320ci advice?

[stumilne]

Hi PHers. Looking at a 320ci M-Sport coup being sold privately close to me. Cars up at £3,750 but has already said he'll knock a couple hundred off for cosmetic damage such as torn seat, slightly kerbed alloys and scuff on back bumper. Cars at 88k but looks well. Can pay cash so looking to get the car for under the 3.5 mark. Thoughts and advice guys? Currently run a 1.8 SRI Astra Sports Hatch.

[Leins]

I know it's slightly O/T, but if you haven't firmly set your mind on a coupe and the 320ci, then take a look at a 325ti. Cracking cars, although depends what you want out of one I suppose

[stumilne]

TBH ive not been looking for one. Always fancied one but preferred the coupes to the compacts. A 325 or 330 would be good for the better performance but might have to put up with the smaller 6 cyliner

[kev b]

Before parting with any cash be sure to give it a good checkover, 88,000m is about the mileage that loads of problems crop up with these cars.

There are loads of threads on PH and the various BMW forums on what to look for. ie

Subframe mounting cracks, broken rear springs, worn out front TCAs/bushes, water pump, thermostat,struts and shocks, rusty arches, VANOS seals, radiator/header tank,rear metal brake pipes, engine breather system pipes, DISA valve, unbalanced heavyweight fake wheels and so on.

Most of these are DIY for a competent home mechanic but some jobs are complete pigs and/or need special tools. You will need to have regular suspension alignment by someone competent or it will never drive properly.

Personally, I think there is little difference in running cost between the various engines so you may be better off with a 2.5 or 2.8/330. HTH

[amusingduck]

The general consensus used to be that MPG was broadly the same across the 6 cylinder petrol E46's (M3 excluded).

If i've remembered that correctly, I'd be going for the 330.

[Patrick Bateman]

Get a 330Ci.

[ambuletz]

crikey, so many things to go wrong by the sounds of it, are they not reliable?. even the pre-facelift versions with abit of spit and polish still look like handsome cars, they wear their age well I think.

[kev b]

I've had my 328Ci auto for 5 years and 50K miles, I have had a lot of the problems on the list but I was a mechanic and do all the work myself. The worst part of owning a 3 series is the geometry going out of alignment due to the potholed roads where I live.

I don't think they are more or less reliable than comparable cars but not a patch on our E60 525D, a bonus is there is no cambelt to change or snap.

All the problems seem to appear around 80K miles, if you address them all then, it should be good for another 80K miles but if you are paying a garage to do the work it will be expensive.

Probably the best idea is to let someone who really knows these cars check it over before buying . HTH