The E46 325ti Appreciation Thread

[Mr Tidy]

s m said:

Certainly seems harder to find late 6-speeders - they haven't really budged in price much in last few years

Yes, 6 speeders do seem pretty sought-after!

My Sport is a 5 speeder, but I found a 6-speed black SE with sunroof for my nephew about 18 months ago.

He became a father in April so got an E46 325i Touring - I was torn between having his 325ti or mine, but couldn't resist the Sport look in Imola Red in the end!

[court]

Is this anyone on here?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

I saw some of these pics further up the thread, so just wondering. I'm in the market since I sold my 330i touring last week.

It looks a good straight car but I wish it had a better description - for 3k I'd need to be really compelled to get on a flight to Belfast and drive back through Dublin to get a ferry.

[FredClogs]

court said:

Is this anyone on here?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

I saw some of these pics further up the thread, so just wondering. I'm in the market since I sold my 330i touring last week.

It looks a good straight car but I wish it had a better description - for 3k I'd need to be really compelled to get on a flight to Belfast and drive back through Dublin to get a ferry.

Mine was half that, okay it's not a six speed but the mileage and condition are above that one. I'd say it's a least £1k over priced.

[court]

FredClogs said:

Mine was half that, okay it's not a six speed but the mileage and condition are above that one. I'd say it's a least £1k over priced.

Exactly my point - that's dealer retail A1 price, but with a unfortunate private advert description with the obligatory blurred incorrectly orientated photos of service history. Bearing in mind most of the target market is a plane ride away it probably makes sense to write a decent advert.

[PaulGT3]

For that price it would need to be perfect condition and I'd want proof that all the common issues were seen to. Otherwise I'd say it's probably a grand over priced. Mine was on similar mileage 2 years ago when I bought it for 2k. I then had to do all the common failure points which crop up around that age and mileage and I expect will need doing on.that one too.

[FredClogs]

court said:

FredClogs said:

Mine was half that, okay it's not a six speed but the mileage and condition are above that one. I'd say it's a least £1k over priced.

Exactly my point - that's dealer retail A1 price, but with a unfortunate private advert description with the obligatory blurred incorrectly orientated photos of service history. Bearing in mind most of the target market is a plane ride away it probably makes sense to write a decent advert.

Indeed, that as well. I'd give it a miss.

[s m]

FredClogs said:

court said:

Is this anyone on here?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

I saw some of these pics further up the thread, so just wondering. I'm in the market since I sold my 330i touring last week.

It looks a good straight car but I wish it had a better description - for 3k I'd need to be really compelled to get on a flight to Belfast and drive back through Dublin to get a ferry.

Mine was half that, okay it's not a six speed but the mileage and condition are above that one. I'd say it's a least £1k over priced.

Is 620/644 option that rare? I have it on mine

[FredClogs]

s m said:

FredClogs said:

court said:

Is this anyone on here?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

I saw some of these pics further up the thread, so just wondering. I'm in the market since I sold my 330i touring last week.

It looks a good straight car but I wish it had a better description - for 3k I'd need to be really compelled to get on a flight to Belfast and drive back through Dublin to get a ferry.

Mine was half that, okay it's not a six speed but the mileage and condition are above that one. I'd say it's a least £1k over priced.

Is 620/644 option that rare? I have it on mine

Bluetooth? Who cares

It's not got full leather either has it?

[s m]

FredClogs said:

s m said:

FredClogs said:

court said:

Is this anyone on here?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

I saw some of these pics further up the thread, so just wondering. I'm in the market since I sold my 330i touring last week.

It looks a good straight car but I wish it had a better description - for 3k I'd need to be really compelled to get on a flight to Belfast and drive back through Dublin to get a ferry.

Mine was half that, okay it's not a six speed but the mileage and condition are above that one. I'd say it's a least £1k over priced.

Is 620/644 option that rare? I have it on mine

Bluetooth? Who cares

It's not got full leather either has it?

Yes, was happier in having satnav on mine which is useful in Europe. Leather is useful when you have kids as well - came up well with the Dodo Juice cleaner as well.

It seems they're not getting cheaper, I paid less for one with less mileage...........over 3 years back .....they were even more of a ginger stepchild back then with BMW 2nd hand car buyers

[gregs656]

FredClogs said:

Bluetooth? Who cares

It's not got full leather either has it?

I prefer the Alcantara, so full leather isn't a draw for everyone.

Looks like a nice car. I disagree that it is a grand over priced, but it is over.

SM - do you know the history of your car? I wonder if it was a demonstrator or press car as it does seem to have everything chucked at it!

[4X4 R]

court said:

Is this anyone on here?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

I saw some of these pics further up the thread, so just wondering. I'm in the market since I sold my 330i touring last week.

It looks a good straight car but I wish it had a better description - for 3k I'd need to be really compelled to get on a flight to Belfast and drive back through Dublin to get a ferry.

Hi! Yes, this is my car. I will send you PM with more details about the car.

cheers

[court]

4X4 R said:

Hi! Yes, this is my car. I will send you PM with more details about the car.

cheers

Brill, thanks

[JakeT]

Last year I paid less money for a car with 30k less miles on it, and that had recently had a new radiator and other bits. Okay it's a 5spd but £3,200 is right at the top of the market. Even though the 6spd Sport is the most desirable model I don't think it's worth such a premium unless it's sub 50k mileage.

[4X4 R]

Since more people were interested here goes some more detail:

- Original paint , so no sign of any accident.
- 0 rust
- The radiator, water pump, rear springs, rear brake lines, drop links and serpentine were changed. I have all the receipts. I can send you photos of it if you want.
- 4 contisportcontact 5 in Jan2015 ( +-15K miles). I can also add 1 extra front contisportcontact 5 with low miles.
- passenger airbag recalled in 2015.

Back in April 2015 I bought the best example I could find independently of the asked price. For me this is actually the cheapest way of buying a > 10 years old car.
The former owner is also a pistonheads member so you can find more details about the car.

I'm selling it since I will not need a car in the UK anymore.


Please let me know if you have more questions.

cheers

[s m]

gregs656 said:

SM - do you know the history of your car? I wonder if it was a demonstrator or press car as it does seem to have everything chucked at it!

Ah, sorry if it came over like that - i look at quite a lot of Sport ones that come up for sale and check the specs so you get used to the common options. A friend is after one currently so I keep an eye out for them too.
I think with my car, the owner, before me, went mad with the options checkbox and ticked a lot of stuff. Strangely, they never went for xenons though. They seemed to rifle through the BMW Performance catalogue as well at the same time so maybe they had a good discount.

What I would say though is that it was a lot easier to find a really nice one just a few years back. I think the 325ti Cup must have snapped up a few as well

[Hil_lo]

Mines identical to said car mentioned above, purchased a year ago for 2.2k. So id say that's over priced.

[gregs656]

Hil_lo said:

Mines identical to said car mentioned above, purchased a year ago for 2.2k. So id say that's over priced.

The market for these is a bit odd so you buying a similar car for 2.2 doesn't mean much. If someone is looking for a 6 speed 325ti Sport close to them then this could easily be worth 3.2 to them as how long will they have to wait for the next one?

[4X4 R]

Hil_lo said:

Mines identical to said car mentioned above, purchased a year ago for 2.2k. So id say that's over priced.

And how much did you spend in maintenance? Did it ever breakdown on you ?

I understand the appeal of buying cheap and fix things up during the ownership. But for in this case I preferred to buy the best possible.

Since I bought my car in May 2015 it was in the garage just 2 days and it never broke down. So it payed off quite well.

[Hil_lo]

4X4 R said:

And how much did you spend in maintenance? Did it ever breakdown on you ?

I understand the appeal of buying cheap and fix things up during the ownership. But for in this case I preferred to buy the best possible.

Since I bought my car in May 2015 it was in the garage just 2 days and it never broke down. So it payed off quite well.

Power steering went, fixed a day later myself.

I've changed most items that often fail, but not because they were broken at the time it's just preventative maintaninece, and is important with any e46 now TBH. The car is over 13years old and approaching 100k, things need changing, regardless of whether you think it's a top example.
If the paintwork and interior are in good condition then yes I'd say it's worth it. But buyer is still going to have to factor in extra costs with these cars, so buying at a high price is not something I'd consider. Just my thoughts.

Hope the sale goes well

[dirtychinchilla]

gregs656 said:

The market for these is a bit odd so you buying a similar car for 2.2 doesn't mean much. If someone is looking for a 6 speed 325ti Sport close to them then this could easily be worth 3.2 to them as how long will they have to wait for the next one?

How do you know if it's the sport? Mine has the M Sport package, but I'm not convinced it's the sport - also it's a 325Ti.