Discussion
I've got a facelift manual 330i saloon and with my 8 mile each way a/b road commute I'm showing 29.7mpg on the trip.
I would agree on the rust issue, mine is going on the rear arches and the lower edge of the wing under the fuel flap, apparently one of the bumper clips rubs here and causes rust, brilliant!
Mine is quite well specced with HK audio and bi-xenons (xenon main beam aswel as dipped) but no heated seats or nav.
I got mine in Feb last year and have had a sticky caliper that I replaced with a OEM re-furbed unit from ECP for around £100 and a broken thermostat which was around £50 for a decent Wahler one, again from ECP.
They are heavy on bushes, both front wishbones and rear trailing arms.
The engine is a joy though, if a little muted as standard and whilst not as nimble as some cars it does handle and grip pretty well.
Road tax is a bit of a killer, £290 for mine now and the 18" tyres can be costly.
Facelift coupes seems rare as they were facelifted a year or so after the saloon, so they only made the facelift coupe for 2 or 3 years.
I would agree on the rust issue, mine is going on the rear arches and the lower edge of the wing under the fuel flap, apparently one of the bumper clips rubs here and causes rust, brilliant!
Mine is quite well specced with HK audio and bi-xenons (xenon main beam aswel as dipped) but no heated seats or nav.
I got mine in Feb last year and have had a sticky caliper that I replaced with a OEM re-furbed unit from ECP for around £100 and a broken thermostat which was around £50 for a decent Wahler one, again from ECP.
They are heavy on bushes, both front wishbones and rear trailing arms.
The engine is a joy though, if a little muted as standard and whilst not as nimble as some cars it does handle and grip pretty well.
Road tax is a bit of a killer, £290 for mine now and the 18" tyres can be costly.
Facelift coupes seems rare as they were facelifted a year or so after the saloon, so they only made the facelift coupe for 2 or 3 years.
R2T2 said:
I must admit these are still looking rather attractive!
Really? I owned one a while back and while it was nice to drive it did like to regularly empty my wallet. Never anything major just regular small ammounts to keep on top of stuff.
Not a high point for BMW in terms of reliability that's for sure.
Mr2Mike said:
R2T2 said:
MPG wise, would I reasonably expect 25mpg+ around town?
That would be a VERY optimistic expectation.Devil2575 said:
Mr2Mike said:
R2T2 said:
MPG wise, would I reasonably expect 25mpg+ around town?
That would be a VERY optimistic expectation.I have just got a saloon.
The throttle is stupidly irritating.
The other things like parking sensors even worse - why do they wait over 1 sec before beeping?
Windows hard to control. The rear window mechanism manage to break(!). Danke.
The box not too great.
Front leather seats very uncomfortable at the lower back, so a cushion needed(!) (3 people felt the same).
What iz wrong with ze German engneenering ?
BUT...
It's a lovely and really powerful engine.
It's a RWD and feels good to drive in spite of the idiotic throttle.
I'm still enjoying it quite a lot (1.5 months only).
The throttle is stupidly irritating.
The other things like parking sensors even worse - why do they wait over 1 sec before beeping?
Windows hard to control. The rear window mechanism manage to break(!). Danke.
The box not too great.
Front leather seats very uncomfortable at the lower back, so a cushion needed(!) (3 people felt the same).
What iz wrong with ze German engneenering ?
BUT...
It's a lovely and really powerful engine.
It's a RWD and feels good to drive in spite of the idiotic throttle.
I'm still enjoying it quite a lot (1.5 months only).
verbarthe said:
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 .
My experience is almost identical to the above, same model, same year. 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 .
In 5 years I've replaced a broken rear spring and renewed the brake lines otherwise service costs only. Drove the wife & I to France and did a 3 day mooch around the D Day landing beaches last August and it was the perfect car for roof down tiny country lane motoring out there.
In coupe form, in the right colour (dark grey) these still look modern. Very well proportioned and the 3L IL6 is a great engine.
Si_man306 said:
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.
Was that down to the internal blind out of interest? Seems a weak point on the E46 as I've had to replace the blind sliders on all the E46s I've had secondhandSprings 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
I'm a bit surprised at some of the comments on here.
I've had my '02 330ci sport auto for about 10 months and absolutely love it. I've had no problems that I wouldn't expect on a 13 year old car.
I'm on 120k miles and it runs very nicely. It uses very little oil, it's VERY comfortable - I love the seats, I get 36+mpg on motorways and about 29mpg average. The ride is a little harsh on the MV2s around town, but I actually like it - it feels very involving as a driver. On a motorway, it seems to smooth out too so I don't find it tiring on a long trip at all.
I've just had the vanos seals done by a local specialist (very cheap) and that sorted out a niggling issue I had with the throttle response.
I do have few odd bits of corrosion starting to come through, but nothing too serious - a new wing will sort most of it.
I think my only complaint would be that the stereo doesn't have the best sound, but I can certainly live with that.
I've had my '02 330ci sport auto for about 10 months and absolutely love it. I've had no problems that I wouldn't expect on a 13 year old car.
I'm on 120k miles and it runs very nicely. It uses very little oil, it's VERY comfortable - I love the seats, I get 36+mpg on motorways and about 29mpg average. The ride is a little harsh on the MV2s around town, but I actually like it - it feels very involving as a driver. On a motorway, it seems to smooth out too so I don't find it tiring on a long trip at all.
I've just had the vanos seals done by a local specialist (very cheap) and that sorted out a niggling issue I had with the throttle response.
I do have few odd bits of corrosion starting to come through, but nothing too serious - a new wing will sort most of it.
I think my only complaint would be that the stereo doesn't have the best sound, but I can certainly live with that.
Si_man306 said:
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.
Did you test drive the car before you realised you hated 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
Boggles the mind how someone can hate a car so much but then buy it and run it for two years.
daveco said:
Si_man306 said:
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.
Did you test drive the car before you realised you hated 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
Boggles the mind how someone can hate a car so much but then buy it and run it for two years.
My 330i was plenty quick enough and could easily keep up with any contemporary hot hatch such as a Focus ST, Cooper S, Civic Type-R, especially once you got to higher speeds.
They can cost a few quid to run but I think he must have bought a dog. Incidentally mine wasn't as fast as it should have been till I repaced a cam position sensor.
R2T2 said:
So there appears to be some lemons out there, but get a good one, and they're brilliant?
About the gist of it?
There are lemons out there and you will see plenty of cars with obvious problems such as rust and bits not working. I'd avoid these unless you factor in the cost to repair, especially as for all the problems you notice you find at least as many again in your first month of ownership. I think a lot of them have been bought by people who didn't realise that you need to spend a bit of cash to properly manintain them hence why so many are out there with so many problems.About the gist of it?
A sorted one is a nice car though. Plenty of grunt makes for relaxing but rapid progress and they are nice and refined. I'd have one again but i'd go into it being prepared to be very picky and wait for the right car. I'd also have at least a grand in the bank to sort out any issues. It also helps if you are prepared to do some of the work yourself.
Devil2575 said:
R2T2 said:
So there appears to be some lemons out there, but get a good one, and they're brilliant?
About the gist of it?
There are lemons out there and you will see plenty of cars with obvious problems such as rust and bits not working. I'd avoid these unless you factor in the cost to repair, especially as for all the problems you notice you find at least as many again in your first month of ownership. I think a lot of them have been bought by people who didn't realise that you need to spend a bit of cash to properly manintain them hence why so many are out there with so many problems.About the gist of it?
A sorted one is a nice car though. Plenty of grunt makes for relaxing but rapid progress and they are nice and refined. I'd have one again but i'd go into it being prepared to be very picky and wait for the right car. I'd also have at least a grand in the bank to sort out any issues. It also helps if you are prepared to do some of the work yourself.
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