Looking for an e46 330i manual touring

[Haynesman123]

How long am I going to wait before a good one of these pops up?!

Been looking through the current crop on auto trader/eBay but nothing that ticks all my boxes: FSH, M Sport, 6speed manual. (would go for a 5 speed if it meant I was getting a better car).

Anyone know of one for sale/suggest any other places to look?

[Haynesman123]

Not what I wanted to hear!

I've only been at it just over a month so won't be giving up just yet.

[Haynesman123]

CB 987 said:

I will let you know if I see any crop up, as I never seem to stop looking!

Thank you!

I've had a look at e91s and they are ver budget for a good one. I'd also heard they can be far more problematic than an e46 with electrics etc?

[Haynesman123]

Smuler said:

Re: other places to look, when I was (briefly) looking at E46's, coupes tho, I contacted some of the main BMW dealers as one or two had come up. In the end they were never retailed. They were all mechanically sound, they said, but because of say some refurb wheels, minor cosmetic bodywork issues there wasn't felt enough (any) profit margin for them after prep to retail as an Approved Used Car with warranty etc.

The cars went off to auction, and these were auctions listed by the main dealers via BCA. You'll see this specification on the website listing.

I spotted two of the cars I'd discussed and even later on spotted one on ATrader listed by an 'ordinary' dealer, so I guess whilst auctions sound daunting you could well be buying the same car you'd later consider, presumably for a lot more, on a forecourt.

Interesting you mention BCA, they have a lot of cars going through - a lot of which they get through webuyanycar.com I believe. I'll keep an eye out on their website but not being able to drive the car first does make me cautious. Were the BMW dealers not interested in selling to you directly even if they didn't want to put it on their forecourt?

[Haynesman123]

Smuler said:

What's your budget?
Maximum miles ?

I often browse, so if I see anything I can shout up.

When I started off looking at 330i autos I thought £3.5k would get me a good example, though not ultra low miles. But I've seen very few decent manuals for sale, let alone 6 speeders so not sure what the going rate is. Mileage wise I'm not too fussed about low milers, but hope to be sub 130k.

Loosecannon: having had a manual, would you ever consider an auto?

[Haynesman123]

Tried out an auto 330i coupe and thought the acceleration was a bit heavy at low speeds (pulling out of junctions etc), so decided a manual might be better. There certainly are more autos to choose from though so it may have to be.

[Haynesman123]

you may be right about a 325 manual over a 330 auto. I'll widen my search. But annoyingly the dilemma of only wanting a 330 over a 325 is all too real, I'll have to get over it!

[Haynesman123]

Smuler said:

Now, I am really thinking outside the box, (or talking out of my arse as some might think) but have you considered getting a 330i manual touring that's over the miles you want and putting in a newer/lower miles 330i engine from a reputable broker. AFAIK, the 330i engine in the touring is the same as in other variants, so whilst tourings are rare there are coupes for example around in brokers.

When my 325ci was pushing 140k and needing costly work I did consider a new 330i engine (from well respected Quarry Motors) and I seem to recall the whole process was sub 1500k. Thus, as another alternative, get a 325i touring and replace engine for the 330i you want?

example of a high mile 330i manual touring.


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

There's an idea! BUT.. I was supposed to be getting a car that I wouldn't need to constantly work on every evening/change engines like my old car. I'll look into it though, even just for interest.

[Haynesman123]

My budget puts me right at the bottom end of the market for E90s so that pretty much rules them out. Sure both have their problems but the collective wisdom of the internet seems to suggest the e46 has fewer really expensive problems.

[Haynesman123]

Smuler said:

Spot on, much as I love my 335i and it's been good to me at now over 80k miles, I like my warranty

If the claim in this ad is true, it's the sort of point I mentioned yesterday about main dealers palming these off even at low miles cos they's not giving enough profit margin.

It's probably not for you as it's a SE but then for the price I wondered if you could add sports seats and refresh suspension close to budget.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bmw/-arriving-soon-52-bm...

I'd seen that but for the ad doesn't fill me with confidence - not a lot of info, hasn't uploaded prices and is a dealer only using gumtree..

For the sake of an hour it may be worth calling some local dealers, even if they don't have any they may know one or two around

[Haynesman123]

gregs656 said:

Are you looking on facebook at all? There is an awful lot of dross posted but I enquired about one or two 325ti's through facebook ads while I was looking. You never know.

Yes I'm on the FB groups. As you say, a lot of rubbish on there but it's worth keeping an eye on it in case something good comes up.

[Haynesman123]

CB 987 said:

I wasn't sure if you were still looking, but an Oxford Green manual touring had popped up on Autotrader, just under £3k with 113k miles.

Not everyone's favourite colour, but personally I love it, my old one was Oxford Green.

I ran the reg through MOT website and the MOT in April 2015 indicated approx 130k miles, and the year before 115k miles. So clearly the ad is wrong, or it's had a haircut.....

Thanks for the heads up. Could be a typo but since there's no info on the advert I may give the guy a call during the week.