g3org3y's shedtastic £900 BMW E46 330Ci

[StuntmanMike]

It’s a lovely example G3org3y, I owned one ten years so I know how they get under your skin.

Cool that it’s staying in the family.

[d_a_n1979]

g3org3y said:

Update:

Expansion tank started leaking quite a bit after my previous post and I didn't fancy having to top up coolant on a daily basis so the E46 hadn't been used for a couple of months. I was pleased that despite sitting unused and subjected to a lot of rain there was no damp in the car at all. Attached my CTEK charger for a couple of days and it started first time. Idle was a bit grumpy for 10-20 seconds but then settled down. Has been fine on subsequent starts but the aux air pump (that is used for emission control on cold starts) has started whining. Will ignore.

It finally had its cooling system refresh last week:

- New radiator (Nissens)
- New thermostat (Wahler)
- New expansion tank (Meyle)
- New hoses (Febi Bilstein)
- New AC condenser (Hella/Behr Premium Line)
(Didn't do the water pump as looking in the SH, was already done a couple of years back).

Oddly enough, the lower return pipe was reportedly faulty when the mechanic put it on so they had to put back on the original item. Will find out the specifics next week (and decide whether to bother returning the hose). Otherwise seems the refresh went ok.

E46 will probably move on to make way for a new addition (E70 X5). Having 5 cars is probably a bit excessive so need to make some space on the drive. Will be passing the 330Ci on to my dad.

Overall the E46 has been pretty decent in the time I've owned it. Of course it has cost some money and time to get bits and pieces sorted, but it's a 20 year old BMW with >160k miles. As long as the body remains relatively rust free, I don't see why it shouldn't last a quite more years.

All good work; it'll probably outlive the car TBH unless the rust is kept at bay

Loved the E46 320i I had, albeit very briefly as it was a 'borrowed car' off my folks whilst I was waiting for my DC5 to land from Japan etc many moons back...

I did consider importing a 325i touring at that time but it was more than I wanted to pay due to already having bought the DC5; the 325i would have been my every day car... Bought a 34k mile MG ZT V6 190 instead...

[pmorg4]

g3org3y said:

Update:

Expansion tank started leaking quite a bit after my previous post and I didn't fancy having to top up coolant on a daily basis so the E46 hadn't been used for a couple of months. I was pleased that despite sitting unused and subjected to a lot of rain there was no damp in the car at all. Attached my CTEK charger for a couple of days and it started first time. Idle was a bit grumpy for 10-20 seconds but then settled down. Has been fine on subsequent starts but the aux air pump (that is used for emission control on cold starts) has started whining. Will ignore.

It finally had its cooling system refresh last week:

- New radiator (Nissens)
- New thermostat (Wahler)
- New expansion tank (Meyle)
- New hoses (Febi Bilstein)
- New AC condenser (Hella/Behr Premium Line)
(Didn't do the water pump as looking in the SH, was already done a couple of years back).

Oddly enough, the lower return pipe was reportedly faulty when the mechanic put it on so they had to put back on the original item. Will find out the specifics next week (and decide whether to bother returning the hose). Otherwise seems the refresh went ok.

E46 will probably move on to make way for a new addition (E70 X5). Having 5 cars is probably a bit excessive so need to make some space on the drive. Will be passing the 330Ci on to my dad.

Overall the E46 has been pretty decent in the time I've owned it. Of course it has cost some money and time to get bits and pieces sorted, but it's a 20 year old BMW with >160k miles. As long as the body remains relatively rust free, I don't see why it shouldn't last a quite more years.

It sounds like yours has many years of life left in it, definitely worth getting all the usual weak cooling items sorted out before they cause any serious problem.

I read your thread about the X5, sounds like a lovely machine and I'm sure it will serve you well. Glad to hear the 330 is staying in the family, hopefully it will continue to be well looked after.

As an aside, my 330Ci recently completed an 800+ mile round trip to Scotland, the car was faultless and I felt completely fresh at the end of the trip. They are fantastic for the money you can pick up a good example for these days. Unfortunately I'm going to have to move mine on very soon as the family situation means a 2 door just doesn't work for me now, but I'm going to continue to enjoy it while I can.

[g3org3y]

Thanks chaps, made sense (plus topping up the coolant every other day gets annoying quite quickly). Car is otherwise in decent shape.

pmorg4 said:

I read your thread about the X5, sounds like a lovely machine and I'm sure it will serve you well.

Thank you, will probably start a new thread about it. Going to collect this weekend. It's for the wife...obviously.

Moderator edit: no advertising please.

[helix402]

The E36 would be a good project for someone, sadly it will appeal to the drift shed crowd.

[g3org3y]

helix402 said:

The E36 would be a good project for someone, sadly it will appeal to the drift shed crowd.

Indeed. Was half tempted to put on eBay, 99p start no reserve, but suspect you're quite right.

[dhutch]

helix402 said:

The E36 would be a good project for someone, sadly it will appeal to the drift shed crowd.

Fairly sure that's where my 316 compact went.

[g3org3y]

g3org3y said:

Moderator edit: no advertising please.

Fair cop

[helix402]

When I sold my E36 328i it went to Poland on a car transporter.

[JakeT]

My E46 328i went to The Netherlands on a car transporter. The chap buying it was sending it there to re-power a crap E46 with some proper engine.

[C70R]

g3org3y said:

Fair cop

I'd say about 1-in-10 Readers Cars threads are thinly-veiled ads. Don't take it too hard.

My E46 330 went off to Lithuania on a flatbed, via a bloke whose Mum lived in Streatham.

[dhutch]

C70R said:

I'd say about 1-in-10 Readers Cars threads are thinly-veiled ads. Don't take it too hard.

Ha.

Some are blatant as they come. Others are, as per this thread, genuine multiple pages or reader car content over months or often years, which the finally end with the car moving on to pastures new.

The later for me is actually fair enough exchange for the content and subsequent add revenue, but there we go!.

Daniel

[dhutch]

helix402 said:

When I sold my E36 328i it went to Poland on a car transporter.

I do genuinely wonder why there is so much of this.

Presumably labour is a little cheaper on the repair which makes tidy older cars more practical maybe, ditto less stringent mot type testing?

But still supprised it worth the transport and paperwork.

Daniel

[ST565NP]

dhutch said:

I do genuinely wonder why there is so much of this.

Presumably labour is a little cheaper on the repair which makes tidy older cars more practical maybe, ditto less stringent mot type testing?

But still supprised it worth the transport and paperwork.

Daniel

A lot of cars go from UK to east Europe, because cars in UK are cheap. Mostly they are cut in half and enter destinations as scrap metal ( at least that is was what I was told from a guy in Croatia who buys parts for his 1999 Nissan Patrol in Bosnia-Herzegovina ). And then are sold as parts.

[C70R]

ST565NP said:

dhutch said:

I do genuinely wonder why there is so much of this.

Presumably labour is a little cheaper on the repair which makes tidy older cars more practical maybe, ditto less stringent mot type testing?

But still supprised it worth the transport and paperwork.

Daniel

A lot of cars go from UK to east Europe, because cars in UK are cheap. Mostly they are cut in half and enter destinations as scrap metal ( at least that is was what I was told from a guy in Croatia who buys parts for his 1999 Nissan Patrol in Bosnia-Herzegovina ). And then are sold as parts.

The chap who bought mine told me that it was less than a third of the price of the equivalent 330 locally. Mine was better than the OPs, but definitely no minter.

I suspect the margin is hugely reduced in petrol and ferry tickets, but there must still be money in it.

[StuntmanMike]

helix402 said:

When I sold my E36 328i it went to Poland on a car transporter.

When I sold my E46 330 it went to Germany.

A guy collected it and drove it there, he wasn’t the buyer but an employee.

He said there was a huge market for them, Audi TT’s are also in demand.

[Kettmark]

My much loved (& reported on here) E46 330ci sport sold last week to a local guy originating from Lithuania. He saw my car for sale in my driveway for £1850 & offered me £1900 there & then without a test drive.
I'd had the car advertised for 3 years on AN other site with no luck!!
There must be some truth in the exporting of these motors...

[dhutch]

Mad. I think the cars we drive are under valued, so in a way I am not supprised.

In another, it's odd there is such disparity between countries.

Presumably they don't have the rediculous obsession with have a 'new car' hence a smaller inflow of 3-5yo cars.


Daniel

[Kettmark]

Agreed. Although mine had done 250k miles, it was tight as a drum with 32 stamps in the book. Needs a little fettling on the rear arches as they are just starting to go but that car will probably do the same miles again & will always be worth £1500 odd notes.
The Lithuanian guy didn't seem fazed in the slightest. He knows he got a bargain shed.

[C70R]

The thing with E46s, particularly the 330 coupe Sports, is that there are two types of car on the market at the moment.

Mine: 100k+ miles, ok spec, boring colour, crusty rear arches, no major overhaul of cooling system, patchy history. £1-2k.

Top end: Slightly lower mileage (probably still 100k+), better colour combo, maybe better spec, no body rust and some evidence of big maintenance bits doing. £4-5k.

The difference between the two is that you'd be spending close to a grand on a full cooling system refresh and probably over a grand to get bodywork up to scratch in the common rust areas.

Unless you just want a car to potter around in (as I did, mine was a neglected London car), the lower-end cars have no value to someone who isn't looking for a DIY project (and those people are few in number).

If you're looking for a presentable 330 and don't want the hassle or expense (assuming you can't DIY) of fixing bit complicated stuff, then you're into spending £4k+.