^.
Take it down some patched up roads on a test drive and see how much the steering wheel twists about. It gets very tiring very quickly. Those MV2 wheels seem to cause that problem on all of them - I had it with my 330. Also they're a right pain in the arse to clean in between the spokes too.
Funny you should say that. I recently swapped my MV2 wheels for a set of old skool Style 32s (both sets 18 inch). The ride is far smoother now, plus I think the car looks much better nowTake it down some patched up roads on a test drive and see how much the steering wheel twists about. It gets very tiring very quickly. Those MV2 wheels seem to cause that problem on all of them - I had it with my 330. Also they're a right pain in the arse to clean in between the spokes too.
aka_kerrly said:
s m said:
I put up with the Compact looks and don't worry so much about rust and boot floor issues.Every cloud and all that.......
Interesting, I thought as the E46 Compact has the same suspension/subframe combination as a coupe/manual/touring the floor could still be an issue. How is a Compact less susceptible to the floor issue?
makes me want a compact even more...
I've found it's pointless giving an opinion on here generally as there's always people that know more...... But there's a company called Redish Motorsport that have repaired quite a few E46 boot floor cracks.
Here is a post from James, one of the main guys from Redish motorsport with his view
Make of that what you will
Anyway, back to the E46 330i
StuTheGrouch said:
R2T2 said:
Anything specific I would look to look/listen for on a test drive?
Obviously look for the rust, as they do rust if not cared for. I've waxoyled the hell out of mine, including taking off the front arch liners and cleaning up the inner wings. Mine is fine for rust.On the test drive the suspension should be free of knocks. One thing, which will be bloody obvious, is the steering being a bit wayward. This is the bushes on the suspension arm.
Oil consumption is normal. Often rectified to an extent by changing the crank ventilation valve. Mine had breathing problems which then caused the cam cover gasket to start leaking. This, after sorting the CVV, is an easy fix. Mine was at 600 miles per litre beforehand but that was using oil and losing oil at the same time.
I love mine (see profile), it actually filled the space left after I sold my RX8 (but is twice as efficient on fuel!). Looking at the adverts on this thread I think I may have under-estimated the value of mine, which is a pleasant surprise.
Both of which I'm looking at seem to be okay rust wise, and I'm a large fan of detailing, so i hope keeping a good wax coat on it along with a waxoyl treatment should keep it all at bay.
Post CVV replacement, did you notice a vast improvement in oil use?
Did you DIY?
Are there any other common mods that you have done?
Yours looks epic!
Ive had my 04 330 CI Facelift M Sport Convertible for over 5 years now and love it. Things to look out for as already mentioned are some can be oil burners , others aren't. Vanos usually needs new seals at around 90k -ish as does the CCV ( which usually causes the oil burning ) They can rust on the front wings and rear arches , usually from the inside . Radiators can bow over time so worth checking this when viewing .Water pumps can fail on pre facelift models due to plastic impellers , I believe facelift models have metal ones. Gearchange can be notchy when starting from cold , especially in winter , it s a good idea to change the gearbox and diff oil at some point (forget Bmw s sealed for life , the car will really benefit from this).
I get around 25-28mpg around town and easily 30mpg on a run ( and I don t mollycoddle it . Just remember you re buying a car that can be between nine to fifteen years old so don t be expecting perfection but overall they are and can be very ,very good cars to drive and own if you get a good one. Lots of threads on different forums on them so Google is your friend , good luck with it .
I get around 25-28mpg around town and easily 30mpg on a run ( and I don t mollycoddle it . Just remember you re buying a car that can be between nine to fifteen years old so don t be expecting perfection but overall they are and can be very ,very good cars to drive and own if you get a good one. Lots of threads on different forums on them so Google is your friend , good luck with it .
I had one, for two years. Cost me over 4k in that time, everything went wrong and it drank a litre of oil every 1000 miles.
Springs snapping
Rust
Alloys corroding
Steering column (£500+)
Thermostat (£150+)
Bushes (twice in 2 years!)
parking sensors fail
Leaking boot
Sunroof ate iteself jamming it open (only £300 for the new parts)
It also has the worst delay in the throttle (due to drive-by-wire) of any car i've driven. There is a reset to improve it but it was a complete joke and bordering on dangerous.
Rubbish to drive and relatively slow compared to any vaguely 'warm' car.
That was on a car with 60k, full BMWSH.
Oh, and the only time I took it to the main dealer for a service, it came back with an extra 150 miles on the clock following an oil change.
There were 3 good things about the car which is why I believe people still go for them.
1) They look good/ make you look 'sucessfull'
2) The engine sounds nice (in a boring rep sort of way, but it is still a straight 6)
3) The doors go clunk so sound expensive.
That's it.
Springs snapping
Rust
Alloys corroding
Steering column (£500+)
Thermostat (£150+)
Bushes (twice in 2 years!)
parking sensors fail
Leaking boot
Sunroof ate iteself jamming it open (only £300 for the new parts)
It also has the worst delay in the throttle (due to drive-by-wire) of any car i've driven. There is a reset to improve it but it was a complete joke and bordering on dangerous.
Rubbish to drive and relatively slow compared to any vaguely 'warm' car.
That was on a car with 60k, full BMWSH.
Oh, and the only time I took it to the main dealer for a service, it came back with an extra 150 miles on the clock following an oil change.
There were 3 good things about the car which is why I believe people still go for them.
1) They look good/ make you look 'sucessfull'
2) The engine sounds nice (in a boring rep sort of way, but it is still a straight 6)
3) The doors go clunk so sound expensive.
That's it.
Edited by Si_man306 on Tuesday 19th May 22:00
sounds like i was lucky with my old one as nothing went wrong in 3 years years and 25k miles, not a great deal i can add that has not already been said but the oil consumption must be checked weekly if it was like mine and used a litre every 1000 miles (my local indy garage said this was common with this engine)
The engine is a peach, plenty of low down power and if you make full use of the rev range then despite what people say it is a quick car ( but i can imagine an auto soft top would feel less so). however between 2-4k rpm the engine is abit bland and if your used to turbo power it might annoy you having to drop down a gear
check the exhaust valve is not rusted shut, mine was stuck open which sounded great but was very boomy at 2k rpm and if the engine was cold it was pretty loud on idle incase that will be an issue
good luck if you get one, i would happily have another
The engine is a peach, plenty of low down power and if you make full use of the rev range then despite what people say it is a quick car ( but i can imagine an auto soft top would feel less so). however between 2-4k rpm the engine is abit bland and if your used to turbo power it might annoy you having to drop down a gear
check the exhaust valve is not rusted shut, mine was stuck open which sounded great but was very boomy at 2k rpm and if the engine was cold it was pretty loud on idle incase that will be an issue
good luck if you get one, i would happily have another
R2T2 said:
What an informative post! Thank you!
Both of which I'm looking at seem to be okay rust wise, and I'm a large fan of detailing, so i hope keeping a good wax coat on it along with a waxoyl treatment should keep it all at bay.
Post CVV replacement, did you notice a vast improvement in oil use?
Did you DIY?
Are there any other common mods that you have done?
Yours looks epic!
CVV replacement did make a slight improvement. I did do it myself, and the neighbours were treated to some colourful language that day! It is a pain to do and will take a minimum of 6 hours as access is a problem and you need to get so much stuff out of the way first. Both of which I'm looking at seem to be okay rust wise, and I'm a large fan of detailing, so i hope keeping a good wax coat on it along with a waxoyl treatment should keep it all at bay.
Post CVV replacement, did you notice a vast improvement in oil use?
Did you DIY?
Are there any other common mods that you have done?
Yours looks epic!
No other mods. But I have changed the whole cooling system too, as every component eventually failed (though the original thermostat is on there and is fine for now...). All of that was quite easy, and it's nice to have a shiny new radiator in the car for peace of mind.
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