328i Touring for £1000

[ATM]

I spotted this touring on ebay and thought that looks cheap. I think for a grand its well worth buying. I told a few friends too. Anyway one of my friends has actually bought it and he is picking it up tomorrow. Apparently it has a massive file full of receipts. Here are the details from ebay and some of their pics.

1999
191,408 Miles
2 Previous Owners

FULL SERVICE HISTORY
FRONT DISCS AND PADS
NEW POWER STEERING PUMP
CLIMATE CONTROL
FRONT AND REAR ELECTRIC WINDOWS
SAT NAV
ELECTRIC SUNROOF

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/232043422580

[SD_1]

I have a manual saloon version of that, it's brilliant. So good in fact I have kept it much longer than I was planning to and am struggling to replace it. Biggest issues are rust and cooling systems, besides that (easily fixed) it's been extremely reliable.

Looks a good buy that!

[helix402]

Old E46s are super. Had them for several years now. I am old enough to remember doing pdis on them when they were first launched!

[SebringMan]

Indeed, a few mates are looking to get one for around this money or less. It seems there is alot of dross around for the cash.

Is this the same gearbox as what was in the E36 323i? If so, I'd have probably gone for an auto myself as well.

[eztiger328]

Looks alright for a grand though at that age sill / jacking point corrosion might be an issue (when compared to my similar mileage 99 e36 328)
Also at that mileage im surprised the VANOS hasent jammed up yet (mine went at 178k), though to be honest even with a failed VANOS the M52 still works ok albeit with a rough idle and power loss.

[ATM]

I think with any old car there are always potential problems but when the purchase price is only a grand then that must leave money in the war chest for repairs. The problem is when people try to rationalise spending money on a car which is still only worth a grand.

This one does have a bit of rust on the passenger wing which you can see in the pics. Also some on a rear arch which you can't really see.

I started looking at these because I like the drive in my e46 coupe but I drive my e61 more because it's a touring. So I'm wandering if an e46 touring might be the better car for me. I'll only know if I try one for a while.

So are the rust issues on these just superficial or hidden away and potentially structural?

[helix402]

There's your answer! That's was I think a facelift 318i with approx 75k miles. Very slight rear arch rust visible. It's the worst I've seen.

[SidewaysSi]

Are subframes a big issue on these still?

My mum's old E46 318i fell apart in a big way causing her to crash. Luckily it was slow speed and no one was hurt.

[NiceCupOfTea]

I've been in the market for a 330 Touring manual for a while. Very few around in decent nick now unfortunately and I have had to expand the search to e90s. Also don't seem to rot as much as the e36/39/46