E46 Coupe, Pre or Post Facelift?

[Matthew_Eames]

Hi Everyone

As per my previous topic http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... I am looking for a Titan Silver 330ci Coupe, I have the money to start looking now and have the following requirements:

The Basics
BMW E46 330ci Sport (2002/02 >2003/03 Pre-Facelift)
Manual Gearbox
Titan Silver With Black Leather
Black Cube Dashboard Trim
Under 80k
MV1's
Standard, No Modifications and Clean
Xenon Headlights
(Any other options are nice but not essential, Xenons are however as they look difficult to properly retrofit)

Now the above is quite specific I understand, and having spent the last week or so on autotrader, pistonheads, ebay.etc it would seem like am sitting at the crossover point between the facelift for my budget. Now originally I did only want the pre facelift but I'm doubting this now as most are facelift models that I am seeing for this price, and it would certainly speed up the process

I like the pre facelift:


It's the M3 shape, a more 'classic' BMW front end with the 4 distinct headlights and shares a visual link with the E39
It's a bit rarer as most coupe's are facelift
For my budget, I should get a clean, cherished car
5 speed gearbox may be more suited to the character of the engine

But I also like the facelift (somewhat less currently, but that changes all the time)


It undoubtably looks more modern and perhaps wont age as much over the next 5 years
They are newer, so likely to be fresher to drive
Have the Factory LED rear lights (a mod I would otherwise perform)
6 speed gearbox may be more fun / better?
Better specced in my experience

Which Is Best.... There's Only One Way To Find Out
FIGHT!

What is everyone elses opinion on this, were there any other changes made during the facelift that aren't as apparent (such as improved mechanicals or build quality)

I guess you could also call this a wanted thread.

Many Thanks

Mod edit: Images removed at the request of the car owner

[sonnyb]

Why would you want a pre-facelift when it is a clearly more aged car, and looks it.
It is not in any way an M3 so I do not see that point of appeal either.
The facelift looks better front and back, in every way, and actually even from the side with the uplifted indicators and re-located repeaters.
I have a 2005 330Ci and think it looks far better than pre.

[Patrick Bateman]

sonnyb said:

Why would you want a pre-facelift when it is a clearly more aged car, and looks it.

Not really.

[texasjohn]

You're not thinking of getting a prefacelift and a set of M badges? Hmmm?

[sonnyb]

Patrick Bateman said:

sonnyb said:

Why would you want a pre-facelift when it is a clearly more aged car, and looks it.

Not really.

Ok, its always going to be a matter of opinion, but I think the facelift looks nicer, more modern and cleaner overall.

[obscene]

Preface, I personally think the facelift is a hideous abomination of the beautiful E46 which had nice flowing lines. I think most of Chris Bangles cars are REALLY ugly, so I will say no more on that. If you go preface, 2002 is probably the year to get as it was the last year for the preface so the issues should be ironed out regarding seat height/steering feel/throttle lag.

[4nonymous]

Facelift.

Issues that we never knew about could have been addressed in the post ! ( You never know ! )

Personally the facelift is more modern with the LEDs etc etc etc

[Shropshiremike]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Just as a tangent, both of the coupes pictured in the OP's opening post wil have the same rack and steering weight ( pump ) as even the oldest car pictured is an '03 model.
The revised steering/faffing about with the rack and pump assistance was done in mid 2001 when the E46 Compact was introduced.

Drive a very early 330 model, or even an E46 328ci, to see the difference between that and one of the cars pictured above ( bearing in mind any differences of tyre choice/suspension etc etc )

[Jboo]

Like others have said, it's always going to be a matter of personal preference. I've just bought a 2004 330ci cab and was considering a pre-facelift 2003 or 2002 whilst searching autotrader, pistonheads, etc. In photos the two models look far more similar than in the flesh in my opinion. I bought my 330 on friday and stopped off at another dealers on the way that had a 2002 and 2004 330 next to each other. The 2004 looked much more modern and I'm very glad I didn't go ahead and buy a pre-facelift before seeing them side-by-side.

Just my 2c.

[Maxus]

Another vote for the facelift. If you are not sure on which looks best and can get more pre-facelift car for your money then go for it. But look out for E46's on the road and you will see the facelift cars look much more modern - particularly from the front. Plus the rear has the LED's that you would fit to a pre-facelift at additional cost.

Nice to have the 6 speed box as well.

edited - are xenons standard on the facelift 330 Sport as well?

Edited by Maxus on Tuesday 4th May 13:12

[LC23]

Another vote for facelift. I have had both pre and post facelift and the facelift looks a lot more modern and it just feels much better put together than my pre facelift was. The six speed box is nicer too.

[NickXX]

Maxus said:

edited - are xenons standard on the facelift 330 Sport as well?

Edited by Maxus on Tuesday 4th May 13:12

No - projectors halogen headlamps are standard, but Xenons were an optional extra on all models other than the M3 (which was never facelifted anyway).

[Jboo]

NickXX said:

Maxus said:

edited - are xenons standard on the facelift 330 Sport as well?

Edited by Maxus on Tuesday 4th May 13:12

No - projectors halogen headlamps are standard, but Xenons were an optional extra on all models other than the M3 (which was never facelifted anyway).

How can you tell whether it's fitted with xenon's? The car I just bought didn't have too much info in terms of extras fitted so is there an easy way to tell if it has xenon lights by looking at it?

[Phunk]

Send me the last 7 digits of the chassis and I will tell you

[Jboo]

Phunk said:

Send me the last 7 digits of the chassis and I will tell you

I'll be picking the car up this friday, so will send you a message then if that's ok. Thanks for the offer.

[Matthew_Eames]

Or just look and see if there is a headlight level adjustment dial on the light control panel
If it's got Xenons they will be auto-leveling and there wont be a dial.

Having seen one on the road today, It has to be Pre-Facelift, looks a lot better to my eyes, and should save me a few quid on the purchase price!

[bodhi]

I'd go for the pre-facelift personally, simply because I far prefer the MV alloys to the MV2's. I think I have seen the MV2's badly fitted to E36 316i's too often for them to still hold an appeal - but still, I find the originals a far cleaner design.

[NickXX]

If it's like the pre-facelift coupe, the light unit will have Xenon written on it, like so:

[Jboo]

NickXX said:

If it's like the pre-facelift coupe, the light unit will have Xenon written on it, like so:

Thanks Nick, I'll take a look when I pick it up on Friday. I did actually try and look at the bulb when I went to see the car and it looked xenon, but didn't look at the surrounding unit! I guess I'll have a look on Friday and see if I can work out what lights they are.

[gizlaroc]

The halogen is not a projector headlamp either...





I think the pre facelift is a much nicer, much meaner looking piece of metal.

The facelift suits the saloon and touring, but the coupe definitely does it for me pre facelift.