Best of the Bargain Basement (Vol.3)
Discussion
Salmonofdoubt said:
The MOT history mentions corroded wishbones and rear springs. But this was structural and is something the recovery guy who picked it up for me had never seen on any car ever.
Replaced the springs and bushes while it was apart to be sure. It now drives and sits slightly better.
The door top rust is caused by faulty seals and as such should have been picked up under the 7 year warranty but wasn’t and isn’t covered by the anti corrosion warranty. I’m not too worried about the door tops as the rust is just light but I’d suggest spending time under yours with a torch to check the bits where bolts go.
Cheers. I have an advisory for rusty subframe. I'm not confident I'll get my 2 years. No matter, it's a pretty dreary car. Replaced the springs and bushes while it was apart to be sure. It now drives and sits slightly better.
The door top rust is caused by faulty seals and as such should have been picked up under the 7 year warranty but wasn’t and isn’t covered by the anti corrosion warranty. I’m not too worried about the door tops as the rust is just light but I’d suggest spending time under yours with a torch to check the bits where bolts go.
princeperch said:
Cheers both. We buy any car just said they would value it at 415. That can't be right. I only paid 300 for it two years ago.
Might be a result if I do get 400 odd quid for it!
Doesn't mean that's what they'd actually give you? Could be numerous deductions for whatever's in the fine print.Might be a result if I do get 400 odd quid for it!
soad said:
Doesn't mean that's what they'd actually give you? Could be numerous deductions for whatever's in the fine print.
Yeh I guess they might kick me in the nuts. I've also just seen there is a 50 quid admin charge. Still if I can get 100 quid more than scrapping her I'd be a happy man.mrnwarren said:
Hope this works, first post. Picking this up tomorrow. Facelift 2.2 diesel version in Executive trim. 113k miles and good MOT history. £1200 - hopefully will give me some years of low cost motoring.
I'd personally check the belts have been done relatively recently on yours given the age and miles..
princeperch said:
I've no personal experience of them but they are meant to be extremely reliable aren't they those old Honda's. My dad had a 2000 CRV with what was I think, the same engine, and it never put a foot wrong. He sold it to someone on pH and I saw it was still going strong a few weeks back on the mot history app with 150k odd on the clock!
I'd personally check the belts have been done relatively recently on yours given the age and miles..
That's what I'm hoping for. The electrics all work and I believe it's chain driven. Only thing is the in car entertainment. I think it's quite difficult to upgrade. Would like to have Bluetooth ability for streaming music. I'd personally check the belts have been done relatively recently on yours given the age and miles..
mrnwarren said:
That's what I'm hoping for. The electrics all work and I believe it's chain driven. Only thing is the in car entertainment. I think it's quite difficult to upgrade. Would like to have Bluetooth ability for streaming music.
Despite being chain driven they can still rattle, egr can play up too. Apart from that good cars. 
Somebody talk me out of getting a bmw 330ci for sub £1500.
Locally there are 3 up for sale , with mot until sept and not one of them has any reference to corrosion in the mot history !
I thought all e46's rusted ? my old 325 ( £630) was rusty as f
k but it felt mechanically solid and well built .
Not fussed about mpg as most the time it's just going to get me to work and back , 5 miles each way , i just liked the sound of the engines and the fact there's no turbo to go wrong .
One of the 330's is a automatic which seems the safest bet to me as surely it's not going to of been relined with a auto box combined with the big motor.
Locally there are 3 up for sale , with mot until sept and not one of them has any reference to corrosion in the mot history !
I thought all e46's rusted ? my old 325 ( £630) was rusty as f
k but it felt mechanically solid and well built .Not fussed about mpg as most the time it's just going to get me to work and back , 5 miles each way , i just liked the sound of the engines and the fact there's no turbo to go wrong .
One of the 330's is a automatic which seems the safest bet to me as surely it's not going to of been relined with a auto box combined with the big motor.
egor110 said:
Locally there are 3 up for sale , with mot until sept and not one of them has any reference to corrosion in the mot history !
I thought all e46's rusted ? my old 325 ( £630) was rusty as fk but it felt mechanically solid and well built .
I've had two coupes in the past. Most corrosion I noticed was cosmetic (across the two - all 4 arches and the boot lid/lip) - so maybe not part of the MOT history unless it's evolved to the state where it might be a danger to passing pedestrians? I thought all e46's rusted ? my old 325 ( £630) was rusty as f
k but it felt mechanically solid and well built .
The rear brake pipes can corrode too, but I'd bet thats been addressed on most of them by now. Early ones can develop cracks in the boot floor (insufficient number of spot welds I think).stevesuk said:
egor110 said:
Locally there are 3 up for sale , with mot until sept and not one of them has any reference to corrosion in the mot history !
I thought all e46's rusted ? my old 325 ( £630) was rusty as fk but it felt mechanically solid and well built .
I've had two coupes in the past. Most corrosion I noticed was cosmetic (across the two - all 4 arches and the boot lid/lip) - so maybe not part of the MOT history unless it's evolved to the state where it might be a danger to passing pedestrians? I thought all e46's rusted ? my old 325 ( £630) was rusty as f
k but it felt mechanically solid and well built . The rear brake pipes can corrode too, but I'd bet thats been addressed on most of them by now. Early ones can develop cracks in the boot floor (insufficient number of spot welds I think).The boot floor you just check by pullng up the boot carpet and checking for cracks ?
Is it on the E46 that the tank has to be dropped to do the rear brake pipes?
Also, IIRC the car needs to be checked from the underside for cracks (I could be wrong with this, but I seem to recall reading that somewhere).
I've had a couple of E46's - other things to check for (if a 6 cyl) is under or over heating. That's a common issue with the 6 cyl engine.
Also check for lazy gearchanges (in the case of the auto).
The ones I had suffered from rust almost everywhere!
Also, IIRC the car needs to be checked from the underside for cracks (I could be wrong with this, but I seem to recall reading that somewhere).
I've had a couple of E46's - other things to check for (if a 6 cyl) is under or over heating. That's a common issue with the 6 cyl engine.
Also check for lazy gearchanges (in the case of the auto).
The ones I had suffered from rust almost everywhere!
TonyRPH said:
Is it on the E46 that the tank has to be dropped to do the rear brake pipes?
Also, IIRC the car needs to be checked from the underside for cracks (I could be wrong with this, but I seem to recall reading that somewhere).
I've had a couple of E46's - other things to check for (if a 6 cyl) is under or over heating. That's a common issue with the 6 cyl engine.
Also check for lazy gearchanges (in the case of the auto).
The ones I had suffered from rust almost everywhere!
A few people claim you can do the pipes without dropping the tank.Also, IIRC the car needs to be checked from the underside for cracks (I could be wrong with this, but I seem to recall reading that somewhere).
I've had a couple of E46's - other things to check for (if a 6 cyl) is under or over heating. That's a common issue with the 6 cyl engine.
Also check for lazy gearchanges (in the case of the auto).
The ones I had suffered from rust almost everywhere!
Challo said:
TonyRPH said:
Is it on the E46 that the tank has to be dropped to do the rear brake pipes?
A few people claim you can do the pipes without dropping the tank.defblade said:
I think you basically cut out the run that goes over the tank and put some new ones in around. Very common issue and so most indies should be well practised in doing it by now!
My old 330 Ci had been repaired like that some time in the past. The guy I used to service it didn't reckon it was very satisfactory, but I suppose it if it works, it works .Krikkit said:
Boot floor cracking is rare on anything but the M3.
I think it was seen on fair few 328i as well... BMW modified the design some time fairly early on in production (2000 or 2001?). From what I read before I bought my 330, you'd be unlucky to suffer with the problem on anything built after the cut-off date (that isn't an M3). But then we're talking about the bargain basement. Providing it doesn't fail and send you in to ditch - you'd just scrap it if it became a serious problem and didn't fancy fixing it?
Not ready for thread budget just yet, but I was surprised to see that the 130i 1 series can now be had for ~ £3.5k (albeit, the one I saw on Autotrader looks particularly leggy). If you wanted a quick rear wheel drive BMW on a budget, that would be a good shout for the money (possibly ruinous though).
stevesuk said:
Krikkit said:
Boot floor cracking is rare on anything but the M3.
I think it was seen on fair few 328i as well... BMW modified the design some time fairly early on in production (2000 or 2001?). From what I read before I bought my 330, you'd be unlucky to suffer with the problem on anything built after the cut-off date (that isn't an M3). But then we're talking about the bargain basement. Providing it doesn't fail and send you in to ditch - you'd just scrap it if it became a serious problem and didn't fancy fixing it?
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