My 2002 BMW E46 330i Sport Individual

[Mani59]

Hi all,

Following my E39 530i Sport Champagne Edition II topic I started here where I briefly mentioned my BMW E46 330i Sport Individual, I thought it was about time to start its own topic.

So here is my 2002 BMW E46 330i Sport Individual with 85,000 miles.

I've owned it since 2018 after looking for something a little different to accompany my then BMW E63. This came up for sale at an independent specialist and it was owned by the owners's mother who could no longer drive for health reasons, hence the family selling the car.
The test drive was fantastic with a beautiful sounding M54 engine, had a full BMW Service History (maintained at the correct intervals) which was great to see and I absolutely loved the colour. The official colour is BMW Individual Velvet Blue but it's more purple than blue. It goes well with the champagne leather too which was in good condition.

I had it confirmed by BMW UK that this is the only one in the UK with this specification so that was nice to read.

Given it was a weekend / summer car only, there was no real hurry to get any work done on it. Here it is after a few days of ownership and a thorough clean.







Soon after I purchased it, I asked my local BMW Independent Specialist to give it the once owner and carry out an oil service, fluid replacements and give it the once over. Thankfully, nothing major was found.

In 2019, it suffered a sticky brake caliper so both rears were replaced upon recovery to the independent specialist. I also decided to replace the battery and replace the coolant expansion tank at the same time.

Since owning the car, there has been a bit of rust which I guess is pretty common for a car of this age and mileage on the E46. So 2020 was the year of sorting that out. As you can see from the below photos, rust was in several areas and after a long search, I found a local bodyshop that carried out all of the rust issues. I also asked them to waxoyl the underbody.











So after a couple of weeks at the bodyshop, the car arrived back with all rust and paint bubbling sorted. It was also a relief to have the under body protected although I was not too keen on the smell when the exhaust got hot (thankfully it went away after a few days of driving).

After the bodywork was done on the E46, my attention turned to my E39 so the E46 maintenance was put on hold and put into winter hibernation a little earlier than normal.

This month (May 2021), I took the car out of winter hibernation and booked it straight into my BMW Independent Specialist for its MOT, Inspection 2, fluid replacements and brake and disc replacement. I was really happy to hear that it passed the MOT too. Advisories were wipers needed replacing and front tyres getting low on tread.



Given that Tyres on the Drive were having a sale, I decided to replace the front tyres (sticking to Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 as per the rear tyres and same setup on my E39).

Whilst I have purchased the wipers, I've not yet had the chance to fit them.

I've wanted to get the alloy wheels refurbished for sometime and decided to use the company that a local Sytner centre give their wheels too. Whilst the company did a good job with the wheels, I was not very pleased about the state of the car on collection given that they left it parked under a tree. They did offer to jet wash the car down but given that no one washes my car other than me and I always avoid using a pressure washer on these cars where possible, I declined.







So after spending an entire day getting rid of all of the leaves and detritus from the tree, that brings the car up to date and here it is now.















So what's left?

Cooling system refresh.
Window regulators and rear water/vapour barriers need replacement.
Leather seats needs refreshing.
Oh and sorting out the BMW centre caps to ensure they properly align with the M badges! (You might spot the issue in the above photos).

I might get round to the first 3 items this year but as I say, it does not get used much so no major hurry.

Thanks for looking if you managed to make it this far!

[carbon83]

That's very nice.

I had a 2001 e46 individual in estorial blue many years ago and loved it. Build quality was really top.

How did BMW confirm yours was the only one in this spec. Just curious to know.

[Mani59]

Thanks. Ah yes, I remember the E46 saloon Estoril Blue Individuals and I was actually quite near to buying a 320d many years ago.

I emailed BMW Customer Services with my VIN number and they came back with a really good detailed response confirming that mine was the only one in this spec sold in the UK.

[g3org3y]

Really nice example, love the colour and interior. Looks like she's a keeper.

[Court_S]

That’s such a lovely colour combo, looks stunning.

[forrestgrump]

Any reason you avoid using a pressure washer? What do you use instead?

[5harp3y]

stunning car!

[d_a_n1979]

Another gorgeous car in your fleet Mani...

It's not as nice as your E39 though IMO

[okenemem]

my favorite individual color

[Mr Tidy]

That's a stunning colour combination OP.

[helix402]

Very good. I wouldn’t panic about a cooling system refresh. At such low mileage it’s likely to be in good condition. The later M54 water pumps are quite long lasting too.

[Mani59]

g3org3y said:

Really nice example, love the colour and interior. Looks like she's a keeper.

Thanks, yeah definitely keeping this one. Been using it for work last week and it's just such a fantastic place to be in.

Court_S said:

That’s such a lovely colour combo, looks stunning.

Thanks!

forrestgrump said:

Any reason you avoid using a pressure washer? What do you use instead?

It's just personal preference really but also based on a bad experience with a BMW dealer (back before I told them to not wash my cars) when they used the pressure washer on a previous E39 which peeled away some of the paint (it got behind a chip or something). So from then on, I try to avoid using a pressure washer whenever possible.

5harp3y said:

stunning car!

Thanks!

d_a_n1979 said:

Another gorgeous car in your fleet Mani...

It's not as nice as your E39 though IMO

Thanks Dan! I have to say that I enjoy both equally but in different ways!

okenemem said:

my favorite individual color

Thanks, Individual Velvet Blue is a lovely colour.

Mr Tidy said:

That's a stunning colour combination OP.

Thanks! The blue/purple does go well with the leather choice.

helix402 said:

Very good. I wouldn’t panic about a cooling system refresh. At such low mileage it’s likely to be in good condition. The later M54 water pumps are quite long lasting too.

Thanks. Yeah I might delay this a little since it really does not get driven that much and if it does, it's quite local driving.

[Mr Tidy]

Mani59 said:

Thanks. Yeah I might delay this a little since it really does not get driven that much and if it does, it's quite local driving.

Seeing as you have another car you can use I don't think I'd rush to do a cooling system refresh, but be prepared to need one.

I bought my E46 325ti in December 2014 with just short of 80K miles on it, and at 82K it was losing coolant so I booked it in with my BMW Indy. The bottom of the radiator was bowed like a banana!

So it got a new one and a refresh with new expansion tank, cap, etc.

[m5mcf]

Hi I’m not sure how specific bmw are when they say yours is the only one in the county this spec. I have a pre facelift 330i m sport that I’ve just got and it’s also an individual velvet blue with cream individual leather interior with 63k genuine miles . It my new project and needs a little tlc

[m5mcf]

[jp247]

Stunning spec!

I've just picked up a 2003 330i Sport auto myself that is quite a clean car but it suffers from a gearbox fault. Considering converting it to a manual and would much appreciate any advice on reputable BMW specialists that would be able to carry out the work. I'm based in Watford so preferably somewhere within a 50 mile radius. Thanks

[StuntmanMike]

jp247 said:

Stunning spec!

I've just picked up a 2003 330i Sport auto myself that is quite a clean car but it suffers from a gearbox fault. Considering converting it to a manual and would much appreciate any advice on reputable BMW specialists that would be able to carry out the work. I'm based in Watford so preferably somewhere within a 50 mile radius. Thanks

Check your battery, these will show faults when the battery isn’t in great health.

[Flood]

Stunning colour, mine's due some love rust-wise, if you don't mind me asking, how much did that cost? Looks like they must've painted quite a few and fairly large areas?

[Mr Tidy]

StuntmanMike said:

jp247 said:

Stunning spec!

I've just picked up a 2003 330i Sport auto myself that is quite a clean car but it suffers from a gearbox fault. Considering converting it to a manual and would much appreciate any advice on reputable BMW specialists that would be able to carry out the work. I'm based in Watford so preferably somewhere within a 50 mile radius. Thanks

Check your battery, these will show faults when the battery isn t in great health.

Definitely worth checking - I've had random warning lights appear a few times on mid-2000s BMWs when the battery was dying.

If you want to go ahead with the manual swap it might be worth speaking to RBM Hampshire. Ross opened for business in 2019 after 15 years at Sytner and has been looking after both my BMWs ever since. According to Bing Hook, Hampshire is 48.2 miles from Watford!