320,325,330 relaibilty?
Discussion
Mark300zx said:
Petrol only.
From memory a 320i of that era wont be turbo'd and is a bit gutless and a four pot.325i, IMHO has all the fuel consumption of the 330i but not the performance.
Thus on that basis alone i'd be looking towards a 330i. I cant think reliability among them will be a great +/- %. Aim for a good service history (ideally over serviced) and do his due diligence.
Get the 330i.
It is the M54 lump which is pretty much bullet proof when looked after. Got the same engine in my Z4. Generally regarded as much more reliable than the 2.0 lump on the Z4 forum, which I can only assume is also the same between E46 and E85. The 2.5 is pretty much as thirsty, but less powerful.
Oil consumption can sometimes be high on these, which is normally down to the CCV getting blocked.
On mine I did what is known as the 'o2 pilot' mod. Went from using around 1L per thousand miles to virtually non at all. Only took an hour or so and cost less than £10 to do.
Check the rear subframe mounting points too, they are the same floor pan as the M3, and are known to crack in the same way, but to a lesser extent being less powerful.
It is the M54 lump which is pretty much bullet proof when looked after. Got the same engine in my Z4. Generally regarded as much more reliable than the 2.0 lump on the Z4 forum, which I can only assume is also the same between E46 and E85. The 2.5 is pretty much as thirsty, but less powerful.
Oil consumption can sometimes be high on these, which is normally down to the CCV getting blocked.
On mine I did what is known as the 'o2 pilot' mod. Went from using around 1L per thousand miles to virtually non at all. Only took an hour or so and cost less than £10 to do.
Check the rear subframe mounting points too, they are the same floor pan as the M3, and are known to crack in the same way, but to a lesser extent being less powerful.
Challo said:
I had a 320 which is a 6 cylinder. Smooth, and relaxing to drive but does lack performance.
Look for a 325 or 330 if possible
I'm almost certain a 320i of the era the O/P is talking about is a four pot NA.Look for a 325 or 330 if possible
Older e36 coupe 320i's were a six pot.
Edited by Deep Thought on Saturday 23 February 18:43
M54 is a peach of an engine, and inherently pretty reliable. Things to watch out for are oil consumption (probably rocker cover gasket, oil filter housing gasket, or breather - all easily fixed), and cooling system (best to budget for new water pump/rad/header tank & pumps).
e46 330 is a great car and (IMHO) last of the really good ones. Do watch for rust though, and boot floor cracks.
e46 330 is a great car and (IMHO) last of the really good ones. Do watch for rust though, and boot floor cracks.
I had a 52 plate E46 325ti Sport Compact with the M54 engine for three years, and I still miss it!
But I went more practical with it's replacement and got an E91 325i. It was built in August 2005, but being from the E9* Series it has the N52 engine.
2005 was the change-over year so you need to determine whether your mate is looking at a late E46 or an early E9*.
The E9* models with the N52 engine had more power (325i went up from 192 bhp to 218 bhp, or 330i from 231 bhp to 265 bhp) but if the newer model has a weak point it is the electric water pump that costs around £200 just for the part!
But IMHO it's a price worth paying, as an N52 engine is so much better than the M54 when you get it revving towards the 7,000 rpm red-line (I'm on my 2nd Z4 Coupe with the 3 litre N52).
But I went more practical with it's replacement and got an E91 325i. It was built in August 2005, but being from the E9* Series it has the N52 engine.
2005 was the change-over year so you need to determine whether your mate is looking at a late E46 or an early E9*.
The E9* models with the N52 engine had more power (325i went up from 192 bhp to 218 bhp, or 330i from 231 bhp to 265 bhp) but if the newer model has a weak point it is the electric water pump that costs around £200 just for the part!
But IMHO it's a price worth paying, as an N52 engine is so much better than the M54 when you get it revving towards the 7,000 rpm red-line (I'm on my 2nd Z4 Coupe with the 3 litre N52).
Deep Thought said:
Challo said:
I had a 320 which is a 6 cylinder. Smooth, and relaxing to drive but does lack performance.
Look for a 325 or 330 if possible
I'm almost certain a 320i of the era the O/P is talking about is a four pot NA.Look for a 325 or 330 if possible
Older e36 coupe 320i's were a six pot.
Edited by Deep Thought on Saturday 23 February 18:43
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff