BMW 330ci E46 - Should I?
Discussion
Hi Guys,
So im looking for something bigger and more "luxurious" compared to the normal cars I have (Corsa's etc) but would also like a fair bit of power.
Im looking at the E46 330CI at present, and they seem to be a bit too cheap for the car you get. This makes me thing about reliability issues/running costs etc. Now I know being a 3 litre straight six is not going to be cheap to run, but how are they in terms of parts cost/reliaibilty?
What sort of mileage is "safe" to buy with these cars? I have around £3k to spend, should this suffice?
Thanks in advance!
So im looking for something bigger and more "luxurious" compared to the normal cars I have (Corsa's etc) but would also like a fair bit of power.
Im looking at the E46 330CI at present, and they seem to be a bit too cheap for the car you get. This makes me thing about reliability issues/running costs etc. Now I know being a 3 litre straight six is not going to be cheap to run, but how are they in terms of parts cost/reliaibilty?
What sort of mileage is "safe" to buy with these cars? I have around £3k to spend, should this suffice?
Thanks in advance!
I've owned a 325Ci coupe for the last 2 and a half years and the thing is bullet proof, only had to change battery (they go every 4 years or so apparently) tyres and brakes (be prepared though as that can be expensive in its own right.) As long as you don't mind averaging 25mpg and buy one that hasn't been abused you should be fine, the only thing is the front bushes can go which is a few hundred quid to put right I believe. There are other niggles which are cheap and quite easy to put right like the final stage resistor (check the a/c and fans blow evenly through all ranges) I wish I could have stretched to a decent 3.0 myself back then, it's a great car, it truly is but I've never loved it - brilliant engineering but lacking a little soul.
SilverChiv said:
I've owned a 325Ci coupe for the last 2 and a half years and the thing is bullet proof, only had to change battery (they go every 4 years or so apparently) tyres and brakes (be prepared though as that can be expensive in its own right.) As long as you don't mind averaging 25mpg and buy one that hasn't been abused you should be fine, the only thing is the front bushes can go which is a few hundred quid to put right I believe. There are other niggles which are cheap and quite easy to put right like the final stage resistor (check the a/c and fans blow evenly through all ranges) I wish I could have stretched to a decent 3.0 myself back then, it's a great car, it truly is but I've never loved it - brilliant engineering but lacking a little soul.
Thank you for the comment, I will certainly look out for those things! I always had the impression that BMW's are not that reliable, and parts cost is very high. Although looking at a few threads regarding a BMW, most owners have said quite the opposite!Buy on condition not millage, they will eat miles, 3k should get you a good one.
Try to get a good spec one, mine is fully loaded and this makes it a nice place to be, remember the 330ci is a really good cruiser not a traffic light racer.
Boot floor problems happen but are pretty rare after 2000 but still check any way, this would not be my concern however, rust is the thing, check around the boot, check all the arches, carefully.
Nappa leather is nice, it will have seams down the middle of the seat and dimpled headrests, the Sports look the best imo, genuine Sports have it on the logbook and black headlining.
Sat nav, I would try to get it as it looks so good in the dash, very dated though, it just looks better than a radio, this is personnel preference.
Try to get heated memory seats.
Budget for a coolent refresh, get the Antifreeze from BMW and replace the Water pump.
These are prone to suspension bushes going, you will replace some if you keep it along time.
Very easy car to DIY, most parts are on a par with the MK1 focus I also owned.
Servicing, they have an OIL inspection, Service 1, Oil inspection, Service 2. try to buy one that is due an Oil, there is 15000 miles between services.
A new Key is 130 from BMW, ebay specials wont do it, if it has one use it as a bargaining point.
Try to get a Sunroof, this is a rare but worth it option, imo.
Very nice car in summary, quite practical, rear folding seats, decent boot, mine has been the main family car for three years.
Haggle and walk away, there are plenty out there and they don't sell well, I couldn't sell mine last month and its a pretty good one, so remember its a buyers market.
Fuel, low to mid 30s motorway, low to mid 20s around town.
Tyres can be pricey so get one with good tyres on, and not Chinese smoking hoops either.
They are really good cars, more of a cruiser, decide the spec you want and stick to your guns, there are loads out there, you will get a very good one for 3k, good luck im going to have my breakfast now.
Try to get a good spec one, mine is fully loaded and this makes it a nice place to be, remember the 330ci is a really good cruiser not a traffic light racer.
Boot floor problems happen but are pretty rare after 2000 but still check any way, this would not be my concern however, rust is the thing, check around the boot, check all the arches, carefully.
Nappa leather is nice, it will have seams down the middle of the seat and dimpled headrests, the Sports look the best imo, genuine Sports have it on the logbook and black headlining.
Sat nav, I would try to get it as it looks so good in the dash, very dated though, it just looks better than a radio, this is personnel preference.
Try to get heated memory seats.
Budget for a coolent refresh, get the Antifreeze from BMW and replace the Water pump.
These are prone to suspension bushes going, you will replace some if you keep it along time.
Very easy car to DIY, most parts are on a par with the MK1 focus I also owned.
Servicing, they have an OIL inspection, Service 1, Oil inspection, Service 2. try to buy one that is due an Oil, there is 15000 miles between services.
A new Key is 130 from BMW, ebay specials wont do it, if it has one use it as a bargaining point.
Try to get a Sunroof, this is a rare but worth it option, imo.
Very nice car in summary, quite practical, rear folding seats, decent boot, mine has been the main family car for three years.
Haggle and walk away, there are plenty out there and they don't sell well, I couldn't sell mine last month and its a pretty good one, so remember its a buyers market.
Fuel, low to mid 30s motorway, low to mid 20s around town.
Tyres can be pricey so get one with good tyres on, and not Chinese smoking hoops either.
They are really good cars, more of a cruiser, decide the spec you want and stick to your guns, there are loads out there, you will get a very good one for 3k, good luck im going to have my breakfast now.
At your £3K price point, you will come across a lot of cars with rust on the front edge of the front wings.
This is very difficult to cure other than by replacing the wings. Budget £600 ish to get this done if you want to use genuine BMW wings, or £400 ish to use pattern fit.
Great cars though - i've had 3 over the last couple of years.
They all cost me between £1300-1700, but all needed the wings sorted, and in the case of the blue one, the alloys done. Spent roughly £600 on each of them.
This is very difficult to cure other than by replacing the wings. Budget £600 ish to get this done if you want to use genuine BMW wings, or £400 ish to use pattern fit.
Great cars though - i've had 3 over the last couple of years.
They all cost me between £1300-1700, but all needed the wings sorted, and in the case of the blue one, the alloys done. Spent roughly £600 on each of them.
Rumple said:
Buy on condition not millage, they will eat miles, 3k should get you a good one.
Try to get a good spec one, mine is fully loaded and this makes it a nice place to be, remember the 330ci is a really good cruiser not a traffic light racer.
Boot floor problems happen but are pretty rare after 2000 but still check any way, this would not be my concern however, rust is the thing, check around the boot, check all the arches, carefully.
Nappa leather is nice, it will have seams down the middle of the seat and dimpled headrests, the Sports look the best imo, genuine Sports have it on the logbook and black headlining.
Sat nav, I would try to get it as it looks so good in the dash, very dated though, it just looks better than a radio, this is personnel preference.
Try to get heated memory seats.
Budget for a coolent refresh, get the Antifreeze from BMW and replace the Water pump.
These are prone to suspension bushes going, you will replace some if you keep it along time.
Very easy car to DIY, most parts are on a par with the MK1 focus I also owned.
Servicing, they have an OIL inspection, Service 1, Oil inspection, Service 2. try to buy one that is due an Oil, there is 15000 miles between services.
A new Key is 130 from BMW, ebay specials wont do it, if it has one use it as a bargaining point.
Try to get a Sunroof, this is a rare but worth it option, imo.
Very nice car in summary, quite practical, rear folding seats, decent boot, mine has been the main family car for three years.
Haggle and walk away, there are plenty out there and they don't sell well, I couldn't sell mine last month and its a pretty good one, so remember its a buyers market.
Fuel, low to mid 30s motorway, low to mid 20s around town.
Tyres can be pricey so get one with good tyres on, and not Chinese smoking hoops either.
They are really good cars, more of a cruiser, decide the spec you want and stick to your guns, there are loads out there, you will get a very good one for 3k, good luck im going to have my breakfast now.
Thanks for the answer, that gives me a lot to consider, theres does seem to be plenty about so I wont rush into buying a particular one. Why are they so available and cheap? I was shocked when looking at the classifieds!Try to get a good spec one, mine is fully loaded and this makes it a nice place to be, remember the 330ci is a really good cruiser not a traffic light racer.
Boot floor problems happen but are pretty rare after 2000 but still check any way, this would not be my concern however, rust is the thing, check around the boot, check all the arches, carefully.
Nappa leather is nice, it will have seams down the middle of the seat and dimpled headrests, the Sports look the best imo, genuine Sports have it on the logbook and black headlining.
Sat nav, I would try to get it as it looks so good in the dash, very dated though, it just looks better than a radio, this is personnel preference.
Try to get heated memory seats.
Budget for a coolent refresh, get the Antifreeze from BMW and replace the Water pump.
These are prone to suspension bushes going, you will replace some if you keep it along time.
Very easy car to DIY, most parts are on a par with the MK1 focus I also owned.
Servicing, they have an OIL inspection, Service 1, Oil inspection, Service 2. try to buy one that is due an Oil, there is 15000 miles between services.
A new Key is 130 from BMW, ebay specials wont do it, if it has one use it as a bargaining point.
Try to get a Sunroof, this is a rare but worth it option, imo.
Very nice car in summary, quite practical, rear folding seats, decent boot, mine has been the main family car for three years.
Haggle and walk away, there are plenty out there and they don't sell well, I couldn't sell mine last month and its a pretty good one, so remember its a buyers market.
Fuel, low to mid 30s motorway, low to mid 20s around town.
Tyres can be pricey so get one with good tyres on, and not Chinese smoking hoops either.
They are really good cars, more of a cruiser, decide the spec you want and stick to your guns, there are loads out there, you will get a very good one for 3k, good luck im going to have my breakfast now.
daemon said:
At your £3K price point, you will come across a lot of cars with rust on the front edge of the front wings.
This is very difficult to cure other than by replacing the wings. Budget £600 ish to get this done if you want to use genuine BMW wings, or £400 ish to use pattern fit.
Great cars though - i've had 3 over the last couple of years.
They all cost me between £1300-1700, but all needed the wings sorted, and in the case of the blue one, the alloys done. Spent roughly £600 on each of them.
quote]
Should I up my budget? I really want a rust free model, I hate rust on cars (doesnt everyone) and really want to avoid buying one bitten with the rust bug.
This is very difficult to cure other than by replacing the wings. Budget £600 ish to get this done if you want to use genuine BMW wings, or £400 ish to use pattern fit.
Great cars though - i've had 3 over the last couple of years.
They all cost me between £1300-1700, but all needed the wings sorted, and in the case of the blue one, the alloys done. Spent roughly £600 on each of them.
quote]
Should I up my budget? I really want a rust free model, I hate rust on cars (doesnt everyone) and really want to avoid buying one bitten with the rust bug.
I paid 6.5 for mine, when the price of petrol went up they devalued like you wouldn't believe, prices have stabilised but they are old cars now, they are the sort of car that with some TLC and I don't mean nannying are epic, a lot of owners just neglect them though, a sorted one will do mega miles though.
Rumple said:
Buy on condition not mileage.
Budget for a coolent refresh, get the Antifreeze from BMW and replace the Water pump.
These are prone to suspension bushes going, you will replace some if you keep it along time.
Servicing, try to buy one that is due an Oil, there is 15000 miles between services.
Tyres can be pricey so get one with good tyres on.
All sound advice from Rumple.Budget for a coolent refresh, get the Antifreeze from BMW and replace the Water pump.
These are prone to suspension bushes going, you will replace some if you keep it along time.
Servicing, try to buy one that is due an Oil, there is 15000 miles between services.
Tyres can be pricey so get one with good tyres on.
Just to add - the key factor is to buy a car which has had a reasonably recent Inspection 2 service. Don't take the seller's word for it. You want to see the paperwork from the garage showing not only the work done but also any other work "advised". These cars can give you a bill for £1,000+ very easily.
If in doubt, invest £54 in getting the seller to put the car through a fresh MOT at the local BMW dealership. Doesn't guarantee you won't have problems but you'll see any significant advisories and it might save you a small fortune.
I had a touring for a few years (pre-facelift) on a 51 plate, great car, averaged 25mpg, silky smooth six cylinder, good if ultimately (on the limit) duller than expected handling (still very good by most car standards).
Highly enjoyable place to sit, power on tap and spacious enough to be used as a daily - did Le Mans in it and various holidays in France/UK over approx 15k had a parking sensor fail and that's all from memory.
Was a nice example with FSH and supporting reciepts but was bought on 123kish so they really can soak up the miles!
I'd certainly have another (on company car scheme at the moment) even though they're getting older, they're still a great drive. As others have said, they have one or two issues (that I escaped), but remember they were an expensive car new, so you can't run one on a shoestring!
Here was mine if we're photo-whoring
Highly enjoyable place to sit, power on tap and spacious enough to be used as a daily - did Le Mans in it and various holidays in France/UK over approx 15k had a parking sensor fail and that's all from memory.
Was a nice example with FSH and supporting reciepts but was bought on 123kish so they really can soak up the miles!
I'd certainly have another (on company car scheme at the moment) even though they're getting older, they're still a great drive. As others have said, they have one or two issues (that I escaped), but remember they were an expensive car new, so you can't run one on a shoestring!
Here was mine if we're photo-whoring
Watch out for the MV2 alloys as pictured on Daemon's blue and black cars above. They are renowned for causing tramlining and very fidgety steering on rutted roads (that'll be 99% of them then).
Also watch out for oil consumption. It's not uncommon for the 330 petrols of that era to drink a litre of oil per 1000 miles.
Also watch out for oil consumption. It's not uncommon for the 330 petrols of that era to drink a litre of oil per 1000 miles.
All that jazz said:
Watch out for the MV2 alloys as pictured on Daemon's blue and black cars above. They are renowned for causing tramlining and very fidgety steering on rutted roads (that'll be 99% of them then).
Also watch out for oil consumption. It's not uncommon for the 330 petrols of that era to drink a litre of oil per 1000 miles.
Further to this, with MV1 & 2s (18" Sport wheels) watch out for mismatched tyre brands front to rear. Some of these combinations can really upset the handling, resulting in the DSC kicking in badly on roundabouts, motorway slip roads & and uneven surfacesAlso watch out for oil consumption. It's not uncommon for the 330 petrols of that era to drink a litre of oil per 1000 miles.
Do they really only get 25mpg? Seen it mentioned a couple of times. Is that auto or manual?
I'm thinking of replacing my trusty e36 328i with one, but to be honest the more I read the less enthusiastic I am. I get 33-35 out of the 328, with 38 on a decent motorway run. I know the e46 weighs a bit more but it's more aerodynamic, I assumed it'd be about the same or better?
I'm thinking of replacing my trusty e36 328i with one, but to be honest the more I read the less enthusiastic I am. I get 33-35 out of the 328, with 38 on a decent motorway run. I know the e46 weighs a bit more but it's more aerodynamic, I assumed it'd be about the same or better?
varsas said:
Do they really only get 25mpg? Seen it mentioned a couple of times. Is that auto or manual?
I'm thinking of replacing my trusty e36 328i with one, but to be honest the more I read the less enthusiastic I am. I get 33-35 out of the 328, with 38 on a decent motorway run. I know the e46 weighs a bit more but it's more aerodynamic, I assumed it'd be about the same or better?
I made the same jump, the 330 was just abit worse than the 328, I found the 330 a much better car and a lot more modern to drive, but not quite as much fun as the 328.I'm thinking of replacing my trusty e36 328i with one, but to be honest the more I read the less enthusiastic I am. I get 33-35 out of the 328, with 38 on a decent motorway run. I know the e46 weighs a bit more but it's more aerodynamic, I assumed it'd be about the same or better?
Fuel economy ( I have a manual) can vary from one extreme to another depending on how you drive.
Cruise at 45mph on country roads and I've seen high 40's,80 on the motorway gets you low to mid 30's,the commute is around 20....and if you cane it it'll be single figures
I find mine to be very reliable,no rust...it's an '02....uses a fair bit of oil though.
One thing I'd add is they aren't a particularly exciting car to drive
Cruise at 45mph on country roads and I've seen high 40's,80 on the motorway gets you low to mid 30's,the commute is around 20....and if you cane it it'll be single figures
I find mine to be very reliable,no rust...it's an '02....uses a fair bit of oil though.
One thing I'd add is they aren't a particularly exciting car to drive
just sold ours after 6 years and 60k of sporadic use. Left for weeks sometimes, then 10k in four months, then a few miles a week.
in that time, apart from std servicing I fitted 6 tyres, 1 set front discs and pads, front brake caliper replaced (remanufactured) and a rear abs sensor.
sold with 94k on and a stonechippy front, new buyer very happy.
in that time, apart from std servicing I fitted 6 tyres, 1 set front discs and pads, front brake caliper replaced (remanufactured) and a rear abs sensor.
sold with 94k on and a stonechippy front, new buyer very happy.
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