Monday 4th January 2016

BMW 328Ci: PH Carpool

This BMW-loving PHer couldn't say no to a 328Ci at £2K and has been rather enjoying it since

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Name: Gareth Crowe
Car: BMW 328Ci (E46)
Owned since: 2013
Previously owned: Lotus Elise 111S S2, Land Rover Defender 90, BMW 740i E38, Mercedes C180 W202 (bought for £475) and numerous company cars

Colour combo a big plus point for Gareth

Why I bought it: "I've always had a thing for BMWs; one of the first cars I drove was my dad's K-plate 24v E34 520i. I still can't resist a glance at the badge on the back of every BMW I see. To my eyes the E46 coupe (pre-facelift at least) remains one of BMW's finest (as well as the original 6 Series, the 8 Series and the M4). I had a company 323i Coupe some time ago which was great, but needed more poke.

"I paid £2,300 for the car which represented sensational value for money. It had done 105,000 miles, but my brother had a 220K E39 528i so I knew this car would do another 100K without significant work. I bought the car from a local garage who had taken it in part exchange. It came with the usual Mickey Mouse warranty but thankfully I didn't need it. On that point, the warranty was for major mechanicals only (for that read 'engine') and had a £250 claim limit. Really!"

It's a well travelled 3 Series!

What I wish I'd known: "Not a great deal. It's clear that reading Internet forums can send hares running unnecessarily. The web is full of horror stories of rear sub-frame cracking on the six-cylinder E46s. However, it's now done 140K and going strong."

Things I love: "The looks, particularly in this colour combination. The fact it has not been molested - I particularly like the orange indicators. I bought a whole set of rear lights on eBay for 99p which were so cheap because everyone wants clear lenses; to me a car should be completely original. The first owner specced it almost to perfection with a CD changer, electric sunroof, and heated leather seats. The only thing missing is cruise control.

"More than anything I love the way it goes - the engine is so silky smooth and strong after 140K miles it feels as if it will go forever. The headline power is somewhat laughable these days (195hp) but it must be stronger than that, even now. It's fast enough to deal with overtaking, but not so fast you can't rev it out and enjoy it. I love the steering, handling and manual gearbox too. Memory seats on a 90s BMW are a beautiful thing.

140,000 miles in and still going strong

"Despite being a coupe, it's surprisingly practical as the rear seats fold down - it's amazing what you can fit in."

Things I hate: "I dislike the fact so few seem to appreciate it. To most people (even many petrolheads) it's nothing more than an old banger. I think many news cars now are getting a little boring but the average punter seems to cherish a new plate as much as what it's attached to.

"Like many old BMWs there is an occasional shimmy through the steering under brakes but it seems to come and go. One of the previous owners took the first aid kit and the spark plug removal tool. Unforgiveable. Finally, I'm not a massive fan of the private plate a previous owner left on either (it should be a V-plate)."

Costs: "The absence of depreciation makes it cheap, much cheaper than a new 60-70 mpg motor. So too does its reliability; little other than routine maintenance has been required. Continentals are £90 a corner and last well. Average fuel consumption in the low to mid 30s is fine, dropping to 25mpg in town. Many car adverts say it will do 40mpg. It won't. Insurance is £350 per year and my local garage does all the maintenance which is reasonable.

Costs are low and fun is high - win!

"I had a new radiator and the discs and pads have been done too.

"The airbag light came on shortly after I bought the car - I should have taken it back to the garage (who had clearly fiddled with it), but I was so smitten with the car I didn't. This is now an MOT failure so I had to have it fixed by an electrician. This is a very common fault on these cars, caused by the failure of the passenger occupancy sensor."

Where I've been: "It's my only car currently so is used every day. I've just spent three weeks driving 3,500 miles around Europe with the Austrian Grand Prix as the final destination [apologies for the delay Gareth! - MB]. We went down through Germany (including the Nurburgring and Porsche Museum) and Switzerland to the Italian Lakes and back up to Vienna via the Grand Prix. We did the Susten Pass in Switzerland which was spectacular.

"I've also done a few track days at Castle Combe in it."

What's next?: "I spend many hours pondering this. I have no intention of selling the BMW but a Porsche Boxster S (986) or Mercedes SL (R129) would go in my garage very nicely. I'd really like a 911 (which one?!) but the running costs are a little prohibitive for the time being. Straight-six Z3s are starting to look better with age too. Let's see!

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Want to share your car with PHers on Carpool? Email us at [e-mail]!

[quavey]

Nice to see a pre-facelift SE with orange corners! Its quite pleasing these days!

She looks good and long may it continue to give you driving pleasure. I've owned (and still own) many different BMW's but I've never had an E46, although driven plenty, and been tempted many more times! I keep eyeing up 330ci's to make into a track car. Your euro trip looks fantastic I cant wait till our little boy is older and we can get back to doing them again!

One modification I might suggest, totally reversible and undetectable until being driven enthusiastically is to fit a good quality induction kit with a proper heat shield etc. Although it won't give you a huge amount of power it will release the wonderful induction noise of that straight 6. I had one on my E36 323i and also on the M3 Evo and what a noise! Best thing is that at light throttle it can't be detected so there is no downside.

I do also recall the E46 328i having a vacuum controlled flap in the back box, there was once a mod to take that pipe of to give you "both barrels" all the time and put a cap over the end of the pipe to stop a vacuum leak. Please correct if that is from something else.

[Leins]

That looks lovely OP. The E46 is definitely beginning to come back into vogue again I think after years in the modded wilderness

I recall Stephen Bayley declaring the E46 coupe one of the truly great car designs, and I believe it has really only been over-familiarity that ever caused that to diminish. Now that you don't see as many standard, high-end ones about I think people are beginning to appreciate it more. To me it was always a far classier and better proportioned car than its E92 successor, and always looked smaller than it actually was. I'm not one for this "Bangle was right all along" view myself

Edited by Leins on Monday 4th January 11:30

[fatboy b]

I had one of these. Lovely car, but in the year I had it the warranty work was around £5.5K. So not the most dependable, but about £3K was the chassis repair - one of the first apparently back in 2002. Also had a new diff / clutch / sunroof motor / throttle cable & throttle body / numerous rattles / new speakers. I did get a 330 Ci after, then an M3. All had some serious warranty work done.

[Shaoxter]

I'm biased but ambers on an E46 look superb
Both E46 facelifts made the lights worse IMO.

OP said:

Average fuel consumption in the low to mid 30s is fine, dropping to 25mpg in town.

Is it just me who never gets close to claimed mpg figures from other people, never mind manufacturer numbers?
My 323Ci (smaller engine but with power sapping slushbox so let's call it even) is averaging 26-27mpg on mixed driving.

[cognac1979]

I bought 6 year old example of one of these back in 2006. I enjoyed it immensely, only problem (which wasn't the cars fault ) was that I bought it in the UK and exported it to the Republic of Ireland where we have a crippling tax called VRT. That cost 3443 Euro just register it in Ireland. Then over 1400 Euro a year to tax it.

It's expensive business liking cars over here!

[GTEYE]

Leins said:

That looks lovely OP. The E46 is definitely beginning to come back into vogue again I think after years in the modded wilderness

I recall Stephen Bayley declaring the E46 coupe one of the truly great car designs, and I believe it has really only been over-familiarity that ever caused that to diminish. Now that you don't see as many standard, high-end ones about I think people are beginning to appreciate it more. To me it was always a far classier and better proportioned car than its E92 successor, and always looked smaller than it actually was. I'm not one for this "Bangle was right all along" view myself

Edited by Leins on Monday 4th January 11:30

I just have a feeling that in years to come this will be regarded as one of the very best BMW designs, simple, timeless and elegant.

Maybe not yet, but I just feel this will start to appreciate in value like the E30 has done. Might take another 10 years...

[Antj]

these are bargains, i own an E36 328i so know the engine is good but with E36 prices fast overtaking E46 prices it seems to be a good time to buy the E46. best bit is you can do all the usual M50 manifold intake etc to boost the power up a bit. Personally i prefer the E36 shape as its more old school, however i only have one of them as i can not afford an E30....lol

[Leins]

cognac1979 said:

I bought 6 year old example of one of these back in 2006. I enjoyed it immensely, only problem (which wasn't the cars fault ) was that I bought it in the UK and exported it to the Republic of Ireland where we have a crippling tax called VRT. That cost 3443 Euro just register it in Ireland. Then over 1400 Euro a year to tax it.

It's expensive business liking cars over here!

Tell me about it A 3.8, a 3.2 and a 2.5 together all got a bit silly for me on the tax front, especially given the newest was 12 years old. Tax the fuel! (Reminds me, I must write again to complain to whoever the latest clown in charge here is now. They don't care, but at least I have the satisfaction on knowing someone in there has a bit of work to do in opening my letters )

Edited by Leins on Monday 4th January 13:07

[leon9191]

Antj said:

these are bargains, i own an E36 328i so know the engine is good but with E36 prices fast overtaking E46 prices it seems to be a good time to buy the E46. best bit is you can do all the usual M50 manifold intake etc to boost the power up a bit. Personally i prefer the E36 shape as its more old school, however i only have one of them as i can not afford an E30....lol

I didn't think you could do the M50 manifold mod on the M54. Obviously you can on the M52 in the e36 but the e46 motors were revised quite a lot with the twin Vanos etc?

I sold my e36 323i saloon a few weeks ago and it was a huge mistake currently looking at an e36 coupe and an e30 touring to replace it, the touring would be my preference but as you say prices are getting up there a bit now!

[Antj]

leon9191 said:

I didn't think you could do the M50 manifold mod on the M54. Obviously you can on the M52 in the e36 but the e46 motors were revised quite a lot with the twin Vanos etc?

I sold my e36 323i saloon a few weeks ago and it was a huge mistake currently looking at an e36 coupe and an e30 touring to replace it, the touring would be my preference but as you say prices are getting up there a bit now!

E46 328i had same M52 mate as E36, M54 was the 325i and 330i in E46

[Jimmy No Hands]

I bought a prefacelift 323i step last year for £725. Open eyes at that price but we've done 5k on it so far and only needed a few odds. I replaced a vacuum hose at a cost of £3, and decided to stick a new battery on at about £70. I've just done a full oil and filter change at a cost of £33 and I've done the common 'earthing' repair to both rear lamps. It averages 29mpg around town and I've had 34 on a long run.

In short, I bloody love it. Couldn't think of anything else at that price point that is smooth, comfortable and moderately pacey. Its just hit 89k and I'm hoping it plods on for a lot longer. Absolute bargain.

Touch wood.

Edited by Jimmy No Hands on Monday 4th January 19:19

[albany]

I think late E46 has Twin Vanos M52. In which vase an M54 manifold can open it up just like an M50 on a single Vanos.

[trowelhead]

Jimmy No Hands said:

I bought a prefaceliff 323i step last year for £725. Open eyes at that price but we've done 5k on it so far and only needed a few odds. I replaced a vacuum hose at a cost of £3, and decided to stick a new battery on at about £70. I've just done a full oil and filter change at a cost of £33 and I've done the common 'earthing' repair to both rear lamps. It averages 29mpg around town and I've had 34 on a long run.

In short, I bloody love it. Couldn't think of anything else at that price point that is smooth, comfortable and moderately pacey. Its just hit 89k and I'm hoping it plods on for a lot longer. Absolute bargain.

Touch wood.

Bloody hell - unbelievable value!

[Bencolem]

I had one 15 years ago and whilst the sense of self satisfaction it gave me at the time (I was young then!) was fantastic, the lack of torque was the dominating memory (although the turbine smoothness of the engine was some compensation). Still remember it fondly.

[helix402]

Allow me to don my E46 anorak. Power is 193PS, 190bhp. Cruise control can be retrofitted with a retrofit kit, £22.00 from eBay& and a multi function steering wheel.

[Jimmy No Hands]

trowelhead said:

Bloody hell - unbelievable value!

Indeed.

Four recent Michelins on it too!

[Shaoxter]

helix402 said:

Allow me to don my E46 anorak. Power is 193PS, 190bhp. Cruise control can be retrofitted with a retrofit kit, £22.00 from eBay& and a multi function steering wheel.

That's great info, thanks.
However I do like the purity of my sports steering wheel!

[jaykay42]

Well done! Such a joy to read and to know there are enthusiasts like you (OP) out there! I share the love for a BMW straight-six... Wonderful!

[helix402]

The multi fiction wheel isn't much different:



(It's just upside down).

[cognac1979]

Leins said:

Tell me about it A 3.8, a 3.2 and a 2.5 together all got a bit silly for me on the tax front, especially given the newest was 12 years old. Tax the fuel! (Reminds me, I must write again to complain to whoever the latest clown in charge here is now. They don't care, but at least I have the satisfaction on knowing someone in there has a bit of work to do in opening my letters )

Edited by Leins on Monday 4th January 13:07

Ya it's unbelievably frustrating alright!