Buying an E46 325 M-tech any tips?
Discussion
Hello, hope you all had a good Christmas.
This has probably been asked before but the search feature is just going round in circles.
Im going to look at a BMW e46 325ci sport tomorrow, are there any things I should look out for that tend to go wrong with these cars? Its on 135,000 miles so quite high but should I be put off by this or just buy on condition?
It has been serviced by a BMW dealer and then a specialist thereafter.
Thanks for any replies.
This has probably been asked before but the search feature is just going round in circles.
Im going to look at a BMW e46 325ci sport tomorrow, are there any things I should look out for that tend to go wrong with these cars? Its on 135,000 miles so quite high but should I be put off by this or just buy on condition?
It has been serviced by a BMW dealer and then a specialist thereafter.
Thanks for any replies.
Look for...
1) Rust, especially wheel arches but look everywhere.
2) Coolant leaks, probably something you won't spot until you have owned the car a while.
3) warning lights on the dash. E46's seem to like flashing up random warning lights. look out for ABS/DSC warning lights (faulty ABS sensor), yellow oil level warning (sensor in the sump), airbag warnings (occupancy sensor on the passenger side.
4) clonking from the rear diff when changing gear (if it's a manual)
5) Nice to have is the torch in the glovebox, first aid kit under the passenger seat, triangle in the boot and full toolkit.
In my experience they are generally reliable but suffer from niggly well documented problems which are usually cheap to sort out (especially when they get to 100K).
Cooling systems seem to be pretty marginal so if the temp ever goes above dead center stop the car immediately.
1) Rust, especially wheel arches but look everywhere.
2) Coolant leaks, probably something you won't spot until you have owned the car a while.
3) warning lights on the dash. E46's seem to like flashing up random warning lights. look out for ABS/DSC warning lights (faulty ABS sensor), yellow oil level warning (sensor in the sump), airbag warnings (occupancy sensor on the passenger side.
4) clonking from the rear diff when changing gear (if it's a manual)
5) Nice to have is the torch in the glovebox, first aid kit under the passenger seat, triangle in the boot and full toolkit.
In my experience they are generally reliable but suffer from niggly well documented problems which are usually cheap to sort out (especially when they get to 100K).
Cooling systems seem to be pretty marginal so if the temp ever goes above dead center stop the car immediately.
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 27th December 21:20
Buy on condition and not mileage, those engines will run up serious miles without a problem as long as the service history stacks up.
Any receipts for suspension work will be a bonus, they go through bushes regularly. At 100k plus the shocks will be feeling tired, watch out for rear springs cracking.
Also worth checking the boot floor for cracks, a few have had this problem.
Any receipts for suspension work will be a bonus, they go through bushes regularly. At 100k plus the shocks will be feeling tired, watch out for rear springs cracking.
Also worth checking the boot floor for cracks, a few have had this problem.
I'd agree with everything thats been said above. I've had a few E46's and always get the waterpump replaced as soon as I get it, as they have a reputation for the impellor breaking up and being ingested by the engine.
I've a 330i msport touring which is on 125K miles now and runs like a dream. No issues in 2 years of ownership.
Any reason why a 325? the 330i will be the same on juice and at the moment they seem to be selling for pennies.
I've a 330i msport touring which is on 125K miles now and runs like a dream. No issues in 2 years of ownership.
Any reason why a 325? the 330i will be the same on juice and at the moment they seem to be selling for pennies.
Joey Deacon said:
4) clonking from the rear diff when changing gear (if it's a manual)
This. Happens to quite a lot of E46s, it starts off fairly unobtrusive but gets to be horrible if left. Any clonking from this area will be either the circular propshaft bush (known as a guibo or 'donut') or the diff carrier bushes - or possibly both. In a carpark, try driving slowly in first gear and then slipping your foot off the accelerator - if there's a mechanical clonk from behind you (other than the expected bit of driveline shunt) walk away or demand a discount.Incidentally, if it has seatbelts which are reluctant to go back into the holders, it's not necessarily a sign that it's done mega miles and had a haircut - they all seem to do this when they get dirty. There are tips on the interwebs for cleaning them back to full health.
Zircon said:
VinceFox said:
Id agree on gerting the 330 instead.
This is not true, I get on average 425 miles from a tank in my 325ci, on the BMW forums I frequent the 330s struggle to get much more than 300.I would expect the tax and insurance to be more too.
Zircon said:
This is not true, I get on average 425 miles from a tank in my 325ci, on the BMW forums I frequent the 330s struggle to get much more than 300.
I would expect the tax and insurance to be more too.
I would expect the tax and insurance to be more too.
So you take the best possible result from
your 325 and compare it to the worst reuslts (from the internet) of a 330??
My 330 can do 400 miles to a tank
My old 325 would do 400 miles to a tank
Zircon said:
This is not true, I get on average 425 miles from a tank in my 325ci, on the BMW forums I frequent the 330s struggle to get much more than 300.
I would expect the tax and insurance to be more too.
You're misinformed. I would expect the tax and insurance to be more too.
I get comfortably over 30mpg average.
Tax will be the same, maintenance the same, insurance difference will be negligible- if the difference isn't considered negligible to you then you're buying the wrong car in the first place considering what basics like rear tyres will cost.
You'd only ever wish you'd bought the 3 litre engine.
A bit like the 535i and 540i, it's essentially pointless.
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