E46 330ci Sport - Polish a turd?

E46 330ci Sport - Polish a turd?

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RanchoGrande

Original Poster:

1,151 posts

168 months

Friday 5th February 2016
quotequote all
I'm at a bit of a crossroads with my car: I took it to get cleaned yesterday and while it does look nice and sparkly it's really highlighted the amount of scratches and scrapes I have all over it. There are also a number of other issues that need fixing but when I consider the list I'm thinking to myself: "is it worth the bother?" Mechanically the car is sound and has given me little trouble in the 4 odd years of ownership so it has value but it just looks a bit pony.

Here is the list of jobs that I could do:

1. Scratches/scrapes: All have appeared mysteriously at various corners and a couple of the panels. I suspect they have occurred in our car park which is very tight and is frequented by vans who happily ram cars when they manoeuvre around. It was also keyed across several panels whilst sat in the car park (yes, it's a lovely place)

2. Front wheels badly need a refurb.

3. Drivers seat bolster has worn through (alcantara)

4. Drivers side front indicator is loose and steamed up suggesting the need for replacement

5. Carbon effect trim inside is a bit scratched up.

6. Needs new BMW badge for the bonnet.

7. Cigarette lighter has stopped working

Can anyone offer any advice or tips on dealing with any of the above? I'm particularly keen to here about any experiences with mobile scratch repair companies.


hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Friday 5th February 2016
quotequote all
[quote=RanchoGrande]

1. Scratches/scrapes: All have appeared mysteriously at various corners and a couple of the panels. I suspect they have occurred in our car park which is very tight and is frequented by vans who happily ram cars when they manoeuvre around. It was also keyed across several panels whilst sat in the car park (yes, it's a lovely place)

- Give it a good polish - £10. Or a full pro detail - £250. Your choice.

2. Front wheels badly need a refurb.

- £150

3. Drivers seat bolster has worn through (alcantara)

- Hmmm. Ignore.

4. Drivers side front indicator is loose and steamed up suggesting the need for replacement

- £20 tops.

5. Carbon effect trim inside is a bit scratched up.

- Polish it, see how it comes up. £Free with polish above.

6. Needs new BMW badge for the bonnet.

- £10

7. Cigarette lighter has stopped working

- Fuse? Pence.

So... less than £450 to spend. Hardly the end of the world, right?

RanchoGrande

Original Poster:

1,151 posts

168 months

Friday 5th February 2016
quotequote all
When you put it like that I guess it's easily sorted! Some responses:

Polish - can you recommend somthing to take out minor/light scratches? I've tried various T-Cut type polishes in the past but never felt they did anything. Is a pro detail similar to something that a company like chips away would do?

I checked the fuse for the cigarette lighter and it appears to be OK - may need further investigation.

Searched for a BMW badge on ebay but none showed up - perhaps I'm searching for the wrong thing?

Going to order a new indicator as indeed, they are pretty cheap on ebay.

Matt_N

8,900 posts

201 months

Friday 5th February 2016
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RanchoGrande said:
When you put it like that I guess it's easily sorted! Some responses:

Polish - can you recommend somthing to take out minor/light scratches? I've tried various T-Cut type polishes in the past but never felt they did anything. Is a pro detail similar to something that a company like chips away would do?

I checked the fuse for the cigarette lighter and it appears to be OK - may need further investigation.

Searched for a BMW badge on ebay but none showed up - perhaps I'm searching for the wrong thing?

Going to order a new indicator as indeed, they are pretty cheap on ebay.
BMW roundel should bring up some results. Get the right size and off you go.

The carbon cube trim can be touched up quite easily with a black dry wipe marker, seriously! Or a light coat of black spray paint. It comes off really easily.

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Friday 5th February 2016
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The cigarette lighter is probably down to phone chargers - remove the fuse/battery and bend the tabs inside back carefully. Often get similar if phone charger works but lighter doesn't -

Mr_B

10,480 posts

242 months

Friday 5th February 2016
quotequote all
A 330 sport is still a liked and desirable car ( for the money ), you have the basis of a good car that very salable in good condition.
Only if there is serious rust or major chunks of repainting or engine work to do does it then make sense to ditch it for something. What you describe sounds minor stuff and not hugely expensive or expense you wouldn't get a good return on if you sold it some time after. Fix it.

bmwmike

6,918 posts

107 months

Friday 5th February 2016
quotequote all
All good advice

Even if you sell it you ll get a better price if you do everything above.

If the body is not rusted around rear arches etc then it's a good un

Cooling system should be included in your list of freshen up too if not already.

In many ways I regret selling my e46. Great cars imo



gregs656

10,818 posts

180 months

Friday 5th February 2016
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Also consider that you could buy a new car and the body work would suffer the same as you'd still be using the same car park (I assume).

jayemm89

4,003 posts

129 months

Friday 5th February 2016
quotequote all
If you like the car, take the advice others have given and repair the things that niggle you on the cheap. I applied some vinyl wrap to a few bits of my interior which annoyed me and it improved it considerably.

They're still great cars.

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Friday 5th February 2016
quotequote all
Or if it is a manual facelift (ideally in Imola Red) and you want to give up please PM me with a bit more info and a price! laugh

daemon

35,724 posts

196 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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Several years ago i bought a 330Ci SE in need of similar -

Front wing arches rotting
Alloys needed refurb
Side repeaters cloudy
BMW Roundels cracked / broken
Various smaller issues

I got two new wings for it (pattern fit £60 each), got the wheels powdercoated, side repeaters replaced and roundels off ebay.

Came up like this....



Subsequently sold it on. Didnt make money, but didn lose money either.

To me its VERY worth spending the money and getting it sorted. Fantastic cars that are becoming rarer and rarer.

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Wow daemon that is lovely!

Well worth the effort - shame you have already sold it!

daemon

35,724 posts

196 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
quotequote all
Mr Tidy said:
Wow daemon that is lovely!

Well worth the effort - shame you have already sold it!
Did these also....







All of them I bought looking very unloved and had the wings starting to rot and needed a bit of a tidy up. The black one was an SE on 19 MV2 reps and black leather - i gave £1200ish for it but had a full alloy refurb done and two new wings fitted for under £2000 all in. The other two are Sports, both cost me nearer to £2,000. Neither needed the wheels done though, just the wings and a tidy up.

I had a bit of a run on them for a while - cheapie ones seem to be rarer now.

Edited by daemon on Sunday 7th February 11:23

RanchoGrande

Original Poster:

1,151 posts

168 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
quotequote all
Daemon: Mine is exactly like the first one, Topaz Blue sport.

Looks like you did a nice job of smartening them up! Mine doesn't have any rust so it's a good base to start with.


RanchoGrande

Original Poster:

1,151 posts

168 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
quotequote all
Matt_N said:
BMW roundel should bring up some results. Get the right size and off you go.

The carbon cube trim can be touched up quite easily with a black dry wipe marker, seriously! Or a light coat of black spray paint. It comes off really easily.
Sorted, thank you - picked one up for a fiver. I was searching for E46 bonnet badge...

RanchoGrande

Original Poster:

1,151 posts

168 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
quotequote all
jayemm89 said:
If you like the car, take the advice others have given and repair the things that niggle you on the cheap. I applied some vinyl wrap to a few bits of my interior which annoyed me and it improved it considerably.

They're still great cars.
I do recall seeing somewhere that you can get them wrapped in the same carbon trim - may investigate that again as they are really scratched up on the door handles.

RanchoGrande

Original Poster:

1,151 posts

168 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
quotequote all
s m said:
The cigarette lighter is probably down to phone chargers - remove the fuse/battery and bend the tabs inside back carefully. Often get similar if phone charger works but lighter doesn't -
Going to go and check this today, I only ever use it for phone chargers so it probably is this. thank you

RanchoGrande

Original Poster:

1,151 posts

168 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
quotequote all
Mr Tidy said:
Or if it is a manual facelift (ideally in Imola Red) and you want to give up please PM me with a bit more info and a price! laugh
nope, it's blue and pre-facelift!

RanchoGrande

Original Poster:

1,151 posts

168 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
quotequote all
another question that perhaps someone could help me with:

Seeing as my bolster has ripped through, it's got me thinking - perhaps I could replace the interior with a set of leathers as there seem to be quite a few full sets kicking around on ebay. Has anyone done an interior switch before? Is it something that can be done at home or is more technical than that.

daemon

35,724 posts

196 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
quotequote all
RanchoGrande said:
another question that perhaps someone could help me with:

Seeing as my bolster has ripped through, it's got me thinking - perhaps I could replace the interior with a set of leathers as there seem to be quite a few full sets kicking around on ebay. Has anyone done an interior switch before? Is it something that can be done at home or is more technical than that.
An interior swap to leather would be a good idea. However a repair is easier and cheap these days.

Its unusual for a 330Ci not to have leather? I take it its Alcantara?