RE: Shed of the Week | BMW 330i (E46) Touring
Discussion
nunpuncher said:
Why do people that don't understand shedding read SOTW?
Why would it require to be worked on by a specialist? It's a BMW, it's not a Bugatti Chiron... it's not even an M car FFS. Most mechanics will have worked on loads of them and they're not beyond the skills of a relatively competent home mechanic.
Cheap lease or PCP is what, £3k in the first year at the least? So you could buy this, have it blow up, buy another shed, have that blow up, buy another and would still only be in it as much as you'd paid for a f
king boring diesel A class.
You win some, you lose some. That's the joy of shedding.
This right here. Assuming you've got basic spannering skills, the E46 is a piece of piss to work on. There's plenty of videos on youtube. While I have no problems with my 330, I'm about to replace all the rubber hoses, cooling system, vanos, disa etc so it keeps ploughing on trouble free for another 100k miles. Never had a problem with it other than bushes needing replacing, a xenon leveling part and an electric seat motor in 11 years of ownership. Why would it require to be worked on by a specialist? It's a BMW, it's not a Bugatti Chiron... it's not even an M car FFS. Most mechanics will have worked on loads of them and they're not beyond the skills of a relatively competent home mechanic.
Cheap lease or PCP is what, £3k in the first year at the least? So you could buy this, have it blow up, buy another shed, have that blow up, buy another and would still only be in it as much as you'd paid for a f
king boring diesel A class.You win some, you lose some. That's the joy of shedding.
Edited by obscene on Friday 12th July 14:32
Love a six-pot 3 series, but my experience of a full (BMW) service-history, 5k-per-year E46 330Ci has put me right off anything of this vintage. If mine was unreliable crap (which it was), I can only imagine how troublesome one at this price point and condition will be.
The E36 328i Touring was so much better.
The E36 328i Touring was so much better.
I had a 330ci convertible for a while, certainly wouldn't go back. Would spring oil leaks for fun, suspension components eaten pretty quickly, left me stranded on the M1 en-route to a Sunday Service when the cooling system fell apart. Slow too - can't believe the article states a 6 second dash to 60. its nearer 8 seconds in the real world. A definite no from me as they have far too many well documented niggles
"niggles" become character in a shed. If my brand new lease/PCP (had both in the past) had a knocking noise coming from the suspension it'd be straight to the dealers, warranty or not. When I'm shedding (currently on my third) I'll investigate the knock and reassure myself the wheels aren't about to fall off then I'll buy the parts and get round to it at some point.
Interior rattles, inefficient blower, missing trim, a passenger door that won't unlock on the button, even the odd bit of rust..... character.
I've been lucky with my shedding. Done it 3 times with the plan of it being short term and have ended up falling for the things and keeping them for ages each time. Had a few repairs but nothing major, none have blown up and all have been easy to sell with very little loss. 1 even made a profit.
Interior rattles, inefficient blower, missing trim, a passenger door that won't unlock on the button, even the odd bit of rust..... character.
I've been lucky with my shedding. Done it 3 times with the plan of it being short term and have ended up falling for the things and keeping them for ages each time. Had a few repairs but nothing major, none have blown up and all have been easy to sell with very little loss. 1 even made a profit.
nunpuncher said:
Why do people that don't understand shedding read SOTW?
Why would it require to be worked on by a specialist? It's a BMW, it's not a Bugatti Chiron... it's not even an M car FFS. Most mechanics will have worked on loads of them and they're not beyond the skills of a relatively competent home mechanic.
Cheap lease or PCP is what, £3k in the first year at the least? So you could buy this, have it blow up, buy another shed, have that blow up, buy another and would still only be in it as much as you'd paid for a fking boring diesel A class.
You win some, you lose some. That's the joy of shedding.
It may not be a Bugatti Chiron but it can still pay to go to a BMW Independent Specialist especially if it was something like the Double VANOS.Why would it require to be worked on by a specialist? It's a BMW, it's not a Bugatti Chiron... it's not even an M car FFS. Most mechanics will have worked on loads of them and they're not beyond the skills of a relatively competent home mechanic.
Cheap lease or PCP is what, £3k in the first year at the least? So you could buy this, have it blow up, buy another shed, have that blow up, buy another and would still only be in it as much as you'd paid for a f
king boring diesel A class.You win some, you lose some. That's the joy of shedding.
The E46 330s are very nice to drive but this example looks particularly tatty and riddles with problems. My next door neighbour had a NEW E46 330i Touring FACELIFT which looked nice. He was quite wealthy then had a AMG next.
A nice 330 if you can find one is still a nice BMW and it does pay to go to an excellent BMW Independent Specialist over an all makes garage imo.
Rather have a really nice E46 330Ci SE or Sport or E30 325i Touring than this shed though. Like the wheels though.
Chucking my thoughts into the shed argument, it's not always about cheap motoring. There'll be those, like me, who work on cars because they enjoy it. I have a day job, which pays well enough not to have to run older cars, but I prefer them and the job doesn't have instant gratification (*insert innuendo joke here!*) like finding and fixing stuff on a car gives.
Sometimes nothing beats easing in the flanges, greasing the shaft and checking how much play you can have with the big end!! Oh yes, I went there
Sometimes nothing beats easing in the flanges, greasing the shaft and checking how much play you can have with the big end!! Oh yes, I went there
Jhonno said:
sgtBerbatov said:
Jhonno said:
sgtBerbatov said:
Does this come with the indicator system or was that still an added extra when this rolled out of Munich?
The joke that was old and boring 15yrs ago seems to have made a reappearance of late!161BMW said:
Like the wheels though.
These are the very basic SE wheels, and nothing screams poverty quite as much as these; maybe putting them on a 316i might give it a lift, but on a 330i... not great. The Sport of this vintage got the MV1 - then MV2's with the facelift, which both look a lot nicer. Mine wore Style 68's at the end - staggered fitment, 17in, and light/strong.I like a project, I mostly do my own work, and yes, most things on the E46 330i are a DIY job. However that list of jobs will be long on day 1, and possibly never get finished. Even the Vanos isn't a magical mystery, it's rebuildable on your driveway. I've done 2. A full days work, but definitely DIY.
BFleming said:
These are the very basic SE wheels, and nothing screams poverty quite as much as these; maybe putting them on a 316i might give it a lift, but on a 330i... not great. The Sport of this vintage got the MV1 - then MV2's with the facelift, which both look a lot nicer. Mine wore Style 68's at the end - staggered fitment, 17in, and light/strong.
I like a project, I mostly do my own work, and yes, most things on the E46 330i are a DIY job. However that list of jobs will be long on day 1, and possibly never get finished. Even the Vanos isn't a magical mystery, it's rebuildable on your driveway. I've done 2. A full days work, but definitely DIY.
I love those SE wheels. They are also available with 330Ci SE. They don’t look poverty to me. Look classy and understated and subtle amongst the innit wanna be M3 CS wannabe chav owning E46 M3s or insert any other molested BMW with M stickers everywhere and how many horse power bro, safe, link up yeah, revving the tits off their motor on Sloane Avenue or Piccadily. Subtle is nice.I like a project, I mostly do my own work, and yes, most things on the E46 330i are a DIY job. However that list of jobs will be long on day 1, and possibly never get finished. Even the Vanos isn't a magical mystery, it's rebuildable on your driveway. I've done 2. A full days work, but definitely DIY.
Out of interest were these wheels available with FACELIFT 330Ci / 330i Saloon / 330i Touring Models ?
Edited by 161BMW on Friday 12th July 16:27
BeirutTaxi said:
I'm going to have the pitchfork brigade on my six for saying this:
The SOTW story in general should be scrapped. Canned. Binned. Fininto.
Old, previously premium expensive cars are simply ste at this price point. Spend the extra cash and have a FMDSH example that's been looked after perfectly.
Alternatively, hand over the hundreds of notes per month that you would pay in maintenance anyway to the finance company and have a actually nice to drive car on PCP.
Drive it till the first big bill, or the next MOT. Then chuck it on Ebay. Shedding 101The SOTW story in general should be scrapped. Canned. Binned. Fininto.
Old, previously premium expensive cars are simply s
te at this price point. Spend the extra cash and have a FMDSH example that's been looked after perfectly.Alternatively, hand over the hundreds of notes per month that you would pay in maintenance anyway to the finance company and have a actually nice to drive car on PCP.
helix402 said:
steveb8189 said:
Had one for a couple of years and just couldn't get past the throttle by wire in the 330i unlike the 328i I had previously. Just seems very hesitant when trying to feather the throttle.
328i had a throttle cable and an electric throttle, seems BMW didn’t trust just the throttle motor till they introduced the M54. I like the wheels on this one.
The wheels the shed has could be chosen on the facelift 330. They are very prone to kerb damage due to the design. All E46 328is had the M52tu with throttle motor and cable. The 328 doesn’t have the oil consumption issues of the 330 and can be fitted with the 330 inlet manifold for more power.
Kawasicki said:
The E46 is my least favourite 3 series to drive. It’s like a fat E36, or a wobbly E90.
I don't know about the 330i, but I once drove a similar era 320d that belonged to my brother in law. I expected great things, but it was less impressive to drive than the Mondeo 2.0 dieseI I had at the time.... Edited by MC Bodge on Friday 12th July 19:36
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