E46 330ci 325ci differences

[twoblacklines]

Are there any other differences with these other than the engine?

I ask this because I have been hunting a 330ci coupe manual with heated seats for over a year now and not found any suitables.

Yet right now I see 4 examples on autotrader alone and every time I search... for around 8k, some without heated seats but £500 retrofit.

Is it just the engine that is different in these? No other differences? Engine swap can't be that expensive right?

thanks

[twoblacklines]

All the ones in the classifieds are high mileage 330ci's compared to low mileage 325ci's. My last 330ci was 108k and it showed!!!!! I want sub 60k but I notice when they do come along they are up in 335i M Sport price ranges. CRAZY!

[twoblacklines]

The Ti is a bit ugly.

I am not saying I would sacrifice the bigger engine for heated seats I am saying I would sacrifice buying a car with that engine that might be a bit ropey for buying a MINT low mileage 325ci and IF all the parts are the same except the engine (the whole point of this thread) I could just put a 330ci engine in it. And have a mint low mileage 330ci.

The only answers to my question so far have been

engine
gearbox
I believe 330ci exhaust has 2 pipes all the way down and 325ci has one but can't be too hard to find an OEM 330ci exhaust.
brakes?

I owned a 108k 330ci auto this time last year. It passed all the HPI checks and "looked" mint so I bought it. A week later the brakes stopped working, the dealer told me to fk off, a spring cracked, and I auctioned it for 1/3 of the price I bought it for (sold it to WBAC and they auctioned it). On the auction notes it says it was a cat D. On RAC's HPI it didn't. So I paid £7k last year for a high mileage CAT D car that was listed by the dealer AND the HPI check as a high mileage non-cat-anything car.

So you might understand why sinking a further £5k into a high mileage 330ci might be a little offputting?

[twoblacklines]

Vee said:

I think you need a reality check on your expectations.
You are after a car that has done less than 6k miles per year.
Anything that low is practically brand new condition in E46 terms so they're priced accordingly £7-£10k, excluding Hexagon Highgate stuff which is always ridiculously priced.
You are comparing to 100k mile E92s which will have poor history, probably need money spending on them, are double the road tax and cost more to insure because of the theft issue.

Yes? It is not a fking M3. It is a 330ci. Plenty of other marques sell with the mileage I want and condition I want for the price I expect to pay. Considering they actually go for that on autotrader with "buts" I can't see how I need a reality check.

Maybe you need a reality check thinking a 12 year old low mileage tourer is worth the same price as a 3 year old V8 M3?

[twoblacklines]

But it is not a sought after car. It is not an M3.

There is clearly a silly divide where a sub 50k mile one is "worth" £25k but one of the same year condition and spec is "worth" £4k.

For example about 6 months ago a mint one came up...55 plate, 40k, FBMWSH, heated seats, tan interior, black etc... I nearly bought it then but it was in the NW and I am in the SW, £8k.

THAT is reasonable. Not £25k. E93 M3 money.

[twoblacklines]

Vee said:

Says the person who has looked for one for a year.
They are sought after because the engine if maintained properly is very reliable.
They look good and are good to drive.
The M3 costs a whole lot more to run and has the boot floor issue.
E92s have their own issues which lead to higher running costs.

The E46 330ci also suffers from subframe issues just like the M3. I thought you were an expert?

Also, their engines are reliable but the cooling system is not.
They go through bushes and other suspension arms extremely quickly.
The automatic gearboxes die.

You make out the M3 needs tons of money to run and that the 330ci is cheap to run..it isn't if you look after it properly. Which most don't. And then when you try and buy one you buy one with a load of problems.

[twoblacklines]

Smuler said:

Consider this one, it's not as far as the North West

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

That has NO spec.

It doesn't even have the armrest, let alone anything else.

[twoblacklines]

I don't know why all the hype about the Clubsport either. It has crap looking wheels, a spoiler which ruins the flow of the car, and lesser sound deadening under the bonnet. Not really worth a premium eh?

[twoblacklines]

Isn't Imola even rarer than Estoril in these? Certainly looks better to my eye.

I would have an M3 BUT I hate the noise they make. They sound like a box of loose spanners! I know that is subjective but the noise a 330ci makes with an intake is lovely, and you can wire the exhaust valve up to a switch to have that lovely straight 6 rumble on/off.

[twoblacklines]

earlycarrera said:

I recently bought a 325ci, manual, 06 plate, 60K, good spec car. Like you, I set out looking for a 330ci manual, but they were either over priced or poor quality. I "settled" for the smaller engine car because, for me, I get more enjoyment from owning a good quality example over more power. The 325ci isn't a rocket ship, it has reasonable performance and sounds good, but even the 330ci isn't that quick a car by the standards of today, depending on what you are used to driving.

Yeah, this is the way I am going to go when I move house. IT also seems that people when they bought 325ci's they paid more money on spec like heated seats and HK whereas 330ci customers just bought the base model. The extras are a rarity in all the 330ci's I find for sale whereas most of the 325ci's have them.

According to a "tuner" the 330ci engine goes straight into a 325ci, all I need is key reprogramming, and the 330ci gearbox, and clutch.

[twoblacklines]

duff said:

Are you seriously considering an engine swap just for the sake of a low mileage car with HK and heated seats?

You bought a dud last time but these are generally very robust cars and good for high miles. As has been said many times before, buy on condition not mileage. Mines gone from 100k to 130k without issue, maybe it would benefit from new shocks/bushes but the same could be said of a low mileage one, they're still over 10 years old.

This looks good - http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=...

Edited by duff on Friday 11th December 08:45

How can you tell condition of stuff like chassis or engine sensors before you buy though?

At least with lower, genuine mileage, you have more chance of a car being better condition.

As it happens I was reading yesturday about my old BMW having been MOT'd in Jan 2015 at 95k miles, which is extraordinary because when I owned it in October 2014, it had 108k miles...

I wonder how many times that car has been clocked?

[twoblacklines]

It probably would but if I were to find a minter I probably wouldn't sell it. Getting to the point financially now that I don't need to sell on to fund my next idea!

I like the idea of owning multiple cars especially as it means you can run something nice like say, an S600 and if it breaks it doesn't cripple you.