22 y/o's account of BMW 330ci ownership: Elation & ruin...
Discussion
Hi All,
Having read these forums for years and greatly enjoyed the stories other PHer’s go through, I have decided that it’s finally time to tell my own. The main goal for this thread is to provide an accurate account of what it’s really like to live with an old BM as a young guy, sharing the costs involved and the fun that it brings. My long-term goal for the car is to turn it in to a fast road/track car that I can commute in, but also abuse on a regular basis and this will be a documentation of how I get to that end-result.
The majority of work has been and will be carried out by myself, I love getting involved in the mechanical side of things and enjoy the love and tears it brings
.
I’ll begin with a little background as to how I ended up getting in to 330 ownership. Back in 2017 I bought a near immaculate 2005 Fiesta ST with a FSH, on 78,000 miles from a dealer for £1930 which seemed reasonable and at 20 years old was a blast to rag around in!
How it looked the day I picked it up
However, although it looked bang on it didn’t drive very well and once I had got over my initial giddiness at its power (compared to my previous Zetec S) it started to appear to be a bit of a lemon. To cut a long story short, it burned a bit of oil and didn’t drive right. Undeterred by such trivial issues I continued to replace all the suspension components on it, bushes and all, without concerning myself too much about the oil consumption issue…
As it looks now
Fast forward a few months (6,000miles) and my now fantastic handling fiesta had turned in to a two stroke, its oil consumption peaked on a track day at Bedford when it burned 3l over 140 track miles, what a hoot though ??. Narrowed it down to the valve stem seals and I still have the car safely garaged waiting for me to pluck up the madness to tackle the job one day.
It's final outing on track, really was/is a cracking looking car in my opinion
This brings me on to the arrival of the 330, having been brought up in a BMW household I always knew that my day would come and with the demise of the fiesta combined with the all-important 21-year-old insurance drop, now seemed like the perfect time.
BMW Ownership!! ??
Deciding on a 330 really goes waaaaay back to a 5 y/o me, my dad’s first M3 and my best friend’s aunties Clubsport. It was these cars that cemented my early love for e46’s and knowing an M3 was well beyond my means the hunt for a decent manual Clubsport began. You may have noticed that this is not a thread about a Clubsport though, mainly down to the fact that a decent one didn’t seem to exist in my budget and a car fell in to my path that was too good to pass up…
So, we finally arrive at the 330ci, (Hoorah!) my dad came across the car when taking our e36 track car over to a local BMW specialist for some work and spotted it sat outside waiting to be prepared for sale. A quick conversation with the friendly garage owner and it turns out to be a 330ci manual sport, in black with 92,200 on the clock. With two former keepers (the last one from when it was two years old) and a full BMW specialist service history from the garage we trust and use ourselves it appeared a true peach!
In terms of spec the car was near perfect for me featuring: Harmon Kardon, heated seats, Xenon’s and auto light & wipers. The only thing I would add would be a sunroof but that’s not a disaster given the end goal for the car. As a fan of a light interior the colour combo also had a lot of appeal to me being beige leather and black exterior, my only preferred combo is Estoril blue with grey leather so it was looking very promising.
There was a minor hiccup in that, at the time I was walking around Lake Bled in Slovenia, midway through an interrailing trip across Europe (I know it should have been driving, but my missus at the time wouldn’t humour my dream ? ) unable to see the car myself. Fortunately, I have great trust in my dad’s ability to judge second hand motor’s and he kindly test drove it, confirming that it was a good’un and agreed with the garage that they would keep hold of it until I got back from my trip. You probably don’t need me to explain how much of that time was spent looking at the pictures of the car dad had sent!
Where I was on receiving the pictures of the car
First image I saw of the car
[pic]https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/592x444q90/r/922/eNhW9z.jpg/pic]
Interior shot
So, with a day between returning from Europe and having to be up in York for my missus’s graduation (I’m Bucks based), I managed to get across to view the car. First impressions were good, it looked as described, tidy but not as immaculate as I was hoping for with the odd minor scuff and scrape as to be expected with a car of this age I suppose. Next step was a test drive, I have to say I was really impressed with how well it got down the road, it felt tight, handled nicely, stopped quickly and pulled very well ??.
The first time I saw it in real life
On return to the garage I agreed to buy it for £2,250 which was a steal considering the other examples we had seen even at £3k. Still being a child, I couldn’t bare the thought of leaving my new toy at the garage and driving up to York in the Fiesta. So, it was all systems go, I quickly got it insured (£800 @21 with 1yr NCB same as the ST) and committed to donating the best part of an iPhone subscription a month to the Tax man for the foreseeable ?.
By 2:30pm I was on my way up North to York, taking an unknown car on a 200+mile journey straight away may seem a little high risk on reflection, but it didn’t miss a beat and got me there whilst managing an impressive 36mpg, one of the only times I have seen that figure ??.
Once it was home, next to the old boy's Alpina
Proof of the MPG
Roll on a few days up in Yorkshire between the Missus’ and my graduation and I was truly in love with the 330, the refinement and composure it offers in comparison to the Fiesta was most impressive, handling the fun open roads and motorway miles better than I expected.
On a friend's driveway up in the great shire
After all the graduation ceremonies were over, we tackled the journey back down, this time in convey with my parents driving my dad’s F30 Alpina D3. It was an entertaining journey (once my missus had fallen asleep…), dad and I were both surprised at how the 330 stuck with the Alpina and how they both cruised very comfortably down the country. I’m sure he questioned why he got such a posh car, not that he’ll admit it ??.
That’s where I’ll finish this first instalment up for now, I’ll be writing this up in the evenings over the coming weeks, so expect a few updates in the short term. To give you a taster of the story ahead, there’s detailing, track days, road trips, DIY upgrades, engine troubles and a big plot twist. Thanks for reading so far guys, please give me any thoughts or feedback.
Having read these forums for years and greatly enjoyed the stories other PHer’s go through, I have decided that it’s finally time to tell my own. The main goal for this thread is to provide an accurate account of what it’s really like to live with an old BM as a young guy, sharing the costs involved and the fun that it brings. My long-term goal for the car is to turn it in to a fast road/track car that I can commute in, but also abuse on a regular basis and this will be a documentation of how I get to that end-result.
The majority of work has been and will be carried out by myself, I love getting involved in the mechanical side of things and enjoy the love and tears it brings
. I’ll begin with a little background as to how I ended up getting in to 330 ownership. Back in 2017 I bought a near immaculate 2005 Fiesta ST with a FSH, on 78,000 miles from a dealer for £1930 which seemed reasonable and at 20 years old was a blast to rag around in!
How it looked the day I picked it up
However, although it looked bang on it didn’t drive very well and once I had got over my initial giddiness at its power (compared to my previous Zetec S) it started to appear to be a bit of a lemon. To cut a long story short, it burned a bit of oil and didn’t drive right. Undeterred by such trivial issues I continued to replace all the suspension components on it, bushes and all, without concerning myself too much about the oil consumption issue…
As it looks now
Fast forward a few months (6,000miles) and my now fantastic handling fiesta had turned in to a two stroke, its oil consumption peaked on a track day at Bedford when it burned 3l over 140 track miles, what a hoot though ??. Narrowed it down to the valve stem seals and I still have the car safely garaged waiting for me to pluck up the madness to tackle the job one day.
It's final outing on track, really was/is a cracking looking car in my opinion
This brings me on to the arrival of the 330, having been brought up in a BMW household I always knew that my day would come and with the demise of the fiesta combined with the all-important 21-year-old insurance drop, now seemed like the perfect time.
BMW Ownership!! ??
Deciding on a 330 really goes waaaaay back to a 5 y/o me, my dad’s first M3 and my best friend’s aunties Clubsport. It was these cars that cemented my early love for e46’s and knowing an M3 was well beyond my means the hunt for a decent manual Clubsport began. You may have noticed that this is not a thread about a Clubsport though, mainly down to the fact that a decent one didn’t seem to exist in my budget and a car fell in to my path that was too good to pass up…
So, we finally arrive at the 330ci, (Hoorah!) my dad came across the car when taking our e36 track car over to a local BMW specialist for some work and spotted it sat outside waiting to be prepared for sale. A quick conversation with the friendly garage owner and it turns out to be a 330ci manual sport, in black with 92,200 on the clock. With two former keepers (the last one from when it was two years old) and a full BMW specialist service history from the garage we trust and use ourselves it appeared a true peach!
In terms of spec the car was near perfect for me featuring: Harmon Kardon, heated seats, Xenon’s and auto light & wipers. The only thing I would add would be a sunroof but that’s not a disaster given the end goal for the car. As a fan of a light interior the colour combo also had a lot of appeal to me being beige leather and black exterior, my only preferred combo is Estoril blue with grey leather so it was looking very promising.
There was a minor hiccup in that, at the time I was walking around Lake Bled in Slovenia, midway through an interrailing trip across Europe (I know it should have been driving, but my missus at the time wouldn’t humour my dream ? ) unable to see the car myself. Fortunately, I have great trust in my dad’s ability to judge second hand motor’s and he kindly test drove it, confirming that it was a good’un and agreed with the garage that they would keep hold of it until I got back from my trip. You probably don’t need me to explain how much of that time was spent looking at the pictures of the car dad had sent!
Where I was on receiving the pictures of the car
First image I saw of the car
[pic]https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/592x444q90/r/922/eNhW9z.jpg/pic]
Interior shot
So, with a day between returning from Europe and having to be up in York for my missus’s graduation (I’m Bucks based), I managed to get across to view the car. First impressions were good, it looked as described, tidy but not as immaculate as I was hoping for with the odd minor scuff and scrape as to be expected with a car of this age I suppose. Next step was a test drive, I have to say I was really impressed with how well it got down the road, it felt tight, handled nicely, stopped quickly and pulled very well ??.
The first time I saw it in real life
On return to the garage I agreed to buy it for £2,250 which was a steal considering the other examples we had seen even at £3k. Still being a child, I couldn’t bare the thought of leaving my new toy at the garage and driving up to York in the Fiesta. So, it was all systems go, I quickly got it insured (£800 @21 with 1yr NCB same as the ST) and committed to donating the best part of an iPhone subscription a month to the Tax man for the foreseeable ?.
By 2:30pm I was on my way up North to York, taking an unknown car on a 200+mile journey straight away may seem a little high risk on reflection, but it didn’t miss a beat and got me there whilst managing an impressive 36mpg, one of the only times I have seen that figure ??.
Once it was home, next to the old boy's Alpina
Proof of the MPG
Roll on a few days up in Yorkshire between the Missus’ and my graduation and I was truly in love with the 330, the refinement and composure it offers in comparison to the Fiesta was most impressive, handling the fun open roads and motorway miles better than I expected.
On a friend's driveway up in the great shire
After all the graduation ceremonies were over, we tackled the journey back down, this time in convey with my parents driving my dad’s F30 Alpina D3. It was an entertaining journey (once my missus had fallen asleep…), dad and I were both surprised at how the 330 stuck with the Alpina and how they both cruised very comfortably down the country. I’m sure he questioned why he got such a posh car, not that he’ll admit it ??.
That’s where I’ll finish this first instalment up for now, I’ll be writing this up in the evenings over the coming weeks, so expect a few updates in the short term. To give you a taster of the story ahead, there’s detailing, track days, road trips, DIY upgrades, engine troubles and a big plot twist. Thanks for reading so far guys, please give me any thoughts or feedback.
Edited by Montyjsr on Wednesday 16th January 23:03
Great choice, I still have a soft spot for an E46 - to me they look so right still. I'm biased as over the years I've had 3 330Cis, one being a Clubsport. They all had their niggles over time, but were solid and reliable - all three went to the ring as well.
Mentioning oil consumption, mine did varying amounts with the Clubsport being the worst culprit. Have you found this to burn any? Don't be worried if it does, they all do a bit.
Mentioning oil consumption, mine did varying amounts with the Clubsport being the worst culprit. Have you found this to burn any? Don't be worried if it does, they all do a bit.
CornedBeef said:
Great choice, I still have a soft spot for an E46 - to me they look so right still. I'm biased as over the years I've had 3 330Cis, one being a Clubsport. They all had their niggles over time, but were solid and reliable - all three went to the ring as well.
Mentioning oil consumption, mine did varying amounts with the Clubsport being the worst culprit. Have you found this to burn any? Don't be worried if it does, they all do a bit.
Yeah they’re lovely cars, really enjoyed the majority of ownership so far. In regard to the oil consumption, I have found it to vary significantly depending on driving style, which is to be expected I suppose? Still, anything has better consumption than the Fiesta 😂Mentioning oil consumption, mine did varying amounts with the Clubsport being the worst culprit. Have you found this to burn any? Don't be worried if it does, they all do a bit.
chrismc1977 said:
3L of oil in 140 miles in your Fiesta?
I’d wager something a little more serious than stem seals
Yeah it was bad, but that was flat out! Changed ccv and ran compression test, pulled 250psi in every cylinder. Valve seals is all that's left? It did loose a bit out of the the sump as well to be fair. I’d wager something a little more serious than stem seals
5mileofdeath said:
Nice motor OP and a good step up! Fiesta to E46 is a nice move.. ST to a 330ci makes it 10 times better
I too grew up around BMW’s and the lure of an E46 M3 has never gone away..
Thanks mate! Certainly made a lot of sense as the running costs between them are actually very similar. I'll get an M3 one day, but for now I want to build a hella nice 330ci and learn to drive the arse off it. I too grew up around BMW’s and the lure of an E46 M3 has never gone away..
Still running mine.. though it's a touring. Very capable cars and practical.
Mine did start stock.. then i got a bit carried away...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Part 2 & Detailing time!
Firstly, to give an idea on the time frame, I picked the 330ci up at the end of July so most of this will be catching up between then and now. If anyone want to see more pictures of the car feel free to check out my Instagram @330monty This is also very much in the elation period of my ownership...
Having got the car back down from York, I now had my first opportunity to give it a proper clean and get it looking how I wanted. Although the car was clean, I am a little fastidious when it comes the standard of my cars and enjoy dabbling in some amateur detailing.
The standard of the paint was okay when I bought it, but certainly needed a bit of rejuvenation for me to be happy. The main areas of concern were some nasty heavy swirls to the bonnet, I assume from someone trying to remove bird droppings and the general swirls that covered the car creating a dull finish.
Close ups of the damaged area
Bonnet with swirls
The interior was pretty grubby, mainly due to a lack of attention to detail when the car had been cleaned in its previous life. I carried out a deep clean on all these areas, removing the grime and gunk to return the car to how it would have left the factory. Sadly, I can’t find any after pictures of the interior, so will take some on the weekend.
This was a quick leather resto on an old gear knob that was lying about, I know it's not the right speed for the car but I prefer the shape and that it's shorter.
In the car:
My detailing process follows the normal procedure of a: general wash, full clay bar, machine polish with cutting compound, followed by a resin polish and finally I finish off with Auto Glym super high resin wax to lock it all in. To do the full car it usually takes about two days of full on work, I’m fortunate enough to have a decent garage that I can work in and store the car to keep it dry, which makes the whole process a lot more achievable.
Final one is a tape comparison on the boot lid of compound and polish.
I also did a bit of work on the head lights and other plastics, I find giving them a bit of a refresh really lifts the car and makes it look far less tired. If compiled some comparison pictures to demonstrate.
My final detailing area was under the bonnet, this just involved a lot of degreasing and some more plastic refresh.
Overall I was really pleased with how the car turned out, after so much had graft it was great to see a significant improvement and have it looking nearly as good as new.
One of the household crew lined up
By this point I was really happy with the car and started to enjoy using it throughout August which I'll leave to write up on the weekend.
In terms of keeping a cost account, I didn't really spend anything specifically for this, but getting set up with the detailing stuff is roughly £150 with a DA polisher.
Thanks to everyone that's read and commented so far, really cool to get some involvement from you guys. If anyone wants more info the products used for the detailing then just ask.
Cheers,
Monty
Firstly, to give an idea on the time frame, I picked the 330ci up at the end of July so most of this will be catching up between then and now. If anyone want to see more pictures of the car feel free to check out my Instagram @330monty This is also very much in the elation period of my ownership...
Having got the car back down from York, I now had my first opportunity to give it a proper clean and get it looking how I wanted. Although the car was clean, I am a little fastidious when it comes the standard of my cars and enjoy dabbling in some amateur detailing.
The standard of the paint was okay when I bought it, but certainly needed a bit of rejuvenation for me to be happy. The main areas of concern were some nasty heavy swirls to the bonnet, I assume from someone trying to remove bird droppings and the general swirls that covered the car creating a dull finish.
Close ups of the damaged area
Bonnet with swirls
The interior was pretty grubby, mainly due to a lack of attention to detail when the car had been cleaned in its previous life. I carried out a deep clean on all these areas, removing the grime and gunk to return the car to how it would have left the factory. Sadly, I can’t find any after pictures of the interior, so will take some on the weekend.
This was a quick leather resto on an old gear knob that was lying about, I know it's not the right speed for the car but I prefer the shape and that it's shorter.
In the car:
My detailing process follows the normal procedure of a: general wash, full clay bar, machine polish with cutting compound, followed by a resin polish and finally I finish off with Auto Glym super high resin wax to lock it all in. To do the full car it usually takes about two days of full on work, I’m fortunate enough to have a decent garage that I can work in and store the car to keep it dry, which makes the whole process a lot more achievable.
Final one is a tape comparison on the boot lid of compound and polish.
I also did a bit of work on the head lights and other plastics, I find giving them a bit of a refresh really lifts the car and makes it look far less tired. If compiled some comparison pictures to demonstrate.
My final detailing area was under the bonnet, this just involved a lot of degreasing and some more plastic refresh.
Overall I was really pleased with how the car turned out, after so much had graft it was great to see a significant improvement and have it looking nearly as good as new.
One of the household crew lined up
By this point I was really happy with the car and started to enjoy using it throughout August which I'll leave to write up on the weekend.
In terms of keeping a cost account, I didn't really spend anything specifically for this, but getting set up with the detailing stuff is roughly £150 with a DA polisher.
Thanks to everyone that's read and commented so far, really cool to get some involvement from you guys. If anyone wants more info the products used for the detailing then just ask.
Cheers,
Monty
Sf_Manta said:
Still running mine.. though it's a touring. Very capable cars and practical.
Mine did start stock.. then i got a bit carried away...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Your car looks great after your detailing Monty! 
It's good to see some appreciation of E46s from younger members.
Back in 2015 I let my nephew drive my 325ti - then a couple of weeks later I had to find him one!
But he became a parent in 2016, so I found an E46 325i Sport Touring to replace his Compact.
Looking forward to your next update.
It's good to see some appreciation of E46s from younger members.
Back in 2015 I let my nephew drive my 325ti - then a couple of weeks later I had to find him one!
But he became a parent in 2016, so I found an E46 325i Sport Touring to replace his Compact.
Looking forward to your next update.
Brilliant write up.
My story is very similar to yours in many ways. Back in the early to mid 90's, my dad was a mobile valeter/detailer and one of his customers had a BMW E30 Motorsports Cab. He let us take it out for a few hours and from that moment I wanted an E30. I ended up working my way up from a 318i , 320i a 325i Cab and then finally an Alpina C2 2.5
I stopped driving for a few years due to health reasons, but we still had a e46 M3 Individual Cab and a factory JCW Mini. My old man was told to get rid of his M3 and back in Nov my folks decided they wanted to get me a really nice car to help me rebuild part of my life. Anyway, because of my love for dad's M3, when I found out they did an Z4M, which had all the M3/CSL running gear, it was a no brainier for me to get one.
I think the E46 330Ci's are such an amazing car for stupidly little money. They still look modern and feel like a quality car if looked after. Sadly, many E46's seem to suffer with bad rust problems, which for a 21st Century BMW is crazy. I love the sound of the 3.0 they put in the 330's and for a long time I wanted to get an E46 Alpina B3 3.3 , before discovering the Z4M.
Loved the write up thus far and it does look like you've got a really good foundation to work with.
My story is very similar to yours in many ways. Back in the early to mid 90's, my dad was a mobile valeter/detailer and one of his customers had a BMW E30 Motorsports Cab. He let us take it out for a few hours and from that moment I wanted an E30. I ended up working my way up from a 318i , 320i a 325i Cab and then finally an Alpina C2 2.5
I stopped driving for a few years due to health reasons, but we still had a e46 M3 Individual Cab and a factory JCW Mini. My old man was told to get rid of his M3 and back in Nov my folks decided they wanted to get me a really nice car to help me rebuild part of my life. Anyway, because of my love for dad's M3, when I found out they did an Z4M, which had all the M3/CSL running gear, it was a no brainier for me to get one.
I think the E46 330Ci's are such an amazing car for stupidly little money. They still look modern and feel like a quality car if looked after. Sadly, many E46's seem to suffer with bad rust problems, which for a 21st Century BMW is crazy. I love the sound of the 3.0 they put in the 330's and for a long time I wanted to get an E46 Alpina B3 3.3 , before discovering the Z4M.
Loved the write up thus far and it does look like you've got a really good foundation to work with.
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