The E46 325ti Appreciation Thread
Discussion
Does anyone else here have 18s on their car? I have found that mine can be pretty bad for road noise at motorway speeds (particularly on a bad surface). I wondered if that was normal, I have Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2s on which have a decent rating for noise, and most of the suspension is now brand new.
Is this just an inevitable side effect of having so much low profile rubber on the road (255/35 rear, 225/40 front), or should I take a look at bearings or something else that could be causing the noise.
Cheers,
Ed
Is this just an inevitable side effect of having so much low profile rubber on the road (255/35 rear, 225/40 front), or should I take a look at bearings or something else that could be causing the noise.
Cheers,
Ed
Mr Tidy said:
Mine has the 17s that were standard on Sport models - 225/45 x 17 front and 245/40 x 17 rear and it is noisy on the concrete section of the M25 from J10 to J12!
But quiet compared to my Z4 on 18s!
Real issue is probably the road surface rather than the car!
Mine is a lot quieter on 205/50 x17s all round or especially 205/55x16s rather than the staggered Sport setup of 225/245 17s But quiet compared to my Z4 on 18s!
Real issue is probably the road surface rather than the car!
Just less rubber on the road
In case anyone is not aware, there is an open recall on the E46 for passenger airbag issues. As well as it being good for peace of mind, it seems that most dealers will give your car a once over and a bit of a clean if you take it in. Worth calling up your local service department (you need your VIN) and checking if your car has been done.
ethomas said:
In case anyone is not aware, there is an open recall on the E46 for passenger airbag issues. As well as it being good for peace of mind, it seems that most dealers will give your car a once over and a bit of a clean if you take it in. Worth calling up your local service department (you need your VIN) and checking if your car has been done.
Nice one, I'll give them a bell. 
If anyone is still looking for one of these I will be putting my 325ti up for sale. I am finding the pull of the M135i too much to resist and having convinced the boss that the maths work out I am going to go for it, decided life is too short to not drive the cars I really want to own. Would much rather it went to an enthusiast on here rather than having to go through e bay, PM me for info, I will get an ad on here when I am off work anyway. Its a manual car with 54000 miles, imola red, good condition
stepmeek said:
If anyone is still looking for one of these I will be putting my 325ti up for sale. I am finding the pull of the M135i too much to resist and having convinced the boss that the maths work out I am going to go for it, decided life is too short to not drive the cars I really want to own. Would much rather it went to an enthusiast on here rather than having to go through e bay, PM me for info, I will get an ad on here when I am off work anyway. Its a manual car with 54000 miles, imola red, good condition
Be a good buy for someone.I did the clutch pedal stop modification on mine yesterday. It is a huge improvement and didn't cost me a penny.
stepmeek said:
If anyone is still looking for one of these I will be putting my 325ti up for sale. I am finding the pull of the M135i too much to resist and having convinced the boss that the maths work out I am going to go for it, decided life is too short to not drive the cars I really want to own. Would much rather it went to an enthusiast on here rather than having to go through e bay, PM me for info, I will get an ad on here when I am off work anyway. Its a manual car with 54000 miles, imola red, good condition
PM sent as I think yours is a facelift - if it works out my pre-facelift Imola Red Sport may be available!!
Can't quite believe the love these are getting now. When I owned mine it was just seen as the ugly poor mans baby BMW. I had mine for almost 3 years, it was my second car after a 2 year stint in a peugeot 206 and the jump in quality and performance was staggering.
I sold mine about 2 and a half years ago, and it was real hard to sell. It was in good condition with a good service history but it just sat around on ebay/autotrader for weeks, (being pistachio green probably didn't help but I loved that colour), I needed it gone as I had brought a 5 series and had nowhere to store it so I put it up for 1k and it was gone a day or two later. The guy I sold it to was a nice chap but the strangest car buyer I have ever witnessed. He didn't really look at the car at all just sat in it as I took him for a drive, I mentioned the suspension was knocking and took him to a speed bump road so he could hear it, he was not fussed. He didn't even open the bonnet or anything, anyway he gave me 1k and drove away. 2 days later I get a text from him saying the suspension is shagged and would I give him some money towards the costs. I politely refused.
Was a great car though, had such fantastic grip, fantastic turn in, great noise, and a decent turn of pace. I wish I had of had my house back then as it would have been kept as a track toy, but I was living in a flat with space for 1 car. I'm actually abit upset that the secret is out now because I know I won't get one for the 1k I sold my 100k miler for.
I will try and dig out some pictures later.
ML51 YJK if anyone knows where it is?
I sold mine about 2 and a half years ago, and it was real hard to sell. It was in good condition with a good service history but it just sat around on ebay/autotrader for weeks, (being pistachio green probably didn't help but I loved that colour), I needed it gone as I had brought a 5 series and had nowhere to store it so I put it up for 1k and it was gone a day or two later. The guy I sold it to was a nice chap but the strangest car buyer I have ever witnessed. He didn't really look at the car at all just sat in it as I took him for a drive, I mentioned the suspension was knocking and took him to a speed bump road so he could hear it, he was not fussed. He didn't even open the bonnet or anything, anyway he gave me 1k and drove away. 2 days later I get a text from him saying the suspension is shagged and would I give him some money towards the costs. I politely refused.
Was a great car though, had such fantastic grip, fantastic turn in, great noise, and a decent turn of pace. I wish I had of had my house back then as it would have been kept as a track toy, but I was living in a flat with space for 1 car. I'm actually abit upset that the secret is out now because I know I won't get one for the 1k I sold my 100k miler for.
I will try and dig out some pictures later.
ML51 YJK if anyone knows where it is?
Sp00ks said:
Can't quite believe the love these are getting now. When I owned mine it was just seen as the ugly poor mans baby BMW. I had mine for almost 3 years, it was my second car after a 2 year stint in a peugeot 206 and the jump in quality and performance was staggering.
I sold mine about 2 and a half years ago, and it was real hard to sell. It was in good condition with a good service history but it just sat around on ebay/autotrader for weeks, (being pistachio green probably didn't help but I loved that colour), I needed it gone as I had brought a 5 series and had nowhere to store it so I put it up for 1k and it was gone a day or two later. The guy I sold it to was a nice chap but the strangest car buyer I have ever witnessed. He didn't really look at the car at all just sat in it as I took him for a drive, I mentioned the suspension was knocking and took him to a speed bump road so he could hear it, he was not fussed. He didn't even open the bonnet or anything, anyway he gave me 1k and drove away. 2 days later I get a text from him saying the suspension is shagged and would I give him some money towards the costs. I politely refused.
Was a great car though, had such fantastic grip, fantastic turn in, great noise, and a decent turn of pace. I wish I had of had my house back then as it would have been kept as a track toy, but I was living in a flat with space for 1 car. I'm actually abit upset that the secret is out now because I know I won't get one for the 1k I sold my 100k miler for.
I will try and dig out some pictures later.
ML51 YJK if anyone knows where it is?
You've summed it up really - i've had mine a few years now and bought it when they were really cheap for age/mileage covered. I don't think they're quite as good value comparatively now. When people were spending 4k on 330 coupes with rusting arches and cracking boot floors, these seemed a bargain for something pretty much as quick with a better noise standard.I sold mine about 2 and a half years ago, and it was real hard to sell. It was in good condition with a good service history but it just sat around on ebay/autotrader for weeks, (being pistachio green probably didn't help but I loved that colour), I needed it gone as I had brought a 5 series and had nowhere to store it so I put it up for 1k and it was gone a day or two later. The guy I sold it to was a nice chap but the strangest car buyer I have ever witnessed. He didn't really look at the car at all just sat in it as I took him for a drive, I mentioned the suspension was knocking and took him to a speed bump road so he could hear it, he was not fussed. He didn't even open the bonnet or anything, anyway he gave me 1k and drove away. 2 days later I get a text from him saying the suspension is shagged and would I give him some money towards the costs. I politely refused.
Was a great car though, had such fantastic grip, fantastic turn in, great noise, and a decent turn of pace. I wish I had of had my house back then as it would have been kept as a track toy, but I was living in a flat with space for 1 car. I'm actually abit upset that the secret is out now because I know I won't get one for the 1k I sold my 100k miler for.
I will try and dig out some pictures later.
ML51 YJK if anyone knows where it is?
Hatchback is useful and they still seat 5 unlike the 4 seater 125i coupe
I think comparing against an equivalent coupe the Compact is about half to 2/3 of the price, and won't be rusty like the equivalent coupe.
Whilst theoretically a 5 seater, my 3 under 10s are pretty squashed on the back bench, 3 fully grown human beings have no chance surely?
I think Stepmeeks is pre-facelift, but still a nice looking car imho.
Whilst theoretically a 5 seater, my 3 under 10s are pretty squashed on the back bench, 3 fully grown human beings have no chance surely?
I think Stepmeeks is pre-facelift, but still a nice looking car imho.
I saw loads of early cars self for a grand with 100k on the clock. I saw loads of cars that sat fe sale for weeks or months on end, some of them are still for sale now. Dealers price them high, private sellers on AT pitch high but they don't seem to sell.
The sports get a bit more, and the 6 speeds normally quite a bit more, but early 5 speed SEs are not expensive cars -
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=...
The sports get a bit more, and the 6 speeds normally quite a bit more, but early 5 speed SEs are not expensive cars -
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=...
BigTom85 said:
Whilst theoretically a 5 seater, my 3 under 10s are pretty squashed on the back bench, 3 fully grown human beings have no chance surely?
Granted, like any 3-series, it's an occasional 3 seater in the back.....just that in the 125 coupe, you can't do it even occasionally! Hatchback handy for bikes though
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